14 Days in A Tent

What I did last summer: Summer is not over! Even though it is September I have retired from teaching and am now continuing on into uncharted waters, that is, what Fall is really like. We had many adventures including hikes, campouts with family, 2 archaeology projects and a return to Ben's childhood home. 
Toadstool National Monument is a good place to start the camping season. June 26,  got to eat dinner in the car due to the rain you see coming.

Dawn at Toadstool was accompanied by Western Meadowlarks

Practice hiking is best at Buffalo Creek WMA

North Fork Campground and shakedown was our first night out in the high country. We were met with lots of snow and the first wildflowers of the season in Medicine Bow NF

Camera Raw and HDR processing

In multimedia II we experimented with HDR (high dynamic range) processing in Photoshop.  We practiced taking bracketed exposures using the RAW setting, which was tricky if you didn't have a tripod.  Our vacation to Southern Colorado and Utah gave me more opportunities to practice and here are some of the results.  I did notice while I was processing my photos that there were HDR presets labeled with things such as Surrealism or Photorealism that were less than realistic and bordered on the yucky, so I opted for a more subtle result.

This was the image from the middle of 3 exposures. Next are the images after HDR processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

And here are some more HDR images from a photowalk at Buffalo Creek.  The second one is the middle exposure in camera raw.

Barefoot Pottery

We bought a potter's wheel. My only instruction on this piece of equipment was a 9 week ceramics class in the summer, and experience in saving hundereds of student projects from disaster over many years.  I could use more instruction.  However I also realise with this discipline a great deal depends on how much time I devote to practice.

Honestly those folks on YouTube make it look so easy, but I do know that type of ease only comes with many hours of repetition and failure.  I have 1 success out of 4 tries so far, it is my yarn bowl.

 This is a little larger than most student projects and I am surprised at how easy the new wheel makes some of the more difficult tasks such as centering (not my favorite). One of the joys of pottery in the summertime is being outdoors and clean up with a garden hose, it is very refreshing! Here is our outdoor studio!

The Great Desert Campout

Last year we made our first visit to southern Colorado and visited the Great Sand Dunes NM and Mesa Verde National Park.  We drove many miles through the best scenery Colorado has to offer IMHO. This year the mystery of the place and weather conditions in the north and mountain areas threatening snow we again motored south.  Here are maps of the trip.

Day1

With Illustrative Photos of Course! Or first night was at the Colorado NM near Grand Junction where, I purchased my Senior Access pass.  Sweet.

Day2

Colorado National Monument to Canyonlands

Day 3

Natural Bridges National Monument:

the next photos represent the natural bridge from a 1.5 mile hike down to the canyon floor that included 3 ladders and very hot sections of trail, meh.

Day 4

To the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP:

there is a tiny group of people standing on the center point, one is wearing a red t shirt.

Day 5

And Home