# Vacation Photo's



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Let's see some of those great shots from around the world folks. A little blurb with the shot would help


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Here is one I took in Death Valley in January of 2014. We came across a ghost town and stopped for a bit


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

I took this in Santa Barbara this summer.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

iaresee said:


> I took this in Santa Barbara this summer.


Pic is not showing....:frown-new:

Cheers

Dave


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Pic not showing up, at least not on my screen


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Kragero, Norway ...visited a friend (2011) that I wet to school with in England in the early '70's
This is the evening of summer solstice at about 10:00 PM 









Cheers

Dave


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Nice shot, Dave, and what a spot !!


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Famous salt mine near Krakow, Poland.

Beautiful!! 

I spent several hours down there as the walking tour is very long.

Here is more info, FYI ...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine











Cheers

Dave


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

greco said:


> Famous salt mine near Krakow, Poland.
> 
> Beautiful!!
> 
> ...


Very interesting spot. What are those white things upper right or is it just decoration


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I think that they are just the wooden "supports" typically used in mining.

EVERYTHING in the mine is carved from salt. 

Parts of the mine were used (in the past) as a treatment facility as apparently bacteria do not survive well in the mine. 

Fascinating place! 

















Great thread idea !! ..Thanks for thinking of it and for starting it!

I'll take a break now and give others a chance to show their pics.

Cheers

Dave


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Sunrise on Skidegate Channel Haida Gwaii

Heading out in quest of chinook



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Downriggers set.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If you're familiar with the children's book Stuart Little, this is the pond in Central Park where he would partake in miniature sailboat boat races. You can rent RC boats from the pavillion in the back.







John Lennon & Yoko Ono's apartment at The Dakota.







Me and the boys waiting for Hank to give us a lift.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Bubb said:


> Sunrise on Skidegate Channel Haida Gwaii
> 
> Heading out in quest of chinook


Spectacular!


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Bubb said:


> Sunrise on Skidegate Channel Haida Gwaii
> 
> Heading out in quest of chinook
> 
> ...


Can't be beat.....especially if the Pod is around.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I usually go here every year for at least 4-5 days.



This is a resort 1 hour north west of Quebec City called Le Massif. It is the highest vertical in Canada east of the rockies. The water in the background is the St. Lawrence River. It's a great place to visit and ski with beautiful views as you can see. The town of St. Paul is about 20 minutes away and is worth a drive to see. They also have a train that goes from a new hotel in St. Paul to the ski resort. It's a bit of a high class thing with a dinner and other extras if you want to pay for those things. If you like skiing, I would highly recommend it. February and early March are the best because that's when they get most of their snow (like most of Canada).


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Dont keep us guessing sted, lets have the info


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Alaska a few years back. To get a perspective on the size of the glacier look for the ship to the right. It carried about 200 people, fairly large sized ship.


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

Spent a few days with the family at the Jasper Park Lodge this past summer...boy, I LOVE JASPER.

Here's the 16th fairway and green of the Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course as viewed from a canoe in the middle of Lac Beauvert.


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## Mr Yerp (Feb 24, 2006)

First cruise ever...Great time was had!
Here's a mural at the Town Hall/Mayor's office in La Paz, Mexico.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

*Yosemite*

Hiking in the valley










The sun setting against Sentinel Rock










From the valley floor










That postcard view -- very much, I assure you, real










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*The Marin Headlands*

One of our favourite places to hike on the weekends. It's all scrub and rough and the views are spectacular. This is looking back at San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.










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*Santa Cruz Boardwalk (off season)*

Best time to visit is before the crowds get to it in March IMO.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

Some incredible pictures here. The Alaska pictures are really stunning GC.

*Sunset on a Random Beach off Hwy 1 near Pescadero*




























*San Francisco Bay from Coyote Creek Park*

Thats San Francisco, straight ahead and buried in fog. Hayward and Oakland off to the right. Palo Alto and Redwood City off to the far left.










Looking East'ish towards where we live: Fremont. The high peak in the middle is Mission Peak. It's about 800 m. Steep climb. We're going to try it this summer once the baby is big enough to sit in a backpack carrier. The boys have been bugging me to climb to look for dragons for months now. This time of year, if we're getting enough rain, it's not uncommon for it get a dusting of snow in the morning that burns off before noon.

California is a cool and strange place.










