Viewing entries in
Photography

Snapshots: Chagrin Falls

Comment

Snapshots: Chagrin Falls

Chagrin Falls is a charming little town in the outer suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. The Chagrin River runs through the heart of town and once turned the waterwheels of early industry here. The namesake falls are quite stunning and there are nice viewing platforms on either side of the river. There are some wonderful art projects around, including the crocheted trees at the art center that stopped me in my tracks. Chagrin Falls is full of adorable local businesses, none more-so than the Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop pictured above. My very good friend Mike Vasko lives in Chagrin Falls, so I’ve been fortunate enough to visit more than once. It really is a wonderful place and if you’re ever in the area, stop through for a wander. I hope you enjoy these pictures from the tiny town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Comment

Updates From Home

Comment

Updates From Home

Hello Everyone! Long time, no see. I can’t believe that three weeks have gone past since I sent my last newsletter. It felt like 2020 lasted for 5 years, but now 2021 is blowing past as May is right around the corner. I’ve missed writing D.C. Chronicles these last couple of weeks, but I’ve been so busy with all of my other projects that it has been good to back off from that a little. I did want to check in with you all though and update you on what I’ve been up to and some of the places I’ve been and things I’ve been doing.

First and foremost, I did get the second dose of my vaccine and have had enough time pass since my shot to be considered fully vaccinated. My second shot left me fatigued for half a day, which seemed like a small price to pay. If you’re on the fence about the vaccine, please go discuss it with your doctor or pharmacist but from my perspective it was quick and relatively painless. Most of my family and friends have gotten at least one shot at this point, and for that I am very grateful.

Mason and I have continued our daily romps around his neighborhood. Spring is in full effect here in Washington with current highs in the 70s and 80s and he’s enjoyed getting his water shoes on and his feet in the creek. We are both thoroughly enjoying the flowers, bumblebees and butterflies that have come back into our lives. Mason really enjoys blowing the dandelion seeds we find out into the world, and I am enjoying it too. We have added several new walking trails to our portfolio, some of which are really great – especially Dunbarton Park which has some nice quiet meadows (in the heart of the city). Our biggest highlight of the last couple of weeks has been turning over logs in the woods. We have found a bunch of salamanders, millipedes, worms, roly-polies, centipedes and even a shrew (which scared the bejesus out of me). It’s been pretty cool and Mason has gotten his hands as dirty as I’ve ever seen them but he’s sure enjoying it. This will be our last full week together as he starts school next Tuesday. I will miss his company tremendously, but it’s time for him to make friends his own age and for me to get what I need to get done so that I can back on the road in 5 short weeks.

Speaking of which, that is still my plan – a June 1st departure from Washington with a quick stop to see my dad in West Virginia before continuing on to Michigan.

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 51

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 51

Hello Everyone. It’s been a year now. A year this past Monday to be exact. A year at home here in Washington D.C. That wasn’t the plan, but life is what happens when you’re making other plans, right? I don’t regret coming home and it’s actually been a great year, all things considered. It’s been a year of exploring the region with my mom and learning a lot of things I never knew about my own hometown. A year of Friday night parties in the basement, movie nights and watching the seasons change. I’ve spent 8 months of that year watching Mason grow from 2 to 3 and laugh and learn and fall down and get back up. I’ve also been able to watch the young man I tutor build his academic confidence and helped in some small way to move him toward his goals. It’s been a year of rethinking and retooling my plans going forward and deciding to put my own personal happiness above any other measure of success (more on my plans coming soon). It hasn’t all been great, though. My personal health, both physical and mental, has suffered through all of this. My van sat unused for many months because of a broken brake line, but has gotten a lot of love and attention since. My podcast has gone dark for over a year now, but I hope to revive it in about two months. Looking back at the end of the year, though, this time will only be somewhere between 1-2% of my life – just a flash in the grand scheme of things, another chapter of many from a very blessed life. Also at the end of this year I’m very aware of just how fortunate I am to have had what I’ve had this year. It’s certainly been a strange year to try and run a travel blog. I’ve travelled when and where I could and tried to share those trips with you here, but it certainly wasn’t what it would have been without the pandemic. I certainly appreciate you all for sticking with me through all of this and while next week will mark the end of this series, soon thereafter I will start fresh with new features and plans for my upcoming departure. Pandemics and politics will disappear from this space and be replaced with beautiful photos and interesting history. I can’t wait.

