West Highland Way - Day 3

Most mornings we had a full Scottish breakfast to fill us up for our 10-15 mile hike.  Below is a picture of one, although black pudding and/or baked beans would also be served (but not pictured here).

The third day was my favorite day of hiking, as well as Anna's.  I liked them all but this one was really nice because the ups and downs were gradual, there were great expansive views most of the way and it was mostly sunny with a slight breeze.

When we started off, I just wanted to linger and soak it all in because it was so beautiful.  I think our book said this area was one of the most desolate places in Scotland.

Rhododendrons grow wild in Scotland.  That's the color you see in the middle of the picture below.

 Snack break on the trail! (It's the one arm photo Anna's loves to do.)

 We saw some ruins along the way.

And we had a welcome committee when we walked up to our B&B.  (There were several deer.)

A few wee friends joined us for dinner. (One even helped out Frank with his food when he wasn't looking.)

West Highland Way - Day 2

For the hiking part of our trip, we booked it with an adventure company.  They made the lodging arrangements and transportation arrangements for our luggage.  We stayed at B&Bs the entire trip, including when we made our own arrangements.

We each carried a day backpack every day.  It had stuff like our rain gear, extra sweater or fleece jacket, water bottles, snacks, map and guide book, first aid kit, I had an extra hat and gloves, and I also carried my purse (just in case).

Day 2 brought better weather.  It was just cloudy and we didn't have to wear our rain gear.  It might have sprinkled once or twice but not for long.  This day we skirted along the edge of Loch Lomond, hiking through forests with lots of up and downs and waterfalls.  There was some scrambling over rocks and a few drop offs next to the trail, which made this Anna's least favorite day of the entire hike.

We passed by many waterfalls at the beginning of the hike and Frank made fun of me because I took a picture of just about every one.  There was so much to be inspired by and I just loved all the greens.

 In the picture below, you can see a field of ferns.  I really liked these ferns because they were so different from any I've seen.  They have a long straight main stem and then a few leaves at the top.

You can see more of the ferns next to the trail in this picture. 

 The rocky trail.

 The rest of these pictures are from Frank's camera.

 More rocky trail.

 (Picture below was taken with Frank's iPhone.)

West Highland Way - Day 1

Usually in the past, we have done cycling trips during our European adventures.  This year Anna really wanted to go to Scotland and we decided that would probably not be the best place for us to cycle.  So, we decided to go even slower and do a hiking trip.

Frank picked the West Highland Way and we agreed to a 5 day hike since we have never done one before and we really didn't do much training before we left.  Hiking in the moorlands, over passes and next to the lochs was really beautiful.  One of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Since we were only doing 5 days, we did not hike the entire Way, but got a majority of it.  Every day was a little different as far as scenery with the first day having the worst of the weather.  We wore our rain gear all day.

Here are Anna and Frank at the beginning of our journey, starting the trail just beyond the gate. 

We started off through fields and a logging area.

 (Frank's picture)

Then we started the climb up Conic Hill, which you can see in this picture.  If you look closely, you might be able to see the trail up the hill (which seemed a little steeper than just a "hill") at the bottom middle of it. 

 As we were climbing, it was rainy, windy and foggy.  I'm glad Anna took this picture below because it shows the trail we took up, which was basically like walking up a rocky stream.   Going down on the other side was like a mud slide.

Anna took this picture of a little critter she found in one of the puddles on the way up.

It was so foggy as we were going up, I was thinking how mad I would be if we got to the top and would not be able to see anything.  It was still foggy when we reached the top, but it eventually cleared up enough so we could see the view.

There were some steep up and down climbs throughout our 5 days, as well as some moderate ones.  It seemed like there always had to be one right near the end.

Vacation

While you have been viewing my collection of Leftovers III prints, we have been taking a vacation in Scotland for two weeks.  Five of those days were spent hiking the West Highlands Way.

I bought a new camera for myself before we left on our trip.  My criteria were:
1) It had to fit in my pocket like the last one.
2) That meant it had to be a point and shoot camera.
3) I wanted a quality camera.
4) I wanted more zoom than I had before.

