New Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c659b83ad7a8eef4b255045/beetles

My bug pin is in a new treasury

New Treasury

My bug pin is in a new treasury on Etsy.

New Treasury

My green bug is in a new Etsy treasury. What a fun collection.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c1e998fbd2f8eefb93c3568/creepy-crawlies

June 11 Heading Home

Before heading up the long grade out of Lee Vining and home, we took a detour to the campgrounds and saw about 5 deer. They quickly left as I was trying to get my camera out to photograph them.

Layers of green abounded in the valley.

We continued up the road and were sprinkled with little snow flakes. As we were waiting to enter the park at Tioga Pass we had a snow storm. Glad we were not on the motorcycles!

Just a few miles down the road the sun was shinning and we stopped at Tuolome Meadows. Two days before it was a field of snow and water. What a difference. We are looking back at the snow storm we passed through at the gates.

Heading back down to Yosemite Valley, I love going through the tunnels.

With the melting snow comes full rivers and waterfalls. This is a shot of Bridalveil Falls from across the river.

Beautiful Yosemite and a beautiful trip

Mono Lake Area

The second day of our trip was spent exploring the area around Lee Vining and north to Bridgeport. First we headed up Lundy Canyon, past the lake and campgrounds to the end of the road. We found an abandoned structure of wood and rusty metal.

The skies were so blue and clear and the light was so bright. This painted rock greeted our return to the river.

Leaving Lundy Canyon we headed to Bridgeport to pick up some lunch and then headed toward Bodie.

This is the courthouse in Bridgeport, CA.

Next we headed to Bodie which is a ghost town. At one time it had over 10,000 people and gold mining was the main activity.

Doorway

Electric plant with wires going through the circle cutouts in the window.

School House

One of the citizens of Bodie.

After Bodie we headed back to Mono Lake for the sunset. I relaxed in the car while Jim and Jen braved the wind and cold to get their shots of the sky and the tuffa towers of the lake.

Countinuing the road trip

Continuing on the road. A picture is worth a thousand words. So more pictures and a few words.

More of the wildflowers we saw along the roadway.

Once we got into the park and on the Tioga road, we saw lots of snow. The most snow of all our trips over in June.

Beautiful view from Olmstead Point and the back of Half Dome.

I liked the contrast of textures.

One of the locals.

With the melting snow, water was everywhere.

Ice on the Lake.

Crystallized ice sparkled on the lake. I admit that the freezing wind kept me from getting more shots or close-ups of the crystals.



Sunset on our first day in Lee Vining was inspiring. After a long day of driving we went to dinner at the Whoa Nellie Deli at the Mobil station.

Very nice lighting for a gas station cafe.

We had a lovely dinner of Lobster Taquitos and Mango Margaritas. Great Day!

Etsy Treasury

I have been included in a treasury on Etsy, my very first time! So now I think that I figured out posting the photo of the treasury and below is a link to see it on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c15e01d310f6d914e1aac8c/ode-to-christopher-marley

Mine is the first bug in the third row.

Along the river

After our stop in Mariposa we traveled along the river on 140.

“Farewell to spring” flowers covered the sides of roadway. We saw more wildflowers this trip than we usually see. Farewell to spring, lupine, Mariposa lilies, flags, paintbrush and many more.

Pink roadside

Blue skies, white clouds, and green everywhere.With all the snow we’ve had this year the rivers and streams are really full and the river rafters were out in full force. A group of about 6 rafts went by while we were stopped at a turn off.A nice stretch of river with just enough white water to make it interesting.

A few years ago there was an avalanche on the road and they made a temporary fix to go around the slide. There is a light and sometimes a 15 minute wait to cross over on the one lane road.

Here you can see the slide on the right. I think I remember that they tried to clear the rocks and open the roadway again, but more covered the road again.

Nature is powerful and beautiful.

All the melting snow made for some beautiful waterfalls. Water was rushing everywhere.

Tioga Pass Trip

This blog seems to be turning into more of a travel log than a blog about my art. I guess it’s because I am more likely to take pictures when I am relaxing and traveling. When I am working and creating I am into the process and don’t stop the flow to take pictures.

So here are the latest photos from our last trip.

Petunias at Happy Burger

We are back now from one of the most beautiful trips I think I have ever taken. It is getting to be an annual tradition in the family to try and travel over Tioga Pass soon after it opens for the summer. This year it opened after the heavy winter/spring snows on June 5, 2010.  Jim, Jen and I, took off the morning of Wednesday June 9. We tried a new route for us this time. Usually we go to Yosemite by highway 41 and enter from the south. But this time we went through Mariposa and came in by the river from the west. We hoped to meet up with nephew Jared for lunch but that didn’t work out, but it didn’t stop us from us having a great lunch at Happy Burgers in Mariposa.

The inside of the cafe is decorated with old record albums on the ceiling and walls. Brought back a lot of memories and made me feel a little old. Will they one day decorate with CD’s?

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Something in my Etsy Shop

Now that my shows have finished for the Spring, I am trying to get some of my work listed in my Etsy Shop.

One of the bug pins that I have added to my Etsy shop.