159) Book Reports

I recently read two phenomenal books in the last couple weeks that are certainly worth looking into if you haven’t already read them.


The first one I would like to mention is Doug Stanton’s In Harm’s Way. I had known about this book for a couple years, but never got around to reading it. Recently my dad loaned me his copy. It is a true story about the sinking of a World War II ship, the USS Indianapolis. It is a stunning and haunting story that affected my dreams for several nights after reading it. Well worth reading if you are interested in WWII, the Navy, history, survival, or the ocean.


The second book I wanted to mention is called The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs. This book deals with deserts in Americas southwest. As a physical geography major, former forest ranger and nature lover, this book was extraordinary. My grandmother chanced upon it and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. I was excited to read it because I had already read another of Childs’ books called The Soul of Nowhere. This book is filled with some incredible stories and tons of knowledge about the deserts and the water that has played a massive part in forming them. Reading this book has really made me long to get back in some of my favorite places in the world: the deserts of southern Utah.


In a couple of days Gabe (seen in the second and third pictures of this post) and I will head west and spend some time in the desert. This is really exciting for me for two reasons. One is that I haven’t been able to spend any real time with Gabe for well over a year. The second is that I will get my chance to get back in the southern Utah deserts before I spend another year in Korea.



The last trip I took to the desert was with Gabe during the Thanksgiving of 2005, and I have thought about that trip innumerable times since. We visited some of my friends and did some backpacking, and had the hungriest Thanksgiving I had ever had (for the entire day we each had a half a bagel, a half a bag of ramen, a cliff bar and water- after hiking around 12-15 miles that day with 50-60 pound packs). Still, it was a trip I remember fondly, and will never forget.


My first trip into the desert was a weeklong solo-backpacking trip. That is still one of the best backpacking trips I have been on. And now I am anxiously awaiting this next trip into the raw and painted land shaped by water.

158) Lunar Eclipse

In case you didn't know there was a beautiful lunar eclipse happening tonight. I would have spent more time taking and setting up photos, but it is 3 degrees F tonight in Wisconsin, so that limited my time outside!

157) Tropical to Tundra

I am certainly not very excited about the transition from tropical Hawaiian beaches to snowy and frozen Wisconsin, but I will deal with it...

156) Home

The last I was in Hawaii I got these shots. I had meaning to take them for almost the entire time I had been there, but things kept not panning out. Anyways, conditions were not perfect, but I got some shots I like.



Coming home was an expected unpleasant experience in regards to both the flights and the climates. There's a good foot or two of snow on the ground here, and I don't even want to know the temperature. The flights just sucked because of the planes, NWA doesn't make the most comfortable planes in most cases.


Now I am basically getting ready to head back to Korea. I am neither looking forward to it or dreading it. I don't really miss Korea, and I didn't leave with a bitter taste in my mouth. The reasons I am going back are pretty simple- It's a chapter of my life that is not finished yet, and I need to finish that. One of the biggest things I am looking forward to about Korea is just getting settled down again, and having my own apartment. Living out of suitcases takes it's tole on me sometimes. Even at my parents house my clothes are in laundry baskets or on the floor. And of course it should go without saying I miss my friends and girlfriend that are still in Korea.

155) Last Sunrise (painted waves)

I had been meaning to get up for a sunrise photo shoot for a long time. I did it once earlier, but the horizon was filled with rain clouds. So partly due to some obscene coughing this morning from an un-named roommate, I got up and headed to the beach before the sunrise.




I didn't pick the greatest location for the actual sunrise, as I only had a general idea of where it would be. But I was happy I did it, because I got some interesting shots of waves (I think) and needless to say being up that early gives you a totally different perspective on Waikiki.



I have been experimenting with slower shutter speeds on the waves for a while, and it is an interesting and fun process. When done right, it creates an affect that kinda makes it look like a painting.

154) Nearly Finished

Tonight is my last full night in Hawaii. Late tomorrow night I will be heading back home to freezing cold and snowy Wisconsin, which I am not looking forward to. I really enjoy spending about a month on vacations, which I know is not a luxury most can afford to do (afford in the sense of time- as I don't spend a ton of money on these vacations).




Yesterday Dave and I went to the zoo, and just walked around. It was ok, I was actually hoping for more garden type areas, but I was let down in that department. After that we went to relax on the beach for a while. I went on a swim, and ended up seeing a big sea turtle. It surfaced near where I was swimming, and when I turned around and swam towards it, I saw it swim right under me.



Later that evening I was just sitting on the beach killing time, and saw another (or the same) turtle. This time I was able to get within inches of it. I was standing on a small wall that went into the water, and the turtle was eating algae (or something) off the wall. It was pretty cool to see it so close.




I know these pics seem kinda random on this post, but I just thought I would post them as they were taken last night.

153) Hawaii Pictures (6)

Here are some more surfers at sunset. I can't get to a lot of different places without a car, so I went back to my favorite spot for surfer silhouettes. Everything changes with the clouds.





The fireworks shot was an accident on more than one account. I had no idea there was going to be a show, but I saw them setting up, and talked to someone involved. He told me where to stand for the best pictures, and when to be ready. Anyways, I was caught off-guard and the settings on my camera were still the same as when i was taking the silhouettes (which I didn't know). So the picture is actually a fluke that turned out well (I think).

152) Hawaii Pictures (5)

I have been meaning to get some volleyball pictures at sunset for a while. Once I saw that is was going to be a really beautiful sunset, I couldn't resist just going for those shots, and abandoning the volleyball players. It is hard to be patient while they make mistakes.

151) Wild Water

Today I didn’t have the energy to make the trek to the west side of the island yet again, and I was optimistic the rain may let up. So after some failed attempts (failed because it was so humid my lens fogged up, and refused to un-fog) to take pictures of and around the hostel, I decided to head to Volcano National Park and spend some time there. (I only got the one picture from the hostel- below- it's of the toilet, sink and shower area)




About two miles down the road I encountered a roadblock, and spent about 45 minutes trying to get back to the road I needed. Still optimistic about the weather and park I continued on my way. The civil defense service announcement on the radio put an end to my optimism this time. It was another flash flood WARNING, so not wanting to be stranded on the road and miss my flight, I finally scrapped the volcano trip.



With a few hours to waste I decided to check out a river I saw the other day that was running wild and swollen (reference the above picture). After spending some time there, I got the idea to check out Rainbow Falls, as I heard it was running massive. It sure was. I could tell these rivers were completely out of control without even having the reference of seeing them during normal flow. Perhaps you can from the pictures as well.




While at Rainbow Falls (above), I met a man who asked me if I had seen Akaka Falls (below) yet. Not even knowing what it was, I was intrigued. He said he was heading there soon, and I could follow him. It was a beautiful and huge falls reminiscent of a scene from Jurassic Park.




I was waiting for the pay off from all the rain and flooding, and knew it would probably be in the rivers, if I could get to them. These are some links with pictures of what the falls normally look like: http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/rainbowfalls/ http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/akakafalls/