Two Trips

A couple weeks ago I was returning from a trip to the Seattle and Denver areas for weddings, along with many other ramblings.  Just in California, across the border from Primm Nevada, I came upon this huge solar power array.  I think the three brilliant lights in the pic are reflecting the sun onto thousands of solar panels.  To give a sense of scale, the lights are at least a mile apart from each other. 

The East Mojave National Preserve looked lush and healthy...lots of green grass and some out of season flowers.

Back home, I went down to Big Sur for brekky and encountered a hillside of pampas grass.  It's an invasive species, but pretty when backlit by the sun.

An old growth redwood in Nisene Marks SP with a labyrinth of branches.

Now I'm off on another ramble.  This is Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.  It's large, with many islands and nice mountain views.  I'd seen it on maps for many years so decided to take a look.

Overall, it's 1-2 weeks before peak autumn color in this part of New England, but the trees are starting to turn nicely.

A hillside lights up.  The diversity of fall color hereabouts makes New England awesome at this time of year.

This is the mountainside that used to hold the Old Man of the Mountain, the rock formation that was a symbol of New Hampshire for almost two centuries.  Formed late in the Ice Age, the rock formation became unstable in the 19th century.  Preservation efforts worked for awhile, but in 2003 the whole thing came tumbling down in seconds.

However...

The locals came up with a precision scheme to replicate the Old Man in photos.  Stand in this plaza at the right place according to your height, and you can photograph a new profile of the Old Man with an array of steel plates providing the silhouette.  A close look at the pic shows the steel shaft.

A hillside in fall glory.