One of the funny things about this album, a LOT of the pictures were taken out of a moving vehicle, not set and planned. It was more like take-a-dozen-shots-hope-one-turns-out. That lenticular cloud on Mt. Shasta was zoomed in to the closest the camera would go, and sitting in a bouncing motor home, I just knew it wouldn't turn out. It took somewhere around six shots to get one that wasn't blurred to death. One of my favorite, Danger Out of a Dream, you can see a bush that zoomed past our window. It is the only flaw in such a great scene of nature. It was just a lucky shot, too, because the scene was gone in a few seconds, zoom, down Hwy-101.
I got a chance for some creativity on my trip, though. Again, a mixture of fortuneate angles and lucky timing (okay, and some nail-biting patience). After The Storm, for instance, was a reflection I saw and knew I had to get. When I saw that quail standing on the "Trail" sign, I just about laughed (except I knew I'd scare him away)! It was like something out of Dr. Seuse. And of course, there's the flowers and insects! So fun, shooting those.
I particularly remember my dad telling me there was no way Sunset at Lookout Pointe would turn out, because of glare and the water and a thousand other reasons. I took it anyway, and it turned out amazing! It's my favorite, and the new wallpaper for my desktop.
I'm compelled to explain Wherever the Path Leads Me. I met up with Cape Creek, and there was no way for me to cross it without getting seriously wet. I was determined to get across and walk to the waterfalls some two miles south, so I hiked up the rocks. I found a path and finally a bridge to cross the creek. Then I couldn't find my way down (not an easy way, that is... I eventually backtracked to near where I came up, other side of the bridge, though, and found a horrible, rock-strewn area that I slid down to get to the bottom... then on my return from the falls, I found the easier route, and a new level of frustration).
Anyway, back to being stuck with no way to get down... so I started taking paths (yeah, dangerous, but I have good navigational instincts). I just went off on these small paths, some marked and graveled, others barely visible. So, I saw one path leadings toward the beach again. I took it, and it brought me to a cliff, long drop down. It was the wildest path... and that phrase holds many meanings. Anyway, when my chosen little path obviously didn't lead me back to the beach, I thought, "But I fought to get here, I'm getting a picture!" I took a very unique shot. I later retraced my steps and took a picture of the "trail" I followed. I didn't post it here, but honestly, I can barely see a path in the picture.
But it was so much fun! That beach, and getting nearly lost on the dunes between Lake Marie (which my sister and I nicknamed "Lake Mosquito") and the Umpqua River Lighthouse... let's just say I have a newfound respect for caravans that cross deserts.
The weather in Oregon is perfect, I don't care what others think. Drizzly rain all day, clearing for miraculous sunsets! Perhaps because I come from a semi-arid region, that type of weather seems like paradise! I can't wait to move there.