Old News
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Eric and I enjoy a hug at Los Dos Amigos in Norman OK. Eric tragically died this morning in a hosiptal in North Texas.
Eric, Bob, and I enjoy Sopapilla Bread at Los Dos Amigos during a surprise visit to Norman for Bob's birthday.
Eric and I take a break from our Dynamics Problem Set to play with dry ice in the Grad Lounge (14th floor SEC).
Eric takes some stills at North Base in Norman. Meteorological instrumentation was one of his passions.
Eric and I watch the infamous April 5, 2003 North Texas Supercell as it bears down on us (photo courtesy Scott Currens).
Eric (driving) wears a smile from ear to ear as we get pummeled by softball-size hail in North Texas.
NEWS: (September 9, 2007) - I've (we've) lost a dear friend today. Most people knew Eric Nguyen as one of the greatest chasers and storm photographers of all-time... but to me, Eric Nguyen was a great friend! We spent nearly every waking hour together Soph, Jr, and Sr years at OU working on meteorological problem sets, getting into trouble, and just plain havin' fun. From impersonating Billy Mays in Wal-Mart, to late night Chili's Chips N' Queso Runs (and runs to Los Dos Amigos for Sopapillas), to long days and nights spent in the grad lounge at Sarkey's Energy Center, to post-chase meetings at Pizza Hut, to hearing that familiar voice say "KD5HPZ Mobile" over the radio, I have so many great memories of the time we spent together during our college years. It's been a particularly rough day for me, despite the fact that I've had a week to prepare for this news. Words cannot describe the sense of loss. It tore me up knowing that I would be unable to be there by Eric's side during those final moments, but I'm forever grateful that Bob, Rachael, Amos, and both Scotts were there to make sure that he did not pass from this life alone and without a hand to hold. Eric, I'll never forget the great times we had, the frequent laughs we enjoyed, and the camaraderie we shared during these last 5 years. Your spirit lives on through all those whose lives you've touched. I'll miss you!
My heart goes out to his family, especially his two young sons Sean and Chris.
Look for an Eric tribute page sometime during the next week.
Eric Nguyen's gathering / memorial (to be held Sept 22 at the National Weather Center in Norman OK)
Stormtracks ongoing thread regarding Eric's passing
Eric's Website (can also be found linked in my Los Amigos section)
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A Jeep navigates debris-covered Highway 79 in Oak Grove after a Severe T-storm: September 1, 2007.
Stone Ridge in Sunshine Summit becomes a muddy river: September 1, 2007.
A large Live Oak looses two giant limbs after a Severe Thunderstorm rolls through Sunshine Summit: September 1, 2007.
NEWS: (September 8, 2007) - We've managed to escape the 90s! The seasons, they are a changin' here in Julian! Highs have dipped into the 80s with overnight lows now falling into the 50s! This is just the beginning though. I'd expect the weather to be quite different in a few weeks as we head into October. Unfortunately the fall color won't be so spectacular this season due to the drought. In fact, most of the Oaks have already turned (an ugly brown color at that) and are beginning to loose their leaves. The monsoon season went out with a bang! No better way to bid farwell to the monsoon than with a couple 65,000 ft rotating storms! Radar indicated 110 knots of storm top divergence for quite some time and spotters reported a wall cloud! A few days prior, I went out for a "commemorative" chase and caught two severe thunderstorms and a borderline flash flood. On the way back to Julian to check on the deck (I made some leak repairs a few weeks ago), lightning struck a power pole less than 20 feet from the truck and scared the crap out of me! It had been quite awhile since I had been that close to a lightning strike... and boy did it feel good! Anyway, photos of the storm damage have been posted. When I get a chance, I will likely add radar and satellite images from the other big storms these past two weeks as well.
Ramsey is getting BIG! He's about twice the size he was when we got him two weeks ago! You can almost see him growing on an hourly basis. And oh boy is this guy a handful! We're eagerly looking forward to the day when he becomes FULLY potty trained, doesn't chew everything in sight, and learns some basic commands... but that's still many weeks away!
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Our new puppy, Ramsey!
"Are you kidding me?" Tippy's not so sure that this a good idea!
Ramsey uses my shoe as a pillow.
NEWS: (August 21, 2007) - We adopted a new puppy from Nicole's coworker. He's a Black Lab, Golden Retriever mix and his name is Ramsey. Despite Tippy's expression in the photo, she's excited to have a playmate. The two get along great and wherever Tippy goes, Ramsey follows. In fact, Tippy's been sharing her food and water with Ramsey just about every meal. Normally Tippy is not a happy camper when another animal tries to share her food bowl, especially when she's in the middle of using it! I guess this means she approves of Ramsey.
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Apple Tree Catastrophe! The top 4 feet of the tree snapped under the weight of all its own fruit.
NEWS: (August 15, 2007) - Benson Lake Backpacking Trip Captions have been added! There are now captions to go with each photo from the trip. Don't be surprised if you discover a few misspelled words lurking in the shadows. If you notice any, let me know and I'll send out a correction. Anyway, Nicole's mom is visiting this week so we'll be spending our time with her. Went to the Santa Ysabel Casino today. A nice place overall. The buffet was excellent, albeit a little small. Our apple tree lost its top due to the weight of its own fruit! We lost about 100 apples, but there are hundreds more still on the tree! Hopefully there will be plenty for everyone to pick come October (house warming party: date still TBD)!
