Old World

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I found many doors on my epic trip but I decided I’ll post them randomly so I’ll be bouncing around different countries.  Last week, I posted a door from Iceland.  For today’s Thursday Doors post, I am bouncing over to Morocco.

It was an 18-day tour so we visited many cities, each unique in its own way.  The city that many of you might picture in your minds about Morocco based on some movies or photos might be Old Fes, or Old Fez (both spellings are correct).  The small alleyways lined with shops selling food, rugs, metal ware, clothing, leather goods and all kinds of other goods as well as the crowds of people (many tourists) is an interesting place.  However, in today’s world of the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t think I would enjoy walking in those crowded narrow alleyways.  The Old Medina is a UNESCO Heritage Site and was founded between 789 and 808 AD as the capital of Morocco.  Besides being famous for having the oldest university in the world, the University of Al-Karaouine, Fes el Bali (Old Fez), with a total population of 156,000, is also believed to be the biggest car-free urban area in the world.  More information can be founded in Wikipedia HERE

As we entered the gates and alleyways of Old Fez I saw this interesting, colorful and small door and it was like Alice in Wonderland going through the rabbit hole from there.

The first door shot as we entered Old Fez (and a portion of another door).

This is a shot of Old Fez from a high overlook.  Imagine getting lost somewhere down there.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Where Have You Been?

Where have I been, you ask?  Well, currently sheltered in place under lockdown like millions of other U.S. residents and other people around the world is the convenient answer.  But that was after returning from an epic vacation that began in early February and ending when we returned home on March 8th; a full month on the road!

The epic adventure took us to Iceland for an 8-day photo tour and after that tour was completed we headed to Portugal for about 4 nights before flying to Morocco for an 18-day tour.  Needless to say, it was great to be home (except for being under lockdown).

Iceland was a photographer’s paradise; beautiful scenery, landscapes and unique black sand beaches and wonderful sunrises and sunsets; we even got a sighting of that elusive Northern Light.  We had some nice clear weather and some cold windy days with some snow and on the last day of the photo tour a huge rare winter storm that shut down all of the roads and businesses in that country.  We returned to Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, the night before the last day our tour was to end to beat the road closures and while cautioned to stay inside the hotel due to flying debris we ventured out to do some errands.  I used part of this time to do a doorscursion in the freezing cold with hurricane gusts and rain to contend with.

I was amazed to find the housing units were very colorful, there were very few high rise buildings due to the typical high winds in that country.  Rather than drop a load of doors in this post I’ll contribute a simple glass door affixed to a corner store because I haven’t been processing my door photos yet.  Note that Coca Cola seems to be very popular in Iceland.

The same door with the dragon surrounds zoomed in.

The photo tour took us to many places and this is a sample of what we saw of the Vestrahorn Volcanic Mountain area.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Odd Place for a Door

The first month of the year 2020 passed and I failed to post a door.  I’m trying to get this posted tonight as it’s the last day of January so I can say that I did a post in the first month of the year.  I was traveling in December while everyone was on a door break and I didn’t find the opportunities to do any doorscrsions but I managed to find something.

I visited Cancun, Mexico for the first time with the family just before Christmas; we stayed a week at the resort but half the time it stormed.  The experience was something like being on a cruise ship except on land; everything was prepaid except for optional adventures so you find yourself eating and drinking all day if you wanted to.  We decided to take an optional trip to visit the Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins to take a break from the food and drinks.  The guide took us to the newer pyramid and told us we could check out the older ruins on our own in another location on the site.

Our guide pointed out this door but I didn’t hear what he said it was; was it the door to the underworld?  I couldn’t find any reference to it on the internet but it was probably installed over the opening to prevent unauthorized access.  All of the steps were bordered by images of snakes with their heads at the bottom.

This is what the Mayan calendar looks like; how they hang it on the wall must be some feat!  The calendar pyramid has 4 sides and the guide said it wasn’t built by any alien beings; his theory is it was a natural human development to logically build high structures with a solid base with each level being built on the last level.  The 4 sides represent the seasons and the facing of each side faces the 4 sides of the compass.  There are 90 steps on each side accounting for the number of days in the year and I forgot how they added the extra day for leap year; the chief and other officials and family were required to climb to the top.  At the top, they have 3 doors on each side.  These pyramids were not used for sacrificial purposes as their purpose was agricultural and markets; they had other warrior class settlements that dealt with those kinds of things.

This is what the older ancient ruins looked like.  You can see some “door” openings.

