Tag Archives: snow

My Road Trip To Lake Tahoe: An Unforgettable Adventure in Photographs

Hello Friends,

In early November of last year, I found myself having to take some time off from the work duties and not being able to spend time on any golden shores (i.e., Hawaii). So I decided that I should just get in the car and head somewhere that I haven’t been. I thought, if I head east towards the Rockies I would probably quickly face winter weather, North I’d end up in Canada (which I didn’t want to do), West would quickly put me into the Pacific Ocean, so south it was. I had always wanted to see Lake Tahoe. It was one of those places that I had always dreamed of visiting but never had the chance. This was now my chance.

So some quick booking for accommodations, a tune-up for the car, camera gear packed up, off I went.

The first portion of my drive was in driving rain and wind with snow in the mountains. The weather cleared up a bit as I made my way through the Yakima Valley and drove down towards the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge to cross the Columbia River. I stopped at the Maryhill Stonehenge War Memorial to take some pictures and fly the drone around, but the wind was relentless and not safe to fly.

After that brief stop, I crossed the Columbia River and drove into Oregon. From there it was a straight shot to overnight in Bend, and up early the next day to make the final push into California and Nevada.

The drive was long but it was so worth it. The scenery through southeastern Oregon was incredible even though the views of Crater Lake were obscured by clouds. And driving through some of the northern California minor highways brought me through Modoc National Forest, Adin, Susanville, and finally through Reno and up into the Sierra-Nevada’s towards the condo I was staying in. It was quite the drive, but I made it in one piece and was all set to enjoy the views of the snow-capped mountains from the comfort of my temporary home and the day trips I planned to take.

The next day, I woke up early and went for a drive around the lake. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was incredible. I stopped at a few different spots to take some pictures and just enjoy the views. One of my stops was at a place called Eagle Falls. I was looking forward to this stop since I love to photograph waterfalls and get in a little hike while I was at it. Turns out, the falls were dry so not much to look at. The stop was a disappointment but I met a few interesting people along the way and enjoyed the conversations I had with them so it wasn’t a complete waste.

Returning to my drive, I found my next stop at Sand Harbor Beach on the opposite side of the lake. I found that this was much more picturesque than the dry waterfalls I visited earlier, but the weather was taking a turn for the worse and it started to cloud up and snow a little. And with that snow came a drop in the temperature so my stop here was only long enough to snap a few photographs.

Following the full day of navigating around the lake, I returned to my condo to relax for the evening, catch up on some football, and prepare for upcoming adventures. However, unbeknownst to me, Mother Nature had different intentions; an early winter storm was supposed to roll in and possibly blanket the area in light snow.

As anticipated, the storm arrived in full force overnight and hung around for the next 3 days. Snow was strewn all around and I found myself unable to leave the condo. Unfortunately, I had not prepared to be cooped up like I was so it was an effort to keep myself fed and entertained until the storm broke and I could get leave.

After 3 days of being stuck inside, the storm finally subsided and the roads were cleared. With a more attentive ear to weather forecasts, I became aware of another storm brewing that was anticipated to bring even more snow. In response, I made the decision to pack up, depart, and just return home rather than try to salvage anything on this trip.

Since most of the mountain passes through California were still not very good to drive on I followed almost the exact same route I drove to get to Lake Tahoe on the return. I overnighted again in Bend, Oregon and took another day to complete the final leg going around Mt. Hood and down the Columbia River, making some stops along the way to snap some photographs.

Regardless of how my trip unfolded and the disappointment I felt as my plans fell apart, I believe I still managed to get a few good photographs. I am hopeful that you will enjoy what I am sharing with you now and come to the same conclusion: even busted plans can yield some good photo opportunities if you allow them to.

Blessings to you all.

Chris

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Snow Days of Early 2022

Hello Friends,

So the title of this article might be a little misleading…it should probably have read something like ‘Snow Days of late 2021’, since technically the snow dropped right before the New Years. But since I had created and posted my 2021 pics and video earlier in December I’m going to go ahead and count this post as 2022 snow.

Anyway, we had a major dump of snow in the Puget Sound area and unlike most years where it melts the same day it falls, this one stuck around for the entire week. And because it did, people like myself were afforded the opportunity to get out and enjoy it.

All of these photographs were aerial shots I took with the drone in and around my neighborhood during the snow event. I couldn’t get much further out than that, but that’s ok since I like some of the photos I took here. I even think there is a drone selfie in there, long hair, beard, and all. Haha.

Enjoy the photographs and as always stay safe and blessings to you.

Chris.

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It’s Another Snow Day 2021

Happy New Years my Friends,

If you live in the Puget Sound region, you are well aware that we had a bit of a snow event that kicked off on Christmas Day. As I mentioned in my last post it wasn’t quite the white Christmas that we always dream about but it was close enough for us not to complain. That event kicked off the week with a number of inches and as it continued into the week picked up a few more inches.

So I took the drone out for a couple of flights as the weather allowed. First around the neighborhood and surrounding areas and then down to a local lake for a bit of a flyaround. I tried the another lake yesterday and I was able to unlock the drone and get it airborne-something that I hadn’t been able to do in at that location for a while. I got a few interesting shots and compiled a bit of video for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the video. I’ll post some of the pics next week.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Drone Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography Also tagged , , , , , |

It’s a Snow Day 2021

Greetings Friends,

And Merry Christmas / Happy New Years to you.

If you live in the Puget Sound region, you are well aware that we had a bit of a snow event that kicked off on Christmas Day. It wasn’t quite a white Christmas for us but it was close enough for us not to complain. Overnight we accumulated a number of inches and for this area it means catastrophe, meteorologicly speaking. And in continued into Sunday and subsided yesterday.

So I took the drone out for a bit of a flight. First around the neighborhood and surrounding areas and then down to a local lake for a bit of a flyaround. I tried another lake but I couldn’t unlock the drone and get it airborne due to my own mistake with the coding. Nonetheless, I got a few interesting shots and compiled a bit of video for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the video.

Blessings,

Chris.

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Mt. Rainier, Part Deux

Last week, we decided to take another trip up to Mt. Rainier to hopefully get a few dramatic sunset pictures. Before we left, we looked at the sky and saw no clouds but we decided to go anyway as the mountain always gives great photo opportunities.

Enjoy, and blessings.

Chris.

 

 

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , |

Shot of the Day 12/13/13

From the ice storm a couple of years ago. Certainly not hoping for more of this-we lost a lot of trees and were out of power for 4 days-but the image is beautiful.

And yes, we are hoping for some snow this year. Come on S-N-O-W!!!

Blessings,

Chris.

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