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Barney Lake
NEWS: (August 10, 2007) - Benson Lake Backpacking Trip Preview! All the photos are up, however I have not yet added the captions. Feel free to browse the photos in the meantime. Without the comments under the pictures, you will likely feel lost. There are some especially funny photos that require some explanation. I plan to add captions tomorrow night after I return from a conference at Cal State LA, so please check back in a day or two for the finished product.
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The "Benson Riviera" in the Yosemite backcountry.
The perfect swimming hole!
Harry glances up at the Sawtooth Ridge while hiking through an alpine meadow.
NEWS: (August 7, 2007) - Back from the northern Sierra! I'll be frank... this trip kicked our asses! The map makes this loop seem deceivingly easy. Don't be fooled! You better be in great shape for this one! Photos to come soon.
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A glider lands at the Warner Springs Gliderport after a day of soaring among the thunderheads!
NEWS: (July 27, 2007) - Photos from this past week's thunderstorm activity are up! Some of the more impressive photos show gliders flying below the bases of developing thunderstorms and even a possible funnel cloud?!?! Well, this is probably the last update for awhile as Harry and I will be backpacking through the Northern Sierra next week. Look for updates shortly after the first weekend of August!
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CDF watches for lightning fires as a massive thunderstorm parks itself over Shelter Valley!
NEWS: (July 26, 2007) - Thunderstorms bring 0.32 inches of rain to Julian! The trash cans under the downspouts all overflowed, which gives me a good idea of how much water I can collect with only a little bit of rainfall!!! Hopefully the pines will stop drying up! Photos from yesterday's Shelter Valley Storm are ready to be uploaded to the web!
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Ready or not, here comes the BOOM!
NEWS: (July 24, 2007) - Started off the afternoon with a severe thunderstorm just south of Julian near Mt Laguna. After that, convection was pretty much well behaved until about 6:00 PM. That's when the meteorological "crap" hit the fan! As is often the case during monsoon season, the thunderstorm activity will appear to have taperd off for the day when out of the blue, an isolated monster storm will erupt east of Julian over Shelter Valley & Whale Peak! Today was no different. Expecting something like this would happen, I sat out on the new lawn at around 5:00 PM looking for any sign that a thunderstorm might erupt. There wasn't much to see. Thinking that we may not get one today, I went back inside to work on the website. Within a half hour I start to hear a few rumbles of thunder. I rush outside just in time to see this monster tower starting to spread an anvil. Having seen this particular type of event many times from the office, I didn't know what to expect as far as perspective/view of the storm was concerned, being so close and all. It was so close and so big, I couldn't fit the damn thing into a single shot. Here was this massive storm with constant thunder and it stretched from the east horizon all the way back to the western sky. I got quite a few really neat photos, but for now I've only included the one above. The photos were taken from south Julian at Inspiration Point. There was a large crowd of people there enjoying the show, including the Julian Fire Dept. It was an impressive sight! Shelter Valley received between one and two inches of rain from this storm, which is likely more rain than they've received total since July of last year!
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Nicole and Tippy enjoy a roll on our new turf!
NEWS: (July 23, 2007) - Finally rolled out our new artificial lawn and set it in place on top of our 800 sq ft garage/deck. What a difference! See for yourself! Included are photos of Tippy and Kahlil (rookie appearance on GSP!) enjoying the new lawn! News about the Honda Fit: Nicole and I usually average 39 to 40 miles per gallon (better than EPA estimates). Car is running great and has already hauled a few large loads up the mountain with no problems. I've seen many Fit Sports lately. Seems the car is catching on. Even one of my coworkers bought one and more are considering! Lastly, I'm getting ready for the annual backpacking trip. This year it will be in Northern Yosemite (Benson Lake loop via Kerrick & Matterhorn Canyons). No updates between July 29 and August 4! Happy Trails!
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Monsoon Season Has Arrived: July 21, 2007
NEWS: (July 21, 2007) - Woke up this morning to one heck of a gulf surge. Dewpoints climbed well into the 70s across the lower deserts and into the upper 50s to low 60s here in the mountains. In fact, there were even stratus clouds this morning over the desert slopes near Palm Springs and Borrego in addition to the typical marine layer stratus ever present over the coastal slopes! Still a little dry between 850-700 mb, but that should moisten up too as we head into next week. A few pulse type thunderstorms popped off this afternoon over the San Diego County mountains, but nothing here in Julian as of yet. Chances are good we'll get something overhead before next week is through. In other news, per the suggestion of others, I have decided to keep each homepage photo directly above its associated "latest news," even when adding new photos and news information. If you scroll down you'll see what I mean.
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Monsoon Season is just around the corner! July 20, 2007
NEWS: (July 20, 2007) - We had a few buildups today over the mountains, but no storms. With moisture on the rise and persistant easterly flow, we should begin to see thunderstorms as early as tomorrow! Hopefully we'll get some rain in Julian... our pine trees are dying for some water!
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Don't mess with the Julian locals!
Julian celebrates the 4th of July with an old fashioned parade on one of the hottest days ever on record!
My Uncle Gary and my Dad at Matt and Dana's Wedding: July 1, 2007.
Garter Toss Preperations!
