Postcards from the Rim, Part 1

The week following Independence Day (2009), I took time off work. I went hiking with a friend on a few trails in the Lake Tahoe basin (including parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail, or TRT, hence the title). The next few posts will exhibit a few of the photos we took. I had planned to put them all on one post, but I've learned that getting pictures where you want them is not the easiest thing to do with Blogger, so I'll break them up.

The first trail we took was the Big Meadow trail up to Anderson Pass, at the junction with the SE part of the TRT. It was only two miles, but it was all uphill, so we were very pleased when we got to the top.

On the way down, we saw things from a different perspective--and it was easier going--so I took more photos. Here is a mountain Sequoia that has been charred in the middle.

This is a dead tree that, from a distance, looked somewhat like a woman gathering her children into her skirts. I'm not sure how well that shows up in the picture.

We also saw some wildlife that was more shy when we were going up. This is probably a common bird in the mountains, but unfamiliar to me, perched in a big Aspen.

Then a bit further down the trail, we saw what I believe is a Sage Grouse hen and her three chicks foraging, pretty much ignoring us. Of course, we were a few yards away. I only got a good picture of one of the chicks. Mom's on the left, chick's on the right, if you can't tell.

Finally, my friend noticed this scene as we crossed a creek: a branch with a few leaves on the end casting a sharp shadow on a rock in the stream.