At the Beliago

One of our first stops was the Beliago hotel. What a beautiful building. The first 3 photo's below were taken of the ceiling! I love the colorful glass!

 The atrium was decorated for fall, complete with a tree that reminded me of the trees in the Wizard of Oz. If you look closely at the photo above you can see a profile of the face in the tree. The photo below is a close up of the giant apple in the photo above. :)

 To capture this photo of the ceiling I layed down on the floor. Yes that's right I layed down on the floor of the posh Beliago hotel.

                        Who doesn't need a chocolate fountain!?!

 The famous water show is a sight to see weather it be day or night

My First Moments in Vegas

This blog post is long overdue. I was in Las Vegas last fall . . . not last month. But as we all know life has a way of taking over and time fly's by. I'm not completely behind, I did quite a few Vegas posts last fall . . . just not all of them. So if you're interested in seeing Vegas off the strip check out my blog posts on: Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Light Painting, or my favorite place (it required 2 blog posts)  Valley of Fire Day 2, and Valley of Fire Day 1.

So here it is . . . My first evening in Las Vegas . . .

 The doorway to Sin City . . . well more of an arch from the parking garage, but it sounds cool

 Does anyone else find it odd that one of my first pictures in Vegas is a details shot?

 For some reason I found the Denny's in Vegas funny. I'll bet their food is as "good" as every other Denny's I've been to.

 Photographers are interesting creatures. We take pictures of patterns, light, textures . . . . interesting things. A bunch of us were taking pictures of the doors below and people started to stop and wait. I think they thought someone interesting was going to come out . . . nope it was just the doors and lights that were interesting. :)

Colorado

Over Memorial Day weekend I flew to Colorado to visit my Grandparents. My first day there they took me for a drive up into the mountains. I absolutely love mountains and Colorado has some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen.

It was a wonderful visit. I spent the weekend talking with my Grandparents and visiting aunts, uncles and cousins. There is nothing better than being surrounded by family (and I have a lot of family).

Thank you so much Grandpa and Grandma for your constant support and prayers.

 I think the aspen trees are so beautiful with their white bark and dancing leaves

                                       We saw so many elk on our drive

                                Such beautiful majestic mountains!!

 There was a wedding going on at this old catholic church - Grandma told me the pope has been here

My Grandparents and I at a view point

Adelman Peony Farm

The last thing Dale and I did before he headed home was visit the Adelman Peony Farm. I loved the large flowers with their variegated color, starting with a deep pink in the center and turning to a pale pink at the edges. For some reason they reminded me of a little girls party dress.

It's interesting when 2 photographers shoot in the same location how the pictures can vary so much. To check out Dales pictures of the farm check out his blog, he's even got another shot of me messing with my camera if you're interested.

                        This darned bee wouldn't get out of my shot!

Relaxing on the River

After spending the day in Portland, Dale and I headed to the coast where Dale's friend owns a house on the river. Almost as soon as we arrived we found ourselves in the boat taking a very peaceful ride. I was amazed at how calm the water was and how crystal clear the reflection. Looking over the edge of the boat was like looking into another world, it was almost surreal. The ride was so peaceful, after over a year of constant personal stress, I could feel myself relax a little.

                                            Isn't the reflection amazing

 I was intrigued with the pattern the boat's wake made on the water.

                                             Dale and his friend Harvey
We found this dock quite interesting . . . we even doubled back so that we could get some pictures. Pretty funny . . .

Friday Night in Portland

After we were done at the Chinese Gardens, Dale and I wandered around Portland. I learned one thing about Dale very quickly, he's not shy!! He had no problems asking perfect strangers for directions. And truth be told, he was better off asking the strangers . . . because as Dale learned quickly about me . . . . I am very directionally challenged!! When it came time to shoot the Portland city lights at night, I took us to the complete other end of Portland, instead of just across the river. But hey, at least Dale got to see ALL of Portland on our scenic drive. :)

If you'd like to see Dale's photo's of Portland (including one he shot of me) check out his blog.

                                  Dale shooting in Pioneer Square

                   Only in Oregon do the statues need umbrellas :)

                                             Hawthorne Bridge

                   I like this one because I captured a shooting star
      And just for fun, I zoomed my lens while I was taking the photo