Xmas decorations at the Villages

A lot of the residents get together and decorate the entrances of their streets.. Here are two toy soldiers that decorate the entrance of Yvonne's street:

Here is a collage of night xmas scene down the street: (click to enlarge)

Xmas scene tonight with the moon in it:

Hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Winchester mystery house

Yesterday we went to Santana Row, in San Jose,Ca....It is always fun...After lunch I stopped in the Winchester mystery house parking lot and took this photograph over the fence:

When I looked on the computer I noticed that there was a gardner working on the hedge in front of the house.,...For fun I put it in Photoshop and with the help of Nik essentials and Topaz Simplify I created the following photograph: (Click to enlarge)

Wonderful Zion Adventure

To me, Zion National Park is a great photographic experience.. Usually Fall colors in Zion are at their peak the last week of October and first week of November.  I was there in 1998 and the colors and weather were also fantastic..The difference this time is I was shooting digital files instead of film..so I could take a lot more photographs.. The first two photographs were taken, with my Iphone, from our campsite:

Every day Yvonne and I would hike along the various creeks that outline the campgrounds.. Here are some photographs taken along the creek with my bigger cameras:

We took a walk down to the Narrows along the Zion river..another photographer was nice enough to take our photograph:

This last image is a painterly effect using Topaz filters and Photoshop:

When it ever rains a lot in Utah, I want to go back to Zion in the spring and fall. Wonderful photo opportunities.

Monument Valley Arizona

We left page early in the day and drove to Monument Valley.. The last time I was there was in 1995..What a change..there are fancy motels and the Navajo Indian camp ground is closed...I think forever..Tours are $85.00 with an Indian guide...You can drive around by yourself but the roads are terrible..big boulders, chuckholes,etc..I was told that the Indian Guides have better roads to use... Here are a few photographs taken on our drive:

This last photograph is the moon rising over Monument Valley after the sun finished setting:

On the way back to the RV Park we took this sunset photograph out the window of the truck:

There is nothing like an Arizona sunset.

Slot Canyons of Page, Az

When you go out of town,  you drive on the road that takes you to the power plant

A little ways before the power plant you will see activity on the right side of the road. I hadn't been there since 1995 and was really surprised at the commercialism that was there..all kinds of buggy's to take people to the "Upper Antelope Canyon" for around $50.. The Upper canyon is pretty level so anybody can walk through it ..I had been there two times before so I declined to go...The Navajo Indians told me that the "Lower Antelope Canyon" was only $26 dollars for a tour...I had been to  lower antelope canyon in August1992 but only for about 30 minuets, as the indian guide was worried about flash floods..You had to go down into the canyon on wooden ladders,with rope and the Indian guide.

We went over and signed up to go with the next group.. It was a totally different experience than the last time I was there... Permanent metal ladders have been installed and it is a lot longer tour... In August of 1997 a 11 people were killed by a flash flood when they were down in the canyon.. Here is a photograph of the memorial plaque:

 Here is our Indian guide telling us that if we hear a horn to exit the canyon.(flash flood warning).The little slit in the ground, behind the guide, is the entrance to the slot canyon.

 Here is a photo of the people climbing down the metal ladders to the first level.

The lower antelope canyon  is a lot longer than the upper antelope canyon...and I feel much more photogenic. here are some photographs taken in the canyon:

While I was taking photographs I heard an Indian Flute, looked up, and there was our guide playing the flute.

At the end of the canyon are metal ladders to take you up to the top.

It was a great day for photographing the Lower Antelope Slot Canyon..

Lake Powell at Page,Az

It is not a very long drive from the east entrance of the Grand Canyon to Page, Az..Here are some photographs of the lake Powell dam and water...

Here we are going into the Lake Powell Damn Museum..It is a window reflection of us taking our picture in the window of the museum:

Here is a photo of the bridge that goes over the dam...

Here is a photo of the lake from a lookout point..Notice all the house boats and how low the lake is this year.

Tomorrow we head out for the local Slot Canyon.

Trip to Arizona

One month ago we left on a trip to Arizona....The third day we arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park..It was the first time that I stayed there for two whole days...Took the bus tours all over the park. It was great being there in October..It was still busy but not crowded.  Here are some photographs of this great national park... first some taken with my Iphone4 in HDR mode:

Here are a couple taken with my other cameras ...First one of us getting ready to get on the bus.

 Tomorrow we head for Page, Az