September 10 on 10: Our Spokane Vacation

 Every year, my family take the same vacations. We go to the Adirondacks of NY and then at the end of July, we go to Spokane Washington and Idaho to the 'lake'.  During both of these vacations, we are visiting our extended family. Living in Indiana, we have no relatives nearby. This year, my mother-in-law had some health problems, which prevented her from being able to travel to the lake (she is fine now), so the family decided to gather and stay in Spokane. Although we missed going to the lake, it was fun to be all together and to explore some different parts of Spokane.

We did not do a whole lot because it is hard to get everyone organized, but we did manage to go on a couple of hikes in the area. The weather was good, except for being hot and dry.

We did one hike with the whole family. It was short but a little steep and there was not much shade. Still it was worth it to get everyone out of the house

There were lots of rock structures to climb which made it fun for kids and adults alike:

Here is the whole gang on the way down:

Everyone else had to leave a couple of days sooner that we did, so we had some time there with just us and my mother-in-law. We dragged the kids on one other hike. This one had a pretty interesting landscape--rocky from ancient lava flows which made the whole area covered in balsaltic rocks:

It was fun to climb on, even if a little tough:

 Overall, I did not do a lot of photography on this vacation--at least not the type I usually like to do where I get up early in the morning to try to capture some interesting nature shots, but I did enjoy doing some close-ups of interesting bark on the trees here and there:

 Well we missed out on going to the lake this year but we plan to be back next year, of course, This is part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle and see what the talented Kristina Rust has been up to.

July 10 on 10: Our Annual Adirondack Vacation

It is the time of year for our annual vacation in the Adirondacks. We have been here about a week and the weather could hardly be better. Also the mosquitoes and black flies are barely around this year which is a welcome change. 

We have been enjoying the hikes. This year we did a new hike up Mount Adams and it is the hardest hike I have ever done in the Adirondacks. We thought it would be no problem since it is only 5 miles, but, boy, it was tough! The view was worth it, though:

We also did easier hikes, like up Castle Rock which offers a great payoff for a relatively easy walk up:

And Goodnow (the hike was easy, but the fire tower was much higher than on Adams):

I have also been enjoying the early mornings going out for photos, with the lovely light mist (or heavy fog, depending on the morning).

We have one week left here at our second home and I will not want it to be over but we will enjoy the memories we have for a long time.

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This is part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle starting with the talented Kathleen Ries.

July 10 on 10: Our Annual Adirondack Vacation

It is the time of year for our annual vacation in the Adirondacks. We have been here about a week and the weather could hardly be better. Also the mosquitoes and black flies are barely around this year which is a welcome change. 

We have been enjoying the hikes. This year we did a new hike up Mount Adams and it is the hardest hike I have ever done in the Adirondacks. We thought it would be no problem since it is only 5 miles, but, boy, it was tough! The view was worth it, though:

We also did easier hikes, like up Castle Rock which offers a great payoff for a relatively easy walk up:

And Goodnow (the hike was easy, but the fire tower was much higher than on Adams):

I have also been enjoying the early mornings going out for photos, with the lovely light mist (or heavy fog, depending on the morning).

We have one week left here at our second home and I will not want it to be over but we will enjoy the memories we have for a long time.

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This is part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle starting with the talented Kathleen Ries.

April 10 on 10: Spring . . . Sort Of

We've had another typical start to Spring in Indiana: back and forth from some unseasonably warm days (even to almost 80) to cold, frost, rain and, even, snow, but my favorite spring wild flowers--wood anemone--have returned:

And there is dew on the grass in the mornings, which I always love:

Plus the return of colors to the landscape:

At the end of March, I got a special treat. I "had" to travel for work to San Diego. The work part maybe was not so much fun (although it ended up being much better than I was anticipating, and it was a productive trip), but going to sunny San Diego and having the opportunity to see my friend Kim for a few hours on one evening (plus meet Luciane) made it so much more appealing. Kim was so kind to take me to a few favorite spots in San Diego--Scripps Pier:

 And windandsea beach:

And my hotel was right across the street from the Salk Institute:

It was a quick trip, but I do hope to be able to go back someday--maybe even for a vacation . . .

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This blog post is a part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle to see what other photographers were up to this month, starting with Trine from Norway.

10 on 10: Maple Syrup Festival 2016

We went the Maple Syrup Festival this year. It was different than last year . . . a warm day for late February and no snow at all. This winter we had pretty much no snow, which is rather disappointing. 

Also this year there were no incidents like last year where I almost did not make it up an ice-covered hill because I followed directions on my GPS that took me on a road that is not maintained in the winter. Actually this time, Dave even found on the website for the festival a warning not to follow GPS and turn on that road :) 

The funny thing is I was telling my mother about going this year and also about going last year and told the story about getting stuck on the hill (last year) and she still seemed worried about it . . . even though it was a year ago . . . she wondered what I would have done if I had not finally made it up the hill . . . again, it was a year ago and I did make it up. Water under the bridge, right? I guess, though, I'd better consider myself lucky, and I do.

We had fun, of course. The festival was much more crowded, but we still had enough of an opportunity to enjoy ourselves with the activities:

We stayed overnight at the same hotel as last year and ate at the same restaurant as last year. My son, who prides himself on his memory (and he should) was a little bothered that before we showed up at the restaurant he did not remember it. But as soon as we walked in and saw the 'periodic table of pizza', he remembered everything :)

The next day, we 'forced' our kids to stop at a state forest (they just wanted to go get lunch and then go home), but, I mean, as you can see they had fun on the unseasonably warm February day in the woods:

I had fun, too.

This is part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle, starting with Trini's post from Norway.