Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak
"Spacious Skies"

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Gathering Storm Clouds South Ponte Vedra Beach






I am taking an Oil Painting Class with instructor Artist Linda Holmes at the Cultural Center in Ponte Vedra.  Driving on A1A is a very scenic coastal drive from St. Augustine to Ponte Vedra.  Today the massive thunder clouds over the ocean was astounding and I had to stop and take pictures.  I applied a dry brush technique to give the photos a painting effect.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore











These pictures were taken during the summer when we visited friends Tom and Melody in Marquette Michigan.  The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is located is located on the south shore of Lake Superior in upper Michigan, between the communities of Munising (west) and Grand Marais (east).  It was a two hour boat tour and worth every minute.  We saw spectacular multicolored sandstone cliffs, pristine beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, and caves.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Mt. Victoria - Wellington and Miramar Peninsula


 
 


Took a bus tour of Mt. Victoria and the Miramar Peninsula on a beautiful sunny day.  The view was spectacular in all directions.  Wellington was on the west side and the Miramar Peninsula was in the east. Later in the week, I drove the complete route around the Peninsula to see the beautiful bays of Seatoun.

Rimutaka Hills - Following the Yellow Brick Road




Driving the Wine Trail to Martinborough takes you through the winding Rimutaka Hills.  I am not an experience driver in mountain ranges, particularly with heavy commercial trucks passing me left and right and tail gating me.  This is the only road in the upper hut to travel to Martinborough.  I looked for alternate routes and there are not any.  I had the pleasure of traveling over the Rimutaka Hills twice.  It gave me courage and you have no where to go except to follow the 'yellow brick road.' 

"The yellow brick road,
a journey into the unknown.
Courage, brains, and a heart.

All we need to do is tap the ruby slippers
to reveal who we truly are. "

Pakuratahi Forest


 
 


The Upper Hut was scenic with the wine trail, Kaitoke National Park and Rimutaka Hills.  The Pakuratahi Forest covers the western side of the Rimutaka ranges north of Upper Hutt and includes lands in the Kaitoke basin as well as the main Pakuratahi catchment. The road into the forest was very rough and had many pot holes.  It was not maintained and the forest had been burned in several areas. On the opposite side of the forest was a valley of rolling hills and pastures. Most parts of the forest are isolated, exposed to wind and rain and without cellphone coverage.  The road was too damaged for our car to continue so we could not venture very far into the camp ground and hiking areas. 

Friday, September 12, 2014

Silencing Frogs at Frog Pond - Tales from The Shire

 


 










Frog Pond has a lot of frogs and they can be very noisy.  Shots for Lord of the Rings were interrupted due to the noisy frogs.. When filming for the Hobbit was about to commence, the frogs were all relocated. I didn't see that many frogs but it was a hot summer's day which reminds me of an Aesop's fable "The Frogs' Complaint Against the Sun" that explains why we only have one sun.
 
"ONCE UPON A TIME, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, the Frogs lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by the noise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of them said, "The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he should beget other suns?"

Even though there are over 40 hobbit holes, tourist are only allowed to open one door, but as you would expect there is only dirt and some supporting timbers behind. Every hobbit yard was designed in detail with flower gardens, gates, mail boxes, tools, pottery, wood, and benches.  The doors are an array of different rainbow colors. The hobbit hole doors vary in size according to which actor has to be in the shot, so for example the actor who plays Samwise Gamgee is quite big, so his door was big.  Samwise Gamgee’s hobbit hole is the one with the yellow door.  Peter Jackson was meticulous with the set. Every day he got people to walk up to washing lines to tread a pathway in the long grass, so it looks Like hobbits have been using it. Each log on the piles had to be in the same place, so the set was constantly checked against photos so it looked the same.

The oak tree on top of Bag Ends is fake with thousands of leaves that had to be attached.  At least the leaves don't fall all over Bilbo Baggins Hobbit Hole!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Seatoun Coastal Drive's Blue Horizon







I drove the entire loop of the Seatoun and Miramar coasts.  Seatoun is an eastern suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is on the east coast of the Miramar Peninsula.  The coastline was rocky with dark sand against a blue horizon and deep blue sea. For summer, it was not crowded except on the weekends.  Very different from Florida's white sand beaches with people from all over the world.  Quiet, peaceful and serene and the array of blue on blue gave it perfect harmony.

 
The Tide Rises The Tide Falls
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks;
the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Rivendell, Elves and A Swinging Bridge, Kaitoke Regional Park









I hiked the trail at Kaitoke Regional Park where Rivendell was filmed for Lord
of the Rings. There were no elves to be seen among the primeval rainforest, Mirkwood elfish trees, Loudwater River and its swing bridge.  Giant spiders were not visible either but probably hidden in the tree tops spying on me. The river was low and very dry so it was too hot for elves and spiders.
During the Quest for the Lonely Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield and Company stopped off at Rivendell. Rivendell, also known as Imladris, was an Elven outpost in Middle-earth. It is also referred to as "The Last Homely House East of the Sea".  Rivendell was located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Loudwater but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Misty Mountains.  In Lord of the Rings, Arwen carrying Frodo on her horse, outruns the Black Riders to reach Rivendell.  She called upon the river for protection like elves can do and the river Loudwater became galloping horses charging after the Black Riders.

LOTR Rivendell forest, Loudmouth River and water falls.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Pungarehu Loop Surf



Summer time in New Zealand and surf highway 45 is the route to travel.  Surprising there were not that many people on the beach and it was a beautiful sunny day.  Unlike Florida where the beaches are crowded from tourist and vacationers from all the world. People flock to Florida's white sandy beaches.  Pungarehu Loop's beach is dark sand with a lot of shrubs and vegetation.  This was very quiet and basically we had the beach to ourselves.