Shoreline Rocks, Offshore Islands

Shoreline Rocks,Offshore Islands
“Shoreline Rocks, Offshore Islands” — Two small islands in faint sunshine, shoreline rocks, Big Sur Coast.

It was a quiet moment at the Pacific Ocean shoreline on the upper Big Sur coast. It would not last, of course, as the area is overrun by visitors during the warmer months. I go very early in the morning to beat the crowds, and I had a couple of good hours before the Monterey and Carmel tourists finished breakfast and drove down the coast. (If you want to see the Big Sur coast in relative solitude, try a winter weekday morning.)

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Approaching The Cuillin Mountains

Approaching The Cuillin HIlls
“Approaching The Cuillin Mountains” — Glowing clouds fill the sky above the Cuillin Mountains, Isle of Skye.

We had our first close-up view of the Cuillin Mountains when we arrived on the Isle of Skye. Driving onto the Isle from the east, the road loops southwest at Loch Slighachan, then heads north between the Red Cuillin Mountains, before turning back to the southwest to loop around these peaks. Of course, they are big enough to be visible from many places on and near to Skye, too.

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Colorful Buildings, Portree, Scotland

Colorful Buildings, Portree, Scotland
“Colorful Buildings, Portree, Scotland” — Colorful Portree waterfront building and reflections, Isle of Skye.

Just a few days after sharing a post in which I mentioned that I photograph a lot of subjects that are not icons… here is a photograph of an icon! This scene in the town of Portree, Isle of Skye is definitely in that category. I’m pretty sure that this scene will show up if you search (or as I hear I should now say, “search up”) “Portree.” It is an attractive row of colorful buildings, and their reflection in the water adds to the effect.

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Cotswold Trail, Clouds

Cotswold Trail, Clouds
“Cotswold Trail, Clouds” — Clouds build above a trail through agricultural land in the Cotswolds.

For a hiker like me, with a lifetime of wilderness hiking and backpacking behind him, a “Cotswolds walk” is a new and different experience. I am used to single-person-width trails, usually rocky, and sometimes ascending to quite high elevations. On multi-day trips I have carried everything on my back. But here the trails are gentle, often passing between and through fields and pastures. And you carry only a few supplies for the day’s walk — you simply stop at a grocery or a pub in a small town at lunch time and buy something to eat.

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