Blog

Thirsty Thursday: Colorado Memories

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Yogi Ginger Tea

A little more subdued for this edition of Thirsty Thursday. Our friends in Colorado Springs are heavy on our minds this week. Since either of us left our childhood homes to go the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs is the place we lived the longest. I don't often get horrified to the point of tears watching the news, but Tuesday night I nearly did.

After we graduated in 2002, we got a little apartment right outside the North Gate, as we were both going to work at the Air Force Academy for the next year. The Hayman Fire happened during the summer of 2002. Before this year's fire season, it was one of the worst fires in Colorado history (made worse by the fact that it was arson). One night the fire was supposed to come over the front slope and head in our direction. Thankfully it did not. This photo was from a hot June night in 2002 from that parking lot of our apartment complex. At that time I couldn't imagine a worse fire scene in Colorado Springs. That opinion changed Tuesday night as I watched photo after photo come across the intrawebs of fires on the front slope...and homes on fire. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Terry and I used to go hike at Garden of the Gods. I can't even really call it hiking. It was more like strolling and talking and figuring out who we were. Garden of the Gods always makes me think of "early us". Long, sometimes complicated talks before we were even engaged. I think Garden of the Gods is charred now. Fortunately fire can't do much to rock, so the beauty of that place should still remain. Not so sure about everything around it though. The most horrifying thoughts on Tuesday night (once I figured out that a couple of close friends were safe) were about the Air Force Academy. I expected to wake up Wednesday morning to hear it had burned. That place can't really burn to the ground, per say, as its made of metal and rock, but I guess it was principle. There's something about that place that we just love. Maybe its sentimental because we met there, but the thought of it not being there was crazy. Fortunately, its fine. The fact that I was upset about my silly school burning when people were losing their homes is ridiculous and a little embarrassingly self-centered. So to our friends in Colorado Springs, we're thinking of you. Stay safe.

Thirsty Thursday: Instagrams from the Trail

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2007 Alfaro Vineyards Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Last weekend Terry and I (and Massey of course!) headed up to the Kaiser Wilderness for a couple of days in the woods. It was pretty warm for the 8500' up in the mountains, incredibly buggy, and absolutely beautiful!

Its always nice to get away from the cubicle and computer and phone and just enjoy the sunlight...and maybe a dip in a refreshingly chilly alpine lake. Even though the iPhones didn't get service (yay!), the camera still worked for Instagrams! As you can see in those last few frames, Massey was wrecked on the drive home. Always a telltale sign of a pretty sweet weekend!

Get out there and get lost in something this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Fingers Crossed

Rambler: BethDrink at Hand: Scheid Reserve Chardonnay (Tied for 1st on my chard list)

Hey Welliver Photography fans! Welcome to another addition of Thirsty Thursday...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. We are headed off to backpack this weekend, or so we hope!

Over Memorial Day weekend we headed up to backpack to George Lake in the Kaiser Wilderness. The in-house meteorologist blew the weekend forecast, and long story short, without a four-season tent, we were snowed out of our first backpacking trip of the season. So much for the unofficial start of summer! So this weekend we'll try again, and hopefully the trail doesn't look like this... But we definitely can't say it wasn't beautiful, even if we didn't camp in it. Get out there and doing something this weekend...and hope you get a good weather report before you go!

Massey Monday: Running in the Snow

Over Memorial Day weekend we headed up to the Sierra to backpack. The Welliver Photography staff meteorologist completely blew the forecast and, given our lack of a 4-season tent, we bailed on the backpacking. Massey didn't seem to mind though. She ran her little legs off over the course of a little 4-hour hike we took through. Non-stop running for 4 hours.

Thirsty Thursday: Zurich at Night

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Tazo Awake Tea

Ok, so I'm late posting this tonight. It's also going to be a late night tonight which is why I'm drinking tea with caffeine. I'm going to keep this posting tonight short as I have other (more important) things to work on tonight. I'll let the pictures of Zurich speak for themselves. As it is late, I figured night shots were appropriate. These shots are all mine. I'm sure Beth will post hers at a later date. Although I wasn't a huge fan of Zurich, the architecture was pretty cool...especially at night.

Massey Monday: Silly Buddies

Massey was my dog. I drove to the middle of nowhere Texas to buy her. I held her in my lap every night when she was a puppy so she would fall asleep. Terry was so mad at me for getting a puppy. Then he met her. Now she's practically his dog. He's even taught her how to mock me.

Luckily she still curls up on my side of the bed.

Thirsty Thursday: Tahoe Exploring

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Water...boring, I know. Tough run tonight.

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pouring something yummy (or rehydrating in my case!) and make those weekend plans. A few weeks back I was looking at a weekend home alone while Terry was out of town, so I decided to go somewhere. My original plan was Mt. Shasta, but after a long day of work on Friday, I decided to go somewhere closer. I'd never been to Tahoe, so the dog and I jumped in the car Saturday morning and off we went.

I didn't really have a game plan. I literally woke up Saturday morning and decided that Tahoe was the destination. I usually do a little research to figure out good photo spots (and good places for grub), but this time I was flying blind. Ended up at Zephyr Cove for sunset, above Emerald Bay for sunrise, and took a little snowy stroll in Desolation Wilderness with Massey before heading back home Sunday. Tahoe was beautiful and I can't wait to get up there for a couple of backpacking routes I've picked out for the summer.

Get out there and explore a new place this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: View from the Valley

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Tolosa Edna Ranch Pinot Noir

Like usual from me, not much to say other than we're off to find a view like this. Well, not quite like this, as this shot was taken in Mayflower Gulch in Arapaho National Forest near Frisco, CO. Regardless, enjoy the long weekend and go get lost. I know we'll be out there.

Thirsty Thursday: Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ghost Pines Zinfandel

Usually Thirsty Thursday is about pouring something yummy and making those weekend plans. This week I'm changing it up a little bit. Instead of weekend plans, this week's post is about very early morning weekday plans that turned out pretty well.

A few weeks back I had to take Terry to SFO on a Friday morning for a ridiculously early flight. The problem with a flight out of San Francisco at 6:15 means that we have to leave home around 3:15 to get to the airport on time. That's 3:15 with an A.M. after it, or 0315 for my military friends. That's not even early...that's middle of the night. I grudgingly rolled out of bed, fumbled around enough to somehow get coffee in my travel mug (thank goodness for automatic timers on coffee makers!), and put myself and my camera gear in the car to take my darling husband to the airport.

As I dropped T off at the airport, the sky was still dark and traffic was still light...plenty of time to get across the Golden Gate Bridge for sunrise. I could see stars which meant the problematic SF Bay fog wasn't going to get in the way of a good sunrise. As I pulled into the first turnout on the Marin County side of the bridge, I was excited to see some clouds over Angel Island! Given my recent string of shooting sunrises with absolutely nothing in the sky, these clouds made me happy. Of course, as I headed over the little hill to get a good view of the bridge, my excitement quickly dropped...not a cloud in the sky around the bridge. Just clear, blue twilight. Since I was there, and for the first time ever there was no wind, I decided to play around with some different foreground compositions while optimistically hoping that the clouds further north would drift overhead. I gave up on the clouds over the bridge and went back to the clouds. So, yeah, I went to go shoot the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise and it wasn't everything I wanted it to be. But, I still saw an absolutely beautiful sunrise over the Bay. It was just a beautiful morning in general in every direction. After all that beauty and a quick walk with Massey, I still made it to work just a few minutes late.

Get out there and watch a beautiful sunrise this weekend...or maybe even tomorrow morning!