I had the opportunity to hike the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainer National Park! I went with a good friend of mine for 10 nights and 11 days. Here are a couple of my thoughts:
- It was cold! Think of winter backpacking without the snow! Luckily (and due to *some* planning (e.g. A lot of planning), we had enough gear to keep warm. I still would have liked an extra layer.
- It was beautiful! I do wish I could have gone earlier in the year when the wild flowers are in bloom, but you need a permit to hike the trail and this was the best available dates so I had to take it or leave it. By the way, it took me 3 years to be able to even “get in” to have a permit at all. That’s how popular this trail is!
- I would do it again if it was earlier in the year.
All in all it was a great trip and the most beautiful thing about it was I was away from instant communication for that time. Being out in nature is healing and restorative in and of itself and when that’s coupledTravel, Wildlife
Earlier this year I went on a trip to Michigan for a few days with some good friends of mine. It was a great time! Fires every night, board games, plenty of fishing (hardly caught anything though!) and a beautiful lake that provided wonderful photos! I was able to catch a beautiful sunrise one morning and a Heron the next. It was an all-around good time filled with friends and photos! Here are a couple of my favorite from the trip!
Here's a photo of the Lake and Pier right outside our Cabins
Closer in on the boat.
Catching the heron in flight!
Travel, Sunrises And Sunsets, Wildlife
I've been sitting on these photos for awhile! But I like sharing my travels. I visited some friends in Virginia this past summer and we visited some historical sites such as Yorktown and The Mariner's Museum. It was pretty cool seeing cannonballs embedded in the side of a house and the decaying growth along the lake shore. Check out a few of the photos here, I hope you enjoy!
Cannonball in the side of a house! I wonder what that sounds like if you're inside the house...
Gnarly looking tree!
Cannon and a Yorktown Onion. It's weird to think this was fired at a group of people...
Cannon and a Yorktown Onion. In color this time... :)
Yorktown Onions again!
This sounds wierd, but I thought this tree stump looked cool.
Propeller at the Mariners Museum. Click here for more info on it!
Propeller at the Mariners Museum. Click here for more info on it!
As it states: The Mariner's Museum and Park
Travel
I had the pleasure of visiting some friends in California this past month. They live in Monterey and they are some great people! While I was there they were sure to show me around to some cool places and I did a fair amount of exploring on my own!
Monterey and the surrounding area is super nice! I was able to see some great sunsets in Pacific Grove and for you Steinbeck fans out there I spent a lot of time walking around Cannery Row and even visited the Steinbeck Center in Salinas. It was awesome! Here a few of the images from the trip, I hope you enjoy!
Clock on a restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey
The moon rising over Monterey Bay...
...And now the sun rising over Monterey Bay.
National Steinbeck Center.
The house where John Steinbeck spent his early writing years.
Downtown Salinas.
Cannery Row!
Pacific Biological Laboratories. John Steinbeck spent a good amount of time here with his good friend Ed Rickett who was living and working here as heTravel
So I had the great opportunity this summer to visit Washington D.C. It's kind of a long story but I was actually heading down to Virginia to buy a car. Along the way we visited a friend and relative who lived in Maryland. We visited the Smithsonian and all the other monuments in Washington, D.C. Check out all my Photos Of Washington D.C.
World War II Memorial Fountains (Pacific Pillar)
What I really enjoyed about this trip to D.C. was that we were able to see the monuments at night! It was really cool to see the light on the Lincoln Memorial, The World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument. The fountains and waterfalls at the World War II Memorial were especially great to capture at night! Here are few pictures from my trip. Click on a photo if you're interested in buying a print for your home or business!
World War II Memorial Fountains & Washington Monument
World War II Memorial Fountains
Travel
So I just recently got back from a trip to Jeremie, Haiti. I went with a church, Renew Communities, and it was quite a moving experience... I think the part that hit me the hardest was when we visited patients in the hospital. Now, I don't want to get all heavy handed & Sarah McLachlan on you like she is in her animal cruelty videos, but trust me, it might have been one of the worst places I've ever been... Part of the reason it's so bad because as a hospital you expect that it should deliever certain things: Comfort, rest, attention, healing. While some of these are still true, the gap in this hospital compared to what we know a hospital can provide is staggering... It was very hot, had no electricity and no medication. The most the hospital can provide is a bed, a damp cloth and maybe an IV for fluids...
Moving on...
We went down there and met up with a group called, Haiti Bible Mission. Mark, the leader, and his family live there about 6 months out of the yearTravel, Charity
I had the opportunity this past August & September to do some very unique traveling. In addition to shooting photography I also do a fair amount of video shooting and editing. One day a friend of mine who is friends with a Tour Manager of several bands asked me, "Hey Joe, do you want to go to South America and shoot video for Megadeth?" Taken aback just a bit by the grandeur of the simply asked offer, I said, "Sure."
Before I knew it I hit the ground running! I was on a plane to Santiago, Chile. Now, I've shot quite a bit of video but never in this industry so I wasn't sure what to expect. I landed in the airport and had a driver pick me up and we were off to our video meeting. Did I mention I flew through the evening, landed in the morning and our first gig was that night!? It was full speed ahead! But after learning the ropes everything went smoothly! I was part of about a dozen shows in South America and 2 shows in India. The pace in South America wasTravel, Events, Photoshoots
