Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Short but sweet weekend

The fam and I got back from my parents' on Sunday afternoon. My parents live in a small town in northeastern California in the middle of volcano/lava country. In fact they region in which they live is called the Intermountain region, because they are located about equidistant between Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen; both volcanoes in the Cascade Range.

I have been to this area so many times over the last two decades, that I believe I have taken a picture of just about everything I can think of. That's not really true - I just need to get more and more out of my comfort zone in order to find new photo opportunities. Until my kids are able to hike with me, I will just have to be patient. In the meantime, here are a couple shots I was able to snap:

Autumn is - hands down - my favorite time of year, especially in the north state. As long as an early fall storm doesn't strip the leaves off the trees, you are treated to the most brilliant and vivid colors as the trees turn. Few trees are more beautiful in the fall than Aspen trees. You can obviously see why.

There is a little - dare I call it a town? - community called Ingot that lies about halfway between the towns of Redding and Burney on Highway 299. Across the creek from the highway are the ruins of an old gold mine. I tried to find out how old the mine is, but I couldn't find anything. My best guess is early 20th century - say, sometime between 1890 and 1920. I have driven by these ruins for years, but Sunday morning was the first time I ever had the gumption to actually stop the car and take a picture.

Normal: Some deer grazing along a mountain highway.

Abnormal: A fork-and-horn with a death wish, grazing along a mountain highway during deer season.

Finally, we would have been remiss in our duties as parents if we didn't cart our John Deere-obsessed son over to the big John Deere dealership in Fall River Mills/MacArthur. The funny thing is that his obsession has rubbed off on his little sister:

Whenever we are in the car, and she sees tractors or construction vehicles doing their thing, she lets out a bloodcurdling shriek of delight. Atta girl!

Good Day to You, Sir

No comments: