Images by Joe

One giant step from Texas to the Islands....The ALOHA! adventure

2011-12-09T23:33:00.056-06:00

I will attempt to post one or more shots a day as we travel through Oahu.

Day 1

From the Pali Outlook, several segments shot and stitched together.
Today the wind was high enough to cause problems
shooting while handholding the camera. Other challenges was
the vapor and sun reflections on the water.

Day 2
Laniakea Beach was the goal today. Laniakea Beach
is where you can see the Green Sea Turtle getting it's coppertone ON.

Honu

Day 2

Laniakea Beach with breakers and if you look close,
there is a surfer paddling out for that magic wave.

Day 2

This honu, (Brutus) while surrounded by people didn't seem to mind.

The unknown Honu. Note the flipper damage.

Day 3

Red-Crested Cardinal
drinking from a leaf that held water from the many showers.
This will be the third visit to the islands at this time in the year.
All that rain we been missing back in Texas is here.

Day 3

Different view of the old Pali highway that tuns into Maunawili trail.

Day 3

Hawaiian cactus flower

Day 4

This is different perspective of Diamond Head's light house.

Some of you may remember the shot I did from the top

of Diamond Head of the light house.

Here is the Ala Moana area shot from the Ala Moana point park, well after sundown

Well, I guess they needed those powerlines

More flowers for you...

Day 5

A re-visit to Laniakea Beach

This Shaka is for you

Brutus again

Another unknown

Brutus' good side

Kaena Point, Oahu

This is one of those places one needs

to spend a couple days soaking in the scenery.

The straight away and flat surface walking was not bad, it was the

up and down the ravines that made the old sneak out in me.

I'd do it again in a heart beat.

We weren't fortunate enough to see any whales, shearwater birds,

or dolphins. The Albatross (on Midway we called them gooney birds)

and Seals were right where they were supposed to be.

I expected to see more of these birds, but
it was still good to see some old friends.

A Seal getting its Vitamin D

Albatross IN Flite

North Shore

The path here was suspect to say the least.

If you look at Google earth, the path is washed

out just as you go South around the point. Even though the

Google Earth images are three years old, the path is still washed out.

If you are careful, you can walk up and down a foot

path that is just wide enough for an old goat.

Once I made it to this point I realized the wild life was on the other side.

So, I put up the camera and put on the "get back to the pickup point" face.

This doesn't mean there was nothing to take pictures of.

The beachs on the South side of Kaena point were beautiful.

Thee next adventure takes you to the

Makapu`u point Lighthouse trail or the Ka'iwi scenic shoreline
Trail Length: 2.0 mi. (round trip)
Activity: Pedestrian
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: Hot, dry slopes
Elevation Gain: 500 ft
Park Name: Ka Iwi State Scenic Shoreline

Yeh, They have cactus here.

This is the Makapu`u point Lighthouse.
It is bigger in person or if you are standing beside it.

Manana (aka Rabbit Island) and Kaohikaipu or turtle island

The last time I was here we climbed down to the lighthouse.

Those rocks have gotten rougher. Maybe it was the wind today.

I couldn't sell myself on climbing over the side again.

Some of the cactus on Oahu

Lichen

You notice any resemblance to a palm tree?

Yes the water color is real

Here we are and I'm two days behind on the posts...

Maybe I'll catch up on the plane

We are back at Laniakea Beach, for a quick post.

Meet HiwaHiwa

There are of you, a few select, that think I operate only on static memory.

After the past two weeks of enjoying the beauty of the islands,

why would I jump up and go climb, walk,

crawl and struggle up the side of a scrufty old hill.

Someone told me there was a beautiful view from above.

So, I loaded up my pack, camera, lens, tripod,

and oh yes the water. (18lbs of ballast.)

I'll show that picture later.

I'd seen some distant shots of Kokohead.

It didn't look too bad from the plane or google earth.

I didn't research online or read any of those twitter thingys.

Everyones is a little different, right. Afterwards,

I read that the climb was no big deal. hmmmm.

Perceptions of of the young in body are so different

than that of some one that is young in mind.

Especially after the climb is completed.

Two days later there are reminders that I really need to go back to running every day

This was first shot up close of the trail.
No big deal, and besides, there is a great view from the top.

By the time I made it here, my body was not happy with me.
Note the next picture. Up until now I had some terra firma to step on.
Now I had to pace my steps to the uneven distances
of the crossties on an upward angle with 18lbs on my back.
The twenty or thirty foot distance to the ground, was secondary.hmmmmm
Besides, There is a great view on the otherside, okay? I'm pressing on ward

Don't look down if the height bothers you.
I was overjoyed that my feet found the crossties every time.

One of the shots from close to the top. Maybe after a thousand steps

Long lens (200mm) shot of the gully.

The trip down was a little tougher that I expected. Gravity is not you friend, Neither were the crossties, or the rail iron .

Diamond Head in the haze. The view was exceptional and worth the walk, climg and crawl. I met some really nice people on this adventure.

I'll post some other shots later of that great view. Hopefully the 360 degree video will be ready to download.

From the Prairie to the Valley

2011-11-05T21:00:00.008-05:00

Big Guy kept his eyes on me

A Rose is a Rose ...

Kingfisher

American Kestrel (smallest falcon in America)

Where the hills meet the prairie

2010-09-05T20:09:00.004-05:00

This is rush hour out on the grasslands.

Home on the prairie

Homestead

2010-05-31T20:01:00.005-05:00

The images posted today were shot in my back yard. Different swallowtails are appearing on a daily basis. I was surprised by the first one that waifed by my head while I was working on the lawn mower. Priorities do change. I was unable to capture in pixels a very large dragon fly. It was the largest that I've ever seen. It appeared black, I think it was a dark brown or red. The light was not great.