NEWS: (July 19, 2007) - Julian Fourth of July Parade photos are up! But wait there's more! Matt and Dana's Wedding photos are up too! The latest news is that I plan to undertake a huge rainwater harvesting project at the house here in Julian. If done right, I should have no problem harvesting a few hundred thousand gallons of water within the soil, vegetation, and tanks/cisterns via precipitation and runoff control alone. The principles are quite simple and undertaking a project like this can be quite inexpensive...another plus! I'll set up a page that lays out everything I'm doing and things I plan to do in the future. Our goal is to harvest enough rainwater to satisfy most (and eventually all) of our water needs here at the house (potable, irrigation, & fire protection)... making us completely independent of our local community wells, even in times of drought. If done properly (i.e efficiently & correctly), we will no longer be contributing to the widespread overuse, misuse, and abuse of fresh water... collecting what we need and returning the excess slowly into the ground, replenishing the local water table and restoring the health of the local environment here at the house and downstream within our watershed. I'll explain more later.
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My beautiful wife Nicole.
NEWS: (July 5, 2007) - HOT! Temperatures in Julian the past two days have been flirting with all-time records! Nicole helped run our neighbor's sled dogs down the parade route in 106 degree heat! Julian sure knows how to put on one hell of a small town parade! In addition to the locals, tons of people from San Diego and LA also came up to participate in the festivities! In other news, Matt and Dana were married on July 1, 2007. A good time was had by all. They're now off to Hawaii on their honeymoon. While at the wedding, a large wildfire (The Banner Fire) broke out less than 2 miles from our house. There were some scary moments for all our neighbors, but CDF jumped on it immediately and knocked it down later that night! It could have been A LOT worse! Thank you CDF and all those who helped fight the Banner Fire! Lastly, I installed a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station here at the house on June 23. I'm waiting for Davis to finish testing their latest version of weatherlinks for Mac before I buy their software. Older versions are not compatible with the newer Macs with the Intel processors like mine. The software should be available for purchase in a month or two. Until then, I am unable to provide Live Julian Weather on goldenstatephoto.
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Fantastic Volcan Mountain! As Huell Howser would say, "A fine example of California's Gold!"
Volcan Mountain boast incredible grasslands, giant groves of Oaks and Pines, monster Manzanita, and incredible views!
Our new house at 4,400 ft just outside of Julian. We just love it in the mountains!
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NEWS: (June 16, 2007) - Palomar photos are up! In the process of posting Stansbury Mountain photos. I will then add links to all the new pages in the gallery sections. Breezy and much cooler this morning. Feels much nicer outside compared to the last few days when high temperatures reach 90+ degrees. Had to use my AC for the first time 3 days ago. Only ran it for about 5 hours and I haven't used it since. UPDATE: Stansbury Mountain photos are up! Links are updated too!
NEWS: (June 15, 2007) - Took a 6 mile stroll up Volcan Mountain today. Photos of Volcan Mountain are already online! I plan on adding the Stansbury Mountain & Mt Palomar trips tomorrow morning. Spent two plus hours weed wacking yesterday. I feel much better now about our preparations for fire season. The trees have been trimmed and the grass and weeds are all but gone. In other news: Nicole is going to be in the Julian Melodrama this fall! She's going to be a singing floozy! :) Still lovin' life in Julian!
NEWS: (June 10, 2007) - Nicole and I spent the last week in Utah visiting with friends and family. We spent 3 of the days camping in the seldom visited Stansbury Mountains with our friends Barbara and Ben (and Nicole's Parent's dog, Noel). Weather was perfect all week until the day we left... temps dropped from the 90s into the 40s and about an inch of rain / several inches of snow fell. I will add all of the photos from the trip later this week along with a short narrative. Much to say about the area. Wasatch quality mountains without the Wasatch crowds!
NEWS: (May 24, 2007) - We went with the Honda Fit Sport as if you couldn't tell from the photo! Here are some more photos of the car. Got down right cold two nights ago. Marine layer deepened up substantially, temps dropped into the 40s, the wind picked up, the fog rolled in, and it rained like mad under the drip zone of all the Oaks. It was Trace to 0.01 out in the open, but probably closer to 0.25-0.50" under the largest Oaks in the yard. Tree rain as some of our local weather spotters call it.
NEWS: (May 17, 2007) - After a long delay brought on by working, moving, setting up utilities, and fixing DSL problems, we're back! We've been up in the mountains for a month now and it's better than we could have ever imagined. To see all the stars at night, to listen to the wind whooshing through the trees, to take hikes through the oak groves and pine forest without having to plan a day around it, to not having to sit in traffic at 5:30 am on the 15 freeway, to everything. It's absolutely wonderful! The first week we were in the house, temps were in the 30s and we got about 2 inches of snow. Since then it has warmed up nicely and all the oaks have leafed out! Still much work to do with the house and also with the way I plan to maintain and update my website in the future. Updates will become more regular or frequent from here on out, but may be slow at first. I also plan to set up a blog within goldenstatephoto at some point... oh, and Live Julian Weather (with web cam?)!!! Plan on setting up a Davis weather station by the start of the new upcoming rainfall year (July 1, 2007). Most importantly, we're settling in and we're back online. Golden State Photo is back!
