2013-03-11 Into the Canyon

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Warren writes:

We lived.

I have slept in unheated rooms before in the winter, but sleeping on snow in a tent, with nothing but a tarp, tent, thermal air mattress, and sleeping bag between me and the snow was a new experience. (Ok, yes, I was wearing thermal base layers, a midlayer hoodie, and my outer shell jacket also. And a stocking cap)

It was chilly, to put it mildly.

And it should be noted that it wasn’t just the temperature. We left Las Vegas in 70-degree weather. We arrived to Bryce in something around 16 degrees. The human body doesn’t react well to temperature deltas that big. (There is a reason why soldiers in the desert need parkas at night, even though it is still 80 degrees out.)

But it all worked out and we didn’t become geekcicles, so that’s a good thing.

We got things sorted and headed off to see the sunrise, a bit belatedly, at Sunrise Point.

I don’t know how else to say it, but the view as we walked up to the ridge line, looking down into the canyon made all the travel and general frozenness worth it.

It was amazing.

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2013-03-10 Wisdom from the Road

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My flight left at 7am and I kind of hated myself that morning. But only a little bit. After all, I had already been impulsive enough to agree to a camping trip in a place I’ve never been (who am I kidding, that was a perk) with someone who’s never been camping before in order to take photographs, which is an art form that I have a passing familiarity with. Continue reading →

2013-03-10 Westward, ho!

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Warren writes:

We headed out for Bryce Canyon, early early early in the morning. My (Warren’s) flight departed at 6:05 AM from Raleigh-Durham Airport (RDU) in North Carolina. Little did I know that the chill morning air would be balmy compared to the majority of our time on the road.

Fortunately, ticketing, checking luggage, and security screening all went off without a hitch.

I was lucky enough to have a direct flight, although the anticipation of going to Bryce throughly destroyed my ability to sleep on the plane.

This was not a total loss. While I only managed a few decent photos through the smudged window, the views were great, as you can see.

Snow-capped mountain on the flight to Las Vegas

Snow-capped mountain on the flight to Las Vegas

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FTA: Hotay Yologast

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From the archives: Howard Tayler at Your Local Game Store (Hotay Yologast).

Howard Tayler, of Schlock Mercenary fame (and multiple-nominee for a Hugo award), visited Matthews, NC to promote the opening of Your Local Game Store in January of 2013.

A well-thought-out game store, it has a good range of tabletop games and supplies.

Howard gave several readings, played a few games, and gave a demonstration of miniature painting.

Check out the gallery below for photos of the event.

FTA: Chicago, Christmas Eve 2012

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From the archives:

I took a much-needed vacation to visit family over the holidays, and it also was a perfect opportunity to test out the Canon 6D I’d just picked up… whether I was fighting off the worst cold I’d had in years or not. I would not be denied photo time.