Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 1: Crystal Geyser in Green River, Utah.
Travertine Deposit at Crystal Geyser outside Green River, Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 200, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). Crystal Geyser is unique in that it is cold and driven by carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, it didn’t erupt during this visit.
I’ve now been retired from Merck for seven years. I worked at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for over 27 years. In the seven years since retiring I have visited six continents, 43 different countries (several more than once) and 44 states. I have been at sea for over nine months (four Semester at Sea Spring Enrichment Voyages; three Semester at Sea Semester Voyages (Spring, Summer, Fall); and two Hurtigruten voyages (one in Norway, and one to Antarctica). I returned to Argentina and Chile for a photography trip with Thom Hogan, and did two Iceland photography safari’s (one summer, one winter) with Mike Hagen. More recently, I attended photography workshops with Steve Simon in Cuba, Japan, and Portugal. Last summer, I visited Germany with my Brother and Parents. During this time I have taken over 1.6MM images. Not all of the images have made it into my posts yet… When at home, I’ve completed several renovation projects including a new roof, solar panels and a Geothermal HVAC system (replacing an oil-fired furnace and water heater, and an electric central AC system). With the solar panels and elimination of the oil furnace I am essentially carbon neutral since the Geothermal system requires less energy to heat and cool the house. I’ve also planted several wildflower meadows in the yard that are attracting birds, bees, and butterflies. I did have two down periods due to Lyme disease which slowed me down the end of 2016 and 2017. Now trying to decide on my next trip.
Summertime Nature in Colorado. Arapaho National Wildlife Preserve.
While visiting Arapaho National Wildlife Preserve in central Colorado, I heard what I thought was a hummingbird. But when I finally saw it discovered that it was a very large White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata). It was feeding on the Purple Nettle Flowers. It never landed, and kept flying while feeding, and thus the hummingbird sound of rapidly flapping wings. I’ve been told that the large catepillars that the Sphinx Moth come from are voratious eaters that farmers hate.
Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 57: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Lauren and Julie behind a glass of Vodka – Pop Up Dinner at “Taste and Eat” in St Petersburg, Russia. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC.