Tuesday, November 30, 2010

ABC Wednesday (T), Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday / Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Click on photos to enlarge. 
T is for turbulent waters at Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach on Maui, Hawaii.

This is a wonderful beach to spend the day when the water is calm.
Some people ventured down to get a closer look while my husband and I were walking along the bluff above.
Sea arches, caves and lava tubes are fun to explore in this area of southeastern Maui.

 Watching the water hit the rocks was very entertaining!

T for Turbulent

Sunday, November 28, 2010

That's My World Tuesday / Is it Fall in Hana, Maui, Hawaii???

Click on photos to enlarge!
I posted what I thought was my last "fall colors" post a few weeks ago.
Those photos came from the high country of the Eastern Sierras, California and also Taos, New Mexico.
Little did I know that I would find even more fall colors in Maui, Hawaii.

These trees are brilliant orange, yellow and red right now.
I really don't think Maui knows about the fall season...but, there are fall colors in the Hana area of southeastern Maui.

These same trees are deep green everywhere else around the island, that I saw anyway.
This area is a bluff just above the ocean...certainly NOT high elevation.

Beautiful Hana never disappoints!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Watery Wednesday, ABC Wednesday / "Q," "R" and "S"

Click on photos to enlarge!
My husband and I took an 11 day trip to Maui, Hawaii and just returned this past Friday night.
I missed the letters Q & R so I will add them to S for this week.
This is the view we had on a bluff overlooking Ho'okipa Beach on the eastern side of the island.
It is well know around the world among the wind surfing crowd.
It is a place where we like to spend some quality time together...just watching.

Some wind surf.
Some kite surf.
And, others board surf.
Some enter the water from the sandy beach while others prefer climbing over the rocky bluff .

Ready, Set, GO!

What a gorgeous sight it is!
Can quality time get any better than this?

Letters Q, R and S

Watery Wednesday

That's My World Tuesday / Butterflies on the Water!

Click on photos to enlarge to full screen.
Surfers, wind surfers and kite surfers all share a long stretch of beach on East Maui, Hawaii called Ho'okipa.
This area is well known around the world among the wind-surfing crowd.
It is late afternoon and the sun is peeking through the thick clouds creating fabulous light!
There are three kite surfers and one wind surfer in this scene.

The wind is fierce with rain over the West Maui Mountains.
That's how these young people like it!

You can see a kite surfer among this group of wind surfers.

The sky is getting darker and darker.
West Maui is barely visible.

This guy is calling it a day!

...and they are not all guys!
This girl is from England and really enjoyed herself out there.
They are like "butterflies" on the water...

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Mellow Yellow, Blue Monday, Midweek Blues, Ruby Tuesday / What is that Gorilla Wearing?

Click on photo to enlarge!
I saw this guy hanging out at the Honolulu Airport yesterday.
You just never know who you might see in a grass skirt...
For a moment, I thought I was at another Jimmy Buffett concert!




Saturday, November 6, 2010

That's My World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Blue Monday

 Please click on photos to enlarge!
While in New Mexico, my husband and I visited the Taos Pueblo in Taos.
This pueblo is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA.
The Native legends and detailed oral history trace the existence back thousands of years.
The native language is Tiwa.  It is unwritten, unrecorded and will remain so.
The details of the traditional values of the Taos Tribe are guarded as sacred and are not divulged.

These adobe structures are believed to be well over 1000 years old.
Only the doorways have been added in recent times.
At one time the only entryway into the homes was by a ladder through a hole in the rooftops.
The rooftop entrances also served as a safe guard against intruders of the Pueblo.  
If an enemy was approaching, the ladders were pulled from the ground levels to the rooftops.

The Pueblo maintains a restriction of NO ELECTRICITY and NO RUNNING WATER within the sacred village.

The exterior walls are plastered annually with adobe due to the exposure of the four seasons.

Tourists visit here but must adhere to a rather lengthy set of rules NOT to be broken while in this sacred village.
I had to pay a fee to photograph inside the village and there were even more rules regarding the use of a camera.

Many families still live in the Pueblo or just outside the surrounding walls.
Some of the homes have been converted to shops for selling traditional crafts.

This lovely Indian woman sells her own photography of the Pueblo.
I bought several boxes of Christmas cards showing the snow covering the church entrance.
I really enjoyed spending time with this lady.
She told me her name but I think it is best not to reveal it.
 She was very sweet about my desire to photograph her in her shop and
you can see part of one of her winter photographs in the background.

I scanned one of the cards that I purchased.
It is of San Geronimo Church that was built in 1850 and is a registered National Historic Landmark.
It is one of the youngest buildings in the village.
Today about 3/4 of the population shares in some of the Catholic practices, while the native rituals persevere 100% in daily life.
The Native religion is verbally passed down from generation to generation.
Their religious shrines, Kivas, are off  limits to non tribal members.

I found myself photographing this cross multiple times because it was so beautiful against the blue sky.

The sky changed dramatically during the time we were there on October 5, 2010.

There are many Pueblos throughout Arizona and New Mexico.
This is just one...some don't allow any tourism, others only for festivals, some NOT for festivals...
The Taos Pueblo has welcomed visitors for thousands of years.
This has been a crossroads for trade and the tradition continues today with the activity of the many shops and vendors located throughout the village.

This post is linked to:
That's My World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Blue Monday

Friday, November 5, 2010

Scenic Sunday, Mellow Yellow / Aspen Grove at Lee Vining Creek, Eastern Sierras, California USA

Click on photo to enlarge!
I think these will be the last fall color photos I will post for this year.
I have wanted a shot like this for a long time and I finally found just the right place to get it.
This is an Aspen grove in the Eastern Sierras (Lee Vining Creek) in California.
I am sure the trees are bare by now but this is how they looked on October 17th, about 2 weeks ago.

This one was all alone on a hillside near June Lake, California (Eastern Sierras).
October 17, 2010

and

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Weekend Reflections / One Mighty Fine Dog!

  I am thinking this is one mighty fine dog with some mighty fine turquoise jewelry on his collar.  Click on the photo to enlarge!

Santa Fe, New Mexico USA
October 4, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

ABC Wednesday / "P"

Click on photos to enlarge!
The very polite raven lives on the Painted Desert in Arizona.
I had a nice conversation with the polite raven for a little while.

This is the Petrified Forest which lies on part of the Painted Desert about 80 miles south-east of Flagstaff, Arizona.

My husband and I took this trip in late September.
We enjoyed a beautiful "monsoon" sky over the desert.

These are the "tee pees," which are part of the Petrified Forest region of the Painted Desert.

The petrified wood is scattered here and there and VERY illegal to take out of the forest!

We found a nice petrified log to take photographs of each other...

...and this is Jerry.

The theme is the letter P this week.