Sidetracked Charley

Yes, this photograph was taken in Utah. I could live in Utah. Looks like a nice little fixer upper with room for expansion. And Trump seems to be in favor of selling parts of our public lands off. Alaska, my sister and I agreed this morning, has entirely too much winter but climate change could alter that. The perma frost is melting. But it brings up why people choose to live in Alaska with all that winter. It has wonderful scenery and you can raise huge cabbages in just 45 days of "summer." And a traffic jam is a moose on your major route to work. I visited Alaska with a USO tour in August in some year in the 1970's. Could have been '76? Admittedly it was hard to get me out of the parka the government provided, but locals said you adapted. So why Alaska? Or Utah? The people. Or the lack of people. And the people that are there are different than you find in big cities. And both have better tourists. What is a better tourist? One that doesn't tell you how ...

Rio Grande at Embudo It is January. We are in the midst of January Thaw officially. But even before NOAA recognized it we where have gorgeous weather. Perfect to get out with the camera and search for pictures of ice. Of course. You do not want too much ice. You do not want it so cold it is frozen over and white. That is unattractive ice. The prettiest ice is like the photograph below. It is clear and transparent. This particular piece of ice, however, was only 4" across. Melting Ice sheet? Mind you the opening photo has some snow in it. Snow in the shady spots at least.  The the mid stream boulder in the picture below should be coated with ice and have an ice flow above it. But it was a high 40's kind of day without a cloud in the sky. I was clearly asking for too much. I wanted ice and what I got was beautiful, clear, cold water. I frankly could not believe the colors. The Rio Grande can be rather muddy from time to time. The colors are a reflection of th...