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Thirsty Thursday: In search of...

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Byington Cabernet Sauvignon

...that perfect tree. This may not be it...but I'll keep searching. I've got a few nice tree shots under my belt, but definitely not enough. There may also be a Massey sighting in this one as well!

Thirsty Thursday: Colorful Skies

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2011 Tablas Creek Panoplie

Today's sunrise (the first photograph) reminded me that the best camera you have is the one you have on you. So, tonight, I thought I'd share some of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I've captured with an iPhone over the last few years. The colors may be oversaturated on some but they still captured the moment when the sky and land is covered in color. Simply stunning.

Thirsty Thursday: Iowa Games Time Trial

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Sleepy Time tea (its late, but its also Thursday!)

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. This week is more of a shout out to someone else's weekend plans--my parents! The day before the three of us departed for RAGBRAI back in July, they did the Iowa Games time trial. Because clearly the 450 miles ahead of them that week were not enough. They are actually regular TTers and a few weeks after this event, they each won a state championship! 


Thirsty Thursday: Oak Trees

Drink in Hand: 2010 Barbaresco
Rambler: Terry

This post is for my Mom. During my parents' last day visiting us, Mom wanted to get pictures of nine different oak trees (she has a frame for nine pics). So, there we were driving around on the 101 between Monterey and Gilroy trying to find lone oak trees. We definitely found enough of them but I ended up only shooting a few of them. I'm pretty sure she able to get a least nine and I can't wait to see hers. Here's a few of mine. Believe it or not, it was a bright sunny day!

Thirsty Thursday: A Day in the Wilderness

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: 2007 Scheid Reserve Chardonnay (top 5 favorites!)

Hey hey hey...Thirsty Thursday here again. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. This evening we'll recount a day spent in the wilderness form our backpacking trip to the Trinity Alps from way back at the beginning of the summer. Can't believe its fall already! 

A typical day in the backcountry starts with a sunrise shoot. 

Yep, that big bump toward the right is Mt Shasta. 

Then we eat prepare to breakfast. Really hard work. 

Massey maintains a constant guard over the camp perimeter.

Breakfast actually gets made...and we try to keep warm until the sun kicks in. 

Then if the trip planner (which is me 99% of the time) has selected a good spot, we have plenty of hiking and exploring to fill up the day. 

And then we relax a bit and wait for the sun to set. 

Days in the backcountry are pretty fantastic. Wish we could get more days out there, but the rarity fuels the stoke to go bigger the next time. 

Get out there and have your own wilderness-filled weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Hammock with a View

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Pomegranate Limeade 

Thirsty Thursday here again, time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Its been a busy week, so I thought this photo is fitting. Special thanks to our gearhead backpacking buddy who had to buy the hammock and then carry it into the backcountry. It was comfy! I think Terry fell asleep in it shortly after this photo was snapped. 


Thirsty Thursday: Under 7th Avenue

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: 2010 calilove Valley Time Pinot Noir 

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Tonight I pulled a few photos from our recent trip to the other coast. We were in Jersey for a wedding (more to come on that!), and before we headed back home we made a mad dash into New York City. The side trip to NYC was motivated by a hunt for an epic pastrami sandwich that failed, so we ended up strolling through Central Park like tourists. Literally. We were dragging our luggage with us!

We took the subway because, well, its NYC, and the Wellivers love public transportation on rails. We fell in love with the train system when we lived in Tokyo, so anytime we get to hop on a train or subway in a big city, we're down! Its funny how similar trains and subways feel around the world...being in the tunnel felt so familiar despite being a completely new place. We didn't have much time, but I did snap a few frames while we waited for our ride back towards JFK. The cool thing about train platform is that you don't have to search far for scenes and compositions. There's always something going on. 

Get out there and do some exploring this weekend! 

Thirsty Thursday: Twenty Lake Basin Throwback

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Sleepy Time Tea...yawn

Its been a unexpectedly and unwelcome busy week here at Welliver Photography after having our cameras stolen, but we're getting through it. Rather than ramble on, I'll get to the photos. Typically on a three day weekend we are out backpacking somewhere in the Sierras or NorCal's Trinity Alps, but this weekend will be a much needed rest and recovery weekend!

Since we aren't headed out, I loaned some gear to a friend and gave her a few suggestions. Two years ago we went to Twenty Lakes Basin in the Hoover Wilderness for Labor Day Weekend. Gorgeous. Still among my favorite trips. Here are a couple photos from that trip that I hadn't posted yet.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Crater Lake

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2012 Joyce Chardonnay

Digging through the recent archive today, I stumbled across a few shots from Crater Lake from about a year ago and thought I'd share them. I wish there was more drama in the sky, but in typical Welliver Photography fashion, it's pretty plain. Still, the lake is gorgeous and it was great to be there at sunrise.

Thirsty Thursday: Past Waterfalls

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Petite Sirah

Perusing through the archives a bit tonight and I stumbled across a couple of decent waterfall shots from an Oregon hike in the fall of 2012 that I never posted.  As I recall, the best part about this hike (besides the waterfalls) was when my Uncle and I finally reached these falls and stopped to rest. I went to take a couple of shots while he decided to rest his eyes. We had the Mas with us and, in addition to securing the ever dangerous perimeter, she noticed that my Uncle was laying on the ground and not moving. Being the astute pup she is, she felt it was her duty to ensure that he was still alive....so, she trotted over and proceeded to lick his face a few times....just to make sure he was okay. So much for my Uncle resting his eyes. #diligentdog #goodgirl #safetyfirst

For good measure, I'm throwing in another waterfall from the same hike but near Punchbowl Falls (previous posted on a Two Word Tuesday) and a shot of Massey leading my Uncle to the next waterfall.

