Snowless Winter Dawn in West VirginiaOverlooking Blackwater Canyon and the Blackwater River at dawn on a very cold, snowless, winter morning in West Virginia.

We've been having a snowless winter here in Washington, D.C., so we decided to make a short trip to the mountains of West Virginia to play in the snow. Unfortunately, the week before our trip, it was warm, it rained, and all the snow melted. Then, right before we got there, it got cold again. If it's going to be cold, shouldn't one at least be rewarded with some snow? Well, we did find a fun sled run with manmade snow and I did capture this photo of Blackwater Canyon and the Blackwater River. I think it turned out quite nicely, even if there wasn't any snow. I took the photo at dawn, when the temperature was about 17℉ (about -8℃). Brrrrrrrr.

A cluster of coastal redwood treesA cluster of coastal redwood trees at the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in California.

In January, I went out to California to visit some family. While I was out there, I had a chance to visit a few of the sites, most notably, the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. It was a beautiful day and the coastal redwoods were magnificent!

A path among tall treesA path among tall trees in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in California.

Looking up at tall treesLooking up at tall coastal redwoods in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, California.

I also had an occasion to see the Golden Gate Bridge, possibly the most photographed bridge ever. It's a beautiful suspension bridge that spans the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide strait that connects the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.

The Golden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge from the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County in California, separating the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It opened in 1937, is 4,200 feet long, and 746 feet tall.

The bridge is 4,200 feet long and 746 feet tall. That's really impressive. You actually have to stand pretty far back to see the entire thing. I got some great photos of it. I was blessed with beautiful skies and great weather.

The Golden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge from the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County in California, separating the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It opened in 1937, is 4,200 feet long, and 746 feet tall.

I was also lucky to get this great shot of a cruise ship exiting the bay while a container ship was entering. I assume that the container ship was heading to the Port of Oakland, while the cruise ship was likely coming from the Port of San Francisco. The ships added a really nice sense of scale. The addition of a beautiful sunset capped off a really good visit to the Golden State.

Big ships and big bridgesA large cruise ship and a cargo ship pass by each other under the Golden Gate Bridge in California.

Snowless winter in rural MarylandA view of rural Maryland from attop Sugarloaf Mountain on New Year's Day, 2020.

So I didn't manage to shoot the Capitol Christmas Tree this year. Things got a little hectic just before the holidays, but it's just as well, since the Reflecting Pool is under construction, along with part of the south wing of the Capitol. We also haven't had any snow yet, so I don't think I would have taken a particularly compelling photo even if I had tried. However, I did manage to find something else shortly after Christmas. On New Year's Day, I took my family hiking on Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland. I'd never been to Sugarloaf before. Other than suffering from a bit of chilly weather, we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. I especially enjoyed the beautiful views of rural Maryland, including this one shown above. I will certainly visit Sugarloaf again.