Havasu Day 3: Edits

Man, i'm a slacker. I'm not even close to a vacation post per day! I tell ya! I guess just work and other stuff (like broken down cars) have kept me fairly busy lately. But here are the Day 3 edits i promised from Mooney and Beaver Falls. I also finally got some of the GPS issues worked out and should be able to post better maps here soon too. ("Soon" of course is relative, but i don't think anyone really cares about the maps anyway).
These first few pics are Mooney Falls. I used one of my favorite softening techniques on this edit, but i'm not sure how well it worked. (Don't forget that you can click on the picture to make it bigger). i used it on a bunch of these pictures to add to the dreamy feeling of watefalls, but i'm wondering if the soft feel detracts from the canyon's walls too much. Let me know what you think.

I was hoping to have some time to catch up next week while i'm out of town on business. I'm going to Williamsburg, Virginia for a week for my first of three (seperate) weeks of the New Leader Program course. I'm excited and nervous about the course. Technically, this should be a great opportuntiy to learn some valuable skills and will really benefit my resume and future job opportunities. But i'm also nervous that i'll be the youngest person in the class and that the local parts of the course (it's actually 6 months long) that i have to complete at my job will detract from its effectiveness. We'll see.

But the point was that i was hoping i'd have time to catch up some of these vacation posts while i'm away. Then i realized how much cool stuff there's going to be to do in the area and how little time i'll have!

Check it out: Colonial Williamsburg is a whole one mile away from my hotel! I think the potential for great shots (like from Rachel's recent trip to San Francisco) will be great. But you know, i'll be the photographer. That and by the time i get out of class everything will already be closed.

I'm really bummed about how little time i'll actually have out there. But there was only one flight out from SLC to Newport News on Sunday that would actually get me there in time for the orientation. So i get there too late to do anything on Sunday. And our hotels are only booked through Friday, and my flight out departs (again the only one) right after the last class. Doh!
I know these next two are the same, but i softened one and sharpened the other, what do you think, which do you like better?

As if having Colonial Williamsburg right down the street wasn't enough, there's also Busch Gardens Europe (i love roller coasters), the Jamestown Settlement, as well as the Yorkktown Historic Battlefield. Maybe they'll let class out really early a couple of days. Somehow i doubt they'd appreciate sick days, kinda ruins the whole point of the trip too.

And as if not having enough time weren't enough, of course there's this too. Let me tell you, i sure have missed humidity, er, no wait, no i haven't. But who knows, maybe it'll just be cloudy (and really hot and humid) and i'll be able to get better pics. (Cause that's the kind of luck i usually get, you know).
This is your first view of Mooney Falls hiking back up from Beaver.

I've had a few comments on people wanting (or not wanting) to come down here and all i have to say is i can't wait to do it again. Make sure you call me, 'cause i wanna go too!

And if you don't think you (or your kids) can do it, well, you're crazy. Number one, there's packhorses (definitely what i'll be doing for my gear next time) and number two, there's a helicopter! Oh, and you could ride the horse down too (not just your bags). And if my pictures haven't convinced you that the $160 round trip helicopter ride would be more than worth it, well, then i'm a worse photographer than even i thought.

The place is definitely magical and hopefully i can get at least a couple more posts out over the next few days as well as some material for some future Williamsburg posts (and by "future" i of course mean a couple of months).