NEWS: (March 23, 2007) - Sold! We're moving to Julian!!! Nicole and I have been busy buying a house the last 4 weeks or so... hence the lack of activity on the website. Buying a home has pretty much zapped all of our free time. Escrow is set to close mid April, around tax time! The house is about 1.5 miles outside of Julian at an elevation of about 4,400 ft in a mixed forest of Pine and Oak. We are surrounded by forested mountain peaks that reach elevations between 5,500 and 6,500 ft. The area averages between 1 to 2 feet of snow each winter, and gets rocked by thunderstorms during the summer monsoon season! The trees turn wonderful colors in fall, and tons of flowers bloom every spring! We can't move up there fast enough!
NEWS: (February 5, 2007) - Happy Weathermans Day! I recently purchased a new 20" iMac! The latest and greatest with dual intel processor etc. Upon comparison, I am now confident that the moniter on my old mac is shot! I'm in the process of re-color correcting some of the old photos for display on the web. Also, I haven't gotten any new web building software installed on my new mac yet so updates will be slow until that happens. Once installed, expect a ton of updates. I also plan on creating a photoblog on this site... more of a real photoblog as opposed to the quasi photoblog format I have here. One last bit of news: Congratulations Matt and Dana on your engagement & Congratulations Ed and Louisa on your engagement as well! Check out Ed's site for photos from that all important day. Excellent photos I must say... worth a visit!
NEWS: (January 1, 2007) - Happy Near Year and Boomer Sooner!!! Checking out the latest stats, GSP is getting a lot of traffic now... which slightly worries me. I must do some damage control and organize the site a little better. To all you web surfers out there, thanks for visiting Golden State Photo. I plan major computer upgrades this month... MORE POWER CAPTAIN! My current computer is 7 years old not to mention the color on the moniter is out of wack... causing some of my photos to look more washed out and flat on newer computers (after performing what appears to be good color corrections on my computer).
NEWS: (December 19, 2006) - Photos from Eagle Rock are up! Got caught in a snow storm near Anza while on a CPM run for work yesterday. I took a few photos while pulled over on the side of the road.
NEWS: (December 14, 2006) - Nicole, Tippy, and I took a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to Eagle Rock near Warner Springs. Afterward, we cruised up to Julian for ice cream shakes at the Miner's Diner and a fresh apple pie. More photos to come later.
NEWS: (November 28, 2006) - Uploaded Mammoth Ski Trip photos from January 2005! Check em out!
NEWS: (November 12, 2006) - Badly needed new logo is here! Suicide Rock and Lake Sabrina are HERE! Also, I have prepared a number of photos to be posted online from past trips old and new, so be looking for those to appear soon!
NEWS: (November 10, 2006) - Julian photos are up! Still working on getting the honeymoon photos uploaded, but first I need to grab some lunch! UPDATE: Just added the Kaua'i honeymoon photos! Surprise updates to come soon from past trips.
NEWS: (October 26, 2006) - October in Southern California... Can't beat it! No better time to be in the land of Hollywierd. Unfortunately, October in So Cal means Santa Ana Winds and wildfires. Today is no different. As I sit here typing on my computer, a thick cloud of dark smoke streams overhead and ash continues to fall from the sky. The source? A wildfire in Riverside County near the Banning Pass which has already burned homes and claimed the lives of four firefighters. The weather was a little less dramatic on Tuesday when Nicole and I took a trip up to Julian to pick apples and collect firewood. The fall colors were spectacular for southern California standards, the weather was absolutely perfect, and the ghoulish signs of Halloween lay around every corner...the absolute embodiment of October in the rural countryside. What a perfect day! It's unfortunate that Mother Nature has decided to throw us a dangerous curve ball today. Firefighters have their work cut out for them this afternoon.
NEWS: (October 20, 2006) - Aloha! Lots of changes in life since the last update. I finally made an honest woman of Nicole. We were married in Fallbrook California on the afternoon of October 7, 2006. It was such a wonderful day. Now, Nicole and I are back from our week long honeymoon in Kauai (we just missed the big 6.7 earthquake). We saw a few of the sights, but all in all, we really didn't do much sight seeing. As a result, there aren't too many pictures to post from this trip. My guess is that when I get the Kauai page fully up, there will be no more than 15 images to view. Also, once we get the wedding photos back from our photographer, I plan on making a slide show (with music?) for everyones viewing pleasure. That may be awhile though. Ed has a few pictures up on his website, and one is posted here on the homepage! Now, if you don't mind, my wife is set to arrive home at any moment...
NEWS: (September 29, 2006) - Franklin Lakes trip report is up! Updates will be few and far between for the next few weeks for obvious reasons. Until then, peace! Go Padres!
NEWS: (September 14, 2006) - Look! Updates! News! I'm still here, haven't gone anywhere. Updated & created a page for the Dry Lake trip. Been busy so updates are slow. If you haven't checked out Ed's page in awhile, you should head there next. He's done a lot in the past few weeks. Check out his Rant too!
NEWS: (August 21, 2006) - Back from a short overnighter at Franklin Lakes in Sequoia National Park. There was a wildfire nearby which caused a lot of smoke in the area, but as you can see, I was still able to get quite a few good shots. Look for all the photos later. I'd like to get the Dry Lake photos up first (and possibly the San Fran pics) before I get to this recent trip. Lot to do today, so there may not be any further updates the rest of this afternoon.
