Train Men Only

“Train Men Only”
Photo of the Week #105, selected in May, 2021

Every so often we run across something simple, like a set of doors, that provides a glimpse into days long past.  That seems to be the case with the “Train Men Only” entrance to a Union Pacific Depot in Marysville, Kansas.  One can imagine that, in its prime, these were very busy doors indeed.  I’m always on the lookout for such reminders and am intrigued by past era’s architecture and design.  These doors were adorned with colorful tiles that appear to be hand-made.

Kansas was an active hub for freight trains in the 19th century and, at one time, Marysville had the largest covered railroad stockyards in the world there at the Union Pacific rail grounds. Even now, 25 or more long freight trains pass through the town daily.  I appreciate that the local historical society has seen fit to protect this abandoned station from demolition.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-elk-herd-on-mount-evans-slopedsc_art?IMID=35d7d53d-595d-4cd5-b503-7abf6d61901b

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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A Cardinal On Lookout

“A Cardinal On Lookout”
Photo of the Week #104, selected in May, 2021

When camping in the juniper forest at Medina Lake in Texas, we were fortunate to have three mated pairs of Northern Cardinals visit us often.  Cardinals were named for the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. This species doesn’t migrate, so you can usually see them year-round.  They nest in undergrowth, rather than in trees, and the males, like the one in this pic, fiercely defend their territory against other males.  Having three red males in our neck of the woods was entertaining, to say the least.

There are few birds that are as recognizable as the male cardinal, and it is the state bird of seven states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia).  Whether they symbolize love, loyalty or are embraced as spiritual messengers from the spirit world, cardinals have played countless roles in mythology and literature throughout the centuries.

I never tire of seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild, and have many photos of both males and females.  This particular shot is among my favorites of the bright red males.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-elk-herd-on-mount-evans-slopedsc_art?IMID=35d7d53d-595d-4cd5-b503-7abf6d61901b

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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Elk Herd on Mount Evans Slope

“Elk Herd on Mount Evans Slope”
Photo of the Week #103, selected in May, 2021

This photo was taken just off the highest paved road in America, which ends at the Mount Evans summit in the Colorado Rockies.  The elk seemed to relish the chilly air at over 12,000 feet (Mount Evans is a “Fourteener”), with a hillside of grass to nibble on.

I love this picture for a few reasons.  The vertical trees in the background really gave the slope some perspective, showing how steep the hillside was.  They also give some visual depth to the canyon beyond the slope.  Though it is common to see elk in herds in the Rockies, it is not often you see so many elk in one place, spread out far wider than a stock camera lens can capture.  Typically, you would find a herd of this size in towns like Estes Park, famous for their golf course elk, or perhaps Boulder or Evergreen.  

As I slowly hiked down the hill to snap the photo, the herd didn’t seem to mind much.  Perhaps they were hoping to be my “Photo of the Week” someday…

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-elk-herd-on-mount-evans-slopedsc_art?IMID=35d7d53d-595d-4cd5-b503-7abf6d61901b

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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A Brown Bird in a Colorful World

“A Brown Bird in a Colorful World”
Photo of the Week #102, selected in April, 2021

George Gobel, a comedian in the 1950’s, once famously asked, “Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?”  I sometimes wonder if the California towhee feels that way.   This shot of the brown bird was taken in the woods in Oregon House, California, where it was competing for food with bright blue-and-white scrub jays, red-and-black acorn woodpeckers,  multicolored flickers, and even other, more colorful towhees.

The California towhee feeds on the ground or in low scrub where it prefers a variety of seeds and some insects, and this is where I usually found them.  Like cardinals, it is believed they form lifelong pairs.  Even in a brilliant green forest, they prove that brown can be beautiful.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-a-brown-bird-in-a-colorful-worlddsca_art?IMID=919a28d7-00e8-46be-92f6-c3164c89ec30

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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Fremont’s Indigo in Red Rock Canyon

“Fremont’s Indigo in Red Rock Canyon”
Photo of the Week #101, selected in April, 2021

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, a few miles south of the Las Vegas Valley in Southern Nevada, is a unique desert canyon in a variety of ways.  As the name suggests, the entire north side of the basin consists of rusty-red sedimentary rock formations among sandstone peaks and mountainsides that were thrust upward through the ancient ocean floor over eons of time.  Besides an interesting and colorful view, the valley supports a combination of rocks, minerals and plants somewhat unique to the area, including this Fremont’s Indigo Bush I found during one of my excursions on the 13-mile loop around the canyon.

The Fremont’s Indigo Bush, AKA Fremont’s dalea, is one of the more alluring wildflowers in the canyon, with its gray or white woody stems and bright blue-violet blooms.  Interestingly, it is a member of the pea family that can be found growing in desert sand or gravel-filled washes.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-fremonts-indigo-in-red-rock-canyonp_art?IMID=589f7d0f-c03b-42e5-8b91-b7c099679f3e

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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Roots

“Roots”
Photo of the Week #100, selected in April, 2021

Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California possesses the southernmost dormant volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range and is extremely interesting to visit.  With all the odd and fascinating facets to enjoy, such as boiling mud pots and smelly steam vents, the most intriguing to me were these full-sized trees being held upright in a steep incline by their roots.  I don’t know how much more the soil would have to erode for one of them to topple but, for now, they seem to be thriving.

