Yosemite and More

I took a vacation and my first visit was the Nevada Northern Railway. One of the main attractions of the Railway are the three steam engines. Unfortunately for me they were all out of service and in parts in the shop. The Nevada Northern came to being after the Kennecot Copper mine in nearby Ruth shut down. The rolling stock (railroad engines, etc) yard and equipment  were donated and the Nevada Northern Railway came to fruition. Almost everything at the Railway are original to the mine and it's operation. Diesel engines aren't a big draw for me but they did have one show stopper. The original mine at Ruth was reopened and named the Robertson Mine.  When I visited it many years ago, before the reopening, the pile of excavated rock was about up to the second tier you see now. I found the various colors intriguing Being a male dominated business I'm guessing this sign is fairly new. I changed a lot of the photos to Sepia and Black and White to  give more of an old timey fee...

Last week I took a quick trip to Yosemite and then decided to go on over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. It turned out to be a very interesting day weather wise, from warm and sunny,  to puffy clouds, then rain and a slushy drive on the way home. Mostly I'll share some of the animals I saw in Yosemite, mostly. This female Mallard swam very close, hoping I'm sure for a quick meal. There were a lot of Acorn Woodpeckers, this one kept coming to the same branch, but would fly away if I got too close. I seemed to spend quite a bit of time chasing very elusive butterflies Then on to Mono Lake and some puffy clouds As with most outings sometime you just need to look behind you. It's hard to see the Alkali Flies, they're usually just a mass of black. For California Gulls the Alkali Flies are a major food source. Foreboding of things to come. It started to sprinkle just as I left Mono Lake. On the way up from Mono Basin I saw what was ahead of me. There wasn't  actual snow on the r...

  While taking a short vacation up north I visited  Lassen Volcanic National Park. The big draw there are the thermo features especially Bumpass Hell. The park does not disappoint, for many reasons, not just mud pots. Lassen is part of the Ring of Fire, volcanos from Eastern coast of Asia to the West Coast of the Americas. It's always a good idea to not just focus on the big stuff. What made this tree bend this way?  Many trees showed which way was the  prominent wind direction, but not to this extreme.   I've seen plenty of Lupine and when I started this walk I swore I wouldn't take another photo of them, this is just one of many areas covered in Lupine. Areas of the park are just the remnants of former volcanos and pyrotechnic activity There have been a couple of fires in the park in recent years. Large areas show  the result of those devastating fires. One area right next to the road has mud pots and the lovely aroma of sulfur. Lassen Peak from the south...

 After visiting the very old town of Locke we went further north into the delta to the Grand Island Mansion. Talk about two different worlds. While Locke ( my previous post) was build in the 1909 and was really showing it's age. The Grand Island Mansion  built in 1917 was on a whole other spectrum. If you want an opulent, and extravagant wedding or business retreat this is the place for you. 24,00 square feet, 58 rooms, (most with their own theme), tennis court, helipad and so much more.  This is their 'front lawn' Lot's of outdoor statues Close up of the arm on the chair above. Lots of indoor statues Are you allowed to sit on this. Nothing opulent here.  The mirrored ballroom with a handsome photographer. It even has a disco ball. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave