We'll be married on 2/2

February 2 is just a few days away... Life has been very busy, but California is still treating us well. Good Ol' Fontaine came down to visit and took this picture while we were in Santa Barbara. Good times.

LAX

Ojai Valley

The rains here in Southern California have temporarily stopped and revealed snow on the mountain tops. It is most beautiful here...I fear that I may want to live here at some point. A scary thought because of the high cost of living in this general area.

Pictured is the Ojai Valley. The mountains are part of Los Padres National Forest. This picture was taken quite close to where Sarah and I are staying.

California Sunset

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park in California was far more striking than any picture could ever depict. The Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert meet in the middle of the park, so there are two distinct ecosystems in the same park. My favorite part of the park was the Cholla Cactus Garden. I am standing next to a Cholla in the third picture. The first picture features a Joshua Tree...imagine that. The second picture was taken at Key's View, where one can actually see the San Andreas Fault. The winds at Key's View were sustained at about 50 mph. It literally took my breath away.

Hueco Tanks State Park

Hueco Tanks State Park was a quick stop just east of El Paso, TX. The land was attractive to early native people because the rocks have bowls carved in them that retain precious drinking water. There are several places where ancient pictographs can be observed. Unfortunately, many of these areas that are still open to the public have been severely vandalized... It was really sad. Pictured is Sarah next to one of the tanks and an ancient pictograph.

Carlsbad Caverns

After camping in the Gaudalupe Mountains, we visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. It was, by far, the most impressive cave I have ever seen. We were even able to enter the cave through the natural entrance and hike deep into the mountain, rather than taking an elevator.

Featured in this picture is the "Big Room."

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Sarah and I camped out at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas...and we FROZE! We were up 4000 feet, the temperature was about 24 degrees, and the wind was blowing. We made it through the night and went for an awesome hike in the morning. Pictured is a small spring in the desert with El Capitan Mountain in the distance.

Austin City Limits

Sarah and I have successfully reached Austin, Texas! We spent the night before in Lafayette, LA where we enjoyed good food, good company, and a brief motorcycle ride. Tomorrow we head to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns. Unfortunately, we will not make it to Big Bend National Park. We decided it was too far out of the way.

Pictures featured:
The Texas State Capitol Building
Looking at Austin from the Congress Avenue Bridge
Sarah in her hostel dorm room

Jackson Square

Sarah and I have been in the New Orleans area for two weeks. We will be leaving soon for our trip to California. We went to the French Quarter one last time on Saturday evening to say goodbye to the city...

Happy New Year!

This is my aunt's new house near Lake Pontchartrain. Her old house on the same property was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Yeah...her new house is now on 12 foot pilings.

Bridge

After 18 hours of driving (in one day), Sarah and I arrived in New Orleans in time for Christmas. We went for a holiday bike ride along the Mississippi River. These are pictures near the Huey P. Long Bridge.

Columns

Ooh...Corinthian!

Irony

This was taken in Washington, DC. . .far away from New Orleans.

Favorite Wildland Fire Pictures

I was a wildland fire fighter for two years while I worked for the National Park Service. I went on a total of six incidents. Three out west and three smaller fires in the east. These are just a few of the amazing things I saw while out there...

(I am the guy in the middle in the last picture.)

Night Sky

Taken at Rock Creek Park's Exploring the Sky program on November 3, 2007. If you look at the triangle of stars at the top center of the picture, you can see a comet! The comet is the bottom left "fuzzier star" in the triangle. The Pleiades can also be seen clearly if you follow the trajectory of the telescope's view.

Light pollution is apparent in the photo. Keep in mind I took this in the middle of Washington, DC. The longer exposure really makes the sky bright. I tried to work it to my advantage.

(The picture says 2008 because I made it for the park to use as an advertisement for their 2008 series.)

Stoned Bucks

Here are some unique pictures from Rock Creek Park. I took pictures of these bucks as they were chasing a doe and fighting one another amidst the old Capitol Building Stones. (When the Capitol Building's facade was refurbished, they dumped the old stones in our park...)

Notice how swollen the larger buck's neck is.

Helicopters are Fun!

Helicopters are fun. Here a few pictures from that experience. I didn't include any shots that the governement might not like... I was flying right over restricted air space in DC. The mission was for the Park Service, so I only included Park Service photos.

Pictures featured in order:
1. Me in the Chopper
2. Geoff and Dwight with the Eagle 1
3. The Rock Creek Park Maintnenace Yard (My Office)
4. Snake Cloud over the Potmac
5. Mather Gorge

Next post:

6. The Potomac
7. Perched Bald Eagle
8. Fort Washington
9. Rapids near Great Falls, VA
10. Lonely Boat (You'll probably have to click on the photo to see the boat.)

Helicopter Ride!

Random Pictures