Mustard! It’s yellow just like the condiment, but you don’t spread it on sandwiches or hot dogs. You just look at its beauty and admire it. I’m amazed at how wildflowers can make a hillside or valley look stunning. You’ll see mustard in this post; the last of our visit to Lake San Antonio.
It was sad to see Lake Nacimiento and San Antonio so low in water capacity. We used to camp there with our children when we had a boat. We saw Nacimiento from Lakeside Rd and drove down to San Antonio. The California drought is becoming very noticeable now. We are beginning strict water rationing, which I think should have been done sooner.
Right now there are thunder storms north of us and it may be snowing in the Sierras. But, that won’t be enough to get us through the hot summer. I know the east coast has had enough rain and snow. Funny how Mother Nature is!
So, let’s get on with the serving of mustard–no hot dogs on the side!
Fields of mustard at this ranch.
Another view taken along Lakeside Rd.
This is a finger of Lake Nacimiento.
You can see how far down the lake is.
We stopped to get gas and saw this old car.
This is beautiful, not like some of the old cars I shoot.
The owner is proud of his car and didn’t mind me shooting it.
We saw this young buck along the roadside.
We stopped and I shot it out the truck window at 55 mm.
This is a spillover for Lake Nacimiento. No water to spill over.
A bit more of the countryside.
Lake San Antonio. I was half way down the boat ramp.
Do you remember the mossy trees and mustard that I went all the way to Napa Valley to shoot? Well, I found the trees in our campground and the mustard in the countryside here at Lake San Antonio.
It’s amazing how much I’ve learned through photography, and I don’t mean learning the art. I’ve studied birds, flowers and trees! So during this trip I had the opportunity to educate my husband in the flora of the area. Sadly, because the lake is so low now, there wasn’t the opportunity to see many water fowl. There were plenty of turkey vultures though.
In addition, I became acquainted with the various stages of the dreaded fox tail from beautiful to mowed down so they stick in your socks and dogs paws. All weekend I picked fox tails from Gem’s hair, checked his ears and made sure he was tick free. The little guy was happy to be home.
In this post, I’ll give you the campground tour including the mossy trees. You’ll have to wait for the next post to see the mustard.
Mossy tree.
Another tree with moss.
I just liked this plant/tree.
Expressive and beautiful.
Tree and photographer.
Now I’m shooting ground cover with the macro.
I also shot this log with the macro lens.
What’s better than one fox tail?
Two!
I saw this fly but didn’t have a swatter, so I shot it instead!
Some more of the yellow ground cover.
I don’t know what this is, but it was leaning just above the ground cover.
Mossy tree up close.
I think these are young fox tails.
Again, I don’t know what this small plant is either, but I think the macro captured it well.
Dry brittle low lying ground cover with lots of fox tails and some wildflowers welcomed us to our campground at Lake San Antonio this past weekend. Some of it was due to the fact that we were in the overflow area where there were few trees, but the drought has also taken its toll.
But the wildlife activity was normal with many chipmunks and rabbits running the campground. They left small to large sized holes that Gem liked to stick his mussel into and I kept pulling him back. But we were there for the stars and there were plenty of them.
This was my first attempt at shooting star trails. So armed with my printed out tutorials, I set up my tripod and camera and did my best. Thank goodness for Lightroom! No matter what I did, my images turned out with a light tan background. Each night I used a different lens and kept the aperture open. I did 30 minute exposures because I didn’t have stacking software.
I brought my challenge to my Toastmasters Photo Club meeting, it was suggested that I needed to close down the aperture because I was letting in too much light. Well, I’ll try that the next time we go up to the observatory at Blue Canyon. It needs to get a little warmer for my body! In the meantime, I’ll show you what I did get.
I was also shooting during the day, catching some of the wildflowers and fox tails, and I’ll show you those images in my next post. On to my starry nights.
