The Traveling Widower

Tag: nature

  • Astrophotography Redux

    A night sky transitioning from twilight to darkness, featuring stars and silhouettes of pine trees along the horizon.
    Starlight, starbright, first star…..

    August 10th, 2026

    I’ve been planning all summer to get out for a night or two of Milky Way photography again. I really enjoyed the workshop in Arches last spring, and wanted to see if I could improve upon my composition and post-processing skills with a new set of photographs. 

    Unfortunately, I never seemed to be free to travel during the new moon, or I always seemed to be too tired for late evening photography when I was in dark sky locations like Sequoia National Park. The next thing I knew, it was August – I was running out of time. I decided when I returned from Colorado that I was going to find a reasonable place to go on the 10th, which was the exact date for the new moon. The question was….where to go. I wanted to get a reasonably interesting landscape, maybe not as spectacular as Arches, but perhaps with a nice lake or mountains for the foreground. Oh yeah, and I really did not want to drive very far, requiring camping or a long drive back home at 3AM.

    I first headed up US-50 to check out Wrights Lake in the Sierra, hoping the Milky Way would be in a position to reflect off the lake. I also wanted to check out Dark Lake, a short drive north of Wrights, which seemed promising in terms of location. I did this during the day, in case you were wondering – I have an application, PhotoPills, which magically shows the position of planets, stars or the Milky Way, at any location, at any date and time. Pretty amazing. You hold up your phone in the direction you would be photographing from, and the application superimposes for example, the Milky Way as it would appear at that time. You can than swipe to change the time, and see how that astronomical feature would appear. 

    A screenshot of a mobile app displaying a star map with grid lines, indicating celestial coordinates and a visible galaxy section. The date and time are shown at the top of the screen.
    Photophills – band across the middle is the Milky Way

    Wrights Lake is a relatively short drive from where I live – about a 90 minute drive, with the last bit on a rough but paved road. It is a state recreation area – nice place for kayaking and paddleboarding with camping spots and picnic tables which can be reserved ahead of time. I was hoping to find a picnic spot on the north shore of the recreation part of the lake, so that I would have a clear view of the sky looking South. After parking the car, I hiked along the path, trying my best to avoid a picnic group with very large mean looking dogs, and found what appeared to be a good spot to set up my tripod on the 10th. I pulled out my phone, brought up the PhotoPills application and found out that I really needed to be on the East shore of the lake which is all private property. Bummer. 

    A serene lake surrounded by tall pine trees under a clear blue sky.
    Dark Lake – wish I had one of the houses

    I moved on to the other location, Dark Lake, which is a short drive down a very narrow, one lane road. Beautiful spot but almost all of the shoreline is private property. The view would have been very limited from the one spot I could shoot from. Scratch Dark Lake from the list.  I really did not feel like negotiating that road at midnight, and then taking the long road back to the highway. 

    My next, and only other choice was along a road heading up to the Ice House Reservoir, about 14 miles west of where I was. This spot, named the Ice House Observation Point 1, was listed as one of the best dark sky locations in the Sacramento region, and appears to be a favorite for star gazers. It was on the way back home along US-50, but I had nothing better to do the next few days, and saved the excitement for later in the week. I lead a very exciting life these days. I had seen photos of this site and it did not appear to be too photogenic. There was a concrete divider wall at the start of the field, which limited parking, and what looked like a rusted crane in the middle of the field. Meh. The view to the south was not as restricted horizontally as Wrights Lake, but there was still the problem that much of the Milky Way would be blocked. But still, it was better than Wrights Lake. I was not overly thrilled with the limited parking and rusting crane, so I headed down to the second observation point, which for some reason, was indicated as closed on Google Maps. This turned out to be a better choice – a very large, open field, no wall, unlimited space for parking, and no rusting crane. This spot was also a on a small side road, so there would be less road traffic. Bright headlights and long exposure astrophotography do not work well together.

    A serene landscape at dusk featuring a grassy field bordered by tall trees under a pastel sky.
    Point 1 – rusted crane on the left
    A clear sky above a clearing with a sparse grassy area in the foreground, surrounded by tall green pine trees.
    Point 2 – gravel piles, but no crane. No snakes either

    OK, let’s move on and fast forward to the evening of the 10th. Sunset started around 7:30, with full darkness around 9 or so. I planned to get to the observation point by 7:30’ish so I could find a good spot to set the tripod, get my camp chair out, and settle in to wait for the stars to appear.

