bronson drives his Yaris out west from NJ, 2010

[bronsin]

The pictures start on a back road across Colorado and approaching Pikes Peak which is the mountain in the background. Then the pics go up PP.

[bronsin]

This picture taken from the top of Pikes Peak shows the road I drove across CO to get to PP. The 1st two pics were taken on this road...

[yougojay]

I turned 5 yrs. old in April of '66 and that Summer of '66 we drove to Disneyland in California from suburban Chicago. It was a 2 week car trip. We drove up Pikes Peak on the way out or back. My brother was going on 7 that following November. What I remember at the top was it was barren, just rocks all over. I also remember my brother and I sitting down, pushing rocks over the side of the 'peak' with with our little tennis shoe clad feet, trying to start an avalanche (of course...!) :biggrin: Ah, memories...! :bellyroll:

Your photos are awesome, so cool! That Yaris has been MORE places then most people in this country have been. :thumbsup:

[ezhacker1]

Yaris record laptime at Pike's Peak lol. What a view

[bronsin]

I turned 5 yrs. old in April of '66 and that Summer of '66 we drove to Disneyland in California from suburban Chicago. It was a 2 week car trip. We drove up Pikes Peak on the way out or back. My brother was going on 7 that following November. What I remember at the top was it was barren, just rocks all over. I also remember my brother and I sitting down, pushing rocks over the side of the 'peak' with with our little tennis shoe clad feet, trying to start an avalanche (of course...!) :biggrin: Ah, memories...! :bellyroll:

Your photos are awesome, so cool! That Yaris has been MORE places then most people in this country have been. :thumbsup:

The road must have been all dirt then and much scarier to drive. They were in the process of finishing the paving when I was there. Its much easier to control the car on pavement than dirt!

Yes the Yaris has been to Alaska (10,400 miles) and around the west (8,000 miles) and it just turned only 37,000 miles! :eek:

[bronsin]

After leaving the Colorado Springs area and Pikes Peak I drove across Colorado and stopped in Montrose for the night. In the morning I drove through the Uncompagreh National Forest on dirt roads. I came to a sign just before entering that showed the maze of roads I would have to navigate to get to the other side of the forest. The orange dot is "You Are Here". I had to go all the way across. Good way to get badly lost! But I made it and when I did, I asked the two construction workers "Im from NJ. Where am I?" This got lots of laughs!

After clearing the forest I was on my way to Monument Valley in Utah.

[yougojay]

The road must have been all dirt then and much scarier to drive. They were in the process of finishing the paving when I was there. Its much easier to control the car on pavement than dirt!

Yes the Yaris has been to Alaska (10,400 miles) and around the west (8,000 miles) and it just turned only 37,000 miles! :eek:

Yes, it must have been unpaved then. My dad was a Chevy dealer & I know we were in a station wagon, Impala I am strongly guessing. The photos are so cool, it's neat seeing the road/highway you drove in on from on top of the peak!

[nookandcrannycar]

Great pics :thumbsup:. Just curious.....make and model of camera used to take them ?

[Astroman]

Wow great pictures! Love road trips myself.

[nookandcrannycar]

Great pics :thumbsup:. Just curious.....make and model of camera used to take them ?

Really just wondering if my current camera ( a Fuji FinePix S8200 16.2MP with a 40x optical zoom) that I bought last year could take those pics (really, the last one)....or would I need my next camera :biggrin: (a Canon 70D DSLR).

[bronsin]

Canon G9. I also have a Nikon D200 with the 18-135 lens...a really SHARP lens...amazingly so. But most of the pics were taken with the G9.

Almost ANY digital camera takes good pictures. The only thing is a lot of people are buying prime (fixed) focal length lenses now. (like 50mm fixed) You really want a zoom lens. Zoom lenses in the past werent so hot but the ones today are supereior.

[nookandcrannycar]

Canon G9. I also have a Nikon D200 with the 18-135 lens...a really SHARP lens...amazingly so. But most of the pics were taken with the G9.

