Into The Deep Blue – Crater Lake, OR

Welcome to the deep blue! Ellen soaks in the panorama at Watchman Tower

If you’re a geek like me you’ll remember the iconic IBM machine Deep Blue that beat the world champion of chess in 1997. It was a deep moment (geekwise) and for some reason that very image popped into my mind the first time I viewed Crater Lake. What I was seeing was almost inconceivable -> an all-encompassing panorama of the most unnatural rich shade of blue. It almost seemed staged, man-made and yet it’s 100% mother earth and inevitably a deeply moving moment. How do you wrap your head around something like that? And even more how do you write about it?

A rare shot of moi, thanks to Ellen

Crater Lake is unique and sometimes spots like these are the hardest blog posts to write, for the very reason that they’ve been written about millions of times over. Nothing I can tell you has not already been said, and everything I tell you will be moot until you come here for yourself. Alex, Ellen and the two of us spent an afternoon soaking in the atmosphere and my impressions came in waves, reflecting, echoing and multiplying off the oh-so-glassy surface and rocky sides of the lake. My thoughts built to a crescendo so perhaps that’s the best way to describe them. In any case, here goes my feeble attempt to capture the gloriousness of it all:

Crater Lake is Oh-So Deep

Oh, come ye to the deep….

The lake, or rather caldera that is Crater Lake reaches down 1,932 feet (589 m). It is the deepest lake in the US and the 6th deepest in the world. The water is so clear that you can almost imagine reaching the bottom and yet it goes on beyond what you can possibly imagine. There are folks who scuba dive here, which must surely be a fabulously surreal experience (= the natural version of a sensory deprivation immersion chamber?).

Crater Lake is Oh-So-Blue

Late afternoon is oh-so-blue

You can’t help but wonder at the blueness of it all. Deep as the ocean, bright as the sky, varied as a summer day. The intense richness of the color is direct thanks to the depth and clarity of the waters. Of all the colors of the rainbow violet and blue are the shortest wavelengths, and being so very deep Crater Lake absorbs the rest and reflects back a rich blend of the two. The blueness moves with the time of day ranging from a light fluffiness to a deep baritone, reflecting the sky in almost perfect symmetry. At the shallow edges of the lake the color shifts to aqua and even shades of orange. Quite the panorama.

Crater Lake is Oh-So-Steep

Last portion of the lovely hike to Watchman Tower

You can’t go wrong with ANY of the hikes on the rim

This unearthly depression with unthinkably steep sides is actually a massive caldera the remanent of an enormous volcanic explosion 7,700 years ago. Mount Mazama grew, blew and collapsed creating the base for this enduring lake. The rim drive that circles the crater (33 miles) stops at multiple scenic views and affords over 90 miles of hikes up steep and panoramic paths (For a short, easy hike do the stunning 1.6 mile roundtrip to Watchman Tower, for a longer and steeper one indulge in the 3.4 mile Garfield Peak). The steepness and vastness of the view will draw you into another world.

Crater Lake is Oh-So Crazy

You can lounge and sip at the Rim Village Lodge with a view

This little slice of nature’s story sits at ~6,200 feet of elevation and enjoys all the craziness of mother nature’s whims. In winter it lies dormant in deep snow (~533 inches per year!), vast and seemingly dead, although rarely freezing due to its depth (the last recorded freeze was 1949). The park is hard to access during this time, but is free with rangers offering free winter snowshoe hikes too. In summer it resists the sun for many, many months finally coming out of hibernation for a short few late summer days for full access. Summertime the whole lake opens up and offers boat rides to the central island too (we just missed the season for these).

Crater Lake is Oh-So Incredible

It’s quite a unique kinda place

All the facts about this spot make it interesting, but cannot possibly describe the scene. Whether you’re stopping at a viewpoint, or hiking a trail or perhaps even sipping a long drink at the lodge the lake absorbs you completely. Deep blue drawing you in and keeping you captive in a game of mother nature’s chess. No, I couldn’t possibly describe what it’s like. It’s a moment, it’s a thought, it’s a spot unlike any other….and you’ll just have to come here to soak it in yourself!

P.S. Sadly no dogs are allowed on the trails at Crater Lake. You can bring pooch on roads, parking lots and picnic areas but not on your hike. Polly stayed home for our outing.

Another great view from the rim

And yet another….

Paw Friendly & Off-Leash Beaches – San Diego, CA

Polly makes a new friend at Del Mar Dog beach

Having bombarded you with a couple of pretty geek-intensive posts I figured I would get back to something cute and fluffy. In my mind, nothing is cuter than our furry family (that would be the pets, not Paul), and nothing is more fluffy than a wind-dried beach dog, and these past few weeks we’ve been doing our best to show off both at all the paw-friendly spots around town. The perfect lead-in to a blog post!