This week Mason and I welcomed the bumblebees back into our lives. We’ve been talking about them since they left us last October, looking forward to the day when they returned. These last few weeks it’s been “almost” and “not yet”, but on Friday we walked out into a beautiful sunny morning and there were a half-dozen bees right there in the front yard of his new house. That same day we saw a butterfly, a spider and some water-bugs as well, all very good indicators that spring is upon us. He’s learning the names of some of the flowers that are coming out, too, and I’m happy I have a great consultant (my mom) to make sure I get them straight myself. He’s starting to make some associations, too, which are pretty cool – he called buttercups “cups butter” and dandelions simply “lions” (which they resemble when he pointed that out). We were able to get into the water that day, too, and we both had so much fun watching the fish, throwing rocks and enjoying the sun. The day before, Mason got his first time-out from me though. He hit me in the face in a less-than-accidental way which I couldn’t overlook, so I sat him in the corner facing the wall for 5 minutes. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen and broke my heart, but I think that it’s a lesson he has to learn. We talked about it afterwards and hugged it out, though. Growing up sure is tough.

This week, we’ve returned to his old house for a while so their new house can get some necessary work done before they can move in for good. It’s been good to be back in the old neighborhood, see our old friends the stone animal lawn ornaments, and visit our old haunts now heading into spring. Today he was back in the water, splashing around and throwing rocks and as happy as a clam.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom here in Washington, which is always one of my favorite times of year to be here. While the ones everyone wants to see are downtown near the monuments, there are wonderful cherry blossoms all over the city. They make me feel happy. In addition, the magnolia in our front yard has bloomed magnificently this year. Some years the cold and wind will keep it from a full bloom, but this year everything came together just right.

Comment

In Focus: Yellowstone National Park

Comment

In Focus: Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most extraordinary places on the face of the Earth. Sitting atop a volcanic hotspot, Yellowstone is home to more than half of the world’s thermal features with over 10,000 within the park’s boundaries. Yellowstone is also home to the greatest concentration of large mammals in the lower 48. Established in 1872 as the world’s first National Park, it has drawn visitors from every corner of the globe. Charles Kuralt once called the Beartooth Highway, which brings you in the northeast entrance to the park from Red Lodge, Montana, the Most Beautiful Road in America, and I agree with him. This road (which is only open in the mid- to late-summer months) will lead you to Lamar Valley, dubbed “America’s Serengeti” for the diversity of animals found there. Bison, moose, bear, wolves and coyotes can frequently be found in the valley if you get up early enough and have a keen eye. From there you’re off on the main park road which runs in a massive figure-8 around the park. Where to stop can often be overwhelming to first-time visitors, but a few of my favorites are Mammoth Hot Springs, Midway Geyser Basin (home of Grand Prismatic Spring), Morning Glory Pool, Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Don’t forget to stop in the beautiful Inn at Old Faithful, an amazing old log-cabin style hotel, where you can get some Moose Tracks Ice Cream and enjoy a great view of the world’s most famous geyser. Beyond those highlights, my biggest recommendation is to get out of your car and go for a hike. It can be easy to get frustrated by all of the other tourists in the park, but those frustrations will fade with the crowds when you’re a mile down the trail. I hope you enjoy these photos from the world’s first and one of my favorite national parks.

Comment

In Focus: Grand Teton National Park

2 Comments

In Focus: Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park is one of my favorite parks in the west. It’s often overshadowed by its more famous and more popular brother just to the north, Yellowstone, but it is definitely deserving of more than just a photo stop on the way to or from. I often tell my tour passengers that when I drew mountains as a child, I was drawing the Tetons whether I knew it at the time or not (in reality, we had a large painting of the Tetons in our house, so maybe that had some influence). The Tetons are one of the youngest mountain ranges in the country, giving them their jagged contours. If you get there early in the morning, you may be able to catch a breathtaking reflection in one of the many lakes that lie at their base. There are, of course, dozens of trails throughout the park, ranging from simple 20 minute jaunts to multi-day treks into the wilderness. I’ve definitely seen more moose in the Tetons than I’ve ever seen in Yellowstone and I’ve also seen bear, bison and elk along with a multitude of birds and small mammals as well. The historic buildings along Mormon Row and in a few other spots in the park are favorites of photographers. It’s also the only National Park with its own airport, although flying into it isn’t cheap. If you ever get the opportunity to visit, Grand Teton will definitely dazzle your senses. I hope you enjoy these photos from another of our magical National Parks.