Almost ANY digital camera takes good pictures. The only thing is a lot of people are buying prime (fixed) focal length lenses now. (like 50mm fixed) You really want a zoom lens. Zoom lenses in the past werent so hot but the ones today are supereior.

:thumbsup: Thanks. Good to know I could take similar pics (with my Fuji) if I ever make it to Pike's Peak. My cheap point and shoot went on the fritz (the battery (2AA) door broke) last year (IIRC) and I replaced it with a new ZTE Flash Cell Phone (12.1 MP) that I got new (on sale) for $99.99 and bought just for the camera (not to activate)....easier than even the point and shoot to take into places where a regular camera is inconvenient or too conspicuous.

[bronsin]

Hmm interesting.

I checked out the Fuji S8200 and I think you should have no problem at all taking great pictures with it.

[Slitwrist Smile]

The pictures start on a back road across Colorado and approaching Pikes Peak which is the mountain in the background. Then the pics go up PP.

What is the 3rd picture of, where all the cops are? Some sort of state checkpoint in Colorado or something?? Please give me details! :)

[nookandcrannycar]

Hmm interesting.

I checked out the Fuji S8200 and I think you should have no problem at all taking great pictures with it.

Thanks for taking the time to do that. I really like the camera. Sometimes I like to take pictures of the outside of a building (and the area around it) when the building doesn't allow picture taking inside (some museums have this policy). Cell phones aren't usually prohibited, so I just take the ZTE Flash rather than having to make another trip back to my car...which might not be convenient. Also, sometimes you don't want to be 'that person with the camera around your neck'....sometimes doesn't lend itself to the place or event. When I got the ZTE I thought it was a cheap way to get 95% of the ability of the camera on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. At the time, I was aware of the 41MP Camera on some of the Nokia phones. I thought it must be a gimmick...that the pictures couldn't be very good. A few months later I noticed the manager of my local Panera Bread had a Galaxy Note 3 and asked him how he liked the camera. We started talking about cell phone cameras. He likes his Note 3, but he started telling me about his friend's camera. His friend is a professional photographer in Florida. He has a $4,000 DSLR and happens to do a lot of shoots near or on water. Occasionally he feels that a situation is too likely to expose his $4k DSLR to damage, so he sought out an alternative. He bought one of the 41MP Nokias and was utterly amazed at how close it comes in quality (only uses it in those applications) to his $4k DSLR. If I find the right deal, I might get one of those and give the ZTE Flash to a relative.

[nookandcrannycar]

Some sort of state checkpoint in Colorado or something?

:laugh:...Does it really matter? As of May 6, 2014, the US Military can capture and detain US citizens indefinitely anywhere on planet Earth without due process. Also, 2/3 of our population have no Fourth Amendment rights re living within 100 miles of the U.S. Border.

http://americablog.com/2014/05/post-constitutional-era-scotus-allows-capture-rendition-u-s-citizens-ndaa.html

http://blogs.computerworld.com/privacy/21805/2-out-every-3-americans-lost-fourth-amendment-protections-dhs

[bronsin]

What is the 3rd picture of, where all the cops are? Some sort of state checkpoint in Colorado or something?? Please give me details! :)

Its the entrance to Pikes Peak. I think the road opens at 6am I got there half an hour early. When I drove out the gate after summiting and returning an hour or two later the line of cars was a mile long and they only allow so many cars an hour onto the road.

Moral of the story get there early if you want to drive it!

[bronsin]

Thanks for taking the time to do that. I really like the camera. Sometimes I like to take pictures of the outside of a building (and the area around it) when the building doesn't allow picture taking inside (some museums have this policy). Cell phones aren't usually prohibited, so I just take the ZTE Flash rather than having to make another trip back to my car...which might not be convenient. Also, sometimes you don't want to be 'that person with the camera around your neck'....sometimes doesn't lend itself to the place or event. When I got the ZTE I thought it was a cheap way to get 95% of the ability of the camera on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. At the time, I was aware of the 41MP Camera on some of the Nokia phones. I thought it must be a gimmick...that the pictures couldn't be very good. A few months later I noticed the manager of my local Panera Bread had a Galaxy Note 3 and asked him how he liked the camera. We started talking about cell phone cameras. He likes his Note 3, but he started telling me about his friend's camera. His friend is a professional photographer in Florida. He has a $4,000 DSLR and happens to do a lot of shoots near or on water. Occasionally he feels that a situation is too likely to expose his $4k DSLR to damage, so he sought out an alternative. He bought one of the 41MP Nokias and was utterly amazed at how close it comes in quality (only uses it in those applications) to his $4k DSLR. If I find the right deal, I might get one of those and give the ZTE Flash to a relative.

