Impression Evergreen

Winter Weather Winter weather has continued to pummel the foothills leaving behind a panorama of white meadows and black forests. The big peaks have all but vanished from the landscape as a layer of thick fog has erased them from view. The animals are tired of contending with the everlasting cold and wet weather. We are all waiting patiently for Mother Nature’s palette of Spring colors to be painted across the gray environment. Wide stretches of vast wilderness has become a desolate winter tract into which neither man nor beast wishes to go. Positioned on the Western Front, the region is mired in a rut of mud, muck and monochrome. There is something hauntingly beautiful about the way the storms come crashing into the mountains. As the new season unfolds, the snow keeps falling in dense squalls that make the trees look like ghosts of the Great White North. It’s not an ideal situation but battling the harsh elements is the type of adversity that makes us strong. We’ll bide o...

Palm trees on the Pacific Our blue planet is dominated by the five great seas from which the Pacific is the biggest, deepest and most inhabited. The vast ocean fills the gap between the Americas on the east and Asia and Australia on the west. The massive body of salt water is an astonishing 64 million square miles and it's spread across one-third of the earth's surface. In the northwest section there's an incredible chasm known as the Mariana Trench. At 35,797 feet down, it's the deepest point in the world. The ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the globe in 1521. He called it Mar Pacifico or the Peaceful Sea because after sailing around the treacherous Cape Horn, the expedition entered into much calmer waters. The place is hardly peaceful, though. Enclosing the ocean, the volatile land that forms the Pacific Rim is known as the Ring of Fire because of all the volcanos and earthq...

Mission Beach, San Diego I love exploring the Rocky Mountains of Colorado but it was nice to encounter the Pacific Ocean during our recent trip to southern California. We managed to hit a few beaches and it was surprising to discover how different they were from each other. Each beach seemed to have its own, unique personality based on the type of people, waves and scenery that distinguished it from the others. There were also similarities between them that went far beyond the obvious basics of salt, sea and sand. A common theme running through each visit was the sublime sunsets, persistent seagulls and tight parking. I’m not sure I could survive for very long in the Golden State as the behavior there is unbelievably intense but maybe you just get used to it. Fast-paced traffic is a fitting symbol for the frenetic, California lifestyle but the beach is someplace where everybody slows down. The hypnotic nature of the crashing waves seems to chill all of those restless natives...

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach is a beautiful boardwalk bustling with dynamic energy. The Pacific playground is crowded with people participating in volleyball, basketball and boogie boarding. Around the bend, rugged cliffs drop off into the turbulent sea as the green surf crashes about the jagged rocks. Up above, a tiered pathway to the overlook is lined with exotic palm trees. From the top, a spiral staircase is a safe way to get back down to the water where a lifeguard station surveys the scene. Here, the churning waves of the vast ocean are a relentless, hypnotic force. Taking a seat just before dark, there’s still salt in the air as the purple sunset is almost surreal. It was a good day spent watching sea gulls, studying shells and searching for sand dollars. The beach is dynamic A Pacific playground Rugged cliffs A turbulent sea Green surf crashes about the rocks The overlook is lined with palm trees A safe way down Laguna Beach Lifegu...

Great Salt Lake, Utah During the last Ice Age, prehistoric Lake Bonneville’s banks were breached and a catastrophic flood ensued. Still lingering in the high desert of western Utah near Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake is an enduring remnant of that ancient ocean. Today, the landlocked basin is endorheic, it's a terminal drainage where freshwater streams come to an end. Channeled by three major rivers, water flows in freely but with no release point available, it becomes trapped in the salty reservoir. In a region influenced by the Mormon religion, the American Dead Sea remains defiant as it’s virtually uninhabitable. Even though the destination is distinguished by turquoise water and white sand beaches, this inhospitable place is not a tropical paradise.

"Mountains at Collioure after Derain" Watercolor This watercolor was painted as a study after the French artist, Andre Derain. The original was made in 1905 while he was working with Henri Matisse at the seaside village of Collioure, France. They had developed a startling new style that emphasized painterly qualities and vibrant color over representational depictions. It was a radical shift from the polished salon art that was currently in vogue at that time. Conservative art critics were outraged and labeled the loose group of Modern artists les Fauves (French for “wild beasts”). Fauvists believed the arbitrary use of pure color offered a more expressive way of depicting the subjects they loved to paint. Contemplating the picture above, we can sense Derain’s exuberant reaction to visiting beautiful Collioure. The picturesque fishing port is tucked away between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees Mountains. The blades of grass are like sticks of dynamite that ...

The Great Salt Lake Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric, landlocked basin that covered most of western Utah. During the last Ice Age, its banks were breached and a catastrophic flood ensued. Still lingering in the high desert, Great Salt Lake is a last remnant of that ancient ocean. The covetous Great Salt Lake is a miserly warden of water. It's an endorheic basin, a terminal drainage where streams go to die. Channeled by three major rivers, aqua pura flows in freely but immediately becomes trapped in a saltine prison. The Pacific will not be reached because outflow is not allowed although some fortunate fluid is permitted release through evaporation or seepage. After thousands of years, this egotistical effect has transformed the lethargic lake into a mineral stew. In a region influenced by the Mormon religion, the rebellious reservoir remains defiant as it is virtually uninhabitable. Even though this destination is distinguished by turquoise water and white sand beaches,...