Our Puerto Rico trip Day 1 -- The Rainforest

I have been feeling very guilty about not putting any entries or photos on the Memories for so long. So I am going to put several posts on this week to make up for lost time. Jan and I were fortunate to be invitied on a trip to Puerto Rico a few weeks back, and I have to say I was overwhelmed with the beauty and variety of the sights we saw. The photo above was taken from the 14th floor of the Caribe Hilton Resort, where we spent a few hours each night recuperating from the day!

Our first morning there, we spent time wandering around the hotel itself. There were many beautiful areas near the beach, the photo above is of the small fortification that protected the early Spanish settlers from the English, who came to take the gold that the Spanish had collected from the area.

In the afternoon, we took a guided tour of the El Yunque rainforest. It is a National Park, and was very clean and well-kept. Our destination was the largest waterfall in the country, and we had a 1.5 mile hike in store for us from here to see it.

The Yokahu Tower shown above was several hours' drive from the hotel, our guide (he's in the blue jeans in the photo of the whole tower, was very cheerful and informative. He was obviously proud of living in Puerto Rico, and in Jan's and my opinion, justifiably so!

The photo above is looking out at the Atlantic Ocean from the tower. The rainforest, our guide told us, gets on average 144 inches of rain a year, TEN times the average for the central and eastern part of the island. The Trade Winds are responsible for that.

There are over 160 varieties of trees in the El Yunque, and they are protected now from farming for wood, as the forest had been in the past. Sometimes, however, hurricanes and other natural occurances take their toll.

There were several instances of unusual root systems in the trees in this rainforest. The photo above shows one kind of root system. Another even stranger tree has the roots coming from the top of the tree, and they hang down like curtains to the ground, where they deliver more water to the treetops.

La Mina waterfall. Quite a sight. There were many people wading and swimming here, but Jan and I did not go in.

The sign at the foot of the trail. It was a long journey there and back, and both ways were uphill!

I saved my favorite photo for last. As Jan and I were walking away from the falls, she pointed out this small patch of fern growing out of the steps. She really liked these tiny ferns, so I snapped a photo. I got several different kinds of ferns along the walk, but since this was Jan's favorite, it "made the cut."

That evening we kayak'd through pitch darkness to the Bio Bay near the ocean, where luminescent algae light up like millions of tiny fireflies as the water was disturbed by hands or paddles. I wish I could have taken some photos, but I had taken so many photos of the rainforest, my chips were full. Pitch blackness is not a good photo subject anyway.

Our second day was a tour of El Morro, the largest fortress on the island, and of Old San Juan. I think you will like those photos, too.

Till then,

Mike

Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year

Jan and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and we hope your New Year brings joy and success in all that you do.

2011 has been a roller coaster year for us! There have been highs and lows and the ride went by so fast! We are looking forward to a greater 2012.

My New Year's Resolution is to take more photos and post more on this weblog. I hope you will come back often to see what's up here at the Mem'ries.

All the Best,

Mike Z

Lost Maples State Natural Area

The day after Thanksgiving, Jan was talking with her sister Kathy, who mentioned that they had gone to see the Lost Maples the previous weekend. She said that the maple leaves were beautiful. I had gone to see the Lost Maples a few years back (see my previous post here), and had thoroughly enjoyed it.

Since Jan had not been with me on the previous trip, we decided to go see. We figured an hour and a half would do the trick, and we'd have time to walk and see the trees. 

I brought my camera and some accessories (not a tripod or monopod - huge mistake), and we headed west from New Braunfels to Boerne, then on to Bandera and Medina, then turned south to the State Natural Area.

What we hadn't counted on was that the trip would take 2 1/2 hours, and that we would get there about 15 minutes before sunset. The park ranger asked if we knew that we were getting there very late. We said yes. No discount, of course.

We walked a little ways up the Maple Trail, but decided that as it was getting darker and darker, we switch to the East Trail, which is wider and graveled, so it would be easier to see coming back.

I felt a little like a salmon swimming upstream as we passed group after group who were returning from their walk and heading back to their cars. We were the only ones heading into the park! 

To make matters worse, thick clouds came up from the south, and completely blocked any light from the sunset. It got dark in a hurry! I was amazed that my Nikon could get any good shots at all. It took some adjusting in Photoshop to get what you see here.

The tree above was the last one we saw. It is at the junction where the Maple Trail meets the East Trail. We decided that we would head back to the car, and save the rest of the trail for another visit.

The nice thing about going back to Austin so late was that we got to see the Christmas and Holiday decorations that the towns had put up. They were very lovely.