2 Comments

D.C. Chronicles Volume 47

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 47

Hello Everyone! March has arrived and winter is quickly turning to spring here in Washington. We’ve had a couple of cold days this week, but some really nice ones as well. It got up to almost 60 today and I really enjoyed being able to spend some time outside just sitting and soaking it in. My mom got a new hip yesterday, which is definitely the biggest news of the week, but it’s been a busy week for me as well.

News on the virus front continues to be hopeful as this week President Biden announced that with the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and with Merck stepping up to help with production, every American should be able to get a vaccine by the end of May. That is simply wonderful news and I really hope I can get mine going even sooner. Sadly, some states are rushing to open everything back up and “get back to normal” and while I know we are all ready for that to happen, rushing it now when we’re so close to the finish line seems absurd to me. While the news is good, we are still losing around 2,000 people a day to the virus in America. That means that we lose the equivalent of the total number of Americans lost during the Vietnam War every month. Please remain vigilant out there and know that the light at the end of the tunnel is close, but we’re not there yet.

In the political realm, something I haven’t delved into on this blog in a while, I’ve been pretty disappointed with what I’ve seen in the last few weeks. One of the things which upsets me most is voter suppression and disenfranchisement, and these are issues this country has struggled with from jump. It is my personal belief that every single American adult should have the right to vote and should have that vote counted fairly and equally. For a number of reasons, none of which have ever been good ones, this is something which has constantly been challenged from this country’s founding. If you cannot win elections when everyone has the opportunity to vote, you need to change your messaging, not try and disenfranchise thousands of people so that you can win. Every time there is an election in this country, election commissions will find a few hundred fraudulent votes, never the thousands or tens or even hundreds of thousands that people claim. For me, a few hundred fraudulent votes in a country with over 350 million people is a very small price to pay for extending the vote to as many people as possible through as many means as we can. In my opinion, voting should stretch over several days and include a weekend with long hours and many polling stations. When I see lines stretching for hours, and attempts to limit voting to business hours, it makes me sick. It’s just like the disgusting gerrymandering we see – it’s trying to game the system instead of trying to win people over with your ideas. This year has certainly shined a pretty bright light on so many things that are wrong with this country, and I sincerely hope we can find some people who are willing to try and fix them. Any attempt at voter suppression should be met with serious questions and a hard push back.

In other news, I had my annual physical this week which I’ve been trying to avoid but finally had to go and make it happen. It was hard to see in black and white the weight I’ve put on over the last year and that my blood sugar is as high as it’s ever been. It was actually a real kick in the stomach to get that information. I feel like the last couple of weeks I’ve been crawling out of a pool of winter depression, my hands getting a hold on the bottom rungs of the ladder I want to climb and slowly pulling me up. Right when I was about to swing one leg up and get a foothold, someone comes and starts stepping on my hands from above. It sucked, and I slipped down a rung or two real fast, but I kept hold of the ladder and I’m proud of myself for that. It’s been a really hard year for me (and for us all), and while I watch everything I eat and have since I was 12 and have been trying to keep my drinking in check, I have had moments of weakness in what I’ve put into my body. The fact that I haven’t been able to go to the gym in over a year hasn’t helped one bit. I try and walk 3-5 miles every day I can, but it’s just not the same and the ice and snow recently has kept me from even doing that. It really sucks sometimes when you want to be doing better, but outside forces are keeping you from doing so. On the other hand, sometimes I need the wake-up call these results have given me to get motivated and get moving again. With the spring weather and longer days I need to be getting more exercise and I plan to.

