This shot from one of the look out decks near the peak of the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, France, makes it easy to see why the Mt. Blanc massif is such a climbing, hiking, and skiing paradise. Shot in August 2017.
Summer
The coldest winter
Spring started slow that year
Or at least after the frigid winter it seemed slow.
We all waited for the sun,
Prayed it would return one day.
After what we had seen,
After the months of darkness
And the nights of plunging temperatures,
Diving into the furthest depths of Dante’s hell,
It seemed a miracle for anyone to be alive,
Nay have hope after that winter.
I don’t know what came first,
If our senses failed
And we then lost hope,
Or if the loss of our faculties
Came as a result of our resolve
Freezing over with our hearts.
Undeniably so, however,
Our eyes soon forgot what colors were.
The sleepiness of summer warmth seemed
Like a parcel of a dream,
A memory of another life
In days with more light.
Limnian Sunset
This breathtaking view was about 100 meters high on a cliff overlooking the sea. From up here, when the sun was JUST right, you could actually see Mt. Athos on the mainland. Limnos is a Greek island just off the Turkish coast, and has been discussed as far back as Homer.
Sunset through a tree
Through the elements
Out of torments,
Storms form the north,
Rains from the south,
You seemed to grow
Declining to recognize
The lack of warmth
All along promising to yourself
That one day the sun would come
Calsbar Quarry, Gulliver, Michigan
A colorful glimpse into a unique quarry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This former limestone quarry was filled almost instantly when miners hit a natural spring. The white limestone gives the water an almost tropical color, while remaining crystal clear to see the sunken buildings, equipment, logs, and wildlife at the bottom (about 20 feet deep when this photo was taken). It used to be one of my favorite swimming places, but was drained in recent years to resume limestone mining.
Tahquamenon falls
Rootbeer brown water cascades over the Tahquamenon Falls in Paradise, Michigan.
Athens sprawls to the mountains
Athens, seen from the Parthenon, sprawls towards the neighboring mountains.
Hephaistia Ruins on Lemnos
Columns from ruins in the Hephaistia, Lemnos, Greece
Prickly Pear Flower
A Poetic Voyage 