Blackwater Falls always runs dark. The tannins from decaying leaves and evergreen needles in the water stain it the color of tea. Contrast that with a fresh snowfall, a hard freeze and enormous icicles, and you have a pretty sight, indeed! (Note the figure on the balcony at left, for scale)
Images
Skogafoss, Iceland
Skogafoss is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland. Aside from its impressive size, it gives the impression of an incredible volume of water that disappears into a stream that's no more than a foot deep. By walking right up to it, you can feel both awed, and tiny.
Slateford Creek Falls, PA
A cathedral of ice in the Delware Water Gap area, PA.
Puffins!
As I'm reminiscing on last summer's trip to Iceland (and working up videos, etc), I'm uncovering some photos that just make me smile. On the cliffs above Reynisfjara, a black sand beach with impressive caves and balsatic columns outside Vik, on Iceland's southern shore, dozens of puffins were nesting. These pudgy little birds were impressively…Read more Puffins!
Honu in Maui
Honu are Hawai'ian Green Sea Turtles. Diving in ~25 feet off Lahaina, on Mala Wharf - a steel and concrete pier that collapsed and sunk in a hurricane - we found a flat slab of concrete that served as a turtle cleaning station. At one point there were six turtles "parked" on the slab while…Read more Honu in Maui
Waikiki Sunset
I do love the snow, but memories of the tropics are great too! I liked the way the setting sun shone through the spray off the waves at Waikiki Beach.
Ka’anapali Beach Sunset, Maui, HI
On our first night on Maui during our 2018 anniversary trip with the family, we arrived at Ka'anapali Beach just in time to watch the sunset, and play in the surf.
Strokkur, Iceland
In addition to many active volcanoes, Iceland is full of thermal features. In fact, it is home to the "original" geyser, a spout named "Geysir". Geysir is not as active as it once was, but its neighbor, Strokkur, erupts reliably every 5 minutes or so, with varying intensity. It's a very popular stop along the…Read more Strokkur, Iceland
Buđakirkja, Búðir, Iceland
Iceland is sprinkled with rural churches that stand alone, isolated on a vast empty landscape. Buđakirkja is one of the more famous, owing to its black and white simplicity.
Kirkjufellsfoss, Grundarfjörđar, Iceland
This is my version of one of the most common photos taken in Iceland - Kirkjufellsfoss (the waterfall), with the conical mountain Kirkjufell in the background. Seriously, search "Kirkjufell" and you'll see this in summer, winter, with northern lights, etc. It's a beautiful spot under almost any circumstance. We didn't have the luxury of time…Read more Kirkjufellsfoss, Grundarfjörđar, Iceland
Pu’uhonua o Honaunau
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (Place of Refuge), on the southwest coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i.
Arctic Tern
Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) have one of the longest migrations in the world, annually flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic, a distance of over 12,000 miles (19,000 km), AND BACK. As we were told in Iceland, this exertion leaves them perpetually ticked off. At one point during our Iceland summer (2019), we pulled off…Read more Arctic Tern
Sunset at Lower Matecumbe
Still catching up on 2019, we spent a week sailing and snorkeling in the Florida Keys. This was our first sunset afloat, headed out to an anchorage at Lower Matecumbe Key.
Grundarfoss, Grundarfjörđar, Iceland
Summer, 2019 - Before SARS-CoV2 rocked the world, we managed to spend a week in Iceland, in early July under (almost) midnight sun skies. This was one of our first impressions of the place after the rain that blanketed our arrival finally lifted - Grundarfoss, just outside the town of Grundarfjörđar on the Snæfellsnes peninsula.…Read more Grundarfoss, Grundarfjörđar, Iceland
Last Snake of 2020
Out backpacking in mid-October, we saw two Timber Rattlesnakes cuddled up together for warmth, and then this friendlier Garter Snake on what was probably one of the year's last hunts. After this weekend, it started getting cold, quick. I'm sure he's underground somewhere now.
