NASA Deer

Another picture from when I went to JPL to see Gavin. It seems that all NASA centers are required to have deer.

Tent Rocks Closeup

This is an oldie. Gavin and I took a side trip after his cousin's wedding in Santa Fe, NM to Tent Rocks National Monument. These sandstone formations are obviously the namesakes of the area.

Columbine

Two years ago when we went to Rocky Mountain National Park to try to climb Long's Peak, I fell in love with Columbine. A flower that choses to grow up above the treeline among the rocks of mountain peaks appeals to me at a very basic level. I think if I were a flower, that's where I'd chose to live. This particular specimen was growing along the trail that leads up to Chasm Lake below the Diamond face of Long's Peak. This hike is probably my favorite of all time. I've posted pictures of it before here and here and here. I have a couple more I may yet pull out on a slow photo day.

Cuernos Otra Vez

As promised, the traditional view of Los Cuernos del Paine. Obviously, the colors didn't come out so well here since it was cloudy. This photo was taken on the catamaran ride across the lake. Actually back across the lake in this case, although this is the view we got both ways.

Cuernos del Paine

Back to Patagonia... We stayed a night at Refugio Paine Grande. It was a brand new, VERY nice place to stay. This was the view that we got outside our windows. These are the Cuernos del Paine, sort of side-on. I'll post another picture from the classic front view, but we never saw the front in the sunlight. On the left, you can see Las Torres. They're far away, which makes them look very small relative to Los Cuernos.

Whispy Sunset

We were supposed to get thunderstorms tonight, but they all went around us. I was out mowing the lawn when I noticed the strange cloud lighting and ran for the camera.

Hale Lake

Yesterday I tooks a short walk in Brazos Bend State Park after I volunteered at Space Day at the George Observatory. This is Hale Lake. Texas can be pretty. It was really hot, though.

Glacier Gray

On the other side of Torres del Paine from Las Torres is Glacier Gray, which feeds Lago Gray. The lake is known for the icebergs that come off the glacier. We were there at the end of the Patagonian summer, and only saw a few lonely icebergs, one of which is pictured here.