Weekly Photo Challenge – Foreshadow

“A memory of golden grey, foreshadowing a pale tomorrow.”

Taproot, The Episodes

AMIDST THE ROCKIES

Long ago, as a young girl, my parents drove me through the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania on the way to my first day of college.  I can clearly remember a conversation from that trip, which I was reminded of when I considered my response to this week’s challenge “Foreshadow”.

RIDGES AND SHADOWS

“Shadows present,  foreshadowing deeper shadows to come .”

Herman Melville

I had been admiring the mountains, commenting on how beautiful they were.  My mother, never interested in anything much beyond our  own backyard, concluded that my interest was inherited from my father – who always looked for beauty in nature and often talked about traveling to see the world.

ALPINE FLOWERS

“There are things that are not yet, but which cast their shadow before.”

Agatha Christie

Now, I am the first to admit that, like many little girls, my father was my idol.  It seemed to me even at a young age that he had chosen a much more interesting path than my mom.  Her comment that long-ago day foreshadowed what was to become one of my passions – seeing the world and all of the wondrous things in it.

WIDE OPEN SPACES, ALASKA

“A way foreshadowed is not a way made.”

Donald G. Mitchell

As a nature lover, mountains are high on my list of favorite things.  I’ve been fortunate to have seen and photographed some of the world’s most impressive ranges.  One of my fondest memories was waking up in crisp white linen sheets and down quilts surrounded by the Austrian Alps in the middle of summer.  We’d arrived in the dark the night before and the snow-capped peaks were dazzling as they reflected the morning’s light.

PATAGONIAN PEAKS

“Difficulty need not foreshadow despair or defeat.”

William Hastie

On another adventure my husband and I arrived in Denali National Park at about 9pm one evening during our trip to Alaska.  Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, was glorious in the deep dusk of Alaska’s midnight sun.  I happily shot away until finally turning in at 11pm.  Little did I know this would be the last time the mountain would be visible during our entire week’s stay in the park.  It remained shrouded in fog, which I later learned is much more the norm than our first night’s clear view.

ROAD TO GLORY

“Foreshadow, plot buster or red herring… only time will tell.”

Tana French

This summer, my husband and I will add to our mountain experiences as we explore some of China’s majestic peaks.  Who could have known that the wanderlust and sense of adventure foreshadowed so long ago would take me to so many amazing places and introduce me to so many incredible sights.   Here’s to adventure, wherever it takes us!

This week for the first time I’m also posting to Sonel’s Black & White Challenge “Upward” .  To see more of those entries,  click here.  For more “Foreshadowing”, click here.

 

 

Tags: Sonel's Black & White Challenge, weekly photo challenge

• August 2, 2013
• mountains, Photography, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge
• 136 Comments