This past Saturday I made a day trip up to Joshua Tree to do a little rock climbing with a homeschooling group. Great experience! The entire day was a blast between all the climbing, the socializing, and the eating (one of the moms gave me a monster burrito for lunch). And, of course, where would a rock climbing trip be without a few pics? So, on with the show.
It was raining when I left home. I love rain.
Love the way this shot turned out.
The sun eventually came out, which is good. Nobody wants to climb wet rocks.
Saw a sweet rainbow.
Love the way this shot turned out.
I think the back window of my dad's car needs cleaning.
Okay, so after about two hours we arrived in Joshua Tree. This is the area we climbed rocks in.
More establishing shots.
Okay, time for a story. I hadn't even gotten to climb yet when a mom comes running to the climbing site yelling about a rattlesnake by the tents. Upon hearing that, some of the men (including myself) dashed off to check it out. Sure enough there was a snake by one of the tents contentedly taking a nap in a bush. One of dads started poking him with a big stick trying to get him to go away. I started taking pictures.
This is the bush he was hiding in. You can't really see him, but he's there.
Eventually he was compelled to come out, which didn't make him happy. His rattle was really buzzin'.
A few minutes later we put him inside a box...
...then released him into the wild (or rather a different part of the wild)...
...and off he went to find some shade.
Okay, here's a pic that actually relates to rock climbing.
Rock climbing doesn't put you in the most flattering positions.
Made it to the top.
I took some artsy sky shots before my next climb.
Here I am before my second climb.
"Spider-Man, Spider-Man..."
"...does whatever a spider can..."
"...spins a web, any size..."
"...catches theives... la la la."
I think it was about this time that I realized I shoulda worn my Spider-Man t-shirt instead of my Batman shirt. Oh well. At least Batman attracts the ladies.
I got kinda thirsty after that last climb.
Or maybe it was before that last climb. I dunno.
A couple more landscape shots.
So after that I did a couple more climbs, one of which was nearly impossible. Imagine a rough rock face with a crack running diagonally up the side. Well that's the only support running up the face. Somehow I made it up. Not sure how though.
Anyway, after the final two climbs I got a couple of nights shots then headed home.
And to close, here's a shot of the sunset behind the rocks.
Okay, that's it for this PhotoBlog! I've got a ton of pictures I've taken in the last week of various things, so expect another PhotoBlog! up soon.
Until then, ta ta
T.H. Excellence
Monday was gloriously rainy, so I was sure to get a lot of atmospheric pics then. Here's a shot from my room.
Tree canopies are even better in the rain.
There's a river near my dorm that I've paid very little attention to.
Ooh! Ducks!
This guy is sort of the oddball of the group...
Did I mention that I like ducks?
Here's a quick shot up river...
And here's an exit sign on my floor. Yes, I know it's a random shot.
That's not the moon... or is it?
This turned out to be a pleasant night. Around midnight I set out with my camera in search of excellent night shots. The rest of this post is dedicated to the results.
The library looks great at night.