Mason and I continue to enjoy our days together, going on adventures and learning from each other. We’ve been on a quest for woodpeckers lately as they’ve been pretty active in the park these last few weeks.

Comment

Snapshots: Japan

Comment

Snapshots: Japan

From 2010-2012, I lived and worked in a tiny fishing village in Southern Japan. My town, Usuki, had a beautiful historic core, a lovely industrial waterfront, an old castle ruin and some wonderful restaurants. In the two years I was there, we even got a 7-11 and a McDonalds. I lived in a beautiful, old, to-big-for-me apartment a few blocks from the water. During the week, I taught English in rural Japanese public schools. I worked in three different Junior High Schools and seven Elementary Schools. It was tough to move around so much, but I did enjoy the variety of it. Sadly, many of my days I spent very few hours in the classroom and was absolutely bored to tears most of the time. On the weekends I would spend time with friends or traveling the countryside. Our little corner of Japan was very rural, but also beautiful - especially when the rice was being planted. I found small communities to join, like a dance class in my town and a scuba diving shop in the next town up. I went to the beach and climbed mountains and visited the major cities. I also bought my first DSLR camera - at a pawn shop about an hour from my apartment. I didn’t learn to use it very well when I was there, but I took my first steps into the world of digital photography. It was also in Japan that I conceived the idea for this project and began to work to build this website. I made some wonderful friends while I was there, one of whom recently asked me if I had any photos of Japan that she could use to build a website for her business. That had me do a deep dive into my photo archives and dig up these old pictures. Some of them are actually pretty good, so I thought I would share them, and this story, with you here. Sadly, after a decade, I don’t remember where many of them were taken so not many of them are captioned. But I hope they can give you a feel for the time I spent there and some of the beauty of the country. Enjoy!

Comment

In Focus: Grand Canyon National Park

Comment

In Focus: Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular places on the face of the earth. It is one of the three “Crown Jewels” of the U.S. National Park system, the lowest step in the geologic Grand Staircase of Time, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. The rock layers most recently exposed by the Colorado River, which runs through the Canyon’s heart, are roughly 1.8 billion years old. Therefore, when you are sitting on the rim gazing out over the Canyon, you are looing at roughly 40% of the geologic history of the planet. Grand Canyon is remarkable at all times of the year and in all different kinds of weather. There are amazing hiking opportunities at Grand Canyon, but be sure you set aside some time to just sit on the rim and ponder. I’ve been fortunate in my life to visit Grand Canyon well over a hundred times and these are some of my favorite photos I’ve taken through the years. I hope you enjoy them!

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 43

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 43

Hello Everyone and Happy February! This is going to be a short post this week because there really hasn’t been too much going on. We had a pretty decent snowstorm this week here in Washington which has kept things pretty quiet and close to home. I’ve enjoyed the visual change of pace the snow has brought and also enjoying it with my little buddy, Mason. I’ve been struggling with depression this week though, which I’ve managed to keep at bay for much of the last few months and I can’t say I’m thrilled by its reappearance. All in all, though, it’s been a pretty quiet week.

Towards the end of last week, Mason and I went on some really long walks around his neighborhood which we both really enjoyed. On Friday we zigged where we normally zag in one spot and 20 minutes later found ourselves on the shore of a massive (by D.C. standards) pond. It had been pretty cold, so the surface was frozen solid and we stood there and talked about ice and water for a long time. Then we threw some sticks which skittered across the surface to our collective delight. Big rocks managed to crash through the surface, but only to make a divot. While I was holding both of his hands above his head with my feet planted firmly on the boardwalk just in case, Mason took a few slippery steps across the ice. For a kid who loves the water, I think this was a really cool experience.

Our week ended with our usual end-of-week basement celebration. Last Friday we celebrated Up-Helly-Aa, the Scottish Viking Fire Festival. We started with drinks and sea shanties in the basement and then played a nice game of Muggins (dominoes). Then we came upstairs and had a nice fire in the fireplace. I had made a delicious Scottish potato-leek soup and some bannock (skillet bread), and both were perfect for a cold winter night. It was another successful celebration! These next two weekends we’ll be bringing it home to Louisiana to celebrate Mardi Gras before seeing where our virtual journey takes us next.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day here, but really just bitterly cold and windy. It was a shame to not be able to go and enjoy it somewhere, but it really was unpleasant to be out in. Late Saturday night it began to snow and continued through much of Sunday and on into Monday. It was a very nice, dry, light snow which was easy to shovel but made for a pretty scene outside. We were all a little surprised at the amount of snow we got, but as I mentioned it is nice to see something a little different looking out the windows.

