Eastern CA and Death Valley

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Wednesday, 30 October 2024 - Drove seven hours to Lone Pine, California, observing a small forest fire along the way, met the Photo Workshop team, and explored Alabama Hills at sunset photographing Cyclops Arch, barrel cacti, and the Sierra Nevada mountains, with the Milky Way appearing in the night sky.

Up early for a 7-hour drive to Lone Pine, California.

deathvalley2024 — As I approached the town, a forest fire was visible in the mountains to the west. I pulled off onto a dirt road and unpacked my cameras to take some pictures.

There was a lot of smoke, but the fire seemed rather small and confined to the small area in the left center of the picture.

deathvalley2024 — As I zoomed in, a helicopter flew by and dropped water on the fire.

deathvalley2024 — The smoke and the high mountain peaks made for moody pictures.

The fire would burn and smolder for the day and a half that we were in the Lone Pine area.

deathvalley2024 — I met up with the workshop team at the hotel in Lone Pine. There will be two instructors and seven students for the workshop. The sun set early, so we headed into the mountain foothills to a park called Alabama Hills. Gold prospectors during the Civil War who were sympathetic to the Confederacy named the area after the warship CSS Alabama.

A bunch of barrel cactus living in between rocks.

deathvalley2024 — Cyclops Arch is a skull-like rock formation in the Alabama Hills.

deathvalley2024 — Alabama Hills contain many rock formations and arches. The rock has weathered in a rounded manner, creating spherical boulders.

deathvalley2024 — Cyclops Arch was the main attraction, and we took pictures from every angle as the sun set.

This view is to the east with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.

deathvalley2024 — Another small ball of cactus and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

deathvalley2024 — Venus was bright in the early sky over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

deathvalley2024 — A long exposure makes the clouds blur during sunset.

deathvalley2024 — Our instructor, Ryan, then lit up the Cyclops Arch, which made for a nice Halloween picture.

In the sky is the Milky Way. Unfortunately, there were clouds in the nigh sky blocking the stars. Later in the trip we will wish for more clouds, but this night we wanted them gone after the sun set.

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