Portland

Portland
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

Here's a shot of Portland that I enjoy.

Hittin' a Few at The Range

Poor golf swing
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

I think that this photo is funny because it shows that old habits are hard to break. I like to hit a few buckets of balls at the range every now and then. The only draw back is that when I get tired I start to hold the club like a baseball bat. (I grew up playing baseball).

On this particular day I had my friend take pictures of me at the range because I knew that sometimes I reverted to the baseball pose, I just couldn't figure out when I started to use the "baseball swing". I think it's a funny photo because, how often do you see a person holding a golf club like a baseball bat?

Lake Texoma

Lake Texoma
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

Lazy Afternoon

Lazy Afternoon
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

This little dam was built in the late 1800's and It was pretty darn hard to find! I have known about the dam for nearly two years, but was unable to locate its exact location until this past weekend. The dam was built to refill the trains with water as they traveled to and from the area. I thought that it was an unexpected bonus to find a young boy fishing on the day that I found it's precise location. He makes me think of Huck Finn and the likes.

Marina

IMG_1629
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

After writing this morning's entry, I decided to head down there today to take some photos of the lake. Here are a few of the sail boats that are grounded.

Boat Gas Pump

IMG_1622
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

This little station usually floats on the water. Now it lies on the lake.

Crags in the Lake

IMG_1620
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

This photo allows you to see how deep the crags go. There's a clam shell stuck in one and a bit of my foot so that you can see how big they are.

Hitting Home

Dallas is currently nearing a stage 4 drought. I know that it's bad and that we are restricted to watering our yards once a week along with other precautions. I have noticed the levels of small ponds recede and I have witnessed the stressed and dying plants. All of this was concerning, but the full scale of it all didn't hit home, until yesterday.

Yesterday, I was in the mood for a hike, so I headed out to one of our big lakes. The lake is home to a five star, nine mile trek. It's really pretty. But, before I headed down the trail, I stopped by the lake to view the water. I was in shock! I saw that the sail boats and pontoons were sitting on the bed of the lake and that the boat ramp led to dirt. That was only the beginning of the severity of the drought hitting home. I decided to get out and walk along the boats and view the lake up close. The ground was filled with deep crevices that left patches of ground about the size of my foot! I had to watch my step and maneuver like a chess piece on a huge chess board. As I moved closer to the receding lake, the crags of clay became softer and they also began to feel a bit unstable, determined to take it all in I continued to press on towards the water. The lake bed was littered with dried clam shells some were peeled open while others were perfectly shut. I also took in the depth of the water and studied the cliffs to determine where the water should be. I estimated that I would have been under 15ft of water if it was at its correct depth. I have never seen anything like it before. My only regret was that I didn't have a camera with me. I am going to head back over there sometime soon, with camera in hand, to capture the magnitude of the drought on film and save it for posterity.

Alaskan/PNW Adventure

I recently went on a vacation to Alaska and the PNW. Here are a few photos of the trip. More to come when Flickr will let me download pictures again.

Reindeers

Reindeers
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

The Reindeers were really cute and the second reindeers lips in this photo make me laugh!

Glacier Water

Glacier Water
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

In Alaska the waters are this unique green color due to the silt from Glaciers. This photo was taken from the train.

Canadian Skies

Canadian Skies
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

When we boarded the train in Skagway the clouds were very low and grey. But when we crossed into Canada, the summit of the mountain revealed a gorgeous blue sky! Yay!!

Alaskan Coast

Alaskan Coast
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

The view from the deck of the boat in Alaska.

The Delta

Mississippi River

Mississippi River
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

Recently, I took a raod trip to the Mississippi Delta to get emersed in the Delta Blues and the region. There is so much history in this area and most of it isn't the most honorable history that the U.S. has, but it shouldn't be forgotten. I was impressed with this trip and I selected a few photos to share.

Deep in the Delta

Deep in the Delta
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

Gate

Gate
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

Found this gate hiding in the brush. It was once burned, but not destroyed.

Aloha!

I decided to revive this blog today. I knew that I would get back to this one eventually; I just had to let some time go by. There were things that I needed to experience and things that I had to go for. Due to all of the events that were going on my got blog placed on the back burner.

This past year I had quite a few changes. There were plenty of opportunities to meet new people, while some friends move away and even a few friends got married. I got a job promotion that turned out to be something that I worked hard for and a gift. This past year confirmed that overall, I'm a strong person and that I have vulnerable areas too. It's good to be human.

The 4th of July is my marker for reflecting upon the previous years events. I though that it was fitting to start up the blog again right after that particular holiday.

I'll continue the tradition of sharing photos. So check back and there should be some new ones.

Sunset

Sunset
Originally uploaded by Caryn_.

This was the view from my balcony tonight. The fiery sky was mesermizing. (Can you tell that the sky and it's clouds fascinate me?)