NEWS: (August 18, 2006) - All Pioneer Basin photos are online (4 parts). I am going backpacking this weekend near Mineral King in Sequoia National Park with my Brother, Cousin, and Lars. Catch ya later!
NEWS: (August 17, 2006) - All photos from our recent backpacking trip to the Sierra are ready to upload to the web. I have posted Part 1, but I am still adding captions to Parts 2-4. Enjoy!
NEWS: (July 29, 2006) - Updated the page with pictures of Nicole and I, as well as created a new page that contains many of my favorite photos of Nicole. Dry Lake photos and Backpacking photos will be updated sometime in the near future.
NEWS: (July 27, 2006) - Back from the Sierra Nevada. It was a wonderful trip. Look for updates at a later time.
NEWS: (July 19, 2006) - Off to Yosemite and vicinity for a week. Backpacking Pioneer Basin and showing Nicole the incredible sights of Yosemite Valley. I'll be back next week with a boat load of new photos. Until then, enjoy the old stuff!
NEWS: (July 15, 2006) - HOAs Suck! You pay them a boat load of cash every month just so that they can restrict your freedoms as a homeowner...not too mention they aren't in business to look out for you, the homeowner within the association... nope, they're only there to look out for themselves. Featured link of the day: 10 Things a Homeowners Association Won't Tell You!
NEWS: (July 14, 2006) - Update Time. Photos from last months trip to Kings Canyon are posted! Also posted the San Gorgonio Backpacking Trip from late May!
NEWS: (July 12, 2006) - It's been quite a day. Just got back from a 14 mile hike in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Nicole and I took Tippy (our new dog) up to Dry Lake for the day. It was a lot of fun and good preparation for our backpacking trip in the Sierra next week. Posted a few photos to let everyone know I'm still alive. As far as the condo goes, nothing new to report.
NEWS: (July 8, 2006) - It's been one month since my last update and for good reason! Lots has been going on so updates were not possible. In a nutshell, Nicole and I got a dog, my condo completely flooded out while we were away, been living out of a backpack for nearly three weeks, and Nicole and I are now engaged! We were finally able to move back into the condo last night, and I can't even tell you how nice it is to be back in my own bed! Still lots of repairs to do, but all the flooring has been replaced so the condo is liveable once again! With a camping / backpacking trip to Yosemite coming up, who knows when the site will be updated. I will try my best.
NEWS: (June 8, 2006) - Hastings Law Graduation Photos Index Page.
NEWS: (June 6, 2006) - One more free day before returning to work. Just got back from Kings Canyon National Park. Snow still abounds above 8,000 ft, but it's melting fast! Look for photos soon.
NEWS: (June 2, 2006) - A free moment! I have returned from my sisters graduation in San Francisco as well as a 3 day backpacking trip with some coworkers in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. I have converted all my images to jpgs, but it may still be awhile before they are posted online. This afternoon I will be heading up north for the weekend to do some hiking with my cousin in the Sierra. After this weekend, I should be around quite a bit so look for updates then.
NEWS: (May 5, 2006) - Happy Cinco de Mayo! I just returned from Monterey. Though this trip was for business, I did manage to get out some and snap a few photos of the Monterey area. Check them out!
NEWS: (April 20, 2006) - Borrego Pictures are up! Check out the photos from the latest little road trip. I'll be travelling all over the place during the next month, and frantically trying to update photos when at home. Stay Tuned!
NEWS: (April 19, 2006) - I just finished converting all the RAW to JPG, but now I got to run to work. Look for the photos to be posted in the next couple days.
NEWS: (April 18, 2006) - Nicole and I just returned from a day trip through Anza Borrego and Mt Palomar. I've just looked through the pictures... lots of good ones to post this time!!! Look for the photos to be online soon!
NEWS: (April 17, 2006) - Finally some free time! Taxes have been paid, errands have been completed, and my weekend has begun! I've uploaded all the Moab pictures! Check them out!
NEWS: (April 11, 2006) - Golden State Photo is now one year old and has served more than 1000 distinct hosts from all over the world! Also, I just returned from a week long trip in Utah, and now have plenty more photos of the Moab area to upload. Due to a busy work week, it may be awhile before I am able to post the photos online. Stay Tuned!
NEWS: (March 30, 2006) - I have finally posted the images from squall line that passed through in October of 2004. The squall line produced a photogenic, stacked shelf cloud. Old news, but check it out anyway.
NEWS: (March 28, 2006) - I have posted a preliminary lenticular event page.
NEWS: (March 25, 2006) - I have decided to put my Diving Board pictures online, despite the poor scan quality. For a complete trip report, see Ed's page. UPDATE: I have added photos from the Yosemite summer 2003 backpacking trip! Again, the scan quality is poor, but I though it would be nice to have something up anyway. I plan to add captions in the near future.
NEWS: (March 24, 2006) - Uploaded Borderfield State Park Photos! In other news, Ed has posted photos on his website from our trip last year to Half Dome & the Diving Board. It will still be awhile before mine are up, as I still have scanning issues. Gotta love the pre-digital era!
NEWS: (March 23, 2006) - Uploaded San Diego photos and Santa Margarita photos. The Borderfield State Park photos will be uploaded tomorrow!
