Category: Blog

(View from the top)

I’ve opined previously on these pages about the wonderful proximity of the mountains in this part of the world, and the concurrent abundance of hiking opportunities. The only unfortunate aspect of all this is having the high-country trails buried under several feet of snow for a good portion of the year. Even though the average altitude of the Cascade Mountains is fairly low compared to other mountainous regions of the country such as the Rockies, the snow level in Washington starts and stays at a lower level. Anywhere above 3,000 to 4,000 feet is going to be snow-covered from November until March or April, and naturally most of the best hiking trails are at or above this level.

(Snow and stream)

(Virgin snow)

Continue reading “Hiking In Washington Part Three: Cascade Winter Wonderland” →

(Pike Place Market)

Seattle’s Pike Place Market is one of those iconic spots that, much like the Space Needle,  every first-time visitor to town wants to see and experience for themselves. Sure, it’s overrun with hordes of gawking tourists – especially on weekends – and has become far more tourist trap than the erstwhile farmer’s market it originally began life as a long, long time ago. But with the right attitude it can still be a lot of fun, a place pulsing with energy and color and noise, a labyrinth of shops and stalls and vendors, street performers of every stripe, one-of-a-kind exhibits, the smells of fresh flowers and fish and foodstuffs both local and from all corners of the globe mingling amidst a gigantic percolating stew of humanity that threatens to boil over at any moment.

(View of Seattle waterfront from the Market: Aquarium building in foreground, Seattle Great Wheel, and Washington State ferry)

(Fresh flowers in the Market)

Continue reading “Seattle Part Three: Pike Place Market and the Waterfront” →

One of the things I firmly believe in, both about travel and life in general, is always moving forward and focusing on the next adventure. However, having said that, there is also nothing wrong with a little reflection sometimes. After all, every photograph is simply a memory, a frozen moment of time captured for our future re-examination.

So with that thought in mind, as we recently (in February) passed our second full year anniversary here at Prohltravel, I thought it might be a good time to look back and sum up a bit by posting a retrospective of some of my favorite photos from the site, and also toss in a few never seen before.

For the most part, I started this site with the idea in mind of writing some fun articles about my travels. While my journeys may not be not as extensive as those of other more seasoned travelers, the site still gives me a good excuse to flex the fingers and pound the keyboard in what I hope is not an entirely vain effort to keep the old brain cells from atrophying, and with a little luck, perhaps entertain my readers as well. In the beginning I figured I’d also throw in the occasional photo for illustrative purposes, but mostly I concentrated on the writing aspect.

As the site evolved and everyone kept telling me how much they loved the photographs – okay, some people also commented favorably on the stories, too – it began to dawn on me, albeit slowly, to concentrate as much on the photographic aspect of the articles as the writing. And a big thank you to my wife, Irina, who knew this from the start and kept telling me to put in more photos until I listened. Her only caveat is that I not use too many photos with her in them, which is sometimes difficult since she is my favorite model, after all!

I’ve had a love of photography since my teen years when I received a Yashica twin-lens reflex camera as a high school graduation present. There have been many other cameras since, mostly Nikons – I currently use a Nikon D3100, supplemented with a six year old Nikon Coolpix that slips in my pocket when I don’t feel like lugging along the camera case. Nothing fancy or too expensive but they serve me well.

Once upon a time, back in the photographic dark ages, I had my own darkroom and spent countless hours playing there and manipulating images and breathing toxic chemicals (hence the atrophying of brain cells I spoke of earlier.) But as much fun as that was, and as much as I resisted going digital, I have to say I don’t really miss shooting film. At all. I can sometimes be a bit of a troglodyte when it comes to embracing new technology – okay, more than a bit – but when it comes to photography, I love my digital cameras and wouldn’t go back to film for love nor money. There are simply too many advantages to using digital, not the least being how easy it is to share them with others via venues such as this one right here.

Okay, enough yakking, enjoy the show and come back often, we have great articles coming soon on Colorado, more on Washington, and a planned sojourn through several Eastern European countries this spring.

Happy Trails!

“Crimea”

(The Black Sea coast of Crimea near Yalta)

(Swallows Nest castle on the Black Sea coast)
Continue reading “My Favorite Places…and some photos of them” →