There were many choices and I went to several stores to try them out.  Ultimately, I chose one that I liked the feel of and that had a menu that was easy to use and easy to look at.  I bought a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150.  I think it was a good choice.  You'll be able to judge yourself by the pictures I post over the next week or so.

I took around 1200 pictures in two weeks (that's the great thing about digital cameras).  I will try not to overload you with too many pictures here, but there was so much to see.  Also, when I'm in a museum or anywhere else and take a picture of artwork, then I try to remember to also take a picture of the label as well, so I have that information.

We flew into Glasgow and spent a couple of days there.  Here are some pictures from around the city.  These first three pictures were actually taken with Frank's camera (a digital SLR). I've reduced the size because his files are so big.

This picture below is of a shop we passed often that had old sewing machines displayed in their windows around the entire store.  I loved this!  It was hard to get a picture of it with all the reflections though.

 We visited the botanical gardens and saw some lovely carnivorous plants.

Inside the Kelvingrove Art Museum.

Anna has recently been watching the Dr. Who series and was very excited to see this. (Now, these are pictures from my camera, also at a reduced size.)

Outside the transportation museum.

Inside the transportation museum.  There is a person standing in the bottom left corner.

Inside the entrance to the modern art museum.

Inside Glasgow Cathedral.

Cemetery near the cathedral.  I did not enhance this photo.  It really did look that green.

Leftovers III

We are down to my last Leftover print for this year.  I think I told you how hard it was to chose them, looking at 150 or more prints laid out on tables.  Some people sent varied editions so all the images weren't the same.  That made choosing even harder.

After much deliberation I came home with these I have been showing you.  I did not realize until later that I had actually picked two by L. Clive Lewis.  An easy mistake.  Here is the second one called Sturgeon Bay.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing my 2012 Leftovers III collection.  Now someday, I will get some of them framed (but don't hold your breath!).

Leftovers III

The next print in my Leftovers III collection is Pine by L. Clive Lewis.

Leftovers III

Today we move back out into nature.  I really love this first print by my friend and local artist, Mary Donato.  It is titled, Haws.  And she told me it is a screen print with three colors.

Leftovers III

Welcome to another structure-inspired print.  The simplicity and geometric shapes of this one is just really lovely to me.  The Red Mat just makes the whole piece.  The artist is Adell Shetterly.

Leftovers III

I have just a couple of structural items for your viewing pleasure.  The first is Interior, a print from my friend and local artist Cassandra Schiffler.

Leftovers III

Last, but not least in the animal oeuvre is our favorite, the cat.  This cat caught my attention with it's expression and I thought Anna would like it.  The print is titled, Sour Puss, by ?.  I'm not even going to guess the signature.

Leftovers III

The animal du jour looks to be some kind of deer.  This print is titled, if ever it were so . . ., by Jessica Wuglt (?).  I'm sure that last name isn't right but I can't decipher the signature.

Leftovers III

Moving away from the bird realm, but still in the animal realm, I present a print with hares titled, #1 by Kyoko.  I do not know where this artist is from.  Hopefully, Amy will eventually get all the prints on the Wingtip Press blog and I will be able to find out.

Leftovers III

I have one more bird print flying around here.  This one is also by a local, Judith Lombardi. It is titled, Magpie and Cherries.  It looks like a linocut.

It's interesting that I chose these more realistic birds (although I like all kinds of art).  But they are still minimal in their subject and color.

Leftovers III

Today is another print of a bird by local artist Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen called, Forgotten Carols. It is not black and white, but just one color. The scanned color is a little off from the print.  It is not this dark and is more red.

Leftovers III Prints

Awhile ago, I helped Amy Nack of Wingtip Press get the prints from Leftovers III ready to mail. The advantage to doing this is that you get to pick the prints that you receive from participating. Fun, but not an easy task to pick only twelve from around 150 choices.

Over the next week or two, I will be sharing my choices.  The major theme apparent in my choices is that I tend to like black and white prints (same with last year).  So, let's start out with animals.

Unless it was written on the print, or I was told by somebody, I don't always know what kind of print they are.  I also have a hard time reading signatures sometimes, too.

First up is Corvus on a Wire by Diane Hepkins (?).  Looks like it could be a linocut.  There is a mini-theme of birds in the prints that I chose.