NEWS: (March 22, 2006) - Went on a little hike along the Santa Margarita River north of Fallbrook. There was quite a bit of water in the river due to the recent winter storms. Pictures have been transfered to my computer and will be put online within a few days.
NEWS: (March 19, 2006) - Took a short trip yesterday down to Borderfield State Park on the Mexican Border and Coronado Island before heading to work on the evening shift. I have uploaded the photos to my computer, but I have not had a chance to put any pictures online yet.
NEWS: (March 17, 2006) - Nicole and I went snowshoeing in the San Jacinto Mountains (Round Valley) a few days ago. Plenty of snow up there! Pictures are now posted.
NEWS: (March 13, 2006) - Preliminary damage survey with photos and storm pictures are now posted.
NEWS: (March 11, 2006) - It's February 19, 2005, all over again. An impressive supercell thunderstorm developed off the coast and came ashore near Carlsbad before heading inland through Escondido and Ramona. It left 2 inch accumulations of hail in its wake, produced a waterspout off of Encinitas, and dropped a tornado in Ramona. In addition to sever weather, extremely heavy snow fell in the mountains of Southern California, with everyone in the higher elevations (above 6,000 ft) reporting in excess of 3 ft of snow in blizzard conditions (isolated drifts between 10-20 ft deep). Light snow fell as low as 1500 ft in places like Hemet, Devore, and Alpine. Quite a day. More photos to be added later!
NEWS: (February 23, 2006) - I updated and created the missing tornado chasing pages (May 12, May 26, May 29, and June 12, 2004). I only added a few tornado pictures for now, but hope to get many more of them up in the future. Keeping this site up to date is becoming a daunting task!
NEWS: (February 19, 2006) - Went out to Oceanside Harbor to take photos of possible island bands, but instead found myself much more interested in the military ships and helicopters just offshore. While I did see a cold air funnel, the military exercises that were going on were more exciting.
NEWS: (February 16, 2006) - My Dad bowled a perfect 300 game tonight! Congratulations Dad on a perfect game! That's a lot of Turkey!
NEWS: (February 13, 2006) - I got all my Santa Barbara photos up and ready to go, however, I am calling it quits for the night. There is a "highlights" page set up already with some Santa Barbara photos on it. There are no captions yet, but I will get to those as soon as I can. Check out what I do have so far though, and stay tuned. UPDATE: Hawaii photos are ready for the web. i have posted about half of them on the web as sort of a preview of things to come.
NEWS: (February 11, 2006) - Treated Nicole to a 4 day vacation to Santa Barbara for her birthday. Look for details and photos later.
NEWS: (January 28, 2006) - Lava pictures arrived in the mail today. Much thanks to Ben for resurrecting my lava pictures from the dead! I'm going to try and get as much done as possible tonight, so hopefully by tomorrow there will be photos from the Hawaii trip online.
NEWS: (January 22, 2006) - Finally! Updates! Photos from such recent trips as the Eastern Sierra & Rainbow Basin have been posted! I also updated the California Landscape page as well as the California & National Travel pages! Still waiting for my lava pics from Ben in Hawaii. Off to Norman for a week so no further updates until I return.
NEWS: (January 4, 2006) - Nicole and I went to the Eastern Sierra for the day. A ton of fresh snow was dumped on the Sierra the previous day, so the mountains were completely covered. Mammoth reported 8 feet of snow in only 36 hours! We didn't get a chance to snowshoe through any of it yet, but we will try again later. In other news, I've heard back from Ben in Hawaii. He will be mailing me out my lava photos soon. Happy New Year!
NEWS: (December 23, 2005) - D'oh! Lava pics erased for good! The moment plays over and over and over again in my head. It is perhaps the single most incredibly stupid thing I've ever done! Thinking that I had transfered all my Hawaii pictures to my computer, I erased all my lava pics from my CF card while down at the beach taking pictures of the huge surf. Oops! Luckily, I transfered most or all of my lava pics to Ben's computer in Hawaii before I left, so he is my last chance at redemption! At last word, he still has the pics safely stored on his hard drive! I do not know when he will be able to get me the photos, but my guess is within 2-3 weeks. Lets hope his hard drive doesn't fail!!!
NEWS: (December 21, 2005) - Big Wednesday! Huge surf greater than double overhead at times hammered the Southern California coastline! Waves were large enough to crash into the top of the pier in OB as some sets approached the 20 ft mark. Look for photos to be posted next week along with the Hawaii pictures.
NEWS: (December 12, 2005) - Aloha! Back from Hawaii. I have lots of photos to post, but I won't be able to get to it until tonight as I have much to do today. Highlights will include surface lava flows, 22 ft surf at Pipeline, remote 4x4 beaches, and underwater photos of reef life.
NEWS: (December 1, 2005) - Hawaii Bound! I will have plenty of pictures to post when I get back on the 11th... but until then don't expect any updates. Aloha!
NEWS: (November 26, 2005) - Added some photos from a June weekend camping trip with Harry and Lars to Mineral King. A little late but worth the wait!
NEWS: (November 24, 2005) - Tahquitz Falls photos are finally posted! But wait, there's more! I posted Balboa Park and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery & San Gorgonio / Dry Lake photos as well! I also updated the local travel page, although there is still much to do there. Happy Thanksgiving!