I’m sure there are lessons to be gleaned from the sight, like deep roots make the best foundations or perhaps that roots keep you grounded, but they seem to pale in comparison to nature’s prime examples.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-the-palette-of-sunsetadsc_art?IMID=666eb29d-96bc-42a1-8c18-0bc7e9dc05b8

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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The Palette of Sunset

“The Palette of Sunset”
Photo of the Week #99, selected in April, 2021

I’ve selected other, more striking sunsets than this one, but this particular sky shot was very satisfying.  Often, an evening photo is muted, and most sunsets tend to be yellow, orange and sometimes pink.  However, the shot of this evening gave me all the colors of a painter’s palette, the clouds displaying a veritable rainbow of glowing color.  

I must confess that this is another wonderful Arizona sunset, this one taken in Yuma.  You can find great sunsets in other parts of the country — when the landscape, weather and clouds cooperate — but over any significant period of time, Arizona will provide more in quantity and quality than any other state, by far. Meteorologist Paul Iniguez of the National Weather Service of Phoenix says: “One of the (factors) that would go toward our sunsets is the dryness,” he says, citing that moisture diffuses light and makes the sky “milky” when there’s moisture in the atmosphere, “like in Southern California,” he says. “It scatters the light.”

Plus, Arizona has high-level storm systems with clouds at 20,000 to 30,000 feet, he says, “and we experience bright orange and red iridescence looking through the atmosphere at shallower angles later in the day and at sunrise.” He also says that air pollution is usually too close to the ground to affect sunsets significantly.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-the-palette-of-sunsetadsc_art?IMID=666eb29d-96bc-42a1-8c18-0bc7e9dc05b8

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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Ominous

“Ominous”
Photo of the Week #98, selected in March, 2021

If you guessed that most of my severe weather photos are from my time in Kansas, you would be correct.  However, if you ever followed the TV series, The Prospectors, you would know that the Colorado Rockies have their fair share of quickly moving storms.  This was one such storm, on the road to Mount Evans, a fourteener — this shot was snapped somewhere between 12,000 and 13,000 feet.  Not too long after I took it, I had to rush to the truck before hail and lightning arrived.  The scenic road to the summit of Mount Evans happens to be the highest paved road in North America. 

Colorado is home to 58 peaks above 14,000 feet of elevation, referred to as the “fourteeners” or “14ers.” One of the most popular outdoor activities in the Rockies is to climb to the summit of a 14er.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-ominousdsc_art?IMID=29e4bd0b-de80-49df-b5c9-3986d0a1cf6a

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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Red-Tailed Afternoon

“Red-Tailed Afternoon”
Photo of the Week #97, selected in March, 2021

Southern California encompasses a variety of geographical zones, such as beaches, mountains, canyons, valleys, lakes, farmlands, high and low deserts, and snow.  That makes bird watching there a bit of a paradise.  I was fortunate recently to be in Lake Arrowhead, at the top of a steep valley cliffside, looking down on any soaring birds in the area.  Eventually I was able to snap a few photos of a pair of red-tailed hawks, including this bad boy, just before joining his mate in a pine treetop.  

The red-tail is the most common species of hawk in North America and is also known as a “chickenhawk,” though it rarely feeds on chickens.  Its extremely varied diet and comfort zones have allowed this bird of prey to succeed better than any other, to our viewing benefit. I liked this photo so much, you may have noticed I chose it for my blog header.

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-redtailed-afternoondsc_art?IMID=d7f0d5ce-22dc-4d40-9b30-674bf68133da

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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A Canyon Like No Other

“A Canyon Like No Other”
Photo of the Week #96, selected in March, 2021

Very few canyons in the world are unique.  One of my favorite national parks in the U.S. contains such a landmark, Bryce Canyon.  Tucked away in Southern Utah, about an hour east of another fabulous location, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon is a sight to behold.  Much like the Grand Canyon, you can’t help but stare when you first see the vast amphitheater, and you may wonder if what you are experiencing is real.  Yes, it’s real. 

Interestingly, however, it is not a true canyon.  It is a collection of distinctive red and orange geological structures called hoodoos, which were formed by frost, weathering and erosion by the river into an ancient lake bed of sedimentary rocks — all of that, created over millions of years, just to fascinate visitors and end up as an amazing selection in my Photos of the Week…

Here’s my photo on Imagekind:
https://www.imagekind.com/-a-canyon-like-no-otherp_art?IMID=9e248d70-7c14-48bc-ab4c-b52d47233597

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View all of my Photos of the Week here on Imagekind:
http://huberjack.imagekind.com/store/Images.aspx/385a532b-9a90-4b4f-8c67-b25c1afa1c07/PhotosoftheWee

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View Weeks 1-52 of my Photos of the Week as a slideshow:
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View Weeks 53-104:
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