Sunday, May 20, 2012
Eclipse pictures
We drove a couple of hours south so that we could see the complete annular eclipse today.
Here's Emily rockin' her eclipse glasses.
A couple of shots of the eclipse actually came out. These were taken with the camera looking through the eclipse glasses.
Here's Emily rockin' her eclipse glasses.
A couple of shots of the eclipse actually came out. These were taken with the camera looking through the eclipse glasses.
One of the coolest thing was what the eclipse did to our shadows. You can't quite see the complete effect in the picture, but it made all of our shadows quite fuzzy.
Leslie spotted this sign by where we pulled off the highway to see the eclipse and thought that a pose would be fun.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Advice to Sunday School teachers
"If you want students in your class to reply with interesting, thoughtful ideas, you have to ask questions you are genuinely interested in the answers to." --Marshall Craig (father of a friend), as told by his daughter at his funeral that I attended today
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Grand Canyon Trip pictures, part 6 – Willis Creek Slot Canyon
Last set of pictures!
First, here's one I missed from Cottonwood Narrows. Should have been posted in part 5.
Close to the north end of Cottonwood Canyon Road we quickly stopped by Grosvenor Arch because it was not too far out of the way.
Then we made our way to Willis Creek Slot Canyon. The canyon sides weren't nearly as tall as Cottonwood Narrows, but they had some very cool shapes. And we got to hike most of the way in the creek. It was a very hot day, and hiking in the creek was pretty awesome. We walked for about an hour and a half downstream, then back to our starting point again. I think both girls said this was their favorite part of the entire trip. Not much commentary needed here.
After Willis Creek, it was straight on to home. We got back late Friday night, just in time for Leslie to go to a church youth group outdoor movie activity.
Final trip tally:
#Days = 5
#Birthdays = 1
#Nights in tent = 1
#Gall bladder attacks = 0 (my gall bladder had been removed exactly one week before we set out on the trip)
#Dirt roads = 3 or 4, depending on how you count
#Slot canyons = 4
#Grand Canyons = 1
One of the best family vacations in our family's history. A great time was had by all.
First, here's one I missed from Cottonwood Narrows. Should have been posted in part 5.
Close to the north end of Cottonwood Canyon Road we quickly stopped by Grosvenor Arch because it was not too far out of the way.
Then we made our way to Willis Creek Slot Canyon. The canyon sides weren't nearly as tall as Cottonwood Narrows, but they had some very cool shapes. And we got to hike most of the way in the creek. It was a very hot day, and hiking in the creek was pretty awesome. We walked for about an hour and a half downstream, then back to our starting point again. I think both girls said this was their favorite part of the entire trip. Not much commentary needed here.
After Willis Creek, it was straight on to home. We got back late Friday night, just in time for Leslie to go to a church youth group outdoor movie activity.
Final trip tally:
#Days = 5
#Birthdays = 1
#Nights in tent = 1
#Gall bladder attacks = 0 (my gall bladder had been removed exactly one week before we set out on the trip)
#Dirt roads = 3 or 4, depending on how you count
#Slot canyons = 4
#Grand Canyons = 1
One of the best family vacations in our family's history. A great time was had by all.
Grand Canyon Trip pictures, part 5 – Cottonwood Narrows
Probably just one more batch of pictures after this one. Maybe one and a half.
Anyway, we drove home from Page via Cottonwood Canyon Road. That's a dirt road that goes from Bryce Canyon most of the way towards Page. Or, as we took it, it goes from close to Page to Bryce Canyon. We took it for three reasons: (a) so we could stop by Cottonwood Narrows, (b) so we could stop by Willis Creek Slot Canyon, and (c) because it was supposedly very scenic. Well, parts of it were scenic, but I can't say the whole drive was. But Cottonwood Narrows and Willis Creek certainly made the drive worthwhile. And Grosvenor Arch was kind of cool, as a bonus.
This set of pictures is from Cottonwood Narrows. It's a two hike, one way, starting and ending at the road. We parked at the upper end, hiked down, then I hiked back up the road by myself to get the car.
The trail had just about the coolest looking parking lot I have ever seen.
This is the entrance to the slot canyon.
We took this picture ourselves...
...but then ran into another hiker who offered to take a picture of the family.
The canyon was impressive from the large scale...
...to the small scale.
Some nice boulders (cue Shrek quote).
A nice flower.
Leslie had just taken a photography class in school, so she had fun taking pictures. I'm not actually sure who took most of the pictures that I've posted.
This gives you a little bit of a sense of the scale.
This was the narrowest part of the canyon.
I've already mentioned Emily's talent for being photogenic. It's really not fair.
Who doesn't like a nice man-made hoodoo? (Cue Cary Grant quote from The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.)
Anyway, we drove home from Page via Cottonwood Canyon Road. That's a dirt road that goes from Bryce Canyon most of the way towards Page. Or, as we took it, it goes from close to Page to Bryce Canyon. We took it for three reasons: (a) so we could stop by Cottonwood Narrows, (b) so we could stop by Willis Creek Slot Canyon, and (c) because it was supposedly very scenic. Well, parts of it were scenic, but I can't say the whole drive was. But Cottonwood Narrows and Willis Creek certainly made the drive worthwhile. And Grosvenor Arch was kind of cool, as a bonus.
This set of pictures is from Cottonwood Narrows. It's a two hike, one way, starting and ending at the road. We parked at the upper end, hiked down, then I hiked back up the road by myself to get the car.
The trail had just about the coolest looking parking lot I have ever seen.
This is the entrance to the slot canyon.
We took this picture ourselves...
...but then ran into another hiker who offered to take a picture of the family.
The canyon was impressive from the large scale...
...to the small scale.
Some nice boulders (cue Shrek quote).
A nice flower.
Leslie had just taken a photography class in school, so she had fun taking pictures. I'm not actually sure who took most of the pictures that I've posted.
This gives you a little bit of a sense of the scale.
This was the narrowest part of the canyon.
I've already mentioned Emily's talent for being photogenic. It's really not fair.
Who doesn't like a nice man-made hoodoo? (Cue Cary Grant quote from The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.)
Grand Canyon Trip pictures, part 4 – Antelope Canyon
The reason time was so critical coming back from Wire Pass was because we had an appointment scheduled to go with a Navajo tour into Antelope Slot Canyon. Somewhat pricy, but this was my main birthday present to Pauline. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves as for why we wanted to go to Antelope Canyon.