These last images were taken last week closer to home; it shows a door opening but I don’t recall seeing any door on it.  It looks out of place because the base of the bunker has eroded and it looks like a building on a rock mound.

The sunset on that evening was an epic burn (last photo).

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

The Eyes Have It

This will be my final post for the year since I will be away on the 19th, Norm’s TD yearly recap for 2019.  While I still have some doors from the Mission Street District street art doorscursion, I found a door that looks good for a final post for 2019.

They say, the eyes are the windows to the soul.  This artist captured that image and you can enter conveniently through either of 3 doors; “see it?”

Deborah asked to see some images of the Day of the Dead Parade that was scheduled on this day  (actually night) but it was a long day shooting beginning with the sunrise so I wrapped up my photo shoot after doing this streetart shoot.  However, I was able to capture a couple of face painting artists completing their Day of the Dead work on these willing faces.

A quick return to the makeup chair to get a cellphone shot for her portfolio.

And this street photo shot seems to sum everything up for all times.

Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays!  And have a safe passage into the New Year, 2020!

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Well Placed Doors

Greetings, it’s time for me to drop in, say hello and drop off a few doors but this time you’re going to have to do some work to find them these photos.  The photos were taken during my last doorscursion in the San Francisco Mission District on the Day of the Dead celebration (see my last post, Street Art).

Starting off easy.

3 Reds.

3 More

Hope you found all these doors and the artwork interesting!

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Street Art

A couple of weekends ago, some photographer friends and I did a walk through the new Golden State Warriors’ basketball team’s new home, the $1.6 Billion Chase Arena, in San Francisco and then headed out to the Mission District as they prepared for the Day of the Dead festival and parade.  The day started with a sunrise shoot, then we reassembled for the walk which lasted several hours and over seven miles of walking (at least it felt like that to my feet and I called it quits around 3:30 p.m.).

At the Mission District, there are some alleyways with wall murals on both sides of the alley (I think Jan featured some doors on an earlier post) so I’ll save my finds for perhaps a rainy day.  However, we encountered a wall muralist in action (she was actually taking a lunch break when we saw her work and I got her to pose with her wall mural while we passed through).  Her name is Elaine Chu, and she has a partner that owns a company called Twin Walls Mural Company.

This the wall that Elaine was painting as I first encountered it on our walk.  Can’t say enough about the artists that are being hired to bring new life to a district that has seen better days after millions of people have passed though as residents, visitors and tourists over the years.

This is Elaine as I persuaded her to pose with her artwork.

A look at an artist’s tools.

And, to feature that hidden door for this Thursday Doors post; Thursday Doors is the genius creation of our Canadian friend, Norm Frampton.  Feel free to join in by posting a door or doors which is shared with people around the world.

Adding a P.S.; here’s an image of the sunrise that we shot that morning with the SF City Skyline.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

 

 

Keep the Faith

Sorry for the infrequent posts; last week I was attending a photography workshop over the weekend so I couldn’t get organized in time to put a post together.  This week, well, I’m late due to procrastination.

I’m doing a quick post to get this door photo up.  During our recent trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming we made the trek to Yellowstone National Park but I was surprised to learn that Yellowstone closes the Park for the winter season.  We made reservations to stay at the iconic Old Faithful Inn which was constructed in 1903 – 1904 and opened in 1904.  It’s a beautiful rustic hotel and restaurant.  More information about the Inn can be found from Wikipedia HERE; unfortunately, my cellphone shots didn’t turn out well to display them here.  Our reservation at the Old Faithful Inn was for the last night that they were open before the winter closure so we had to explore a small section of the park while we could.

This is the entry door to the Old Faithful Inn from the inside; there was some light snowfall and it was cold so I didn’t stay outside to get the outside door shot but you can see some of the red exterior from the open door.

When we arrived there earlier in the afternoon it was near the time that the Old Faithful Geyser was going to do an eruption performance so we sat on the cold bench seats to get a front row view.  During the performance I shot several photos and I found this interesting shot of Old “Lady” Faithful; it almost looks like a woman’s head with her hair piled on top of her head popping out of the geyser pit.

And during our exploration of the park the next morning we came across herds of bison, a Harrier Hawk, and a couple of coyotes but they were too far to make a good photo for publication; I’ll share a bison head shot as he walked several yards from me to get away from those pesky humans.  Almost looks like the “buffalo” nickel.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Crap Shoot

I was on another adventure the past 2 weeks so I didn’t get any doors posted but I’m posting one door this week and it was literally a crap shot!

This door photo speaks a thousand words, “if you gotta go, go with a smile on your face”.

