Headed up to steamboat to hang with the Summeralls, hiked down Steamboat ski area to the base, and enjoyed a couple beautiful days! Amazing how many trees are dead from the pine beetle… too bad, good thing the young trees are unaffected and the Aspens are still beautiful…

Took this Panorama from the top of the Gondola at Steamboat Ski Area.

More photos here!

Jenni and I headed up to Crested Butte Colorado to check out a part of Colorado that we have never been and walked straight into a full on 4th of July celebration! We arrived on Friday afternoon and pulled up to find the water fight happening on one end of the street while the rest of the town was sawing logs, dancing in the streets and eating BBQ and drinking lots of brews! We were pleasantly surprised to find this going on as we could not check into our hotel until 3pm so we joined the festivities and wandered from one place to another scoping out the town.

We checked in around 3:30pm and rested up for the night ahead, then headed out for some fine Mexican food and some spectacular fireworks at the bast of the Butte. I didn’t even try to take photos as knowing how hit or miss it can be, i just enjoyed the show!

The next day we headed out on Gothic Road to the old ghost town of Gothic and hiked up to Judd Falls & Copper lake, we didn’t make it the whole way to Copper Lake as we went off the beaten path a bit and weather started rolling in, so we headed back just short of the lake, but the hike was really great none-the-less!

Saturday night we decided to head out for some fine food to celebrate Jenni and I’s 2 year (limestone) anniversary.. has it already been two years? seems like yesterday, he he… and topped it off with FINALLY breaking open that 1996 Dom Perignon that I have been dragging around for the last 8 years or so… I know I could have kept it for another 10 years and it would have still been great as its one of the best years for Dom ever… but I have to tell you it was great!

Click to view fullsize panorama

Sunday we headed out for a LONG journey home as we wanted to check out a few places to see if they were worth returning to. Heading back to Gunnison we headed toward the Black Canyon of Gunnison and up to Hotchkiss Colorado. Then Passing over McClure pass we visited Marble Colorado and then on to Aspen and Independece Pass. Finally we headed home with a nice long wait in the I-70 traffic… that really was not very fun!

Anyway There are lots of great shots from this trip, check out the photos and the Panoramas as well!

Click to view fullsize panorama – About 2 miles from Crested Butte we stopped to take this shot.

Click to view fullsize panorama – View from the trail to Judd Falls & Copper lake with Gothic Road below

Click Here for more photos.

Took a weekend trip to the Arkansas River for some more White Water Rafting with the crew, hit the Royal Gorge and Browns canyon again, but shorter trips this time without the fluff.

Took a few photos including this panorama of the Collegiate Peaks and the Chalk cliffs (center) which are the source for the white flowing Chalk Creek.

You can view all the images here, including the not so lucky chipmunk we found inside a protein bar…

The 2007 RWC has begun and the host country, France, is the venue for the top 22 teams in the world. As luck would have it we somehow acquired four field level super VIP tickets that truly came from the heavens for the New Zealand (hereafter the All Blacks) vs. Italy (hereafter Azzuri) opening match in Marseilles, France. The beautiful part is JT already had excellent seats for this match and had the draft plans for a killer road trip laid out. Then whammmo… better seats and the opportunity to make some fast cash magically appeared!

Marseilles is a French Riviera port city and with perfect weather and a deep rugby fan base… a nice entry point to pop all our RWC cherries. First the road trip. Sam McConnel hooked up a 9 person super van and with Jes bringing 40 liters of cold beer, we were all set. 6 hours and 5 pit shops later, we arrived in Marseilles. We booked ahead and found a large villa to rent for the crew. Now, these rentals can be an adventure as you either hit the jack pot or bust and you really never know until you arrive. This villa… jack pot! On the hills overlooking the port, private pool, large terrace, and plenty of room for 7. It was perfect home base.

Saturday’s a rugby day (Rugby song)! We arrived early, enjoyed some fresh croissants, loaded ourselves down with beer and hit the pre-game festivities. Atmosphere was great and by now, we were “Jonesing” for some rugby. All Blacks are the #1 team in the world and I am sensing the “once in a lifetime experience”. Seats, game, rugby, atmosphere… all brilliant! Azzurri were out manned and lost 76-14 but the rugby was artful and at field level, you could here the bones take a walloping. Hands down best sporting experience (as a spectator) of my life. Weekend finished with steaks on the grill, poker with friends, and late night cocktails. Thanks to Jes, JT, Sam, Jan, Big Tone, and Dario for making it possible.

Thanks JT for the write up
Check out all the great photos here!

Marseilles Stadium and Rugby World Cup Panorama


Here is a shot from our seats, as you can see we has some super ones…
To view the full size image click here.