The Rookery at Dallas TX

2010-04-25T17:57:00.005-05:00

This bird still doesn't have a mate, I named her Annie. She has been trying to stack twigs each time I have observed her. After she dropped the twig, she started a routine where she would preen her body feathers and then with its beak grab a small attached twig or limb and lean down to it and causing the throat canal to viborate. This went on for six or eight cycles, Annie would then stretch her neck to the sky.

Little Reddish Egeret

Heavy Construction at the Hospital continues

The Rookery in Dallas

2010-04-18T08:50:00.009-05:00

Nestled in between the helter and the
skelter of our every day world there is
another one of life's struggles taking place.
Herons, Egrets and other species of
birds call this place home.

Yes,

I know that I am supposed to catch the head on view.

There was enough geometry in this view of the bird

bringing in nest building materials, that I thought

it was worth posting

Prospective parent building the nest.

More Spring

2010-03-25T20:25:00.002-05:00

Spring Time in Texas

2010-03-24T20:36:00.000-05:00

South headed East

2009-12-30T22:18:00.009-06:00

There are also new postings for Aransas,

Anahuac, and Hagerman NWR

It has been raining a lot here lately . Everbody is wet

Some kind of hawk crusin the muddy fields for munchies...

Notice the skill involved in feeding two seagulls at the same time.

Junction TX and headed South

2009-12-30T07:57:00.010-06:00

Power line moss, Really! This stuff grows on the power lines down in th' Hill country.

Ran across this place , but due to extenuating circumstances was unable to do any exploring. Stephanie, Nice to meet you and Ranger Fuentes. We should be back in early Spring.

Snow and Fog

Red didn't seem to mind the cool stuff.

When we woke, the temperature was 33 degrees and rain. This liquid precipitation was soon replaced with ice crystals and then to snow. Without the West Texas wind the snow and temperature was enjoyable.

Ahead of the weather

2009-12-28T22:00:00.006-06:00

After ducking the bad weather in

the DFW area this past week, we

thought we would try and do the

same this week. Fore cast for

Junction TX is a wintry mix for

tomorrow morning. This Ice Dog

was in the early evening and then

we were greeted with a beautiful

sundown ..

We are here in Junction and tomorrow will head for

the Santa Ana National Wildlife refuge located close

to Alamo TX

Perspective is everything

kestrel waiting on food

Cooper on pre-flight

Red tail Parked at the gate...

A Quaker in Justin....

2009-12-11T20:42:00.015-06:00

A Justin Resident on the lam. We don't know if it is a
local escapee or migrated from one of the
surrounding cities.

It's heated home is located amongst a capacitor bank

on top of a power pole.

I'm told, The Quaker, is the only parrot species that build nests.

(I didn't know that)

The nest actually consists of 3 areas.

You could say that one area is a

bedroom, another is a living room and

the third is a front porch area.

Hay Yaal! Jus' drivin' thru South Texas

2009-12-03T17:45:00.003-06:00

Hitch Hiker on a slow boat ..I wonder if the turtle
has heard of OFF.

This old House:

2009-11-20T05:57:00.002-06:00

That TV show should try one of these places...

2009-11-08T20:36:00.008-06:00

Jack on left......Bill on right

Normally I don't go to outlet malls. (It's a guy thing) This Weekend I was invited to drop in at an outlet mall in Denton, TX. It was fun. Jack and Bill was there. ( Jack's Place and Bill's Place ) The stories were embellished to maximum proportion. There was a lot of good fellowship, music and even some food. There were leather and sliver craftsman along with collectors of fine western art and antiques. There were free stagecoach rides provided by Texas Specialty Coach and Carriage. Amongst the musicians was Walt Roberts and his violin or maybe fiddle depending on the genre or motif of the music.

http://www.txspeccc.com/

2009-10-25T12:08:00.007-05:00

Walt Roberts and Friends

Texas Coast

2009-05-30T01:33:00.001-05:00

Cameron Parish

2009-05-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

union meeting

Just looking around

My First Pitcher plant in the wild Plus

2009-05-03T05:41:00.000-05:00

(Sarracenia) Pitcher plant

Pitcher again,

When lifting, bend your legs not your beak.

show off seagull...

He carried this fish around and made noises like he was bragging about it.

U asked for it....

2009-04-19T19:07:00.000-05:00

Wayne and Carol T. I was able to catch a couple shots of Osprey fishing. The first shot was from the old pilings toward the dam. That looked like a quarter mile. I moved to the gates area. The bird watched me for 15~20 min. before going back to fishing. Everytime I looked at him he was looking at me. Finally after shooting 30~40 shots over head and panning with the birds path I started getting a few decent pics. When the bird went into the dives, I'd loose him every time. So I sat up one shot at start of dive and started shootin at the water when he splashed down. Thanks for the info..... I'll do better next time. The 40D was at it's match, though. More toys.

2008-12-28T19:35:00.000-06:00

This appears to be a one-lane bridge, I didn't
put a tape-measure to it. It looks 8'~10'
between supporting posts wide. I will try to
get more information. This piece of history
needs to be restored and the stories about it told.

I shot eight segments and stitched them together
for the pana. I only had the long lense with me.
(I'll try to do better) This bridge is on Hwy 69
between Celeste and Whitewright TX
(If I remember correctly).

Natural repossession.

2008-12-25T13:37:00.000-06:00

'Rush Hour' at the Feed Lot........

Haleakala Sunrise

2008-12-18T19:08:00.000-06:00

Wow.... comes to mind

Haleakala Sunset

2008-12-18T18:28:00.000-06:00

Words can not describe the view from above the clouds.

No wonder the 'old ones' considered this place magic.