Three Northern California Sunsets

This crazy long summer, going half way into October with subtropical skies.

Bonus east coast sunset: Lords Point - Stonington, Connecticut

Enders Island Garden - Stonington, Connecticut

The gardens at the Enders Island retreat are so beautiful, especially because they're growing along the peaceful walking paths of an actual tiny island in Stonington, Connecticut, all framed by the Atlantic. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

An especially vibrant batch of dahlias.

Knobby Tree, Central Park, NYC

Growing behind a park bench overlooking the East Side. It was so knobby I could not ignore it.

Ruth Bancroft Garden - Walnut Creek, California (June, 2015)

The Ruth Bancroft Garden is having their annual sculpture show right now. We saw a few large-scale artworks getting installed on this afternoon walk. It was painfully hot this day—102 degrees would be my guess. My camera, with its tiny lens, struggles in the bright light of the summer sun. And the garden, with its crazy array of sculptural plants (never mind the sculptures, which are varied and plentiful—the plants are just as sculptural in my opinion), still alludes my ability to find a fixed focal point when I'm shooting here. Maybe it's one of those places that has to be experienced in person. Or I should try shooting people standing next to the plants to give the sense of scope.

Bear with the exposures and experience the textures.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California

If you appreciate truly ancient, bizarrely beautiful trees, make a point of visiting the Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountain range of the Eastern Sierras. These dense, tough trees can live thousands of years. The oldest recorded tree nearby is over 5,000 years old. That's one tree; 5,000+ years old. Some are only 4,000+ years old and there's plenty of middle-aged centuries-old trees as well. Our trip covered more in full, here.

Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls - Mammoth Lakes, California

Be sure to visit these two natural wonders. Rainbow Falls contains an actual rainbow within its waters. Devil's Postpile National Monument is one of the largest columnar basalt formation in the world. More about this trip, including bristlecone pines—the oldest living organisms on the planet—on the blog, here. (Bristlecone pine post coming soon.)

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Lakes and Sky

A couple shots of some of the lakes you can drive and hike to in Lassen Park.

Shadow Lake (a couple hundred steps away from Terrace Lake)

Summit Lake in the rain - you can drive right up to it

The Cafe at Mineral Lodge in tiny Mineral, California

Nice people, good eats, vintage pinball

Burney & McCloud Falls, California

Burney Falls is the 129-foot-high result of multiple outlets of year-round 42-degree spring water, bursting forth from under the Earth's crust for our edification. A spectacular experience!

First glimpse before descending into the cool valley.

The road to Burney Falls is paved with many stones.

Well worth a visit.

Nearby McCloud Falls has three levels of falls and good swimming. Easy access, either by walking or driving to the three conveniently located parking lots for all three falls. The trail is an easy uphill slope along the river. But watch out for bees. One stung me on the lip, which was weird. Perhaps it was a wasp. Anyway, it was aggressive, and helped me build some character.

Bumpass Hell - Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

When visiting Lassen Park, take time to hike down the narrow rocky incline to the geothermal wonder that is Bumpass Hell. Bubbling mud and aquamarine pools of water await, along with steaming fumaroles that hiss and roar, like a giant underground tea kettle that someone left boiling on the stove. Avoid serious injury and stay on the boardwalks (thank you to the crews who constructed and maintain those, by the way). Enjoy the sulfurous scents as you descend into an alternative geological reality.

More on our trip to Lassen on my other blog, here.

Bonus: a boiling mud pit from the Sulphur Works site right off the main road near the south entrance of the park. Just pull up your car and watch some mud boil.