I'll try and take some pictures around work tomorrow down in the Mission District in San Francisco. It's a sight to see...mainly because it's full of really, really crazy people!


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

From last summer's family roadtrip...

Pinware River, Labrador:








St. Anthony Bight, Newfoundland:








Trinity East, Newfoundland:








Cavendish Beach, PEI:


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Here are a few more from the Alaska trip, scenery is just jaw dropping there


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Such an awesome world that we live in.......................makes me wonder why we do our best to destroy it ...............


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

And finally a few more to finish off the Alaska


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It may not be a mountainous vista, but spawning salmon is one of the most visually striking things you'll ever see. One of the things I miss about Victoria was going to Goldstream Park to see the salmon spawning in the autumn, hundreds and hundredss of them, lined up like soldiers, just quivering on the spot i the same stream.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

mhammer said:


> It may not be a mountainous vista, but spawning salmon is one of the most visually striking things you'll ever see. One of the things I miss about Victoria was going to Goldstream Park to see the salmon spawning in the autumn, hundreds and hundredss of them, lined up like soldiers, just quivering on the spot i the same stream.


Yes. we had to be careful where we wandered around there. The bears were having a field day. That town and the little river that I posted in the first set of pictures had literally thousands of salmon in it. They were jumping like mad over there.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

On the Autobahn near Hamburg.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

Spent a week in Montana with the missus - putting my feet up above the Blackfoot River on the patio to our "glamping tent" (glamour camping - I had no idea it's a thing, but it's a really cool way to go). Did some rafting and fly fishing in another part of the river.








The inside of one of the rooms in our "glamping tent"








I am totally not the person who should spend a day hiking up a mountain to get to a ghost town (Garnet). Trust me - take the truck or a dirt bike or an ATV.














What happens when you are supposed to have archery lessons and you're the only one to show up because of a little rain?? That's right, the instructor breaks out a bottle of whiskey (she's the pro - what she says goes) and you get good with doing it one way then get all cocky and spend way too long trying it with the other hand... I'm sure there's a story why she initialed my arm, but it's a little hazy to be honest.









As a side-note should you attempt this move, I would suggest the customs agents at the Missoula airport will have many, many questions about your apparent needle-injection drug habit with plenty of "oh man - lemme go grab Reggie 'cuz he needs to hear this story..." comments while you're travelling party of a dozen or so people are in stitches 8 feet away.

Heading out on a cattle drive.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

And from our roadtrip in 2012...

Somewhere north of Superior (got off with a warning):








Somewhere on the Alaska Highway, BC:








Chicken, Alaska:








Carcross Desert, Yukon








Haida Gwaii, BC:


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

great shots everyone.

clearly, I need to travel more.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Dont keep us guessing sted, lets have the info


Okay, sorry, Scott. I've posted the picture before so I felt most would know where this is. 

This is a resort 1 hour north west of Quebec City called Le Massif. It is the highest vertical in Canada east of the rockies. The water in the background is the St. Lawrence River. It's a great place to visit and ski with beautiful views as you can see. The town of St. Paul is about 20 minutes away and is worth a drive to see. They also have a train that goes from a new hotel in St. Paul to the ski resort. It's a bit of a high class thing with a dinner and other extras if you want to pay for those things. If you like skiing, I would highly recommend it. February and early March are the best because that's when they get most of their snow (like most of Canada).


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

This series was taken in the jungles of Costa Rica. What they call "off the grid". It's only accessible by water after a 4 hour drive from San Jose. I went with a buddy of mine that is loaded beyond most of our dreams and he was invited on a fishing expedition and to look at some property down there. All it cost me was the flight so I took him up on the offer. We spent a week in the jungle and the heat was basically unbearable. It was 80 degrees by 8 in the morning. If you were on the water it was fantastic, but in the jungle.....

We stayed in this cabin which was battery powered. Actually it was nice accommodations.










We obviously did a lot of fishing


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

Steadfastly said:


> Okay, sorry, Scott. I've posted the picture before so I felt most would know where this is.
> 
> This is a resort 1 hour north west of Quebec City called Le Massif. It is the highest vertical in Canada *west* of the rockies. The water in the background is the St. Lawrence River. It's a great place to visit and ski with beautiful views as you can see. The town of St. Paul is about 20 minutes away and is worth a drive to see. They also have a train that goes from a new hotel in St. Paul to the ski resort. It's a bit of a high class thing with a dinner and other extras if you want to pay for those things. If you like skiing, I would highly recommend it. February and early March are the best because that's when they get most of their snow (like most of Canada).