I have shot a few panoramas on this trip, I will try to post them in the order I took them but I won’t promise they will be. This one is from the top of the Palazzo Rosso on Via Garibaldi (A World Heritage Site) in Genoa. Once a private residence, now a world class art museum. Check out the full Panorama here!

What Can I See?
You can see the entire old town of Genoa and the old port (Porto Antico) in the center of the panorama with the newer transformed area that is more tourist centric in the right half of the port, including the aquarium which is the largest in Europe.

If you look just to the left and beyond the port will be able to see the ancient lighthouse, called La Lanterna(i.e., “the lantern”). It is the oldest working lighthouse in the world, one of the five tallest ones, and the tallest brick one and it is Genoa’s landmark.

Just under the hill on the right side of the photo you can see the top of the Piazza del Portello elevator building sticking out of the hill with long windows on each side. This elevator is used by the locals to commute regularly into the old town and to and from work.

Just to the left of the elevator and very bottom of the panorama you can see part of the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Grimaldi and Palazzo Reale‘s garden which make up the rest of the fantastic mansions built in the 16th century for the city’s most eminent families which also house museums. These gardens are on the 2nd floor of these richly decorated mansions and are interconnected with winding passage ways and marble arches.

About the Panorama
The photo was shot with a aging Canon PowerShot S410 (4MP)
Resolution: 2272×1704
Number of Photos: 10
Settings: Automatic Outdoor
Date: September 4th, 2007 12:40
Used 10 photos and stitched them together with Photoshop CS 3
Check out the full Panorama here!

Took these photos when we were on our way back to Winter Park from the pull out point off the Colorado, you can see the Continental Divide to your right and the Kremmling Valley below to your left. Really beautiful this time of year with the contrast of the snow topped mountains and the green valleys surrounding them.

What Can I See?
On the right is the snowy Continental Divide and on the extreme left is the Kremmling Valley in the middle is Green Mountain Resevior. This photo was taken just off the Trough Road right before you turn NE and dives down into the valley. Trough road runs from Kremmling to State Bridge.

About the Panorama
The photo was shot with a aging Canon PowerShot S410 (4MP)
Resolution: 2272×1704
Number of Photos: 4
Settings: Automatic Outdoor
Date: May 20th 2006, 17:10
Used 4 photos and stitched them together with Photoshop CS 3
View the full sized panorama here.

To view the small panorama click here. (990K)

To view the huge panorama click here. (2mb)

This spectacular panorama is from the summit of one of the most famous mountains of World War One, Krn mountain. This 360 degree view is located in the extreme eastern/north eastern portion of Slovenia on the border of the Triglav National Park ( Triglav is the highest point in Slovenia and is viewable in my photo) and happened to be the front line in this region for most of WWI, but more on that later.

What Can I See?
From this vantage point you able to see the silver disk that measures all the points of interest and heights of the other peaks from Krn (this is also the highest point on the mountain itself). There is a detail of the disk here or click the image to the left, as you can see there are areas on the disk itself which seemed melted as this is from lighting striking the disk. The original marker was destroyed by lightening years ago and this has since replaced it. You can see the ground wire running over the rock and into the ground at the bottom of the panorama.

I won’t go into all the points that you can see from here as there are far too many for me to list all at once, however some of the more interesting things that you can view in my image are the Gulf of Trieste in Italy (part of the Adriatic sea), The Austrian Alps, the Dolomites in Italy and the highest point in Slovenia, Triglav at 2,864 meters.

About Krn Mountain
Krn mountain is a part of the Julian Alps which in turn are part of the Alps that stretch from north-eastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m (9,396 ft) at Mount Triglav and are named after Julius Caesar. Krn itself is 2244 m (7362 feet) and is the highest eastern peak in Slovenia.

Krn Mountain and Kobarid during WWI
Before I get into the facts about Krn and Kobarid, I want to just to try to put into words the other sights besides the view I was fortunate enough to witness. Although the view is nothing short of breath taking, there is another view that is even more impressive if not somewhat horrifying. Having been the front lines (the Isonzo front) in World War I for the Italian Allied forces and the Austrio-Hungarian Empire, there were over 1 million casualties here on the on the edge of a cold no mans land at what seems like the roof of the world.

Like today there are no sources of wood, food or water. It’s an incredible feat and a show of insurmountable determination to move the quanities of material that were needed to support such a vast war machine at this height and for so long (nearly 2 years). Remember there were no roads or mechanical devices to ease the journey up the steep sides of this mountain, just man and beast.