Thirsty Thursday: Music

Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Petite Sirah
Rambler: Terry

Are you ever awake for the sunrise? I'm not most of the time. I've always been a night-owl if you will. But, if you've occasionally caught a sunrise, do you hear the music in your head? I do. I don't know if it's punk rock, classical, or somewhere in between...but it sure is good.

Thirsty Thursday: RAGBRAI Bound

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Ginger Ale...its what I drink on all domestic flights, no idea why

Hey hey hey, Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I am pretty excited for my weekend plans; plans that will continue all the way through next weekend. 

Being from Iowa, and having grown up in a family that was into cycling, RAGBRAI was a summer fixture in our house before our family summers were devoted to driving my sister and I to soccer tournaments and camps all over the Midwest. I'm headed back to do the week-long party across the state of Iowa on a bicycle with my parents, but under slightly different circumstances than RAGBRAI's past. 

Two years ago, my dad had a freak thing happen and he is now paralyzed from the waist down. My parents used to spend a lot of time together on their tandem, but once my dad was paralyzed, that wasn't an option anymore. As part of his recovery he started handcycling and mom would ride along with him on her road bike. Differences in speed made staying together difficult, but they still wanted to experience cycling together. Enter Utah Trikes

Utah Trikes built a super awesome handcrank tandem tricycle for my parents...mom sits in the front and pedals while dad sits on the back and handcranks. Pretty amazing. I was able to visit Utah Trikes a few weeks ago when they picked up the custom built rig and was thoroughly impressed. Ashley and his team at Utah Trikes are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and they are incredibly talented engineers and fabricators. I captured these images of the team hard at work to finish up the tandem for my parents. 

And here's what the first spin looked like (still a work-in-progress in this image, but you get the idea). 

On Saturday we'll head off to start RAGBRAI XLI, which I think is my parent's tenth and my third. They are doing the ride on their new tandem with support from Adaptive Sports Iowa. I'll be along to document their experience and help out the Adaptive Sports Iowa crew (ASI has roughly 60 riders they are supporting throughout the ride). I'll be using the hashtag #RAGBRAIstroz on Instagram and Twitter as I capture their experience. Should be fun!

Thirsty Thursday: A weekend in the woods

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks 2010 Petite Syrah

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make some weekend plans. Last weekend we took advantage of the three-day holiday (Happy Birthday America) and went backpacking at Graveyard Lakes. It was, as usual, an awesome weekend of exploring some high alpine lakes...minus the 100,000,000,000,000 mosquitos that also wanted to great outdoors on the Fourth of July. The 8-mile hike in was probably one of the easiest approaches we've ever done (very little elevation gain), which left us with plenty of energy to explore and enjoy the weekend. 

Here's a few photos from the first day out. More to come from this trip--as usual, we took way too many photos. 

Get out there and find your own wilderness to explore this weekend! 

Thirsty Thursday: BACKPACKING

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Kleen Kanteen full of water

Yep, that's a pretty boring Thirsty Thursday drink selection, but we are on our way to another Sierra backcountry adventure. Have to pre-game hydrate!

Massey is clearly stoked and yelling her excitement! Tomorrow we will be little hikers out in a great big landscape of beauty.

Have a great 4th of July!

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Thirsty Thursday: Sestri Levante Sunrise

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel

It's been just under a year since we were in Italy and I still haven't looked through all my pictures. #fail. I think maybe it's because I'd like to go back. But, since we haven't won the lottery and Massey isn't a famous dog model (she's a diva of course), I don't think we'll be going back any time too soon. So, tonight I spent a few minutes looking through my Sestri Levante sunrise shots. Here's a few. In typical Welliver Photography style, the sky has no drama.

Thirsty Thursday: Ft Ord Trail Time

Rambler: Beth
Drink in Hand: 2012 Silvestri Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Last weekend I decided to test my camera carrying set-up with a little mountain bike ride. I loaded up the LowePro and out I went to Ft Ord. 

The day before had been beautiful, but of course when I headed out it was a flat, grey, June gloom day...typical of Monterey this time of year. But I made the most of it. I really wanted to capture these two trees tucked away on a ridgeline. 

I have a bike-related photo project or two coming later this summer, so this was a good first test to see what I could carry and still ride at a decent speed. Hopefully more fun rides with camera in tow coming this weekend! 

Thirsty Thursday: Wandering through the Wilderness

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Cowgirl Winery Rose

A little late getting to Thirsty Thursday tonight, but better late than never! This week I'll share a couple images from our Memorial Day weekend backpacking trip in the Trinity Alps. To the three of us on that trip, this pairing of photos is a little funny.

It turns out that if you have a map but don't know where you actually are on that map, that map is worthless. Of course, if you use the compass in your pocket, you can catch a pretty good clue. A clue that three military-trained outdoorsy people holding that map should know. So, we ended up talking a four mile walk in the wrong direction down the trail in the first photo, which required a 4-mile climb with roughly 3,000' elevation gain back up said trail to get back to the campsite. The second photo was a lovely little scene roughly a half mile from our campsite...in the direction we were supposed to go! But, the best parts of backpacking are the silly little things that happen along the way, and the stories those silly things give us. 

If you look closely, you can see the speed hikers up the trail from me. 

The infamous Deer Lake. Infamous in our heads anyway. 

We'll try not to get out there and get lost this weekend! And we weren't really "lost"...just misplaced ourselves for a little bit.