Travel Diary

Death Valley National Park, California

It's Thanksgiving Day, a time when I normally travel for a bit of landscape photography, and this year, I'm in Death Valley National Park, California. A major winter storm blow through much of southern California and Arizona over Thanksgiving, making travel more difficult than expected for so early in the year. This morning, the day started out cloudy, but with a break in the clouds I was able to get some nice views from Zabriskie Point, overlooking the valley. By afternoon, the cloudy weather turned to a light rain. I sat in the parking lot at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, hoping for a break in the rain, but it never came. So, I left to check into my hotel in Pahrump, Nevada.

I'm testing out two new lenses on this trip; the Nikkor Z 85mm f1.8 S lens and the Irix 150mm Dragonfly Macro. I'm not normally into gear, but over the past year, I've been migrating to a mirrorless system from the traditional DSLR and gradually replacing older lenses. More to come on this.

First Light, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California. (Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f4 S)

Bad Neuenahr, Germany

The fall colors are a little past peak this year, so I didn't do much photography of the trees. However, I enjoyed walking the footpaths, hearing the crunch of leaves underfoot and enjoying the cool weather.

Walking Path Along the Ahr River, Bad Neuenahr, Germany.

Bad Neuenahr, Germany

Dahlia Garden

This is my 5th year visiting Bad Neuenahr, Germany. Whenever I come to this town, my first stop is the Dahlia Garden. Over the years I've spent hours upon hours photographing the flowers. Some years have been better than others; this year it's later and the flowers are almost at the end of their lives; having been beaten down by the wind and rain, and cold mornings. Still, I keep returning, hoping that the flowers will be a little brighter and just as vibrant as past years.

Over the years, I have noticed that the variety of dahlia types has diminished. The garden is sponsored by a local civic club and perhaps members aren't supporting it as much, or they are concentrating on specific types.

Promise - Dahlia Garden, Bad Neuenahr, Germany.

Vulcan - Dahlia Garden, Bad Neuenahr, Germany.

Ahrweiler, Germany

Before there was a German nation, the armies of Julius Caesar conquered the land and its inhabitants. With the armies came Roman architecture and the roman way of life. Sitting just outside the village of Ahrweiler sits the Museum Roemervilla. Here archaeologists found evidence of an Roman Villa built in the middle of the 1st Century AD. The original villa was replaced by a larger one at the end of that century and was used as a residence for some two centuries. In the 5th century the villa was covered by a landslide, remaining covered until March 1980 when it was discovered.

After two days of unseasonably warm weather, I and two friends decided to make a visit to the museum, whose existence I had just discovered. From the Ahrweiler Markt train station, we took a 10 minute walk along a vineyard (still covered in vines and some grapes) to the museum. We paid the 5 Euro fee to enter and spent the next hour wandering around the remains of the ancient villa. Even though only a small part of the villa has been excavated and is in the museum, it’s quite obvious that the villa was quite extensive at one time. We marveled at the floor mosaics, remnants of wall painting, faded, but still visible, and the layout of the rooms we visited.

It was a short visit, but one I hope to return to in future trips. The history of the Roman empire in ancient Germany is a fascinating subject, worthy of further research and visits.

Museum Roemervilla, Ahrweiler, Germany.

Bad Neuenahr, Germany

The town was a beehive of activity when I arrived yesterday afternoon; this wasn't normal, given that it was Sunday and most shops would normally be closed. Some shops were open on this Sunday, restaurants and bakeries were doing a thriving business, gelato stands open to standing room only crowds. The trail along the Ahr River was busy; people sitting on the banks of the river, or walking their dogs. Seniors with their walking sticks, parents pushing toddlers in their strollers.

I haven't found out the reason for all the days's activity yet, but some of it could possibly be explained by the weather; normally at this time of year, it would be rainy and cold, as it was just days ago, I'm told, but this day it was sunny and mid-70s. Perhaps, everyone, knowing winter was soon coming, decided to make the most of the day while they still could.

Activity along the Ahr River, Bad Neuenahr, Germany.