    A pink car parked on a dirt area with a camera on a tripod in the foreground and a backdrop of tall evergreen trees against a soft sunset sky.
    Twilight…waiting for stars

    As expected, I was the only one there. Cool. Unless a bear shows up. After finding my spot, another car pulled up, and out came four older guys (younger than me), who proceeded to wander off into the bushes, looking for snakes. Seriously. I asked what types and what would they do if they found some. It turns out they are reptile collectors, and used to come up to this site years back, when the highway department maintained a road salt shed on the open space. A funny group of guys….no snakes though, so they went off to search another area. That was the last car I saw that evening until I left. 

    OK, enough blathering about reptiles and salt sheds. I started shooting once the first star appeared to the west, looking towards the glow of Sacramento. Pretty soon, I could make out the Milky Way, and soon after, it was dark enough to make out what appeared to be a bright section, possibly the core. As the sky became completely dark, by 9:45, the sky was beautiful – I did see a few meteors, but I think the Perseids was to the North, and I was focused more on the Milky Way as it moved from SE to SW across the horizon. I did snap a few star photos to the North for the fun of it – the Big Dipper was really clear. I also saw some Starlink satellites pass by to the North as well – never seen them before.

    A red Subaru Forester parked on a gravel surface at night, with a blue folding chair beside it and a camera mounted on a tripod.
    A dark night scene featuring silhouettes of tall trees against a starry sky, with a faint light illuminating a small rectangular object.

    The chair came in handy in the dark – once I turned off my head lamp, the only light was from the camera screen. Kind of creepy.

    I shot around 60 photos, a low record for me, experimenting with various setting on the camera. Something I never had a chance to during the Arches workshop. I also just sat back in my camp rocking chair and stared at the sky a lot. Very relaxing, and incredibly quiet. It was cool enough to wear a down sweater, so there were no mosquitoes. Or snakes. Or bears. About 11:15, the Milky Way was fading as it neared the glow in the West from Sacramento, so I decided to start the drive home. There were quite a few cars parked at the main observation point – I think I made the right choice. 

    And finally, here’s the best of the batch – it takes a while to edit them. I may add a few more. My expectations had been pretty low for this outing, so I’m not too disappointed in the results. It was good practice, and I enjoyed sitting out in the dark, watching the Milky Way slide by – beats sitting at home alone watching TV.

    Starry night sky with the Milky Way visible above a silhouette of trees.
    Best of the batch – there’s a meteor track in the middle of the Milky Way

    I get one more shot at night photography in September, when I meet some friends at Yosemite Park. I’m getting there a day before my friends, which happens to be the new moon. I intend to head up to Glacier Point, which I believe is one of the best places for night photography. We are staying close to the tunnel view, so I might be able to try that one out as well.

    Two more weeks and I’ll be in Kodiak Alaska. I’d better get back to training. I have to be faster than one person in the group.

    Peace.

  • A Visit to Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience!

    Fossilized skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex showcasing large teeth and intricate bone structure.

    July 28th, 2026

    What? Van Gogh painted T-Rex skulls? Really?

    Just kidding. Read on.

    The Van Gogh exhibit has been traveling around the country for years, and I have always wanted to see it. I had an appointment back at Fallraven in the late morning, with their tailor to adjust a pair of pants, and the place hosting the exhibit was relatively close by. I checked for tickets, and it seemed wide open, so after I was done with the tailor, I cruised on over planning to just buy a ticket when I got there. There were some people standing by the entrance when I got there, staring at their phones. As I approached the doors, one person said the doors were locked. Hmmm. They already had tickets, and were looking a bit unhappy. I knocked on doors a few times, but no answer. Someone checked on the website again, and discovered that the exhibit was closed today – no shows at all. That was not indicated earlier in the day. Bummer. I’m glad I did not purchase a ticket in advance.

    I have learned the past three years to just go with the flow instead of getting ticked off. No harm done, so I just looked for something else to do. I have not been to the Denver Museum of Science and Nature in about, oh, forty or so years, and I recalled they had a great dinosaur exhibit. And there was a more than slight probability that the museum has improved since then.