So that's the story of my second trip to see the Lost Maples.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike Z

Guadalupe River, New Braunfels TX, Thanksgiving

We had our Thanksgiving with Jan's family at Slumber Falls Camp in New Braunfels, TX. We had it at the camp because with almost 50 people in attendance, no one's house could fit us all. Slumber Falls Camp is located near the Guadelupe River, and after lunch I ventured down there to take some photos.

The Guadalupe River is a favorite tubing and recreation area for local residents as well as visitors to New Braunfels. Lately there has been a lot of interest in cleaning up the river. 

These photos were taken at sunset, and the steep hill where the camp is located put most of the river in shadow. It was somewhat difficult to get the right exposure for the photos. 

Some of the family members got off by themselves to digest the wonderful lunch and enjoy the peace of the river. Everything was just about perfect.

As the sun set, the lighting got more and more interesting. I was especially captivated by the reflection of the sunlit trees in the water's reflection. 

Even though the water level is very low due to the horrible drought we had this past summer, the river still flows and brings enjoyment to everyone who encounters it.

Hope your Thanksgiving Day was the best! Ours sure was.

Till next time,

Mike Z


PS If you click on a picture, Google has a new slideshow feature. Enjoy!

Cactus at Sunset, Sedona Arizona

As we hiked up the hill to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross, I noticed some beautiful cholla plants with deep purple blooms.

I shot several photos, and this was about the best. There were some with bees, but I don't like them as much.

Much more to show you about Sedona. It will be in another post. Click on the photo to see it larger (you can do this with any photo on my weblog).

Till then,

Mike Z

PS My friend Gordon told me about the faux matting technique I used in this photo. I also borrowed some of the steps from George Lepp in Outdoor Photography magazine. I hope you like it.

Red Rocks of Sedona AZ



The Teapot Rock



Several weeks (ok, months) ago Jan and I were lucky enough to go to Arizona for one of my business meetings. I had been to Sedona about 15 years ago, and made a pledge that I would bring Jan to see the spectacular red rocks that surround that town before we got to old. We stayed overnight in a bed and breakfast, and spent the day Saturday touring Sedona.

We made several hikes during the one full day we got to spend there, one to the Teapot Rock (first picture above), and after a drive another one to the Palatki Indian Ruins farther outside of town. We also got to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, an outstanding church that can be seen from miles around the area.

The rocks above were close by the ruins. There were probably petroglyphs and artifacts in there but we weren't allowed to go in.

This rock looked to me like an arched door. Very very large rock. The red color was awe inspiring.

We had to go under this outcropping rock to get back to the car. It looks to me like a character from the old Frank Oz film The Dark Crystal. I think the character was called an uRu.

Next post will be some photos of the petroglyphs at the Palatki Ruins. There are some really cool ones.

Till next time,

Thanks for visiting!

Mike Z

BraveHawk

You never know what kind of wildlife you'll see in urban Texas. I had parked my car in the parking lot of the Marriott Courtyard hotel in Houston TX, and was heading to the checkin counter, when I spotted this very large hawk catching a snack in the driveway. Not having my "big camera" with me, I pulled out my cell phone and slowly moved toward the hawk. He didn't seem to care if I was there or not, so I named him BraveHawk.

But even BraveHawk could not stand to have another human walk up behind him. The other gentleman took no notice of the intrepid bird, but BraveHawk decided to take his dinner up to a branch of one of the pine trees near the hotel.

I am really glad I got to see this beautiful bird. It is by far the closest I have been to a wild bird like this, and I was very impressed with him. I am glad to get a couple of photos to share with you, and I hope you like them.

Till next time,

Mike Z

Some wildlife around my house



Green Heron



We are walking around the neighborhood a lot more often lately, trying to get in shape for the next travel adventure (and trying to shed a few pounds as well). This Green Heron is usually around the Town and Country grounds in the evening hours, and this time I was lucky enough to have a camera.

Black Crested Titmouse

I was experimenting with manual focus on one of my lenses recently, and sat in the front yard and took photos of anything that stood still long enough for me to take its photo. This is the first Black Crested Titmouse I can recall seeing. Our neighborhood birder Mikael (Birding on Broadmeade) says they are pretty common. Maybe I've been getting "new eyes" to see more kinds of birds.



squirrel



While I was photographing the birds, this little squirrel came over from the trees in the yard next door to check me out. He stayed quite still so I got a few good shots of him. Pretty soon he headed back over to the next door tree. I guess he figured out that I wasn't going to feed him.

Till next time,

Mike Z