Comment

In Focus: Glacier National Park

Comment

In Focus: Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park, in far northern Montana, is my very favorite place in the world. Jagged mountains, quiet turquoise lakes, abundant wildlife, cascading waterfalls, amazing trails, awe-inspiring vistas and beautiful historic park lodges come together to form an alpine paradise straight out of a dream world. Glacier’s remote location keeps it from becoming as severely overcrowded as many other National Parks have become in peak summer months, although every summer visitation seems to grow. Glacier forms one half of the extensive Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in association with neighboring Alberta, Canada. I’ve been very fortunate to visit Glacier National Park many times over the last 20 years and always look forward to my visits. Here, I’ve assembled some of my favorite shots I’ve taken of this beautiful park over the years. I hope you enjoy these photos from stunning Glacier National Park.

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 42

Comment

D.C. Chronicles Volume 42

Hello Everyone! This is the last post for January, which is hard for me to believe. The time really is going quickly here. I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that my political opinions won’t be making an appearance today. It’s been a rough couple of months, and being in Washington it’s hard to escape it, but I’m sure going to try. I have enough things to focus on without getting mired down in something I have very little control over.

The most exciting thing that happened this week is that my folks got their first vaccine shot. This is wonderful news and we’re very grateful to the folks at Howard University for making it happen. I’m really hoping the federal government will ramp up the vaccination as promised and that we can all have ours before the summer.

Young Mason continues to make me smile with his good humor and big smile. Last week we were sitting at breakfast and we were discussing each other’s shirts, which is a common occurrence over his morning meal. I had on a shirt from the amazing total solar eclipse I got to lead a trip to see in Wyoming a few years ago. He pointed out what looked like the moon to him, but was actually the sun so I explained what the eclipse was and how it worked and what it was like to see it. Once I was done explaining it, he hopped up and went and got one of his books about space and we looked at the sun and the moon together. It was pretty cool.

On one of our walks this week we were out in one of the parks in his neighborhood which has a grove of bamboo in it. He always points out the bamboo, and I ask if he sees any pandas around which he never does (but growing up in Washington, I know he will see them often at the National Zoo). A few minutes later he picked up a huge log and told me it was a panda and carried it all the way home. The next day we took his panda to “the lake”, which is really just a small pool along one of the creeks we visit, and he hurled it in. He really loves throwing things in the water, even things he seems to really like. I definitely don’t understand everything he does or says, and he would probably tell you the same about me, but we sure do have interesting adventures together.

Comment

In Focus: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Comment

In Focus: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and that’s saying something. Second only to Montana’s Glacier National Park in my heart, Wrangell-St. Elias is America’s biggest National Park, encompassing an area of over 13 million acres. Wrangell-St. Elias was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and a National Park in 1980. Plate tectonics, volcanic activity and glaciation all worked together over time to form this magnificent landscape, but it was copper that brought people into these mountains in the early 20th Century. The Kennecott copper mines produced over $200 million worth of copper between 1911 and 1938 ($3.6 billion in today’s dollars)

Today you can drive on the old rail line until you get to the “end of the road” where you will have to cross the river bridge on foot. From there you can catch a shuttle to Kennecott and explore the park from there. Glacier Walks, Mill Tours and Ice Climbing are all on offer, or you can simply go for a hike. The hikes to the old mines high on the mountains aren’t long, but they’re pretty strenuous. After a long day in the park you can find good meals at the Kennecott Lodge or in the old town of McCarthy down the road. Alternatively, the north end of the park is accessible along the beautiful Nabesna Road. The season in Alaska is short, and there isn’t much happening once the businesses close so summer is definitely the right season to visit the Wrangells. I hope you enjoy these photos I took in the park during the last summer I spent guiding there (2017).

Comment