For two years both sides battled it out in short probing actions, neither accomplishing much besides slaughtering each other, in October 1917 the Axis finally made a swift and sudden push which was the first use of the now coined German term “blitzkrieg” and the front lines moved to the west into Italy where they remained until the end of the war. What was left behind was a broken and barren landscape and pieces of not only the war machines but also of the people who used them. Here and there are unexploded grenades, shell fragments, leather from shoes, roll after roll of barbed wire, man made entrenchments and pathways stretching for miles as well as human remains. As the years pass and the barbed wire gets rustier, there are bound to be new and frighting remains that are discovered high up here in a no-mans land that still bears the deep scars of war. I can honestly say that i would recommend this hike to everyone, although not easy, it is a satisfying and sobering experience that I will never forget.

For more facts about the area in WWI I would recommend reading the Isonzo front or Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, which was based on his experience when he was a medic in Kobarid and Krn battlefronts.

About the Panorama
The photo was shot with a aging Canon PowerShot S410 (4MP)
Resolution: 1704×2272
Number of Photos: 20
Settings: Automatic Outdoor
Date: September 19th 2006, 08:30
I took the best of the 20 photos and stitched them together using Photoshop CS3
Photoshop was used to color correct, trim and edit them, there are some unfortunate spots where the colors are off, i blame this on the early morning sun and my little aging and abused digital camera.

You can few my full climb here and the surrounding area hikes here.

-Thanks Wikipedia

This particular Panorama is of Torino Italy looking west from the middle of the city. John and I took the glass elevator to the top of the spire at the Mole Cinema Museum.

This is the Mole Spire where the photo was taken from

What Can I See?
Looking to the west you can just make out the outline of the Italian Alps that border France. The green area in front of you is the Royal park and Gardens with the Palace and fort to the just to the left of the park. Just to the left and slightly west you can see an ugly building with a flag on it, this is the tallest building in Torino until recently (1980′s). Also further left is the main train station “Porta Nuova” you can see the arched facade and just over the roof lines.

About Torino (Turin in Piedmontese)
Turin is a major industrial city as well as a business and cultural center in northwest Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the west bank of the Po River. The population of the city of Turin is 908,000; its metropolitan area totals about 1.7 million inhabitants. The province is one of the largest in Italy, with 2,637 sq. mi, and one of the most populous, with 2,236,941 inhabitants as of 2004. Turin is well-known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, headquarters of Fiat automobile manufacturer and host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. It was the first capital of Italy.

About the Panorama
The photo was shot with a Canon PowerShot S410 (4MP)
Resolution: 1200×1600
Number of Photos: 4
Settings: Automatic Outdoor
Date: September 1st 2006

I took 4 photos and stitched them together using Photoshop CS2

Photoshop was used to color correct and trim
For more photos of the Torino you can view my other photos here.

-Thanks Wikipedia

The second panorama isn’t really a panorama, it’s more of a wide angle shot of Lake Bled on a 400 meter hill that I hiked up near Lake Bled. The White color on the right is unfortunately blown out due to the brightness of the sun on that side of the hill, had i noticed it earlier i would have retaken the photos after it had passed.

What Can I See?
From this vantage point you can see the old medieval castle on the hill just above the church on the island. The town of Bled itself is on the far shore in the center and a bit to the right, the mountains you see in the distance are the divide between Austria and Slovenia they are called the Julian Alps named in honor of Julius Caesar. To the far lower left is the finish line for rowers, the start line is just below the castle.

About Lake Bled (Blejsko jezero)
Lake Bled is a glacial lake and lies in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled.

The lake is 2120 m long and 1380 m wide, its maximum depth being 30.6 m. The lake is situated in a picturesque environment, surrounded by mountains and forests. A medieval castle stands above the lake on the north shore. The Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja (Assumption of Mary’s Pilgrimage Church) is on a small island in the center of the lake. The area is a popular destination for tourists.

The lake is famous also among rowers since it has a very good conditions for this sport. It hosted World Rowing Championships in 1979 and in 1989.

The town celebrated its 1000 year anniversary in 2004.

Interesting Facts
The island on Lake Bled has 98 steps. A local tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps, during which the bride must remain silent.

About the Panorama
The photo was shot with a Canon PowerShot S410 (4MP)
Resolution: 1200×1600
Number of Photos: 6
Settings: Automatic Outdoor
Date: September 12th 2006

I took 6 photos vertically and stitched them together using PTMac 4.1

Photoshop was used to color correct several areas, as you can see the right side was washed out from the sun which was on that side of the hill, i didn’t notice it until I got it all stitched together…

For more photos of the area you can view my Lake Bled gallery.

-Thanks Wikipedia