Our first day of Thanksgiving break brought Massey the first day of playing in snow that she's had in a very long time. So many smells, so much to check out. She didn't know where to look or what to point, but she had a blast.
Blog
Two Word Tuesday: Frosty Hike
Massey Monday: Snownado
Massey takes after her mom...completely enthralled with weird spinning vortices.
Two Word Tuesday: Mojave Snowbike
Thirsty Thursday: Mt. Shasta Attempt
Rambler: Beth (and a few photos from Terry)
Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Pomegranate Limeade
Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Apparently last year was our year to climb mountains. And it was also the year to fail at every summit attempt! Well, really we only planned to climb Shasta and Whitney last year, and we succeeded in climbing roughly half of both. Apparently that meteorologist on the climbing team wasn't so good at picking good weather weekends for summit bids.
We tried to climb Shasta last Memorial Day. We started under beautiful blue skies, and by the time we got to Lake Helen to set up base camp, I was a sweaty mess with sunburned earlobes (missed the sunscreen there).
We went about doing all the regular camp set-up stuff...boiling water, moving snow around, setting tent anchors, etc...all the while noticing that the clouds were building.
This is how you get boiled water cool enough to drink in a hurry.
Ice axes are handy for sinking tent anchors in the snow.
Soon, it looked like this. Light snow. Thick clouds. And two people trying to keep entertained while we waited out the rest of the daylight. The plan was to go to bed as soon as it started to get dark, given our 3:30 am alpine start the next morning.
Terry's alarmed mountaineering look. You know, the ones you always see of the serious climber looking seriously at the summit that he seriously can't see because of the serious weather going on. Seriously, those are snowflakes.
Still kinda nice out.
Nice so nice anymore.
Eventually we crawled in the tent, woke up at 3:30 am like we said we would, couldn't see past the last row of tents due to clouds and snow, so we stayed in the tent. Without being able to see the route, it definitely wasn't safe to try to climb it. Not many people made it up that morning. But the inside of the tent was pretty nice.
Later that morning we packed up and headed back down. Unfortunately we couldn't stay an extra day, but if we had, we likely would have summited the next day. But, the mountain will always be there. Its probably about time that we start thinking about another weekend to try Shasta again!
Two Word Tuesday: Snowy Shadows
Thirsty Thursday: More Swiss Alps
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
It's been a busy week again, so this is another short post. All I can really say is that I'm still in love with the Swiss Alps. Grand and peaceful. They were simply awe-inspiring.
Thirsty Thursday: Swiss Sunset
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Pianetta Cabernet Sauvignon
Something today made me think of hiking in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps it's just the majestic views of the snow-covered peaks that I remember. Or perhaps it's being the only people at the top of a mountain to photograph sunset. Or maybe it's a bit of both or neither. But, looking through the images now, I don't know if it really matters. It was simply awe-inspiring to be there, to see the sunset, and to be in the sunset. Our photographs don't seem to give the spot its due credit. Amazing.
The Welliver Photography Best of 2012
Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites!
Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.
Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry.
Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.
Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry.
Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.
Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.
Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry.
Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.
Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.
Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.
Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.
Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.
Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog!
Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.
Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry.
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.
Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.
Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.
Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.
Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.
Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.
Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.
Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.
We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there!
Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!
All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.
Thirsty Thursday: The Morning After
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Cinnamon Blossom Tea...served hot!
Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy (or something warm) and make those weekend plans. And since the photos below have an icy feel to them, I highly recommend that TJ's tea to keep you warm.
These photos are from our trip to Iowa. The morning after our arrival, which was a day late due to the raging blizzard. The day after a cancelled flight, a delayed flight, an aborted landing, an actual landing, a bag stuck in airline bag jail, a crazy drive home past the truck grandpa put in the ditch, and a generator-powered evening catching up with my parents, I woke up early, bundled up, and wandered around the farm at sunrise. The 50 mph winds and driving ground blizzard were gone. All that was left was a brilliant sky and clean, white snow.
There is something magically beautiful on the first clear morning after a Midwestern blizzard. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with them too often anymore. Get out there and find your own beautiful morning this weekend!
