Steamed Up for Christmas

Every year the Roots of Motive Power runs one of its steam locomotives for the Christmas Train or Holiday Express to the delight of steam fans, children and many others. This volunteer Willits, CA organization gives away free rides and a warm serving of hot chocolate to each and every one of its passengers on its short track around the ballfields on the eastern side of Willits off Commercial street. It's a holiday favorite looked forward to by many every year. This year it was raining but that didn't seem to deter many as there were riders all day long. Thanks to the Roots of Motive Power and all the work that they do. Merry Christmas and God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Canon 28-200mm lens. Basic camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied. #teamcanonusa

Roots of Motive Power Steam Up

This last weekend I went to the Roots of Motive Powers annual steam up. Roots is is an all-volunteer organization of roughly 700 members in Willits, Ca. It was founded in 1982 to preserve and restore steam- and diesel-powered equipment that was used in the California north coast logging industry from the 1850s to the present. They have an amazing collection of both working and non working equipment probably one of the best collections in the United States. During the steam up the public was free to walk all over the museum and watch a wide variety of equipment in use. They could also ride aboard one of the steam trains on the circular track that runs around the facility. Roots members were available to answer their questions and demonstrate how the equipment works. I had a marvelous time and a very difficult job in choosing what images to share. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with my little travel camera. It's a Canon EOS T1i camera with a Tamron 18-200mm lens. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Pineapple Express

This morning I got a touch of cabin fever and I went downtown to go work out at the gym. I took the long way driving around taking in the watery sights along the way. There were little waterfalls running off of practically every mountainside I passed by. The creeks were running really high almost up to the bottom of the bridges and there was evidence that they must have topped their banks last night from all of the scattered debris. Downtown in the low areas there was plenty of flooded roadways in the usual spots. Please use caution and drive very slowly through flooded neighborhoods as the wave your vehicle is throwing up could be just enough to push flood water into someones home. Stay dry and safe out there. God's love and protection to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII and a Tamron 18-200 mm lens. #TeamCanon

Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time to look back and reflect on all that God has given us and be thankful for it. This morning as I drove into town I was really thinking about how I am truly blessed to live in a small town. Thank you Lord for the little town of Willits where I live. God's precious love and blessings on all who live here.

Out and About

This morning I was up with the sunrise as I had an eight o'clock appointment in the big city of Ukiah. There was a pretty nice sunrise. After my appointment I stopped and photographed some of the vineyards along the way. Most of the leaves have fallen off and the blackbirds are picking off the grapes that were left behind and not harvested. I made it a point to drive by Centennial Reservoir to photograph the snag on the edge of the dam. I was hoping that there would be a Bald Eagle there today but I was out of luck. I then photographed some water droplets on the fence and headed home. God's light and precious love to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens handheld. Exposures varied.

White Picket Fence in a Small Town

Yesterday I had to have my pick up repaired. After dropping off the vehicle at the garage I had to walk to Lenore's work to get the key for her car to drive while mine was being repaired. As I passed this simple scene I almost walked walked on. Something drew me back as if it cried out to be photographed. A simple white picket fence in a small town... God's love and blessings upon you, chris

Down to the Sea

On Sunday afternoon we went out to he coast for lunch at Sea Pal in the Noyo Harbor and then we went for a bike ride on the new coastal trail. We had a fantastic afternoon even stopping off at the chocolate shop in Fort Bragg. My favorite image from down in the harbor was of an old working fishing boat out of Bodega Bay, This boat really intrigued me. Oh the stories that boat could tell if it could speak. "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who work in the great waters..." Psalm 107:23. May you have a blessed week, Chris. This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII with a Canon EF 17-85 mm lens at 85mm. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 200, F 16.0 at 1/320th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Small Town Celebration

The small town of Willits in Northern California where I live celebrates the Fourth of July in a big way with Frontier days starting in mid June and culminating on July 4th with a parade, BBQ and the CCPRA Rodeo finals. During Frontier days there is a wide array of happenings in town with truck pulls, street dances,pancake breakfasts, sweetheart competitions and more. This year Willits celebrated the 90th annual Frontier Days. Each year they pick a theme and this year it was the Roaring Twenties. I just went to the parade this year and I made sure to get there early so that I could spend more time photographing many of the participants before the parade got started. I walked all around the staging area talking to old friends and photographing people and dogs as I went. As I watched and photographed I realized that it is quite and organizational feat to get a parade all lined up and moving. I had a great time and it looked like everyone else did too. God bless, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a canon EF-S17-85 mm lens #TeamCanon