Day 3: Desert sunshine!
Our day began early again at 5:40. We threw on some clothes, grabbed some coffee and OJ and headed for Mt. Whitney Portal and nearby Alabama Hills for a shoot. It was a whopping 33 degrees when we got out of the car. I had on a long sleeve running shirt, a wool sweater, a winter biking jacket, and a light weight down jacket over that! The main thing that got cold was my hands, having to take them out of my gloves to change the settings on the camera.
To say I am rusty is like saying it only rains for a few days in Seattle. I am also using a new camera, a Cannon 80D. I ended up shooting in AV mode, and my best shots were using the auto mode as we headed back to the car. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The Mt. Whitney Portal didn't offer very good comps, though John thinks that's where I got my best photo. We spent the sunrise here and then headed back down towards Alabama Hills. We had a little trouble finding the right road (tiny sign that says Movie Rd.) and took the wrong road. We drove over a four-inch rock that was too much for my Prius' clearance. We had to stop and use a rock to dig it out. Yikes. Everything seems to be fine, When we finally got to the right place the sun was too high, but it was more about the experience of seeing the place than the photos anyways. I loved the eroded rock formations and was particularly fascinated by a vein of less eroded rocks inside a larger formation. The arch was pretty cool, too. We did a short hike and shot for about an hour, not really getting anything but practice.
By then it was 8:30, and we managed to get out of the hotel room by 9:15. After gassing up, we were on our way to southern California. The drive down was a bit challenging. I had some crazy blind hill crests again and again and John had some crazy traffic near LA. It was a relief to get off of Hwy 15. We Google Mapped our way to a cafe in Palm Springs with vegan options and had some sandwiches. The cafe was in a plaza with a bike shop, so we stopped in there to get a recommendation for a ride.
The worker there sent us farther down Palm Drive to cross over Gene Autry Trail and at the next road, we turned right and the road dead ends into dirt and a gate. There we parked and rode up the hill, a dirt road that goes by the water towers. It was a grunt up to the top and we had to walk part of it, and it was 86 degrees. What a way to get acclimated! At the top there was a little singletrack and more roads, and we explored for about an hour. It wasn't quite what I envisioned but it was a good way to stretch our legs after a tense drive. It was 90 degrees when we finished.
We then headed for our Airbnb in Desert Hot Springs. We are staying in a straw bale house that is nice and cool. There is a pool, but the flies chased John inside, so we ate our avocado salad inside. We enjoyed a couple G & Ts as well. Lisha and Mark, our hosts, are nice people, and one of their dogs, Beckham (13 years old), is hanging out with us. Their other dog has skin cancer and they have to be separated.
I can't wait until tomorrow. I think we are finally sleeping in. We might do a run in Joshua Tree NP, or maybe a bike ride. We don't have to check out until noon tomorrow, so we can enjoy ourselves in the morning. I am looking forward to it.
Ellen
\We drove down the the Portal road to Alabama Hills. The signs are difficult to find and we took the wrong road and ended up lodging a rock under the Prius. We dug it out and continued on our way to the Movie Set Road farther up the Portal. The road leads to the Alabama Hills where locations for numerous Hollywood westerns. In fact, they have markers staked in the ground to identify the movies. We drove to the parking area for the Mobius Arch and started hiking. The golden hour was almost complete. We easily found the arch and took a few shots and then continued cross country by hiking around rocks and up and down dry ravines. We finally admitted to ourselves that we had wasted the golden hour at the Portal. I am pretty sure I didn't enjoy the morning golden hour shoot. Hence, we hiked back to the car, drove to the motel, showered, packed, gassed the car and headed south on 395 for Palm Springs.
John
To say I am rusty is like saying it only rains for a few days in Seattle. I am also using a new camera, a Cannon 80D. I ended up shooting in AV mode, and my best shots were using the auto mode as we headed back to the car. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The Mt. Whitney Portal didn't offer very good comps, though John thinks that's where I got my best photo. We spent the sunrise here and then headed back down towards Alabama Hills. We had a little trouble finding the right road (tiny sign that says Movie Rd.) and took the wrong road. We drove over a four-inch rock that was too much for my Prius' clearance. We had to stop and use a rock to dig it out. Yikes. Everything seems to be fine, When we finally got to the right place the sun was too high, but it was more about the experience of seeing the place than the photos anyways. I loved the eroded rock formations and was particularly fascinated by a vein of less eroded rocks inside a larger formation. The arch was pretty cool, too. We did a short hike and shot for about an hour, not really getting anything but practice.