UPDATE: If you'd like to purchase any of these photographs, they are available on our store under the Iowa Gallery.
Two Word Tuesday: Fresh Start
Happy New Year! Enjoy a fresh sunrise over freshly fallen snow as you celebrate the New Year.
Massey Monday: Fun in the Snow
Massey loves a day in the snow.
Thirsty Thursday: Frozen
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Hot Tea with Cinnamon
I don't know where you are today or this weekend, but in Iowa it is freezing. Temperatures are in the single digits. In addition, the power is out here on the farm and we are on generator. Thus, this post is from an iPhone as there's no Internet on the MacBooks. So, here's to the cold weather and hoping that where you are is warmer than here! Still it's good to see family. Happy Holidays!!
Thirsty Thursday: Snowy Hike
Rambler: Terry Drink in Hand: 2010 Montoya Pinot Noir (surprisingly good)
I think this weekend is going to be cold, so I figured I should post a bit of cold weather. These shots are from May of this year in sunny California. Most of my pictures from this short hike were of Massey, but here's a few without her.
Thirsty Thursday: Swiss Mountains
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Liquid Crack (aka, 2007 Scheid Chardonnay)
Just a little post tonight from the Switzerland trip. I've been working on the images for what seems like forever, but I'm close to calling the project complete (about 20 or so photos left to edit). But enough shop talk, on to the pictures. The story isn't exciting or thrilling but the snow covered mountains are gorgeous. The trip to the top is a long train ride on the Junfraujoch line through a mountain. The views on the ride are also fantastic and of course the views at the top are simply awesome. Hopefully, these shots give you a glimpse of what it was actually like to be up there on the "Top of Europe." If you've read some of our previous posts, you know that we have been doing a bit of backpacking lately. Thus, I have to comment on one of the shots and say, that we are not to the point that the skier with the backpack on...we're not ready for that...we're semi-fair-weather backpackers. And besides, the Mas would need to learn how to ski...and I'm not sure if she's ready for that. Enjoy the shots and enjoy your weekend.
Thirsty Thursday: Choose Your Own Adventure
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks Winery Renegade (two thumbs up for this yummy red blend)
It Thirsty Thursday once again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Some weeks just make you look forward to those weekend adventures even more. The weekends when you get to choose your own adventure for the day. Head off on a trail and see what happens (and hope it doesn't snow!).
A short and sweet post tonight as we plot our adventure plan for the weekend. Time to pick a trail and see where it leads. Hope you get out there and find your own adventure this weekend, too!
Two Word Tuesday: Foggy Trees
Massey Monday: More of Snowy Massey
Continuing the Thirsty Thursday post from last week, here are a half dozen shots of the Mas enjoying the snow! We were at the same location this weekend and the trails were dry...no snow at all. Anyways, those shots will be coming in a future post. For now, enjoy the shots of Massey! Happy Monday!
Thirsty Thursday: Fingers Crossed
Rambler: BethDrink at Hand: Scheid Reserve Chardonnay (Tied for 1st on my chard list)
Hey Welliver Photography fans! Welcome to another addition of Thirsty Thursday...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. We are headed off to backpack this weekend, or so we hope!
Over Memorial Day weekend we headed up to backpack to George Lake in the Kaiser Wilderness. The in-house meteorologist blew the weekend forecast, and long story short, without a four-season tent, we were snowed out of our first backpacking trip of the season. So much for the unofficial start of summer! So this weekend we'll try again, and hopefully the trail doesn't look like this... But we definitely can't say it wasn't beautiful, even if we didn't camp in it. Get out there and doing something this weekend...and hope you get a good weather report before you go!
Massey Monday: Running in the Snow
Over Memorial Day weekend we headed up to the Sierra to backpack. The Welliver Photography staff meteorologist completely blew the forecast and, given our lack of a 4-season tent, we bailed on the backpacking. Massey didn't seem to mind though. She ran her little legs off over the course of a little 4-hour hike we took through. Non-stop running for 4 hours.