Part of My Mother's Day Adventure

We are all still trying to catch our collective breaths after a busy 3.5 days on our getaway trip. Poor Hubby was sick. He got a respiratory flu virus that also settled in his sinuses and head so he was miserable for half the trip. He did have a lot of fun in between the misery and he enjoys photography *almost* as much as I do, so that was good for him. We had to laugh. This trip was to get away together to relax after the last five months of really hard work he has been doing training and getting hired at University of Phoenix as well as his regular job and a home student he works with 5 hours a week (who is medically unable to attend school). So, what do I see as I enter the hotel to check in... Welcome California Teacher's Association! I just cracked up. We had our getaway with a bunch of other teachers! LOL

D, Mom, A and J Mother's Day 2008

On Mother's Day we went to Mt. Lassen and then came back via McArthur-Burney Memorial State Park. While photographing the pictures in the previous post at Manzanita Lake, I met a really nice photographer named John who was using a Mamiya 4x5 (medium format film camera) and a Nikon D80 (which I use). He gave me some handy tips and then told us we would be better off to photograph Burney Falls before sunset instead of in the AM. So we thought about it and it made a really long day of driving for me, but we ended up doing that and saw him again at the falls. And I have to say that the land between the northern edge of Mt Lassen and Burney, especially near Hat Creek area, was incredibly gorgeous!!! We both felt that if money were not an issue or we could make money without being tied to a certain population base (you have to have kids to go to school!), we would move there in a heart beat! One note, if you see me putting my name and copyright on photos, it is not because I don't trust my friends and family who read here but because I have seen some of my pics ending up on other people's blogs!! So in order to protect ones that I either already use to sell or may in the future, I am putting copyright info on. Please know I trust you, my friends!

It was really tricky with the lighting. It was dark on bottom and super sunny on top. I noticed in some of the pro photos that they had difficulty with this too, so I don't feel so bad now! :o)

It was hard to decide which ones to post of my 200 or so, so I'm sharing a few. This is not the highest falls in the state but arguably one of the most beautiful. The falls and park are named after 19th century settlers Samuel Burney of South Carolina who arrived in November 1858 and John and Catherine McArthur who arrived in the 1860s.

Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed the falls so much that he decided they should be one of the wonders of the world.

There was a sign for the Pacific Crest Trail stating that Canada was 1,232 miles north. That means my Mom and I were about 1,220 miles apart on Mother's Day... well, that is if you twisted around on the Pacific Crest Trail. Probably more like 800 miles by I-5 in the car.

We hiked down to the bottom and a trail continued along Burney Creek but we did not have enough time before dark to do more.

At the bottom it reminded me of pictures I have seen of Kauai with smaller falls and rivulets and lots of bright green moss, ferns and the new spring leaves.

This isn't in the best focus, but I thought it was pretty so I posted anyway.

The falls actually drop in a bowl shape and this is taken just feet from the bottom - we did get a little spray but the wind was going the other directions so we were mostly protected.

Again, not best focus or lighting but reminded me of the song/Psalm that I wrote on there.



And then we ended the day with a beautiful sunset and a long ride back to the hotel. I was thankful though for all the blessings God gave me that day. I'll be trying to post more of my pics of Mt Lassen over the next week. Thanks for looking.