I think you meant east.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

From the balcony of our room at the London West Hollywood before hitting the RRHOF induction ceremony as guests of one of the bands going in.









Off Dana Point, CA.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

The place would come alive at night with howler monkey's. You never seen those, but you bloody well heard them, but during the day these little guys were everywhere









The river runs to the ocean and it was about a 20 minute boat ride. To get onto the ocean you had to time and run at the waves which were about 4 feet high. You had to have an experienced guide and boat captain to do it. 

















This river is absolutely alive with crocs at night. we got juiced out of our minds one night and had to take the boat back to our cabin from the little town. All you could see was red eyes looking at you. We had to use flashlights to see where we were going. Talk about nuts. We drank the town dry to the point we ended up drinking gin with blue gatorade


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

It was an adventure that I am glad I did. Seen a part of the world not many see. We were deep out there. I would go back but not off the grid like that.


















This last picture is of me saluting our jungle spot goodbye


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Great idea, I have THOUSANDS of images, here are the first two. (<grin>)

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park in northeastern California. Majestic, quiet, peaceful.










Well... OK... majestic! Same picture same time, 40 feet back. It's imperfect at times that a few of America's most popular national parks get very busy at peak periods. This particular location is virtually always busy except in the dead of winter. But it's not a crisis, you cope, tune out the other visitors. Unfortunately the 'crats think it is a crisis, and are moving to restrict entrance to and movement in the parks. At Zion National Park in Utah and a few other sites they are already requiring visitors to park their cars near the entrance and take shuttle buses that drop visitors at a few defined stops in the park. Hiking is more restricted at these pressure points, and those not able or equipped to hike get a significantly-restricted view of the parks, with pictures to match. I've been lucky to spend time more freely in these parks over the past six years or so; it isn't going to be possible for much longer.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

> It's imperfect at times that a few of America's most popular national parks get very busy at peak periods.


Can confirm: that's what the pictures of El Cap and Halfdome are like for me too -- back away from the wall and it's people everywhere. But that's just about _everywhere_ in California. When there's +30M people in one state odds are more than a few of them have the same vacation plans at the same time. You get used to it.

Canadians are spoiled -- you don't realize how few people in how vast a space you really have in Canada until you're not in Canada.



> Unfortunately the 'crats think it is a crisis, and are moving to restrict entrance to and movement in the parks.


Eh?


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Scott, what is the highest resolution / largest size recommended for photos? The two I just posted were reduced to 1920 X 1280, they look not too bad. Stick with that? Thx.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

iaresee said:


> Canadians are spoiled -- you don't realize how few people in how vast a space you really have in Canada until you're not in Canada.


When I did my coast-to-coast drive in 1990, I figured I'd leave Victoria in the morning, spend the night in Missoula, and continue the next day. I did not expect Montana to be FULL. I figured "Who goes to Montana?". Well, apparently, everyone. First place I found to stay in after I left Victoria was just outside of Bismarck, ND! Same thing happened as I headed further east. I figure I'll stay in Duluth. Nope. Speedboat regatta, and everything on the southern shore of Superior from Duluth to Marquette is booked.

Of course, the reason why I drove stateside i the first place was because of the gas prices. Wll, duh! Cheaper gas means people are out and driving around to places more.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

boyscout said:


> Scott, what is the highest resolution / largest size recommended for photos? The two I just posted were reduced to 1920 X 1280, they look not too bad. Stick with that? Thx.


for online purposes I usually use no more than 900x900 the forum will accept higher but that seems to be a good viewing size


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

mhammer said:


> When I did my coast-to-coast drive in 1990, I figured I'd leave Victoria in the morning, spend the night in Missoula, and continue the next day. I did not expect Montana to be FULL. I figured "Who goes to Montana?". Well, apparently, everyone. First place I found to stay in after I left Victoria was just outside of Bismarck, ND! Same thing happened as I headed further east. I figure I'll stay in Duluth. Nope. Speedboat regatta, and everything on the southern shore of Superior from Duluth to Marquette is booked.
> 
> Of course, the reason why I drove stateside i the first place was because of the gas prices. Wll, duh! Cheaper gas means people are out and driving around to places more.


Yup. And those aren't even very populous states! Extrapolate from that to California. One in eight people in the USA is from California and it's 423,970 km² -- compare that to the most populous province, Ontario, with it's 13.6M people and it's 1.076 million km² area! More than twice the area! Ontario is pratically _empty_ by comparison!

Last weekend was a long weekend here and the weather was _perfect_. 25º C and sunny all over the larger Bay Area. So naturally the roads to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz were jammed with people wanting to go to the beach -- 2-3 hours to do what is normally a 30-40 minute drive. Everyone having the same idea at the same time here has a whole other meaning to it!

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GuitarsCanada said:


> for online purposes I usually use no more than 900x900 the forum will accept higher but that seems to be a good viewing size


Roger that. I scaled mine back. If anyone is using OS X you can quickly scale a directory of images with:

sips -Z 900 *.jpg


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

iaresee said:


> Last weekend was a long weekend here and the weather was _perfect_. 25º C and sunny all over the larger Bay Area. So naturally the roads to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz were jammed with people wanting to go to the beach -- 2-3 hours to do what is normally a 30-40 minute drive. Everyone having the same idea at the same time here has a whole other meaning to it!


Heh, heh! It was *minus* 25 here yesterday, and a car/bus accident caused a protracted interruption in traffic flow and bus service. I waited 65 minutes outside at Bank and Albert for the bus to arrive, and the waiting crowd had multiplied beyond its usual volume, due to the slowdown.

I'll trade you MY hour, for your 3! :smile-new:


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

Nice, iaresee - my wife and I spent a few days honeymooning in Half-Moon Bay (then on down to Capitola, Monterey and Big Sur).

We had planned for our honeymoon to include a few Shoreline Grateful Dead shows - but we got married a year too late to have that work out for us...


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

fretboard said:


> Nice, iaresee - my wife and I spent a few days honeymooning in Half-Moon Bay (then on down to Capitola, Monterey and Big Sur).


It's so pretty along there. And very rugged. Relative to the Bay, it's not as developed -- still feels a lot 1950s in some towns south of Big Sur but north of Santa Barbara.



> We had planned for our honeymoon to include a few Shoreline Grateful Dead shows - but we got married a year too late to have that work out for us...


I'm so annoyed their doing the reunion thing in Chicago. The Bay Area is their HOME! I'm hoping it's a test of the line up before a tour.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

johnnyshaka said:


> I think you meant east.


Yep, I did. Thanks Johnny.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Gdansk, Poland (on the Baltic Sea)


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Texas (Houston) and Florida (Cape Canaveral) get all the glory and attention, so if you're ignorant like me you may be surprised to know that the space program involves many U.S. states and Alabama, for one, is FULL of rocket scientists. The Marshall Space Center in Huntsville has made contributions big and small to the American space program. The following stories are just two of them.

Big: Because of perspective in the following photograph it doesn't look like it, but the Saturn 5 rocket model in the left background is huge, the biggest baddest rocket they ever launched. Over 36 stories tall, 33 feet in diameter, 260,000 pound payload... quite the firecracker. Inside the building behind it they have a real one, never launched, lying down, which occupies the entire length of the building and seems even bigger.

Small: The public museum has friendly volunteer guides, many of them retired workers from the space center. One I met was the lead engineer on the program to design the wheels for the space buggies the astronauts used to drive around on the moon. The wheels needed to be as light as possible (payload cost) and to survive the extremes of temperature and sharp objects on the moon, so rubber / plastic / metal solid wheels were out. The team created hollow wire mesh wheels which worked very well. The engineer modestly said he couldn't take much credit for the idea though. He got the inspiration from an expired patent for wheels made out of piano wire to shed mud in wet conditions. The patent was registered in England in the mid-1800s!










Sorry, I forget which mission this was from, I think Apollo 16, but it's the real deal.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

for *iaresee*....Carlsbad, California (north of San Diego)...a cool little place you might like to visit if you are in the neighbourhood.

Real estate that I might be able to afford... "downtown" Carlsbad...location, location, location..LOL










Beach front houses...another real estate option









Thanks to everyone for posting all these cool pics and descriptions. 

Cheers

Dave


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2015)

mhammer said:


> Heh, heh! It was *minus* 25 here yesterday, and a car/bus accident caused a protracted interruption in traffic flow and bus service. I waited 65 minutes outside at Bank and Albert for the bus to arrive, and the waiting crowd had multiplied beyond its usual volume, due to the slowdown.
> 
> I'll trade you MY hour, for your 3! :smile-new:


I miss the _idea_ of Canada sometimes, not the _reality_ of Canada!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

greco said:


> Gdansk, Poland (on the Baltic Sea)
> 
> View attachment 12350


How come you only Photoshopped the building and not the people? I'm just glad I wasn't a construction worker or contractor on that thing. Every practice you're used to following just goes right out the window...assuming you can find it!


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

I wonder what it's like to be sitting around a boardroom table when someone says, "I know what we should do! Let's built a twenty-story teepee out of steel, we'll have the world's largest teepee!"

Medicine Hat, Alberta. Actually pretty cool. Originally built for the Calgary Olympics, then moved to Medicine Hat, where you can't drive by the city without seeing it. I guess that's the point!


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Here is another place I've been a few times. This is Lake Louise in Alberta. For variety it is hard to beat but it's a long way to go for me.


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## grumpyoldman (Jan 31, 2010)

Not a vacation, but each of the past three years I have spent a month away from home, on assignment, covering for a co-worker while _he_ goes south on vacation. These pics were taken in September of 2014 in Iqaluit (formerly known as Frobisher Bay) on Baffin Island:

First snowfall in the area just south of Koojesse Inlet, with Iqaluit in foreground, on September 10th. Does anyone else besides me see the "_Enterprise NCC1701D_" in the cloud/snow?








Then, another cloudburst of snow on the far side of the same Koojesse Inlet, with Iqaluit airport terminal (yellow building) in mid picture. That was September 12th.








The morning of September 14th, woke up to the first snowfall...and no brush to be found to clean off the vehicle (of course)...








Same relative view as before, with the yellow terminal quite visible at the airport now...








I was fortunate enough to get home in time to enjoy some late summer warmth. So when I say I've had enough of winter, I really mean it.

I've had enough of winter.

John
thegrumpyoldman


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

greco said:


> Gdansk, Poland (on the Baltic Sea)
> 
> View attachment 12350


That curved/shaped building is very interesting. As a window cleaner, cleaning those windows with all the odd shapes would be a unique challenge.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

A couple from a jaunt to the Grand Canyon


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

A lot of my vacations are pretty close to home,my cottage is less than an hour away.

It's what you make of it that matters.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Bubb said:


> It's what you make of it that matters.


Great photography! 

This one reminds me of my own youth... at our cottage.

Cheers

Dave


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

California is the land of diversity, and I don't mean the politically-correct kind. Deserts, mountains, lush agricultural lands, spectacular coast; a fascinating place to travel in.


Death Valley, east/central California overlooking Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.












On the floor of Badwater Basin, in an area nicknamed The Devil's Golf Course, where the effect of of occasional mineral-laden waters settling in the basin and evaporating in the 130+ degree heat is seen.












Avenue of the Giants, redwood trees in northern California near the coast.












Glamis, southeast California not far from the Mexican border. Just a bit east of here the land becomes green all the way to the border with Arizona (which is set at the here-not-so-mighty Colorado River) due to industrious irrigation and conversion of desert into farmlands growing crops we buy in our grocery stores in Canada.


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## noman (Jul 24, 2006)

Just came back from the Bahamas...........it's winter there too but their winter is 24 degrees! Was very nice and relaxing. Enjoyed watching the weather reports about the cold weather warnings here in Southwestern Ontario and then looking out the window and watching the palm trees waving in the wind!!


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

noman said:


> Just came back from the Bahamas...........it's winter there too but their winter is 24 degrees! Was very nice and relaxing. Enjoyed watching the weather reports about the cold weather warnings here in Southwestern Ontario and then looking out the window and watching the palm trees waving in the wind!!


I have a friend who was a missionary there and he said one thing that was never said was 'nice day, eh?' It was always nice; usually 24-27C.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

More California...


Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley just north of Los Angeles. Reagan's Air Force One provided surprisingly-spartan accommodation, with just a tiny office for him and a tiny sitting room for Nancy behind it. No bedroom and no other luxuries for one of the most-travelled presidents.












San Juan Batista Mission, central California. In the 1700s the Spanish became dominant in the western U.S. through religious orders which established long strings of nearly-connected missions/settlements, especially up through California, Arizona, and Texas. San Juan Batista was built in the late 1700s and still operates today as a church and cultural centre.












Point Arena Lighthouse, northwest California. The California (and Oregon) coast offers some of the most picturesque driving in the world. Distinctive lighthouses, spectacular vistas, rugged shorelines, sea-based wildlife, wildflowers, and lots of interesting places to stop for an hour or days.












San Francisco, north-central California. The Marin Headlands from which this photo was taken and the Presidio (green area on the opposite side of the bridge) were until the late 70s massively militarized. The remains of colossal gun placements can be seen (think about Guns of Navarone) along with their ammunition bunkers carved through the mountains, and nuclear missile silos from the 70's can still be seen. Now the military has withdrawn, community groups and park administration has taken over, and both sides of the bridge offer lots of interesting discovery in addition to the charms of San Francisco city.












Napa Valley, north-central California, Robert Mondavi Winery. The photo below comes from one of Mondavi's better-grade Cabernet Sauvignon cellars. After trying other options to clean/disguise the inevitable splashing of wine on the barrels when they were filled, the winery now simply paints them with... cabernet sauvignon!












Niland, southern California just east of the Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain. In the mid-80s a fellow named Leonard Knight felt impelled to slather some mud and straw and cement on the side of a hill in the desert to create a monument representing his faith. He stayed for almost 30 years, attracting volunteers and donations of countless gallons of paint. The very harsh desert climate ensures that there's always work to do on keeping it up, but unfortunately Mr. Knight left the site just months before I was there, and he died last year, so the fate of his work is uncertain. Just a mile or two away is the famous/infamous Slab City, an abandoned military base that is the year-round home to a bunch of hard-scrabble squatters and swells in population during our winter each year as RV-ers and others looking for a cheap escape from the cold settle in.












Klamath, northern California, monument to Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe. This kind of quintessentially-American kitsch can still be found here and there... fun to see. Somewhere - inside the statue or nearby - a staff member sees kids approaching in front of it and with a microphone and controls for hand and mouth has the statue engage in "talking" to the kids.












Malibu Beach, southern California just north of Los Angeles. No need to say anything about this I guess, except I'd sure rather be there than here in -15 Celsius with snow on the way.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Some nice shots there


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Some of the museums / libraries devoted to U.S. presidents feature a replica of the Oval Office as it looked in that president's time.

Gerald Ford:










Bill Clinton:










Ronald Reagan:










Lyndon Johnson:


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Just so y'all understand that I don't always vacation in the snow, we took a drive down to Virginia Beach one May hauling an old travel trailer we had fixed up. It was a great trip as it was warm enough and there were no tourists to speak of yet, so we didn't need any reservations. We just pulled in when and where we wanted which makes for a more interesting and relaxed vacation.
















This last pic is from one of the main beaches on Marco Island, a short drive from Naples. We were not too enamoured with it.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Steadfastly said:


> Just so y'all understand that I don't always vacation in the snow, we took a drive down to Virginia Beach one May hauling an old travel trailer we had fixed up. <snip>


I'm not seeing your photos, just placeholders for them.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

boyscout said:


> I'm not seeing your photos, just placeholders for them.


Fixed now.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Some shots from Hawaii a few years back


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Hawaii continued


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

They use a battleship to go sportfishing in Hawaii??!!

#murica


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

When it comes to mountain scenery the U.S. offers some great moments such as

Mount Ranier in Washington,










Mount St. Helens in Washington,










and Mount Hood in Oregon.










However they got nothin' on Canada in that regard! We've got (all in Alberta)

Bow Lake north of Lake Louise,










Lake Louise itself,










Peyto Lake near Lake Louise,










and Moraine Lake, near Banff.










Plus many more spectacular views.


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

Love being 4 hours away from Banff or Jasper. 

My kids are getting to be old enough to appreciate that as well...woohoo!!


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

Went back to Australia for a couple of weeks in May last year:










Neil


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Option1 said:


> Went back to Australia for a couple of weeks in May last year:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice Neil! Where is that taken? (Exact beach please) I spent a lot of my teenage years growing up to that sight in the mornings. If "Joe's" greasy was full on the way, no waves. If Joes was empty? Surf was good. (Newport reef, Nth Beaches Sydney)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

Warana Beach on the Sunshine Coast, about 200m I think above where the red marker is on this map. I stayed with my sister who lives two blocks from the beach, the oldies are in a retirement village on Kawana Island, and my brother and his wife and sprogs also live on Kawana Island (but not the retirement village). Thinking about moving back to Brisbane or even the sunny coast (harder to find a job in my field there though) after thinking I'd never move back to Oz.

Some more pics of that trip are here (skip over the family ones).

Neil


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

boyscout said:


> When it comes to mountain scenery the U.S. offers some great moments such as
> 
> Mount Ranier in Washington,
> 
> ...


When I see your beautiful pictures I see some excellent ski runs!


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

Steadfastly said:


> When I see your beautiful pictures I see some excellent ski runs!


... and I see beautiful mountains marred by snow! :smile-new: All of the photos were taken in early/mid June. People were still skiing at Mount Ranier and Mount Hood (2013 and 2012, respectively) however Lake Louise (in 2013) was very over for the season. At the same time, the road east of the lodge at Ranier was still closed due to snow, not expected to open until July!


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

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My Dad last year at age 88!


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2015)

Not exactly a vacation photo, but working San Francisco can feel a bit like a circus some times. Sutro tower from 9th floor, Market Street side of our office:


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

ed2000 said:


> [/URL][/IMG]
> 
> My Dad last year at age 88!


Tell your Dad I am impressed!:applouse: I would like to be able to do that. I can ski down a mountain faster than most people regardless of their age but I can't force myself to get on water skis. I am simply too scared.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

So a rock star friend hooked my family up with a rock star worthy place to hang in LA for a week. Hollywood Hills off Laurel Canyon. Crazy donkey trail of a "road" to get to the place. Unfortunate we came back when we did - I hear the Stones will be a playing a theatre in Hollywood this week before their tour starts in San Diego in a week or so.

LA at night - Sunset Strip is the bottom line of lights, Hollywood Freeway to the left of the downtown buildings. Could easily see Dodger Stadium when they were playing and had the lights on - not on in this pic.








LA by day








Kids spent plenty of time poolside.








He spent all night staring down at the lights of LA
Wondering if he could ever go home

And those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
It was looking so right
It was giving him chills
In those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
With a passion that kills


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

greco said:


> Kragero, Norway ...visited a friend (2011) that I wet to school with in England in the early '70's
> This is the evening of summer solstice at about 10:00 PM
> 
> View attachment 12283
> ...


I was just in Bergen a few weeks ago, Beautiful country. The $17 pints of beer didn't inspire me to stay long though! haha


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Those are some beautiful pics and locations. I need to travel more. I really impressed by the waterskier. I've tried so many times over the years and have never succeeded. Well done.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Steadfastly said:


> Tell your Dad I am impressed!:applouse: I would like to be able to do that. I can ski down a mountain faster than most people regardless of their age but I can't force myself to get on water skis. I am simply too scared.


I tried it a few times, but never got the hang of it--and realized I like being in the boat--and seeing if I could make the hotshots wipe out. (And being nice to the beginners)


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

I clearly lead a very boring life! I don't fly, go on cruises or do anything exotic!


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Looks like this year, unless things get better in the patch, vacation will probably be sitting in the back yard with the occasional short trip to places close.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

GI have a cottage so that is my go to vacation spot. It's only 40 minutes away from where we live. It's right on the lake. 

The only place that I have an urge to go to is Italy. That is on my bucket list. I know for a fact that I would have and excellent adventure! Just the food alone! OMG!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Just got back from the UK. Here are a few of the hundreds we took  I don't like religion but love old churches.

Sporting the colours. Standing in Wells, Somerset just off the green in front of the Cathedral. That's part of the old wall in the background. Cathedral was built in the late 1100's.









Wells Cathedral exterior.








Wells Cathedral interior.








View of the Cathedral from the Bishops Palace.








Ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. 









- - - Updated - - -
Supposed grave of Arthur and Guinevere on the grounds of the Abbey.








View from Glastonbury Tor. That was a hell of a climb 








Salisbury Cathedral. Home of the best remaining copy of the Magna Carta. The other 3 are in the British Museum.









Magna Carta









Salisbury Cathedral from the cloisters.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Great pics davetcan. Thanks for posting them. 
Any chance you could let us know the locations of the pics?

Cheers

Dave


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Thanks Dave, I added a short blurb to the original post.



greco said:


> Great pics davetcan. Thanks for posting them.
> Any chance you could let us know the locations of the pics?
> 
> Cheers
> ...


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

A couple shots from NYC and Atlantic City


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

A few more


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

The new WTC building, massive


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

The wife and I ditched the kids at my sisters' place in Calgary while we headed to Banff for the weekend and here was our view:


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

johnnyshaka said:


> The wife and I ditched the kids at my sisters' place in Calgary while we headed to Banff for the weekend and here was our view:


I only have visions like this in my dreams! Actually that's a lie! When hubby and I went through the Smoky Mountains in the Carolinas! Driving through the clouds was just amazing!

That is just gorgeous scenery!


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Lola said:


> I only have visions like this in my dreams! Actually that's a lie! When hubby and I went through the Smoky Mountains in the Carolinas! Driving through the clouds was just amazing!
> 
> That is just gorgeous scenery!



i used to live at the foot of the smokies in tennessee, many years ago. going down hwy 26 i think? it's (been a long time) there were places where the fog was deadly. driving through that area was scary at times because no one can see anything in certain sections, but trucks don't seem to care. and then there are people driving regular cars who are just plain stupid, and tourists who don't know any better. you could actually come around a bend on a big 4 lane hwy into a wall of white, randomly at certain times of the year. it was beautiful to live there, but that one section made me nervous. further to the south (on the other side of the mountains) is maggie valley and ashville. to me the area between there and kingsport, or maybe up as far as norton, too. is the most beautiful place i've ever lived. below is a pic of the ashville watershed, taken from the top of the dragon, june 2003. it is a sort of holy place if you ride a motorcycle, that particular place i took the pic from










for contrast, here is a pic i took in montreal. one of the coolest trees i've seen


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Here's me enjoying the balcony in Mexico.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

johnnyshaka said:


> The wife and I ditched the kids at my sisters' place in Calgary while we headed to Banff for the weekend and here was our view:


I was up in Banff & Canmore recently--I never fail to be amazed at the beauty.


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

zontar said:


> I was up in Banff & Canmore recently--I never fail to be amazed at the beauty.


We stopped in Canmore on the way back to Calgary to look for the spot where I proposed to my wife but we couldn't find it! LOL!

We definitely should be going out there, and Jasper, way more often and now that our girls are old enough to appreciate the mountains we'll be heading out at least a few times a year.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Jasper is nice too--it's been a long time since I've been there.
I'll have to upload some of the pictures I took in Canmore & Banff.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Two Jack Lake


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

Had my first venture into Florida last week. All expense paid stay at the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne is a nice way to go if your wife's firm is willing to cover the costs (they even tossed in spending money - which we didn't need since everything was paid for so we came home with more money than we left with). Spent one day on a jet boat (962hp) in the Atlantic - got it up to 68 mph but it was fairly choppy to begin with - was hoping for 80+mph but that just wasn't going to happen. Sea salt hurts like hell slapping your face at those speeds. Another day was on an airboat in the Everglades. Rain washed out our round of golf at Doral, but still made it into South Beach for some quality nightlife a couple of evenings. Seemed like rain rolled in every afternoon except once right around 2:00PM and cleared out by 4:00PM. Few pics from the 'glades.



















The Atlantic from our balcony


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

A few shots from this years trip to Kent, UK.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)




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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, 20th or so across Canada. We passed through a week or so ago to/from Jasper.

Not too often you can see it not shrouded in clouds. It was an amazingly clear day.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Nice pic. You know, no matter how many times one has seen pics like this, the first time you actually see a mountain in real life, you can't get over how frigging BIG those things are.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Vernon. BC.


Sent from my Other Brain


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

mhammer said:


> Nice pic. You know, no matter how many times one has seen pics like this, the first time you actually see a mountain in real life, you can't get over how frigging BIG those things are.


Amen to that. Growing up where I could watch my dog run away for 3 days, they pulled me like a magnet. First to Alberta where they were only an hour away - and I drove to them nearly every other weekend to hike and mountainbike. Then to the coast, where I live amongst them (Mt. Baker is stunning when the light is just right). I did live right between a few of them (Nelson) for a year and that was too close. The sun didn't come up till 10AM and went down at 4PM - in the middle of summer. Like it just fine where I am now.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I thought I had posted these already...
Lake Minnewanka








Johnson Lake


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