NEWS: (November 18, 2005) - Per numerous requests, posted two photos of me and Nicole. I have converted lots of RAW images to JPGs from past trips, but will not be able to post them online tonight. I may get to them sometime in the near future.
NEWS: (November 15, 2005) - Took an afternoon stroll through Balboa Park with Nicole. Later, we went to dinner at Shelter Island before heading up to Point Loma for some city shots. The fog rolled in with visibility less than 100 feet at times, making for an eerie scene at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
NEWS: (October 21, 2005) - Hiked up to Tahquitz Falls with Ed and Louisa. After spending a couple hours at the falls, we headed up to Oak Glen for dinner and apple cider. Photos from the trip came out awesome. Look for them to be posted in the next day or two.
NEWS: (October 19, 2005) - Hiked up to Dry Lake in the San Gorgonio Wilderness today. The snow was patchy, and only a few inches deep in spots... however the peaks were completely covered in fresh powder. Pictures will be online soon.
NEWS: (October 16, 2005) - As forecast, thunderstorms make a return to Southern California. A trough of low pressure quickly dove south into So Cal last night and transitioned into a cutoff low early this morning. This storm will gather strength offshore and bring more showers and thunderstorms to the area through Tuesday as it makes it's 2nd run at Southern California.
NEWS: (October 12, 2005) - Weather models seeing Deja Vu!!! Last year, October 17th marked the onset of one of the wettest winters on record in Southern California. Tonight, both the 18Z & 00Z GFS forecast a deep low to drop over So Cal on October 17th of next week (exactly one year after last years record rains began), bringing a shot of early season rain to the entire area. Can it be? Two back-to-back, consecutive wet Octobers? Is another epic winter in store? It's still too early to say... but it'll be interesting to watch.
NEWS: (September 28, 2005) - Out with the old and in with the new. Golden State Photo is in the middle of a huge makeover. IMPORTANT: MOST/ALL LINKS HAVE CHANGED.OLD LINKS WILL NOT WORK FOR MUCH LONGER, SO UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS ACCORDINGLY. My current priority is reorganizing all of the galleries by category and adding numerous thumbnails!!
NEWS: (September 27, 2005) - A new look! Experimenting with the look of Golden State Photo. I think it's time I cleaned it up a bit, and organize the galleries a bit better.
NEWS: (September 21, 2005) - The spate of thunderstorms has come to an end. The light show lasted an insane 12 hours over all areas of southern California and made for a sleepless night for many. Although these fast moving thunderstorms were high base and low topped, they were very prolific lightning producers. Thunderstorm Photos. Look for updates in the next few days.
NEWS: (September 19/20, 2005) - UPDATE: Thunderstorms continue their impressive light show over San Diego County. Power failures prevent me form uploading more lightning pictures at this time. So far tonight I have captured numerous impressive cloud to ground lightning strikes! Look for more lightning photos in the coming days.
NEWS: (September 19, 2005) - Watched the OU game with my Dad and then went to Irwindale Speedway. I also went to another Padres game on Sunday afternoon with my brother. The Padres won the game over the Nationals with help from Roberts in the bottom of the ninth! Thunderstorms came in from the south this afternoon and produced lightning (mostly cloud to cloud), some brief heavy rain, and even a funnel cloud.
NEWS: (September 16, 2005) - Padres lost to the Nationals 1 to 5. Hopefully the Sooners don't suffer the same fate tomorrow against UCLA.
NEWS: (September 13, 2005) - All the photos (and captions!) from the backpacking trip to Moose Lake are posted! Tomorrow is the Eagles, Friday is the Padres game, and then Saturday is OU vs. UCLA! Boomer Sooner. As for the Europe trip report... enjoy the photos... cause I have no idea when I'll get around to finishing writing it up.
NEWS: (September 12, 2005) - Just got back from a three day backpacking trip to Moose Lake with my cousin Harry. Moose Lake is an amazing lake, and since it involves a lot of trailess travel, few people ever get a chance to visit it. The hike took us through some very rugged and remote areas of Sequoia National Park. On the first day, we encountered snow flurries and a hungry bear. The second day we experienced some sporadic dense fog and got in some great fishing. The last day involved a trailess climb up and over a nearby peak and then a long drive back to San Diego. Look for photos to be posted soon. Updating maybe slow as I will be at an Eagles concert on Wednesday and possibly a Padres game on Friday.
NEWS: (August 20, 2005) - I've finally started my EuroReport if you can believe it. I won't make any promises, but I really want to get this done by the end of next week. I ran into Mike Morgan (NBC4 in OKC) and his wife at the airport. Chatted with him for about 20 minutes or so. He's vacationing out here in CA for the week.
NEWS: (August 13, 2005) - Added some more photos to the Flash Flood event. I also went back and looked at all the time stamps on my images, which enabled me to update the times in the photo captions as well as in the brief summary.
NEWS: (August 10, 2005) - Took quite awhile to convert all the images. I threw up a few photos for now as well as a very brief summary of events. More photos will be put online at a later time. My only regret is that I did not have video to better show the power and force of the water. The sound was incredible and you could literally feel the ground shake as boulders rolled by. Yucca Valley Flash Flood.
