Yellowstone National Park June 2023

 Photos and comments from a quick trip through
Yellowstone National Park in June 2023


Click on a photo for a larger view

This is in Paradise Valley just north of the Park.

It is ready for a postcard.

Mammoth Hot Springs

This was a first for me. 
That is a cinnamon colored black bear. 
There is a cub hidden in the tall grass. 
I have seen a number of bears over the years
but the cinnamon coat was a first.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

Hot Mud

This is known as the Dragon's Mouth Spring

Despite incredibly lush vegetation throughout the park,
there was a very noticable lack of elk.

I had never been to the Gardiner and Mammoth
entrance area previously without seeing elk. 
There were NONE.   
The elk in the photo was near Yellowstone Lake in the
southern half of the park. 
There were no elk in the meadows between
Mammoth, Tower, Canyon and Lake. 

Old Faithful.  Just in time!

There was a large herd (~150 head) of buffalo
just south of the Madison junction.

Thailand April 2023

 Photos from my trip to Thailand in April 2023. 
All photos with depictions of the Buddha are presented in respect.
Click on a photo for a larger view.

Temples

This is the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok.  This was a real "oh wow" moment.  The statue is 150 feet long and 50 feet high.  It is difficult to capture the entire statue with a single photo.

At Wat Pho

Cabo San Lucas

Sights from Cabo San Lucas March 2023
Click on a thumbnail for a larger view

No trip to Cabo is complete without a short trip to the arch.

I went on a whale watching tour with Whale Watch Cabo
(you can find them on facebook)
I highly recommend them. 
They were great.

Photo credit Payo from Whale Watch Cabo
(the other whale photos are from my camera)

Top of the hill overlooking the marina

Night time view from the house looking
towards the marina.

View from bedroom I stayed in.

You don't always need to see the sun
to enjoy the sunset.

 

San Francisco August 2022

 Quick trip to San Francisco.

I had not been to San Francisco since being in the Bay to Breakers race in 2016.

Some of the pictures here are of the same places I took pictures of in 2016. 
Some things are simply worth doing again.

Click on a picture for a larger view.

Alcatraz

I don't usually post pictures of meals, but this was so good.
Cioppino's in Fisherman's Wharf area.

This is an absolute must see.
If you have not been there, go this year.

I don't know if you have ever heard of the "Lockpicking Lawyer". 
I'm thinking he could open all of these in under 30 minutes.

This was not pre-planned, but this is nearly the same picture I took in 2016.
It's all about perspective.

Lombard Street

The carousel at Pier 39

Pier 39

I still have not been on one of these but they are fun to watch.

There were not as many sealions as when I visited in 2016.

"This is the city"

Yeah ok - I know Joe Friday was in LA not San Francisco. 

San Diego June 2022

 Photos from a quick trip to San Diego in June 2022.

I had not been to San Diego since August 2016.  Even though I had been to these places previously it was fun to revisit them.

Click on a photo for a larger view.

Belmont Park

Gaslamp District after 5

Entrance to the Gaslamp District from the South

Mission Beach

Mission Beach

No trip to San Diego is complete without visiting the Zoo.  
I opted to keep my fingers outside of the chain-link fence....

Reminds me of the Ant and The Aardvark
(even though this is an anteater)

Ahhh....

It has been a while since I have seen a lotus/lily pond.
(This is at the zoo)

At the zoo.

America's Cup Harbor via Shelter Island

My Hike to "The Wave"

 Photos from my hike to The Wave in Coyote Buttes North in the Paria Canyon / Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area in October 2020.

Click on a photo for a larger view. 

My hike started well before October. 
I applied for a permit in the online lottery in July. 
My permit arrived the first week of September.

The materials sent with the permit included a description of how to hike
to The Wave along with photos for reference.

I spent the night before the hike at the Stateline Campground.   
The campground's claim to fame is that it is the northern terminus of the Arizona Trail.

View of the campground area from a short ways up the Arizona Trail.

The scenery on the hike to The Wave is as impressive as The Wave itself.

This is the "Mini Wave".  It is just before The Wave.

The entrance to The Wave.

    

   

The pictures that follow are all at The Wave and immediate surrounding area.

The look at the route back to the trailhead from The Wave.

I created videos show the route to and from the wave: