Month: December 2016

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 167 (Lembert Dome Trail – 1/8)

Jeff

NOTE – This is the first photograph in a series of eight that will be presented over the following days to give readers a sense of what it was like to hike the Lembert Dome Trail. Previous Year of Yosemite photographs and descriptions were mostly individual presentations without providing a narrative to portray the essence of the hike.

The start of the trail opens after the woods

Exiting the initial wooded area, there is a rock shelf with numerous cairns

Before arriving at this massive rock shelf, we hiked from the parking area and through a grove of trees, i.e. woods. The trees soon gave way to a clearing and we were presented with many cairns. Some were simple while others were more elaborate.

Hikers debate whether cairns are reliable and/or helpful because there are some who might mislead future hikers intentionally or because of ignorance. There were so many cairns in this area and they were all leading in the same direction and therefore hikers could “hedge their bets.”

In any event, the path was rather obvious and we had a trail map that we consulted to make sure. Except for the Valley Loop Trail, I would say that most trails were rather easy to find and follow. When considering the size of Yosemite, I should also add that they were probably marked as well as they could be.

NOTE – Whenever I hike, I take three cameras. One of them is a simple point-and-shoot which only captures JPEG images. If this sounds foreign to you, then you can skip this paragraph. There will be several pictures which were taken with my Canon PowerShot AS590 and are intended to be “pictures of record” and not picturesque portrayals or renderings. This photo is one of them.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 167 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 10:55:43 AM
Capture date: June 7, 2016
Exposure: 1/1000 sec @ f/4.5
Focal Length: 5.8mm
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Canon PowerShot A590 IS

 

STATUS QUOtes — 20161223

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” — Jim Rohn

“In between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed.” — Sid Caesar

“Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.” — Charles Spurgeon

“He knows all the facts, and he’s against all the solutions.” — Robert Kennedy

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 166 (Textures and Colors and Sounds, Oh My!)

Jeff

Mossy Rocks in the Merced at Happy Isles

A large boulder with moss sits in the Merced River


While walking along the path at Happy Isles, we spied this rock with beautiful textures and colors. It may a bit unusual to be visiting a noted national park with all of its monuments and major attractions and to focus on a moss covered rock.

I was struck by several things. Look at the colors of the moss on that rock. The shades range from medium brown, to gold to light green. Whatever light came through the clouds was highlighting the yellowish growth. Additionally, the warm tones of the fallen log in the background and the sound of the rushing water made this a true sensory experience.

Several posts ago, I spoke about the “small miracles and gems” and perhaps I am the only one who would consider this as such, but that is what makes nature what it is. It is a person-specific connection and wonderment!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 166 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 1:09:24 AM
Capture date: June 10, 2016
Exposure: 1/100 sec @ f/6.3
Focal Length: 62mm
ISO 200
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

 

STATUS QUOtes — 20161222

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“It is never too late to be wise.” — Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

“Your kids will forget what you bought them, but they won’t forget the magic. Your relatives will forget what you fed them, but they won’t forget the laughter. Focus on what really matters.” — Vironika Tugaleva

“A good goal is like a strenuous exercise-it makes you stretch.” — Mary Kay Ash

“Personally, I’m waiting for caller IQ.” — Sandra Bernhard

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Pickleball at Thompson Peak Park, Scottsdale

Jeff

I finally made it to Thompson Peak Park in Scottsdale to look at the new pickleball courts and I am posting an introduction of sorts for those who want to know more about the facility.

Thompson Peak Park
20199 N. 78th Pl.
Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Here is a link to a Map showing the park location.

This is the link for the Thompson Peak Park Meetup group which enables players to see who intends to be at the park at certain dates, times, etc. and which also provides news and updates about the park.

This is the link for the Calendar explaining which groups (beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.) meet on which days and at what times.

https://www.meetup.com/Scottsdale-Thompson-Peak-Pickleball/events/

There are two gates available when walking from the parking area to the basketball court and pickleball court areas. When I arrived, the gate leading directly to the pickleball courts was locked, but the basketball court gate was open and a secondary internal gate then allowed entrance to the pickleball playing area.

As you can see below, the courts are two-toned which I think makes it a bit easier to define the kitchen area during certain aspects of play. The paint patterns seem a bit more exaggerated in the photos than I remember, but I thought the courts were quite playable and the paint should not be a distraction.

Here is another view.

Note that the perimeter fence is not as high as most other venues and there may be some ball chasing necessary for players like me who, once in a while, tend to miss their overhead smash! I can sometimes get them over the highest fences anyway!!