The brand new San Diego doggie beach map!! Blue icons are off-leash spots. Pink are on-leash spots. CLICK IT!

Now, the locals here loooove their dogs and this city is one of the dog-friendlier in the state, in my opinion, with lots of spots to take pooch on the beach both on and off-leash.  They’re so beach-dog crazy here they even hold annual dog surfing competitions (check out the 2011 winners) and you can take honest-to-goodness doggie surf lessons. How cool is that?

Given we used to live in the area I’ve got a pretty good idea of where to go w/ pooch, but when I looked around on the net I realized it can be tough for new-comers to figure it all out. Lots and lots of info out there, but nothing in terms of actual maps so you can see where everything is. So, I decided to change all that with both a map AND a summary of my favorite spots…with a few local secrets thrown in.

Off-Leash Beach Havens

For leash-free lovers from North to South, here’s our favorite spots:

Your truly poses w/ Polly by the gorgeous Solana cliffs

1/ Del Mar/Solana Dog Beach – A wonderful and spacious dog-friendly beach right on the border between Del Mar & Solana that allows off-leash access from Sept thro’ June. Lovely back-drop of cliffs here too. MAP IT!
Secret Tips: If you park right by the northern end (Solana side) you’ll have to pay for parking, but there’s free parking right across the bridge (Del Mar side) just 100 yards south. You can also hike for miles along the southern end of Del Mar with pooch on leash, both up on the cliffs and on the beach below. For a lovely pet store, stop by Dexter’s Deli in Del Mar too.

Polly leads a friends' puppy on a hike on Fiesta Island. San Diego in the background and beach on the right.

2/ Fiesta Island – This island sheltered in Mission Bay is doggie HEAVEN! The entire Island is off-leash friendly, plus there is a huge (enormous, gigantic, humungous) fenced-in dog area where you can hike/run w/ pooch both on land and by the water. MAP IT!
Secret Tips: If you’ve got a smaller rig (class C), you can park all day right on the sand at Fiesta Island. Park closes at 10PM.

Going for a splash at Ocean Beach Dog Beach

3/ Ocean Beach – This is the original off-leash doggie beach in San Diego. It’s a nice stretch of beach silhouetted by the pier and popular with surfers too. MAP IT!
Secret Tips: OB has a very cool, relaxed late-hippy vibe and several of the restaurants around town ( for example O’Bistro and OB Noodle House) are pooch-friendly too.

4/ Coronado Beach - The very northern end of Coronado beach (near Sunset Park, by the naval station) is off-leash dog friendly. To avoid (big) fines keep doggie on leash until you’re right AT the beach. MAP IT!
Secret Tips: You can see the majestic and historic Hotel Del Coronado in the distance from here. Hop along w/ pooch to the Wine Styles Bar or McP’s Irish Pub after your romp for a dog-friendly glass.

On-Leash Beach Playgrounds

Outside of the “big 4″ there are a bunch of other beaches that allow on-leash access on the coast. Most of them specify an 8-foot leash and a few have specific hours. Once again our top pics North to South:

Polly digs for treasure in the sand

1/ Cardiff State Beach - The only state beach that allows dogs in San Diego. This is a lovely stretch of sand that runs south from Cardiff (just south of the watchtower at San Elijo State Park) to Solana. Dogs are allowed on-leash all along this area. Since it’s right next to San Elijo State Park this is also the only spot I know in San Diego where you can camp, surf (sweeeet long-boarding break) and enjoy the beach w/pooch right next door. We haven’t stayed at San Elijo (it’s $35/night for dry-camping and it’s rated for 35′-max) but we could probably squeeze into a few spots. MAP IT!

2/ La Jolla Shores – A cute little stretch of beach right in upscale La Jolla. Doggies allowed on-leash on the beach (and next-door Kellogg Park) before 9AM and after 6PM (in summer Apr-Oct) or after 4PM (in winter Nov-Mar). MAP IT!

Wonderful Mission Bay. Fiesta Island is in the middle.

3/ Mission Bay Park - Mission Bay Park has ~27 miles of shoreline all secluded inside this lovely bay. In addition to fully-off-leash Fiesta Island, the park allows leashed dogs pretty much everywhere else as long as it’s before 9AM and after 6PM (in summer Apr-Oct) or after 4PM (in winter Nov-Mar). There are tons of spots to take pooch here incl. De Anza Cove, Ventura Cove, Mission Point….you name it. If you want to camp in the area Mission Bay RV Resort (accepts Passport America mid-week) is a private park right on the bay beachline. MAP IT!

