Here are some random shots I took recently at the Pacific Science Center. I discovered that there is a butterfly house, which I will definitely be going back to with my fancy camera and macro lens. My little point and shoot just doesn't cut it.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be backstage at a major opera production? Well, thanks to winning a silent auction item, I now know. Last week I got to watch La Traviata at the Seattle Opera House from backstage. In a word, it was awesome. As a former stage manager, it was a real treat. I got to meet the stage manager, the crew, lots of the cast, including the two principles, the maestro.. it just ruled. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And now i REALLY appreciate the drama behind a seriously swooshy skirt!

You know you are in a Seattle hair salon when you see clients still in their hiking shoes:

So I've been kinda holding out on you. Shortly after I replaced my camera and laptop, I celebrated by visiting a spot in Washington that I had been dying to go to since before I even moved here. I have had a picture of Mt. Shuksan hanging somewhere around me since my sophomore year in college. Mt. Shuksan is the mountain that is next to Mt. Baker. I've blogged about Mt. Baker before. It is essentially a big white triangle relatively close to the Canadian Boarder that can easily be seen from the city on a clear day, and is a popular ski spot. Anyways, there is a spot between these two mountains called, "Artist Point," which is accessed via a very steep, narrow road that is only open for like 3 months a year, depending on how much snow falls in the winter and how soon it starts falling again as it gets colder. The photo that I had been staring at for 15 years was taken around Artist Point.

It was about time that I go take a look. Honestly, this is one of the most breathtaking places I've been to in WA. It is a pain to get there - it is a pretty drive, no doubt, but it is a haul from the city. But on a clear day, like the one I had, the drive didn't even register. If you are ever in WA in the late summer, and you can see Mt. Baker from the city, I can highly, highly recommend this location. It literally took my breath away.

And as for why i waited to post these... well, i really wanted to make some black and white and I needed some photo editing software to do that, which finally got loaded up last week. Enjoy.










I realize that all of these photos feature Mt. Shuksan - but really the rest of the view was pretty awesome too. Video does best to show you what it was like:

Driving a Penske moving truck proved to be a photo op in it of itself.








An added bonus when your vehicle is a Penske truck: you never have to remember where you parked it or spend a lot of time looking for it.

The second day at Yellowstone was a different weather story entirely. Sunny, clear skies had given way to sometimes heavy snow. The landscape, what was visible of it, was still stunning.




Wildlife doesn't take a break when the weather is foul. I saw my first ever buffalo up close in Yellowstone. I saw him twice, actually. Once sitting on the side of the road and once on the road approaching my truck. While I was driving. The last picture is one I took from the driver's seat of the truck. As you can see, we were practically eye to eye. This gives a very good idea of how big they are.

The Old Faithful Geyser Basin is huge. There is a whole lot more there to see there than just Old Faithful. This area is really very exciting because there are geysers going off randomly all the time. I saw at least 3 big ones go off with relatively little waiting time. When coming to this basin, plan on at least a half day, especially if you like taking pictures. Aftr walking the first mile through the geysers, you feel as if you are on a completely different planet.









Here is a video of the grand geyser going off. This goes off for about 10 mins. Almost as tall as old faithful.

When you enter Yellowstone, along with a map and event information, you get the following flyer. I found this amusing. Probably has something to do with the photo...believe me, I took the buffalos very seriously.

In Yellowstone, the second and final major stop, there were forest fires as well. These were a little bit more of a big deal and cut off most of the park to visitors from the South and West. If you look closely, you can see the smoke in some of the pictures. This first set of photos come from the West Thumb Geyser Basin. There really weren't any exploding geysers here - just thermal pools overflowing into the Yellowstone Lake.

Ansel Adams has been a source of inspiration for me almost from the conception of my photography hobby. The Tetons were a popular subject of his, so I was very excited to have a whirl myself. In my opinion, when you have good weather, it is pretty hard to miss.