Tour the California State Capitol! We did! December 2015

I have lived in the Sacramento area since I was approximately 6 months old, but I had never taken a tour of the historic Capitol.  I've been inside a few times...mostly to meet folks for lunch in the cafeteria when I worked at the East End Complex.  So I dragged my daughter downtown during winter break to check it out.

We stopped in the museum office to sign up for the free tour and were told to meet by the statue of Ronald Reagan.  

While we waited for our tour guide, we wandered around looking at the murals painted on the walls.  We found one to be particularly interesting...  It depicted some very cheeky indigenous folks.  The one on the left seems to have something special on his...errr...mind.  haha!   

Our tour guide gave a brief explanation of the room and murals, but didn't touch that one!  Unlike the fellow who couldn't resist touching!

Most of the building can be seen by anyone walking through.  

There were two rooms that I particularly wanted to see.  The Assembly and the Senate.  To be fair you can also see these rooms when the legislature is in session, but you can't take pictures and you have to be quiet.  That's no fun. 

I loved the Assembly room.  It was beautifully appointed in green and gold.  

Both rooms have a large painting holding pride of place. 

The back of each room has gorgeous columns and curtains.  This is our tour group. 

Now on to the Senate.  Much darker vibe with claret red furnishings to go with the dark wood desks.  

Next we moved on to the beautiful rotunda under the dome.  The bottom floor is a classic checkerboard with "Columbus' Last Appeal to Isabella" centered to greet visitors.  

An interesting tradition at the Capitol is that at the end of the Legislature, the staffers, lobbyists, and whomever else wants to have some fun line the railing of the 2nd floor rotunda and try to lob pennies into Queen Isabella's crown.  I've no idea if the winner gets a prize, but it sounds like a good time. 

This started in the 1940s.  The statue was installed in 1883 so I guess the Queen did have a few peaceful years. 

The dome and walls under it are stunning.  

California Grizzly Bears and the goddess Minerva are prominent in the decor throughout the Capitol. 

This is NOT a California Grizzly.  This is a BROWN bear that the Governator commissioned and had placed outside his office.  Apparently he didn't know that the State bear was a California Grizzly. It's called "Google" Ah-nold.  He also had his name PERMANENTLY inscribed above the door.  Even though the office of Governor is NOT permanent.  

Personally I think old Arnold has more then a few screws loose.  Or perhaps missing altogether.  Luckily, they were able to remove his name (although you can still faintly see it). But the bear was cute so they let her stay.

The last two photos are not inside the Capitol, but they were a couple things I didn't get a good photo of on my last visit.  So I'm putting them here.

The first is the Sisters of Mercy statue outside of the current main entrance. 

And the next is the delightful flower of the Abutilon, or Flowering Maple.

I love flowers.  :-) 

xoxo

Yosemite Firefall! Horsetail Falls at Sunset in February 2/20/16

So I saw this article about a rare occurrence happening in Yosemite National Park.  

It looked intriguing and I thought to myself "well, if I wasn't worried about inclement weather, possibly icy roads, and my car's general well being, I would TOTALLY go and try to see it (and of course, take a picture).

It just so happened that I had been thinking about heading to a wildlife refuge to try to capture some bird photos and I knew there was one in Merced.  I also knew that the "friendlier" road into Yosemite ran through Merced.  Very tempting to add this to my weekend itinerary.  But did I mention that I'm scared of driving on ice?

Then I saw a notification from my dear friend Tutu who had posted a photograph of the "Firefall" and said that I should try to see this sometime in my life.  :-)

The thing is, there is no guarantee that I would ever get to experience these conditions again.  I read beaucoup articles about the Horsetail Falls firefall and learned that it requires several converging circumstances:

1. The angle of the setting sun has to be right and only occurs in mid-to-late February and October.
2. There has to be sufficient snowpack in the meadows atop El Capitan.*
3. The temperature has to be warm enough for said snow to be melting and feed the fall.*
4. The sky cannot be overcast to the West.

*These two reasons are why this doesn't work in October.  Usually no snow/water atop El Capitan so therefore no waterfall.

So I decided to go...further impetus being a picture of gorgeous, orange daisies growing alongside Highway 99 in Atwater and Merced that was posted on Instagram by Cindy Buenrostro.  I LOVE photographing flowers and when she told me the location, it seemed like it was all meant to be. 

So, without further ado, here are my photos of the Horsetail Falls "Firefall".  You can see how the color of the fire goes from gold at the start of sunset to the deep orange of lava at the end. 

It's worth mentioning that I do wish I had gotten there earlier (but couldn't because of the amazing time I spent at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge) so I could have scoped out various spots and claimed dibs on a good one.