4/ Imperial Beach – A lovely beach with a superb pier right at the southern end of San Diego, you can take pooch on leash anywhere outside of the swimming area (north of Palm Blvd or south of Imperial Beach Blvd). MAP IT!

Some good links:
Dog-friendly restaurants in San Diego – from BringFido.com
Dog-friendly parks & beaches in San Diego  – From San Diego Travels
San Diego dog beaches and parks – From Sandiego.com

And with that I think doggie and us will go get wet and sandy (with a little post-fluffing-up) before the sun sets.

Capturing The Perfect Shot -> Pet Portraits

With diffuse light I can really bring out the details in Polly's coat

Polly is a black mutt and from a photography point of view it I couldn’t have picked a harder subject. If you’ve ever tried to photograph a black dog you know exactly what I mean. In half the shots doggie comes out as an unidentifiable black blob, while in the other half the background gets so “blown out” so that all you can see is an alien white mass (with black blob in front).

But thankfully I’ve got a trick or two. This past week in the forest we’ve had the absolute perfect conditions (soft, filtered light and a neutral background) so I snapped up a bunch of Polly shots and decided to share some of my tips on the blog with another addition to my photography series. So, here ya go:

This was taken on a cloudy day

1/ Target Soft, Diffuse Light - I’ve always gotten my best pet shots in a soft, diffuse light.  Bright, direct light tends to bounce hard off shiny pet coats and ”blow out” the picture. It’s just far too harsh and the effect is even worse on dark-colored pets. A much better option is to find somewhere the light is filtered (e.g. through a window or under a forest canopy), or use very late evening or early morning light. Cloudy days are another great time to shoot. This kind of light will even out the coat and allow you bring out the details in your picture.

Sometimes you'll only get a second for that shot. My shutter speed was 1/200 here.

2/ Go Fast - Pets, like kids tend to move around a lot and sometimes it can be hard to capture the moment without blur. You best bet with pets is to go fast. So, set your camera to a fast shutter speed (around 1/200th is pretty good, or even faster if doggie is very active) and snap away. If the pictures look too dark I’ll usually up the ISO (to 400 or so), but I’ll always try to keep the shutter speed fast. On my Nikon SLR camera I use a simple fast lens (50mm f/1.8) for all my pet shots. On my point and shoot I’ll fix the shutter speed and let it chose the rest of the settings. Some point and shoots have a “pet” setting which does the same thing.

Getting those eyes is key. I used soft window light and a toy bribe for this shot.

3/ Get Those Eyes - One of the secrets to any kind of animal photography is to get the eyes in focus. The eyes are the window to the soul, and for pets in photos that certainly rings true. Even if the rest is out of focus, if the eyes are sharp the picture is really appealing. So, try to focus there and worry less about the rest.

Keep a simple background

4/ Choose a Simple Background - When you’re doing any kind of portrait work you want the focus of the shot to be on the subject. A busy background is always distracting, so try to choose a neutral or very clean background. For up-close work an even neutral-colored background works great (leaves, ground, wall etc.). For wider shots you can include some clean background (e.g. ocean, forest), but make sure the pet remains the main focus.

Get down into your pets' world

5/ Get Low and Close - Most of my best pet shots come from playing with perspective. So, I usually try to get down low and close to the pets’ level, or shoot from above or the side or below. Getting down low and close will get you more into your pets’ world and that’ll show in the shot.

Interaction with family can create lovely, intimate shots

6/ Cheat, Play & Bribe – I almost always bring treats or toys when I’m shooting pets. With Polly I’ve trained her to look at the camera, and get a treat for it, which helps to get that connection with the shot. You can dangle the treat right next to the lens as you’re shooting or get great “action” shots while your pet plays around with a toy. With the cats I’ll usually dangle a toy or treat. Interacting with people can create wonderful moments too, so bring in your other half to capture some family moments.

Snap away and you might get something unusual and fun

7/ Snap Away – In the digital age it’s so easy to snap away and I definitely encourage that with pets. Don’t be discouraged if your first shot isn’t any good. Just snap away and see what you get. Sometimes catching unusual moments (such as kitty yawning, or doggie laughing) can create really interesting shots and it only takes that one moment to get the perfect shot!

That’s about it folks. Got any tips of your own?

SP Campground Review – Elephant Butte Lake State Park, Truth or Consequences, NM

Gorgeous Elephant Butte Lake

A lovely and relaxing State Park by beautiful Elephant Butte Lake in middle NM. We stayed at the northern-most campground (Monticello).