A shorter fence separated the pickleball courts from the basketball area which has lines for three additional pickleball courts for those who have their own nets.

The black lines are for the pickleball court. I have drawn a red line on the picture to indicate approximately where the net would be.

Below is a picture of the middle pickleball court marked on the basketball area.

I returned to the park one evening to assess the lighting. The courts were well lit except the northernmost dedicated pickleball court which had a light out and was dark. The other two courts were fine. The basketball area, lined for three courts, was very well lit (see picture below).

I also wanted to check out the bathroom situation. There are bathrooms and they were open at 6:45PM so my assumption is they are open all day. It is a bit of a walk as they are located between the baseball fields to the south.

There are water fountains nearby…

and benches inside the pickleball court fence.

The courts are oriented east-to-west which may prove problematic when the sun is at certain angles. All-in-all though, I think Thompson Peak Park would be a very good place to play.

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 165 (Unexpected Water Feature)

Jeff

Water feature along Vernal Fall Trail

A water feature was created along the Vernal Fall Trail

I have spoken about the wonder of our national parks a number of times as part of my blog posts. Considering the amount of funding and the scope of the task, I have to say that the workers in our parks should receive a lot of praise.

There were many instances as we hiked, we would come across a feature that took time and energy to build and probably did not receive the recognition it deserved. These individual touches give personality to our parks and add natural, artistic touches to the hiking experience.

Although it may be difficult to discern in the photo, just above the fern was a wall of boulders and water was dripping down that wall creating a perfect environment for shade loving plants. The park crews built two retaining ponds with the natural stone and it created a much appreciated water feature that added to both the visual and aural the pleasures of hikers as they passed. I do hope many of the visitors note and admire these distinctive touches!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 165 YOY – Year of Yosemite

File Name: 3573.JPG
Capture time: 11:19:19 AM
Capture date: June 10, 2016
Exposure: 1/60 sec @ f/2.6
Focal Length: 5.8mm
ISO 100

 

STATUS QUOtes — 20161221

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” — William Thackeray

“Men are only as loyal as their options.” — Bill Maher

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” — Rachel Carson

“Today it takes more brains and effort to make out the income tax form than it does to make the income.” — Alfred E. Neuman

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 164 (The Bus Stops Here)

Jeff

Visitors wait patiently at the bus stop

The various bus stops throughout the park are generally very nice with overhangs and benches

Years ago, many national parks devised an intrapark transportation scheme that encouraged visitors to take buses rather than drive from trailhead to trailhead. By and large, I think this has been a very good transition for both the visitors and the parks.

There is less vehicle traffic which is an advantage for the native flora and fauna. We have found the buses very efficient and most, if not all, the drivers very helpful and friendly. Once in a while we were able to ride on a bus with one of the rangers and we then could use this opportunity to gather more information.

Our experience has been that the buses do not use gasoline and therefore there is a reduction of air pollution; always a good thing.

The bus waiting area pictured above is fairly typical of the waiting areas. There were some that were composed of stone and they were works of art. The frequency of the rounds was also very comfortable and waits were not too long. Needless to say, your experiences may vary when crowds surge, weather interferes or other unforeseen circumstances occur.

The managers of our national parks did this the right way!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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No Meta Data – for this photograph

 

Pickleball Video – What Are Your Third Shot Options?

Jeff

Helle Sparre explains third shot options. I think many pickleballers will find this interesting. It isn’t a video of pickleball players on a court, but rather about strategy. She uses a magnetic board with “checkers” as players to explain the strategy. This won’t be one of those exciting videos (for most people), but it offers some THIRD SHOT strategy tips for players at different skill levels.

The gold standard, so to speak, of pickleball third shots is the third shot drop shot. My third shot drop shot from deep in the court isn’t very reliable and most of the people I play against would probably say something similar of their own third shot. So…what are the other alternatives for a third shot? Do you just throw your paddle in the air and give up? Of course not!

Helle explains what the three basic options are and offers ideas about what you should try to do. If you are honest with yourself, and you believe that Helle Sparre has the right idea, it will point you to areas in which you need to gain proficiency.

I think you will find this of interest if you are looking to improve your game.

IMPORTANT– Helle talks about when you should NOT RUN TO THE NON-VOLLEY ZONE based on the shot just hit! A very good point or two!

 

To See additonal Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)

Check out Additional Pickleball Info and Videos! (for all players including average to more experienced players)