Star trails the first night. Shot: 18 mm, F 3.5, ISO 500, 30 min exposure.
Starry sky. F/3.5, 18 mm, 78 second exposure, ISO 1000.
Shot the second night. F/4.7, 16 mm, 13 minute exposure, ISO 800
Again on the second night. F/5, 13 mm, 56 minute exposure (I forgot to set the timer!) ISO 200.
The last night. Shot with my prime 50 mm. F/2.8, ISO 100. I decided this was not the lens to use so I switched back to my 18-55 mm.
Last shot. I moved the set up away from the North Star and ended up capturing the lights from astronomers who were imaging. The lights are coming from their computers. F/3.6, 18 mm, 30 minute exposure, ISO 100.
Good news, this is the last post of Death Valley National Park. Bad news, this is the last post of Death Valley National Park! It was so pretty, unusual and amazing there, I wish I had more to show you. But then, you may have seen enough. We are so fortunate to have spectacular National Parks here in the U.S. And seven or more are right here in California.
Today I’m showing you scenes from the Artist Drive, another drive through canyon, and Natural Bridge Canyon, a short hike to an amazing natural rock bridge. I will admit that I almost didn’t walk it because of the cold and bad back I was suffering from, but I was glad I did.
If you have a chance, visit Death Valley. Just don’t go in the summer when temperatures are HOT!
The entrance to the Natural Bridge walk.
The Natural Bridge.
Closer view.
The arch from the other side.
A few steps to the right made a difference in the shot.
Sandy stands under the arch.
Another view from the arch.
Walking back to the parking lot.
On the way to the Artist Drive.
This was a different type of rock.
Entering the Artist Drive. You can see some mineral deposits making green areas on the rocks.
Here you can see more colors.
And even more!
The ravens were huge at the park and numerous.
Our last morning the valley said good-bye with a beautiful sunrise.
Yes, not so sick, but recuperating. The cold is almost gone—no tissues used today and my back is allowing me to move more easily. I hope my chiropractor, Dr. Heather Rosenberg, is home from Russia when we return.
Today we jammed in three sights that I will show you in another post. Today’s post is all about the highest and lowest places, Badwater Basin, in Death Valley. This is such an amazing place. In the summer, temperatures can reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit. During this winter trip, the temperatures are in the low 70s, and it is just beautiful.
One disappointment: they advertise Death Valley as one of the darkest places and welcome astronomers to view the stars. However, since we’ve been here, there has been a cloud cover. It’s great for photography, but not for Richard who brought his telescope!
Tomorrow we start the trek home. By the time we get there, I’ll be ready for more photography meetups.
Now, for the high, Dante’s View, and low, Badwater Basin, of the trip.
Dante’s View is 5000 feet above the floor of Death Valley.
Unfortunately, it was very hazy and difficult to photograph.
I liked this lone bush sitting on the edge of the summit.
Looking down on the valley.
We’re now at the lowest point in Death Valley.
Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. This is the walkway down to the basin floor.
There were some puddles left from the rain, and you can see the mountain’s reflection.
You can see our friend Ken’s reflection as he reads a sign. The white deposits are salt.
This was the site of a briny lake that evaporated and left a one to five foot layer of salt .
Another view of the briny pond and a reflection.
A close up of the salt layer. We were not able to walk on it.
The sun shines on the dry lake bed.
Walking back to the parking lot.
The golden mountain captured on our way back to camp.
A Death Valley sunset which I would have missed if it weren’t for my dear friend Sandy.
When you come across a campground as beautiful along the American River as the Ponderosa Resort in Lotus, you really don’t need to go anywhere else to take pictures. So, I spent most of the week trying different things with the camera. Lessons learned: use a tripod for creating glassy river water, hook the dog to your belt so your hands are free and don’t bring your coffee along! These images have received minimal editing because I’m still at the point of just learning the tools with PE9. I will be interesting to see how they change when I do understand how to truly edit them.
