Connecticut Fall Foliage: A Trip Into the Litchfield Hills

New England Pond

Digital C-Print

    

                     I love New England, especially in the fall. I went for a drive into the Litchfield hills today and even though it is past "peak" leaf peeping, the colors in the landscape were still amazingly vibrant.

Rathbun's Sugar House: Adirondack Mountain Exploration

Milk Bottles

Digital C-Print

      Rathbun's sugar house is a place my extended family has been going to for years. I just discovered it within the last couple years and can't believe I didn't know about this place earlier. Nestled away in the Adirondack Mountains this quaint little restaurant is always busy. Expect to wait a while! They have a sugar shack behind the restaurant where depending on the time of year you can watch them make maple syrup or learn about their history. Along side the restaurant they have an area chock full of old American farming equipment and old knick knacks. To some it may look like a pile of junk, to me I see a time forgotten. Surprisingly a lot of the stuff is still in decent condition for being outside year round. 
     I am enamored with these bottles. These are glass milk bottles from once local farms. You can still read the farm's names on the sides of the bottles. The row of bottles caught my eye immediately when I walked into the enclosure. It was a beautiful day and the way they were catching the light made it look like they were sparkling from a distance. From this angle the light softly fills each bottle highlighting the years that they have seen. The landscape behind the bottle is full of beautiful fall foliage.

Expect to see more images from my treks 

around the Adirondack's!

New Mexico's High Plains

Bottomless Lake Road

Digital C-Print

              The high plains can be beautiful. It's the type of landscape where the colors are amazing but it's flat, no trees, and a lot of sky. You feel like you can see forever there. Like I have said before that can be an "image killer". I feel like this image should be printed and displayed as large as a wall. So you can really get engrossed in the landscape.  In the foreground you have the natural landscapes flora and off in the distance are the bottomless lakes.  The complementing contrast of the yellow and green shrubbery, to the red clay earth, and the blue sky are harmonious. 

Adirondack Mountain Walkway

Mountain Walkway

Digital C-Print

                   
       

I wanted to share with you a simple image that anyone can put a story too. What would your story be?

Lets Get Bottomless

Bottomless Lakes

Roswell, NM

Digital  C- Print

            While driving across New Mexico I wanted to stop at the Bottomless Lakes State Park, which is situated outside of Roswell, NM. I know what you are thinking, "OMG the alien place". Yes, it is the alien place. If you have to drive through Roswell there are two places you should definitely stop: 

1.      Pecos Flavors Winery- doesn't look like much from the outside, being in a little strip mall, but it really is fantastic on the inside. They have a beautiful bar where you can either sit and have a glass of New Mexico wine or they also have a variety of New Mexico micro-brewed beers as well. Their staff was very friendly, inviting, and knowledgable. You could have a hole in the wall establishment but if your staff is inviting and knowledgeable that is an A+ for me. They have a beautiful space, good wine, and were knowledgeable. It was really worth the drive through Roswell. 
2.      The original reason I started this post, is the Bottomless Lakes State Park. Just a short drive outside the main city of Roswell, you get to see something really beautiful. The colors there are amazing, striking clear blue water, the land ranging in color from a deep red to a mustard, and the landscape around the lakes has wonderfully colored shrubbery.  The landscapes natural colors were impressive. The colors were so vibrant they seemed almost fake. The clouds that day were surprising and it really was a stroke of luck. I have noticed that the high plains part of New Mexico down to the desert tend to be cloudless often, which in the photography world is an "image killer". Some people have also said that a cloudless sky is like a flowerless garden. My garden was full that day! Believe it or not these lakes are really sinkholes. Yes, sinkholes! Apparently, the New Mexican state parks department feels like they are stable enough for people visit and swim in. So if you are planning a drive through that part of New Mexico, I would encourage you to stop and enjoy the view.

         If you really want to see some "Alien stuff" I believe there a few alien wax museums in Roswell, along with lots of alien stores that you could visit. But honestly while driving through you will see your fare share of Aliens. One of the aliens is the McDonalds that looks like a alien space ship. 

Here's the Pecos Flavors Winery's website, just in case you decide to make a detour. ;)  www.pecosflavorswinery.com/

The Bottomless Lakes website is http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/bottomlesslakesstatepark.html