However, I did not and was made even later by the oily smoke billowing out of my engine while sitting in a fairly long line of cars waiting to enter the park.  It was quite alarming

I pulled into the nearby parking lot after yelling at the ranger that I was afraid my car was going to explode.  He waved and said to come back when I got it sorted out, which I did by leaving my car i the parking lot and walking back.

My car did not explode.  I think it was just really angry at me for driving it all day (including a lot of time idling).  After my car rested for about a half hour, I drove up to where I saw a lot of people parked on the side of the road, setting up tripods and staring up at a cliff face waterfall. I parked and wandered around talking to other amateur photographers until I determined that this was the right waterfall, but probably not the right place.

This is Horsetail Falls head on as it appeared at my arrival.

I got off the rock on which I was sitting when I figured this out and pulled my car back into the ever-increasing traffic.  It soon became obvious where the main viewing spots were when there quickly was no further parking to be had along the road for miles.

I parked when I could and began walking as quick as possible towards the viewing spots.  It had gotten quite dark in the valley and I was afraid I would miss it.  There were literally hundreds lining the road and Merced River.  Some intrepid photographers were actually standing in the freezing water (which still had snow and ice floating in it in places) or had waded to the other side.

I found a spot.  In a bush.  Actually beside a bush for my chair, but my tripod was in the bush hanging slightly over the edge of the raised riverbank.  I was a little worried about it falling in, but felt fairly secure that the bush would help prevent it.
  

I settled in and took a series of photos at slightly different settings for the next 30 minutes (photos 1 - 3 above).  When it seemed that the orange glow was fading, I packed up and started heading back to my car.

When I reached the higher road, I realized that the new angle allowed the water to still refract the light into orange, even though it was fading where I originally was.  I snapped a couple picture sans tripod to capture the final fleeting minutes of what now looked like a lava flow (photos 4 & 5 above). 

Then I made my way back to my car and was on my way...only to be stopped in traffic that did not move for over 40 minutes.  I. Kid. You. Not.  I do not know why.  But it was quite clear that the park was not meant to accommodate hundreds (thousands?) of cars trying to leave at almost the same moment.  It took over an hour total for me to be on way. 

But it was worth it.  Here is a pretty cool video from someone who did arrive early and hiked to a primo location.  Stunning. 

Hopefully, next year we will have good conditions again and I can do the same.  

xoxo

Northern California Dreamin' - Road Trip to the Coast 2/6/16

"Now on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had."  ~~ Elizabeth Berg, The Year of Pleasures

It's no secret how much I love getting in my car with my camera and heading off for adventures.  

No matter how many times I've been someplace before, it still seems like finding a bright, new shiny penny.  Finding a random penny might not have value to a lot of people...but it does to me. :-)

For instance, every time I see the "mothball fleet" I'm fascinated.  

And seeing it enshrouded in fog made me think of ghosts that might still be roaming the remaining ships, waiting for the call to protect the Pacific shores. 

But I did kind of wonder if the day was going to be spent under the marine layer.  

Spoiler alert:  It was not.

My drive to Ano Nuevo was beautiful and uneventful.  And I was greeted by such beauty!  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore!"

Northern Elephant Seals sunbathing.

They were joined by an inquisitive California Sea Lion.  

He was absolutely dwarfed by his much bigger cousins (see the picture above...he's sleeping just above the water line near the center of the picture).

I saw this hill with what looked like rows of planted yellow flowers.  I left Ano Nuevo and drove South on PCH, but couldn't find anything that resembled a planted field.  It's quite possible that you just couldn't see if from the highway. 

I did, however, find yellow flowers in abundance!  

I stopped at a little turnout on the side of the road because the edge of the road was filled with flowers.  I thought they were just near the road because there was a little hill.  

I was amazed to look over the edge and see a field completely filled with the beautiful pineapple-colored blossoms waving in the breeze.  They meandered through the fields almost to the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean.  

Turning to the North, South, and West, my eyes drank in the stunning vistas of sea, sky, and earth. 

I walked the pathway to the cliff's edge, thinking I couldn't find anything more beautiful than that field of green and gold.

But I was wrong.  
The dazzling Pacific was waiting to display her charms.

I sat on the edge, listening to the ocean speak and watching the flowers and birds.  

Feelings of gratitude for these splendid sights and experiences washed over me.  I felt like a small, but loved, piece of the universe as I made my way back to my car.

As I was driving homeward, I saw another strip of beach that I wished I had time (and energy!) to explore.  But I didn't so I had to content myself with one photo which I like to call Love on a Beach. 

We shall not cease from exploration

and the end of all our exploring will be 

to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.

~~ t.s. eliot

xoxo