    I do not recall what parking was like in the 1980’s, but it certainly needs to be improved now. Along with signage. I wound up on a narrow road going past the museum, and dead-ending in a very small parking lot in City Park. But, it was empty, parking was free, and it did not seem too far from the museum. Too bad I left my hiking poles back at the hotel – it was a bit of adventure finding the entrance. I had to cross a large grassy meadow to reach what was a blank wall of the building. No entrance. 

    A peaceful park scene featuring a paved path winding through lush green grass and trees, with a cloudy sky in the background.
    Grassy meadow
    A paved walkway leading towards a modern building with a textured facade, surrounded by greenery and sparse trees.
    No entrance here

    I asked a very bored looking grandfather keeping an eye on his grandkids where the entrance was. He just said – you’ve got a ways to go, and pointed at the path. Great. I kept on walking and wound up eventually in what I thought was the front of the building, with the big, grand staircase. Nope. Not the entrance. 

    Stairway leading up to the entrance of Sturm Family Plaza, featuring modern handrails and a glass barrier.
    Looks like the entrance….not.

    There was a construction entrance on the left hand side of the stairs – a kind worker said I needed to walk to the North side of the building. $#!#$!!!

    But, I found a real entrance on the other side of the stairs. I was thinking that I might have to call Uber to get back to the car later on.

    Upon entering, and paying my senior entrance fee (one of the few good things about being old), I discovered that a lot has changed – there was a huge, modern addition added on to the original building. And they now charge extra for most of the more interesting exhibits. But there was still a lot to see, so I stumped off, doing my best to avoid being crushed by the mobs of school children, being herded around by anxious teachers and parents. 

    One of the museum volunteers recommended I start on the third floor, and hit the ‘Changing Landscape’ exhibit..which was free. Did I look like a cheap old person? Must be. But the exhibit was marvelous, focusing on climate change impact on four famous locations – Easter Island, Mesa Verde, the Pyramids/Sphinx and Venice. Each had sort of a 3D, immersive display – not quite like the volcano experience at the Perlon museum in Reykjavik, but still pretty cool. Here’s a few snapshots and videos.

    A row of ancient stone statues, known as Moai, standing on a stone platform against a clear blue sky, with an expansive landscape of grass and rocks in the background.
    A virtual reality environment showcasing a panoramic view of the pyramids and the Sphinx in a desert landscape, with informative text displayed on the walls.
    A panoramic view of the pyramids at Giza, displaying the Great Pyramid and its surroundings on a large digital screen.
    A digital projection of the Pyramids of Giza against a clear blue sky, showcasing the ancient structures in a desert landscape.
    A projection of ancient ruins at Mesa Verde, highlighting the effects of drought-fueled fires on the landscape, with bilingual captions in English and Spanish.

    Most of the other exhibits were standard natural museum fare – lots of dead, stuffed animals. The gem/rock exhibit was closed, but they did have a Prehistoric Journey exhibit open – dinosaurs! It was very well done, taking you through the history of life from the beginning, through the evolution of mammals through the Cenozoic Period (last 61 million years…post dinosaurs). And they had some interesting assembled skeletons. Very nice. 

    Two large dinosaur skeletons displayed in a museum, featuring a T-rex in the background and a spinosaurid in the foreground.
    Two dinosaur skeletons displayed on a rocky surface, showcasing the spiny back of one and the rounded body of the other.
    Aerial view of various animal skeletons displayed in a museum, including large and small fossils, with informative signage in the foreground.
    Fossilized skull of a dinosaur displayed in a museum setting, showcasing detailed bone structure and mounted on a black stand.
    Fossilized remains of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, displayed in a museum setting with a label indicating 'Teen Rex' from North Dakota.

    I had enough by then, I did not want to push my luck any further dodging mobs of children, so I exited the museum, and started the long trek back to the car. A very large thunderhead was passing over, which made me more than a little nervous walking across the large, open meadow….there were flashes of lightning overhead. But, I made it back to the car without getting burned to a cinder by a bolt of lighting. 

    All told, including my morning treadmill exercise, I walked about 5 miles today. I had been hoping to do one or two hikes this week. This counts as the first. And I still have a couple of days left if I really want to see that Van Gogh thing. 

    Peace