Because so many people have wanted to see our images from the various workshops, I’ll start with a few from Canyon de Chelly. For those who don’t already know, it is pronounced “Canyon d’SHAY,” from the Spanish mangling of the Navajo word for canyon, Tséyi, that literally means “inside the rock.” It is second in size only to the Grand Canyon and is unique among National Park Service (NPS) units, because it is comprised entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land that remains home to the canyon community. NPS does not “own” the park, rather works in partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage it.

We’re in our sixth week of being on the road. We started out heading Down East for our Summertime on the Maine Coast photo workshop, then to New Hampshire for my mother’s service and an annual reunion with childhood buddies and their “spice.” At the end of August, we began our journey westward with a […]

An update to Arnie’s stolen camera and lens … When we returned Stateside, there were no replacement lenses to be found. Nikon Professional Services (NPS) really went to bat for us. They not only instantly produced a loaner camera body and lens for Arnie, but since they knew our saga, they let Arnie keep extending the loaner for over a month. While Nikon Replacement Services had no problem getting Arnie a new body, it was the lens that was difficult. There were none to be found. Arnie called everyone he could think of and more, but nada – nothing!

NPS was fabulous, a pro’s dream team. Both Debbie McQuade and her boss, Melissa DiBartolo, top people at NPS, went all out and finally found a lens somewhere (we didn’t ask where). That lens is still out of stock everywhere, so we are ever grateful to them. Kudos to NPS. Arnie is a happy camper!

This week, we’ll return to Spain. It was great to receive so many comments on Beware of Thieves while Traveling. We were really lucky. Passports (in hotel safe), money (minimal while traveling), and credit cards were all safe, and everyone was so kind and helpful, save, of course, the thieves!

Now that Arnie had a loaner camera and lens for the rest of our trip, we took off for the wine country of Penedès, southwest of Barcelona. We stayed in a lovely B&B, Arianel-la de Can Coral. Rainer and Arianel, charming owners, guided us to some great locations over and above the ones we knew…