Big bear, big tongue

Another bear we saw in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Bear viewing in Katmai

A bear in Katmai National Park in Alaska, the best place to see browns bears in the wild. More to follow soon.

Windmill at dusk

A windmill encountered towards the end of a hike on a cloudy day. The sun had set and it was getting dark.

Smoke, haze, and an orange sun

A bright orange sun thanks to the recent wildfires that we've been having in California. Over 800 wildfires have already burned several hundred acres of land. Due to the air pollution caused by the smoke and haze, a health advisory is in effect.

Down the road and up to the volcano

That's Mt.Thielsen, an extinct volcano in southern Oregon. It's 9182 feet high and close to Crater Lake National Park.

New Balance in the snow

This is a footprint of my New Balance shoe in the snow. You can make out the letters clearly. (Mirror image, of course.) These shoes have about 500 miles on them. This was taken in the snow near Crater Lake in Oregon, on a morning that had just seen some fresh snow a few hours earlier. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States.

Grill in the church

A building next to the church in Mission San Juan Capistrano in California - a picture of which I posted a while ago.

Christmas, chocolate, and contrails

Ok, you can't really see the contrails since it's too dark but those streaks of light at the top of the picture are the lights of an airplane taking off from the airport nearby. The other lights are the Christmas lights in the cactus garden of the Ethel M chocolate factory in Henderson, Nevada near Las Vegas. If you've never been there, you are missing something.

Capitol building in San Francisco

A shot of the Capitol building in San Francisco, California on a cloudy day.

Doors and guitars

The entrance to the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hard Rock Cafe is known for its walls covered with rock-and-rock memorabilia. Apparently, it was named after The Doors album, Morrison Hotel.

Red road under the blue sky

This was taken in the Mojave National Preserve in California, about 80 miles south-west of Las Vegas. If you are on your way back to California, you could enter through the north entrance off the I-15 freeway, drive south through the park, and exit through the south entrance and head west on the I-40 freeway. If you do this, make sure to stop by the Kelso Dunes in the middle of the park. At 600 feet in height, they are the third highest in North America.

The road, when we were driving, was reddish in one direction but the usual black in the other. It was probably due to the interplay between the sun and the contents of the tar. Whatever it was, it was beautiful, especially when juxtaposed against the blue sky.

Moon among the lights

This was taken at the Ethel M chocolate factory in Las Vegas, Nevada. During Christmas, they light up the garden outside the factory. Definitely one of the best Christmas light displays I've ever seen.



In the picture below, you can see the full moon camouflaged by the brilliance of the lights. It's that little bright circle in the center.



You can do a tour inside the factory and that ends in the main chocolate room where you will succumb to buying some if you like chocolate even a little.

Red doors

This is from inside the Red Rock casino near Las Vegas, Nevada. It was during Christmas but I think the color of the doors had nothing to do with that.

Mirage in Vegas

A night shot of the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Didn't have a tripod and had to use a wall.

A church and a lamp

This is the church next to the mission in the city of San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. The mission itself was founded in 1776, which, coincidentally, is also the year when the United States declared its independence from the British Empire. It is very much a touristy little town, with a Starbucks bang opposite the mission across the street.

Now showing: Harry Potter at the church

What's Harry Potter got to do with the church? Take a gander at this snap I took outside a church in Belmont, California.




An innovative way to get the kids streaming into the church?

Mosque in Fortezza

A mosque inside the Fortezza complex on Crete in Greece.

Lunar eclipse (this time, the real deal)

Yesterday night, rather today very early in the morning, we got to see a total lunar eclipse in California, which was a pleasant change unlike last time.

To boot, it was a full moon. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of that. However, this is what it looked like at approximately 3 a.m. when the sun started its shadowy encroachment.



After about 15 minutes later, at 3:15 a.m., notice how the bronze color gets deeper.



At 3:30 a.m., it got even darker.

Sunset in Chania

Chania is the second largest city on the Greek island of Crete. This port city is a bustling place especially in the spring and summer, with lots of people sitting and enjoying sunsets like these in dozens of little open air restaurants by the water.

What do you call a baby lizard?

I don't really know. But, I can tell you that they look reddish like in the picture below. This was taken in early summer in Yosemite National Park. Saw a few dozen of these babies while hiking. They moved very slowly and I was able to get very close to take pictures without scaring them off.