NEWS: (August 9, 2005) - Chased some very intense thunderstorms in the Yucca Valley area today. I was caught in the middle of a raging flash flood. Look for more pictures to show up over the next 24 hours. Today marks the 21st day in a row that there have been thunderstorms in the San Diego forecast area.
NEWS: (July 25, 2005) - Threw some National Weather Service photos up... for those interested to see what our office looks like. It is not like the typical cookie cutter offices that are found elswhere across the country. Our office is located in a 3 story building on top of a hill with a fantastic view.
NEWS: (July 23, 2005) - Little updating has been done. Thunderstorms resulting in busy work days.
NEWS: (July 10, 2005) - All Europe Pictures have been resized and posted online for your viewing pleasure. I also included pictures from the flight home, over the Arctic Circle. Enjoy!
NEWS: (July 10, 2005) - Finished with the Lyon Pictures. Just added the Switzerland and Germany Pictures as well. I hope to have Holland Pictures up in 24 hours or less. Complete photo captions and trip essay is the next priority. I hope to have a "finished" product within the next week or two.
NEWS: (July 9, 2005) - I just finished resizing the rest of the Europe Trip Photos! Look for them to show up on the web within the next couple days. I plan to have the trip report up within the week.
NEWS: (July 7, 2005) - Just got back from Vegas. Check it out! There's a brush fire burnin' in the hills behind my place, so it's getting a bit smokey, so I think I'll head to work now.
NEWS: (July 3, 2005) - Resized the remaining Lyon pictures, but have only put a few additional images on for now. I am headed to Las Vegas for the 4th, so no updates planned until maybe the 5th or 6th. Happy Independence Day!
NEWS: (July 1, 2005) - Most Paris pictures are on the web. I have started resizing the Lyon pictures but am calling it quits for the night. The few that have been resized are on the web already. The trip report and captions for each photo will come after all pictures are put online. European Adventure 2005. I also added email to the front page.
NEWS: (June 30, 2005) - Paris pictures are resized! They will be on the web shortly, followed by Photos de Lyon. More Europe updates to come shortly. Have created pages for two semi-recent backpacking trips: Diving Board & Yosemite 2003. These will not get updated until after the Europe photos and trip report are finished.
NEWS: (June 29, 2005) - Iceland pictures have been uploaded! The page is basic right now and does not include a trip report yet. I'm in the process of creating a much more visually appealing photo gallery to use on the website. I don't know how long this is going to take yet. It will all be linked from European Adventure 2005. Next page to be updated will be France.
NEWS: (June 26, 2005) - New plan: A city a day... that's the only way I'll ever get the trip report done. With 900 pictures and a ton of things still left to do, the whole thought of getting it all online in a reasonable amount of time seems daunting! So, a city a day is what I will plan to do. I will put updated links online as I work my way through each city/country. I also created a news archive so that the homepage does not become overly cluttered with old news.
NEWS: (June 20, 2005) - Headed up to Sequoia National Park on Wed/Thu so I will not update the website on those two days. I may update quite a bit of photos tonight. Look for a possible trip sneak peak tomorrow. I'm thinking for now I will put just the highlights up.
NEWS: (June 18, 2005) - A few more earthquakes... but mainly up north. Still have a ton of pictures to resize. I have jury duty coming up, plus I've been surfing and rock climbing a few times since I've been back, so progess with the photos has been slow. I fully expect the pictures to be up online this upcoming week though. It may take a little longer for me to type up a trip report.
NEWS: (June 16, 2005) - We had ANOTHER moderate earthquake today! It was given a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 but later was downgraded to a 4.9... again, not the strongest, but respectable none the less. This makes 3 sizeable earthquakes in 4 days...not too mention hundreds of aftershocks.
NEWS: (June 15, 2005) - All 800+ pictures have been converted to JPGs. Now I must resize the best of the best for the website. This will likely take a few days. In other news, a few days ago a 5.2 earthquake struck the mountains nearby. Despite all the shaking here in Oceanside, there was no damage (except for a slight crack in the drywall near the kitchen). Then, last night, a 7.0 struck off the coast of Northern California and prompted a Tsunami Warning. The warning was canceled about an hour after it was issued. The ground isn't feeling so solid these days.
NEWS: (June 14, 2005) - I'm 75% done converting all my pictures to JPGs. It's going to take some time resizing them for display on the web. I hope to have all the pictures up by the end of the week. Stay tuned for future updates.
NEWS: (June 11, 2005) - I'm in the process of converting 6 gigs of images from RAW to JPG for display on the website. Check back in a few days for updated photos and essays from my recent trip to Europe.
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NEWS: (April 28, 2005) - I finally put together a gallery which contains all the new images I shot with my Canon 20D. All of these images were taken over the past 7 months in California. There are 40+ images so it'll take a few minutes to browse them. Enjoy!
NEWS: (April 12, 2005) - I updated all the links with many new pictures in the Epic Winter Gallery...Including quite a few shots I took in the afternoon of the Blooms in Oceanside. More updates to come.. Congrats to all my friends in Oklahoma who bagged a few early season tornadoes the other day!
NEWS: (April 9, 2005) - I updated some of the rock climbing pages and I also posted a "Stuff of Legends" preview in the storm chasing gallery. Stay tuned for updates. I plan to add many more pictures over the next few days...and possibly a 20D gallery that will include my most recent images.