I have an old Apple something or other that does stills and HD video which is like your cell phone camera. Its about half a megapixel. The only bad thing about cell phones as cameras is no flash and the touch screen sucks for control but I guess you can adapt. Also you want a viewfinder for action photography.

Really off the top of my head I would have spent the $99 on a used or new point and shoot instead but you may have other good ideas about it.

Oh and my Nikon D200 is 10 MP and Ive never taken a picture more than 5 MP with it. I had a 24x36 aluminum print made of one of the pictures to give my mom in the nursing home in Houston and its freakin awesome.

Megapixels don't matter. You certainly don't want massive files. 10 MP is plenty!

Ive got ten minutes of video on the ipod touch for a helicopter flight over the Camadian Rockies around Banff. Also awesome1

But I don't know how to post it.

[bentjazz]

Good stuff, thanks Bronsin....

[nookandcrannycar]

I have an old Apple something or other that does stills and HD video which is like your cell phone camera. Its about half a megapixel. The only bad thing about cell phones as cameras is no flash and the touch screen sucks for control but I guess you can adapt. Also you want a viewfinder for action photography.

Really off the top of my head I would have spent the $99 on a used or new point and shoot instead but you may have other good ideas about it.

Oh and my Nikon D200 is 10 MP and Ive never taken a picture more than 5 MP with it. I had a 24x36 aluminum print made of one of the pictures to give my mom in the nursing home in Houston and its freakin awesome.

Megapixels don't matter. You certainly don't want massive files. 10 MP is plenty!

Ive got ten minutes of video on the ipod touch for a helicopter flight over the Camadian Rockies around Banff. Also awesome1

But I don't know how to post it.

I also have a 6MP Lumix D27. I have to wiggle the proprietary battery on the charger to get it to charge most of the time...and I wanted a longer optical zoom....and 4AA batteries (which I had in a previous Canon)....so I bought the Fuji. You're right re a huge majority of applications...it's often better to take a 5MP..or sometimes even 3MP picture. I've experienced blurrines (esp. when taking a 'sport setting' picture. I've never used the full 6MP on the Lumix. My cousin usually buys the most feature laden/highest end itsy bitsy Canon...and she has found the same thing...usually sets it at 5MP or sometimes 3 MP. With the Fuji, it has been a different story (unless the batteries are about to die :biggrin:). I find that...setting it at the max...I don't get blurriness. This might also be because the card I bought to go with it is the first High Speed/Fast writing card I've purchased.

P.S. In October of last year I saw a guy at the Statue of Liberty doing all of his stills and his video with his iPad.

[bronsin]

The following pictures are in southern Utah on the way to Monument Valley. One of the formations is known as "Mexican Hat".

[Flipper_1938]

Utah is pretty

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n90/Flipper_1938/2010%20Speed%20Week/IMG_0899.jpg (http://s110.photobucket.com/user/Flipper_1938/media/2010%20Speed%20Week/IMG_0899.jpg.html)

[bronsin]

My friend Mike who lives in Colorado says when he wants to go sightseeing he goes to Utah. Certainly the southern half of the state has some of the best scenery in the country.

[bronsin]

These pictures are in the Monument Valley area.

Next is a dam on the Colorado River. Forget the name!

[nookandcrannycar]

^^^^^ Yesterday, this road made Yahoo's '20 roads you should drive in your lifetime' list. I've driven four of them (the Overseas Highway in Florida, I-70 (in and around Utah), The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, and The Blue Ridge Parkway), and definitely plan to drive this road...to see some of these formations....at some point. The Great Ocean Road in Australia also really pops out at me on the list.

