Summerland

On our way home we stopped in Summerland hoping to connect with a friend there. Unfortunately that didn't work out, but we did luck out with a half price mid week deal at the Lakefront Hotel, which happens to be next door to Local, one of our favorite restaurants in Summerland. The Lakefront Hotel is also relatively eco-friendly, using geothermal for heating and cooling, and with a small natural wetland between the hotel and lake.

In the morning I was planning to walk around the wetland with my camera, but it started raining so instead I set up my tripod, gimbal head, and long lens on the balcony which was sheltered from the rain. It was a little far from the wetland, but it was fun to watch the ducks and the red-winged blackbirds. I also saw what I think was a muskrat swim by. (One of the staff told me there was a "baby beaver" but I suspect muskrat.)









I also couldn't resist a few shots of the rain falling on the hotel swimming pool.



After the rain stopped we went for a walk around the wetland. That let me get some closer shots, but the vegetation blocked a lot of the view.





These were taken with the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary which I've been pretty happy with. Since it focuses quite close, in a pinch it'll do for other subjects like flowers.



At supper at the Local we had a couple of glasses of wine that I chose by my usual scientific method of: local (in this case Summerland) and something different (Gamay Noir). We really enjoyed the wine so we stopped by the winery (Okanagan Crush Pad) on our way out of town. Unfortunately, they were sold out of that one but we picked up a few others.



I also took a few pictures wandering around town, including this California quail in someone's front yard. They are such humorous birds.



And this tiny flower in a ditch, which turned out to have wonderful details.



For more of these, see all 31 photos as a slideshow or overview

Leavenworth

Our plan was to rock climb and paraglide in Leavenworth (WA). The paragliding part didn't work out, but we got in a few good days of climbing. The first day we did a couple of three pitch trad routes. The second day we did some single pitch sport routes. Granite slab climbing with no holds takes some getting used to! There is lots of climbing around Leavenworth but it is spread out over a bunch of different locations so both days we climbed we had the sites to ourselves.







We also visited Silvara Winery, where we enjoyed the wine (particularly the unoaked Chardonnay, Meritage, and Malbec) and the tons of flowers in their gardens. When it rained all the next day we went back and enjoyed the live music (and more wine, of course!) There are lots of tasting rooms in Leavenworth, but it's much nicer to visit the wineries. It's a hard life being dirtbag climbers :-)

Shelley read her book while I took photos of the flowers. Don't worry, I still managed to drink my wine :-)







The bees were enjoying the lavender: (check out the load of pollen)



I'm not sure what these interesting flowers are:



I love nature's intricate designs and small details.





(two handheld shots focus stacked)

For more of these, see all 32 photos as a slideshow or an overview

Tonopah to Pahrump

At Mizpah we had Cline wine with our supper. We normally try to drink local wine when we're traveling but the Clines own the Mizpah so we figured we might as well drink their wine. Especially since they had a Lady in Red blend specifically made for the hotel (named after a famous murder!) And we knew we'd get some Nevada wine later (see below)

From our hotel window we could catch a glimpse of the Solar Reserve project. It didn't look too far away so in the morning we decided to check it out. It's hard to get a good view of it. You'd either need to get an aerial view or to walk amongst the mirrors (heliostats). The mirrors focus the sun onto a tower where it heats molten salt which is the used to run steam generators. There are a number of nice features of this technology. First, mirrors are a lot easier to manufacture than photovoltaic panels. (Although the aiming is trickier.) Second, the molten salt allows short term storage of power so it will be able to produce power 24 hours a day and easily ramp up or down depending on demand. (Something wind power can't easily do.)





Driving south from Tonopah it wasn't long before we started seeing Joshua Trees, one of my desert favourites. A few of them were flowering, usually a sign of recent rain. Like other yuccas, they are actually a member of the lily family. They were named by early Mormons who thought it looked like the upraised arms of Joshua placating God. It's interesting how there can be so many of them in certain places and none in others. One theory is that they were spread by giant ground sloths, which of course no longer exist. (One of many animals that "mysteriously" disappeared right about the same time that humans arrived in North America.). Joshua Trees are also quite sensitive to climate and its predicted that they will die out as the climate changes. Sadly, Joshua Tree National Park may soon lose its namesake trees.

For a number of years we've been trying to get to the Pahrump winery. It worked out well this time - coming from Tonopah we could easily skirt Las Vegas and stop at the winery for lunch. The town of Pahrump isn't anything special but the winery is in a nice setting with its small vineyards, trees, and flowers. They only grow grapes for red wines since the summers are too hot for white wine grapes. The grapes near the winery were mostly Zinfandel.



The willow trees were just starting to get their leaves. From a distance it looked like they were dusted with green. Apparently that's a sign that it's time to prune the grape vines since they will also get their leaves soon.



From Pahrump we could take the road past Red Rocks and in on Charleston Avenue, one of the few ways to get into Vegas without freeway hell. As usual, we're staying at the La Quinta in Summerlin, well away from the circus of the strip, and close to the Red Rocks side of town. Given that Saskatoon is still deep in winter it is a real treat to see the flowering trees here.