The outhouse door is from the Mormon Row settlement site in Jackson Hole, Wyoming fronting the Grand Tetons.  We can imagine that the early Mormon settlers had no modern conveniences, and maybe their placement of the outhouse with the Grand Tetons in the background was a precursor to our modern Big Screen TV.

While shooting this photo and others that I will post later, I had to dodge lots of cow pies (actually Bison pies) in this field so something tells me the Mormons had the right location for the outhouse or, the Bison figured this was the place to do their business when they see the outhouse.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

More Lavender; Mix-in Bald Eagles and a Sunset and You Get a Thursday Doors Blog!

Well, it turns out that I’m not done with Sequim, WA quite yet.  Let’s do a “Jimi Hendrix” visit to the “Purple Haze” (remember that song?) Lavender Farm.  It was the first day in Sequim for us and after visiting the B&B Lavender Farm we headed to our motel.  Then it was decision time, still early before sunset so where should we go to shoot the sunset.  The Purple Haze Lavender Farm was nearby so proximity made the decision for us.

The farm was closed but it didn’t stop people from visiting and taking photos of the farm’s landscape.  So we walked among the rows of lavender and other wild flowers and around a home that appeared to be available for rent (I’m not sure about this but it almost looked like a rental place).

After walking around for a bit another lady and I looked up at a flock of birds circling overhead.  They could have been Turkey Vultures but some of them flew lower and the lady said those were bald eagles and I could see the white tails and confirmed they were eagles.  By the time I changed to my mid-telephoto lens some flew off but others kept circling and at times flew higher.  But I got a few shots of them!  Later, an employee exited their farm building and was leaving so I inquired about the eagles and she confirmed they were bald eagles that occasionally fly over the fields looking for small critters for dinner when the farmers clear their fields.

Later we set up to prepare for the setting sun and were pleased at what we saw.

Here’s the sign of the Purple Haze Lavender Farm.

Various shots of the rows of lavender and flowers.

Look up!  Fortunately, I’m not too tasty so I didn’t have to worry about being the night’s prey!

Oh, we have to have doors to validate this Thursday Doors post or the Master Doorman, Norm Frampton, might take away my door keys.  This was the back door, or maybe the front depending upon where you are entering; the sign says U-Pick so this is where you go to get your basket or bucket to pick your own lavender , then pay for them.  Notice the stained glass (some people, like Joey tend to swoon over stained glass doors).

 Then there’s the other side of this building, the barn with barn doors!

And last but not least, the sunset over the lavender fields.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.

Washington Slept Here, Lavender Farms, Part II

When the State is named Washington, it might be a fair claim that old George Washington could have slept everywhere in that state.  Well, truth be told, I did meet George Washington in Sequim, in fact he is an actor, Vern Frykholm, that dresses up and portrays George Washington at different venues and often at the George Washington Inn during their annual Lavender Festival in July and the Northwest Colonial Festival in August.

The George Washington Inn is a Bed & Breakfast Lavender Farm that was one of the last farms we stopped at in Sequim.  From the roadside you can see the stately looking white mansion with a long entry road with fences and lavender and wildflowers landscaped on the property.  It also has a barn-like building which houses their gift shop but I didn’t have time to explore that building because I was conscripted drafted inducted asked to assist in photographing some publicity photos of George as I stepped on the property to do some landscape photos of the lavender and Inn.  This will be my Thursday Doors post for this week.

The owner, Dan Abbott, saw me with my camera and headed directly to me to ask a favor that I could not refuse.  He wanted someone to take photos of George, some bank representatives holding one of those huge cardboard checks and himself for some donation or charitable cause; I think that was the purpose but I was too busy trying to focus the cellphone camera to make sure everything was good in the photos.  They were satisfied when the job was done and discharged me from the Colonial Army so I could do my civilian photographs.

The George Washington Inn as it appeared when I volunteered to shoot some photos for Dan Abbott and George Washington.

George Washington mobilized Dan Abbott and their bank which has trained orcas on wheels to get ready for battle.

Lavender landscaping.

This is their replica bridge where they enact the Battle at Lexington at the annual Northwest Colonial Festival.

The entry to the B & B Inn with doors and rocking chairs.

Green side doors with floral ornaments.

Landscaping on the side of the farm.

The backyard and screened-in sunrooms with the back entry doors.

Thank you for visiting my post and thanks again to Norm 2.0 for his creation of the Thursday Doors website that gives us bloggers an outlet to let our thoughts be put on paper or in this case, web space.  For more posts and photos of doors by others please go to: Thursday Doors.