[bronsin]

Road # One is Route 93 aka The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper, Alberta Canada.

Get out your Rand McNally Atlas and find Route 40 a thin grey line reading "closed in winter" which is right nearby...this is shorter but even more better!

[nookandcrannycar]

Road # One is Route 93 aka The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper, Alberta Canada.

:thumbsup: Great Road! I drove it in 2006. After finishing my motel stay in Canmore, I couldn't get a campsite reservation in Jasper right away (next opening was in about a week). So, I visited Calgary and Edmonton before getting to Jasper from Edmonton), rather than coming from Canmore. I can't remember how many nights I spent at the campsite in Jasper (3-4+), but one day was dedicated to driving down the Icefields Parkway to the Athabasca Glacier +++. I made it to Banff and Lake Louise while I was staying in Canmore. I took a couple of detours off the Icefields Parkway on my way south to the glacier...mostly to photograph the different falls...the roads terminating near viewing areas. On one of these roads, I was headed back to the Icefields Parkway and had to stop while bears crossed the road on their timetable (I saw an angry bear traipsing through a campground in Tuolomne Meadows (Yosemite) when I was 12....and I didn't want to see that again :biggrin:).

We must be talking about a different list (Icefields Parkway #1 on YOUR list, perhaps :biggrin:). The Yahoo list includes (they didn't rank them within the list): The Blue Ridge Parkway (NC and VA), the Great Ocean Road (Australia), Oberalp Pass (Switzerland), Your road through Monument Valley (:thumbsup:), The Cabot Trail (Nova Scotia, Canada), the A82 Road (Glencoe, Scotland), the Overseas Highway (Florida), the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road (Abu Dhabi), the Trollstigen Road (Norway), Ruta 40 (Argentina....3,000 miles..North to South...almost the length of Argentina...crosses 18 rivers and passes 20 national parks), the Hana Highway (Hawaii), North Yungas Road (Bolivia), Col de l'Iseran (France), Chapman's Peak Drive (South Africa), Rohtang Pass (India), The Atlantic Road (Norway), Interstate 70 (USA), Karakorum Highway (Pakistan and China), The Milford Road (New Zealand), and The Valley of Fire Road (Nevada).

[bronsin]

Interesting list I am not up on foreign roads. If you can afford it...great! I would be stuck in NA.

In 1967 when I was 11 my family went on a camping station wagon tour of the US and Canada for eight weeks. In some campground out west about five in the morning in the dark I was trudging toward the bathroom when I saw a little black bear running through the woods with a loaf of bread in its mouth. It ran across my path about five yards ahead of me. Right behind it was the proverbial woman with a frying pan chasing it and cursing the bear out. The bear went up a tree just as fast as it ran along the ground. Then it ate all the bread and rained down pieces of it on the woman who stood under the tree yelling.

I thought it was pretty impressive the woman would chase the bear but Im gald she didn't catch it!

[nookandcrannycar]

Interesting list I am not up on foreign roads. If you can afford it...great! I would be stuck in NA.

In 1967 when I was 11 my family went on a camping station wagon tour of the US and Canada for eight weeks. In some campground out west about five in the morning in the dark I was trudging toward the bathroom when I saw a little black bear running through the woods with a loaf of bread in its mouth. It ran across my path about five yards ahead of me. Right behind it was the proverbial woman with a frying pan chasing it and cursing the bear out. The bear went up a tree just as fast as it ran along the ground. Then it ate all the bread and rained down pieces of it on the woman who stood under the tree yelling.

I thought it was pretty impressive the woman would chase the bear but Im gald she didn't catch it!

In our case we (and most of the people at nearby campsites) retreated to our cars. The bear didn't do too much damage to campsites and eventually left.....no person brave enough to chase the bear at any time.

[bronsin]

I left the Monument Valley, drove about another 100 miles, and stopped for the night. The next day I came to The Vermillion Cliffs which is right before the north rim of the Grand Canyon.