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| My first shot in probably 10 years. Yikes. |
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| First light on Mt. Whitney |
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| Mobuis Arch in Alabama Hills |
By then it was 8:30, and we managed to get out of the hotel room by 9:15. After gassing up, we were on our way to southern California. The drive down was a bit challenging. I had some crazy blind hill crests again and again and John had some crazy traffic near LA. It was a relief to get off of Hwy 15. We Google Mapped our way to a cafe in Palm Springs with vegan options and had some sandwiches. The cafe was in a plaza with a bike shop, so we stopped in there to get a recommendation for a ride.
The worker there sent us farther down Palm Drive to cross over Gene Autry Trail and at the next road, we turned right and the road dead ends into dirt and a gate. There we parked and rode up the hill, a dirt road that goes by the water towers. It was a grunt up to the top and we had to walk part of it, and it was 86 degrees. What a way to get acclimated! At the top there was a little singletrack and more roads, and we explored for about an hour. It wasn't quite what I envisioned but it was a good way to stretch our legs after a tense drive. It was 90 degrees when we finished.
We then headed for our Airbnb in Desert Hot Springs. We are staying in a straw bale house that is nice and cool. There is a pool, but the flies chased John inside, so we ate our avocado salad inside. We enjoyed a couple G & Ts as well. Lisha and Mark, our hosts, are nice people, and one of their dogs, Beckham (13 years old), is hanging out with us. Their other dog has skin cancer and they have to be separated.
I can't wait until tomorrow. I think we are finally sleeping in. We might do a run in Joshua Tree NP, or maybe a bike ride. We don't have to check out until noon tomorrow, so we can enjoy ourselves in the morning. I am looking forward to it.
Ellen
Boy, are we out of practice! I was not at ease with my camera equipment which meant I spent valuable golden hour time getting reacquainted with photography. This morning was an exercise in Photography 101. It was 31 degrees at the Whitney Portal and we found a decent, not great, location to capture the morning sun hitting Mt. Whitney. The good news was we were dressed for the temperatures. The bad news was the clear sky. No clouds mean no color. It may just as well have been a drive by shoot with our phones sticking out the car windows.
\We drove down the the Portal road to Alabama Hills. The signs are difficult to find and we took the wrong road and ended up lodging a rock under the Prius. We dug it out and continued on our way to the Movie Set Road farther up the Portal. The road leads to the Alabama Hills where locations for numerous Hollywood westerns. In fact, they have markers staked in the ground to identify the movies. We drove to the parking area for the Mobius Arch and started hiking. The golden hour was almost complete. We easily found the arch and took a few shots and then continued cross country by hiking around rocks and up and down dry ravines. We finally admitted to ourselves that we had wasted the golden hour at the Portal. I am pretty sure I didn't enjoy the morning golden hour shoot. Hence, we hiked back to the car, drove to the motel, showered, packed, gassed the car and headed south on 395 for Palm Springs.
Once we started down the 12 mile 6 percent grade leading to San Bernadino I realized I was competing with some serious and experienced drivers. I kept the Prius at 70 mph so we would not get run over by the other vehicles. We all jockeyed for the various lanes as we sprinted down the grade. Then a motorcycle passed everyone by splitting the lanes. I was so glad to get out of that traffic and into Palm Springs which has 40 mph speed limits in neighborhoods. The numerous stop lights seemed to provide some wisdom to the drive. I know I didn't enjoy the four hour drive. We found our vegan lunch and a bike shop next door. The owner gave us a great recommendation for a ride.
We found the trail head with no problems. Biked up, we started up the hill and shortly after we started to hike a bike. Once at the top we found a myriad of trails. One serious descent bounced me off the trail and then back onto the trail. The trails here are very rocky. After a few trails and some photos we started back to the car. I am not sure I enjoyed the ride. The trail head is near the Gene Autry Trail (road) and it took us quickly out of Palm Springs and to our AirBnb in Desert Hot Springs. I think I like the accommodations.
I am looking forward to a late morning and an easy drive to Joshua Tree and our time in the national park. I just hope our egos recover and we learn from our mishaps during today's shoot. Joshua Tree National Park is a lovely place for photographers. By the way, we went from 31 degrees in the Whitney Portal and Alabama Hills to biking in 90 degrees. I think I like this dryness and warmth.
Shame on you guys for not using your cameras at least once a week. I know the feeling. LOL Happens to me once in a while. Just have to push yourselves to take pics at home. And John, I feel your pain about the traffic. We were in SoCal three weeks ago and I HATE the fact that they let the motorcyclists split the lanes. Freaks me out. Enjoy the desert. If it peaks at 90 then the rest of the day should be really nice. You'll be a lot cooler up in Joshua Tree.
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