Link to campground here: Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM
Link to map location here: Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

1. Site Quality = 5/5
   We stayed at the Monticello campground and there is an excellent selection of sites here. They are all very large, flat gravel sites with water/electric, shelters, picnic table and fire-pits and great separation. Pull-through sites have 50Amp. Nicest lake views are in the front reservation loops (#16-30), but many other sites have slices of lake view or beautiful mountain views.
2.  Facilities = 3.5/5
   Good facilities. Flush toilets and showers, all spacious and kept nicely clean. Only ding is that (like all the state parks here) they have that timer button on the shower. All campgrounds have access to the lake with boat ramp and fishing opportunities. On-site dump station.
3. Location = 5/5
   We just loved the location here. You’re right by a lake with lots of water activities and hiking trails. Also very close to Truth and Consequences for spa/hot-springs and basic shopping needs (Walmart). Plenty of short day-trips to do in the area including visiting local ghost towns (Kingston and Hillsboro).
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Excellent doggie park. Plenty of space to hang out and play, plus daily walks down to splash around in the lake

Overall Rating = 4.6
BONUS ALERT = Enjoy wide open space and gorgeous views of Elephant Butte Lake

Summary: Elephant Butte is New Mexico’s largest body of water and the State Park is one of their most popular. The first thing to understand is there are two “major” campgrounds separated by ~10 miles. The Southern-most one (clearly marked on exits 79 & 83 on Hwy I-25, includes Lions Loop, Quail Run, Desert Cove) is their main one and has more developed facilities (e.g. swim-beach, marina), whereas their northern one (not marked on exit 89 on Hwy I-25, called South Monticello campground) is more relaxed and quiet. We of course, chose Monticello and were very, very happy with it. The sites here are very large, flat, gravel with water/electric, picnic table, shelters, fire-pit, great separation and lovely, open views. Most open lake views are in the 2 front reservation loops (sites (#16-30), but all sites are nice, in our opinion. We ended up extending our stay twice so we switched sites a few times. Despite being a popular park, the more remote Monticello campground was only ~1/2 full on the week-end and stayed very quiet/relaxed. Overall we had a blast visiting Truth and Consequences, hiking around the area, soaking in the sunsets and splashing in the lake. We would definitely come back.

Extra Info:  Full Verizon coverage via phone and aircard. Sites cost $14/night for water/30 or 50Amp electric. Camping fees can be covered with New Mexico Annual Camping Permit. Approx. half of sites are reservable, half are first-come-first-serve. On-site dump station.

Our first site at Elephant Butte (reservation site #19). We thought it the nicest-view site in the campground.

Typical back-in-site (#21 on left)

Typical 50Amp pull-through (#9 shown)

View of shelter, picnic table and fire-pit at each site

View down reservation loop (we're in #19 in the very back)

View down side of loop in non-reservation section. This was our 2nd site (#33)

Another view of non-reservation section (#32 on right)

Soaking in the evening view at our campsite

View of facilities in middle of campground

A Delay & Re-Route For Pooch

When pooch is under the weather, we're all under the weather

Well, we’ve ended up staying in the little town of Edna, TX a little longer than expected. A few days back our pooch, Polly started getting sick. At first it didn’t seem like much, dogs being prone to little upsets now and then, but after a full night of vomiting followed by a morning of bright red diarrhea we knew we weren’t going to be moving the RV for a while. I’ve got a fair number of home remedies that I use, and am pretty good at being able to diagnose and heal general minor issues in the animals, but I also know when it’s time to pack it in and see a vet, and this was one of those times.

Polly sleeps off the medication

Bright red poo, medically called hematochezia, signifies something is irritating the lower intestine, and it can be caused by a number of issues. My thought was it was likely either something she’d eaten outside or some kind of parasite she’d picked up. So, we googled the nearest vet, rang ‘em up and went in for an afternoon appointment. The vet (as with most vets we’ve used on the road) was a lovely gentlemen and he agreed with my initial thoughts. So, it was onto medication for 3 days while hoping the thing cleared up (or we would go back for more tests).

It's beautiful right here

So, here we’ve been. It’s always heartbreaking when your animals are sick especially since they can’t really tell you what’s wrong, but we were definitely not going anywhere until Polly got better. Thankfully on day 2 of the medication things took a turn for the positive, and we’re hopeful she’s over the worst of it, but it does mean we’ve had to re-route our trip somewhat. So, instead of heading 3 days to boondock down in Padre National Seashore, we’re going to cut across directly to San Antonio/Austin and pick up our original itinerary from there.

We'll stick together until the skies clear

These things do happen, and thankfully we can be flexible and work around them. We’ll enjoy our surroundings, relax and sleep things off. It’s beautiful here, in it’s on way, and there’s no rush to see the next thing or even to see it at all.

If pooch is under the weather, we’re all under the weather so we’ll stick together until the skies clear.