A trip to Bodie ghost-town

California state is a really nice place to travel to. The nature is amazing! You can find there so many different types like desert, mountains, ocean shore, big trees and more. But also, California is reach of history. And one of the historical jewels is Bodie ghost town.


It's hidden in deserted Sierra Nevada mountain range, and it used to be a pretty much big gold-mining town where population was nearly 10 thousand people once. For those times, it was a really big town. Well... You can find facts about Bodie on Wikipedia.



I've been in Bodie before, and at that time, I promised myself to come there again. Despite of tourists visiting the place, I always feel loneliness and abandonment of Bodie. It feels like only howling winds and an occasional ghosts live in this town. I'm not sure about the second ones, but winds are really frequent guests there. Roads to this historic state park are open only in summer time, and Bodie is covered with snow and silence on winter.



Unfortunately, only small part of the town survived the time, but interiors remain are as they were left and stocked with goods.


This trip, we were really lucky! It was a day of Bodie. Volonteers arrived from all over the country, dressed up in old clothes, and pretended they are real Bodie residents.




Real old A-1 Ford cars filled up Bodie's streets


Some buildings such as casino and old saloon was open to public. I felt like we jumped through the time to the old days and dived into that simple and difficult life in deserted Bodie where hot and dry in summer and cold and snowy in winter.




So when you travel to California, save a couple of days to visit eastern Sierra Nevada and Bodie historical state part. Feel the history breath on your own; absorb the years. Believe me, you won't regret!

Story by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Trip to Death Valley

Do you like to travel? Do you like to explore new places where you want to go back again and again? If you answer "yes", you would understand me :) One of the places where I want to go again and again is Death Valley National Park. So today I would like a story about my last trip to this gorgeous place. You can click any image to get a little bit bigger size.

In general, Death Valley is the hottest, driest, and the lowest place in Northern America. The lowest point is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. This white crust on the picture is salt.

Death Valley National Park is huge. To visit all points of interest is almost unreal in one day. To get familiar with all easy to reach points (I mean the points that you can reach on paved roads), you'll need at least 2-3 days. And I'm not mentioning the places that are reachable by high clearance or even 4-wheel-drive vehicles only. :) So can you imagine the size of the park now? :)

Death Vally always have been attracting for me. I'd heard and read a lot of articles and stories even before I visited this place first time. The park always was for me as such a mysterious place with the scary name. But believe me, nothing scary there besides very hot and dry weather. Look at those beautiful landscapes. See how vast are they!

This park is a real pearl on California's map. There are you can find a lot of different formations. There are huge multi-colored mountains, big crust of salt, sand dunes, craters... The only one thing that is not frequently seen is water.

Ubehebe Crater. It appeared as a result of large steam explosions

Zabriskie point is attractive because of the interesting hills shape. Seems like huge water streams washed them out. Well... maybe they did after ice age.

There are at least couple dunes in the valley. When you get there, you really feel you are in a desert. Sand is everywhere.

Also, I think roads in the park are quite interesting. Some of them are straight like a ribbon from ridge to ridge, and they start waving only in mountains.

Death Valley is also famous as historical place. It was quite developed mining place during California Gold Rush. There are a lot of abandoned mines and small ghost towns around.

When you are planning to visit California, make Death Valley as a destination point. You'll never regret... believe me!

Story by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

"Chocolate salami" recipe

Sounds scary... huh? :) some of you would be wondering... chocolate salami?!! No way! Right?
Don't worry :) This is not a real salami. This dessert is called that way just because it looks like salami. :)



Today, Irina who runs IrinaPhotography shop is sharing a recipe of this easy to cook great dessert.

You will need:
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
3 table spoon of cocoa powder
1 stick of unsalted butter (115 gr)
5 table spoon of milk
1 lb of cookies or biscuits
1 cup of walnut pieces

Who has Trader Joe's store nearby, can use "Cats cookies for people". Well, this is just cookie. :) The name may sound confusing, that's why there is a picture of them. But if Trader Joe's in not reachable for you, you can use any type of cookies that are pretty much crackly and sweet.


First, the cookies should be powdered in grinder or food processor.



Than add walnut pieces to the cookie powder and mix it. Set aside the mixture.

Put eggs, sugar, and cocoa powder in non-stick pot. I prefer non-stick because it's easier to clean it after the desert is ready, but you may use whatever you want. Just keep in mind that the pot will be heated up. Whisk all ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Than add milk and completely melted butter. Whisk again and place the pot on medium-high heat.



Whisk it continuously, and bring it to the condition when it just about to start bubbling. Immediately remove from heat. Don't let it bubbling! It should look like chocolate souse.


Pour the mixture into ground cookies with walnuts and mix it thoroughly.


It should look like wet clay but short-brittle.


Then put this "clay" into plastic bag; smash and press it until the "clay" become smooth.



In the end, the mixture should look like a smooth clay. Put it on a sheet of foil or plastic wrap, and form it as a salami... or log. :)


Wrap and roll for better result.



Than cover the "salami" with foil or plastic wrap and put it into fridge for several hours until it firm.


That's it. :) Time for preparation is 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Interview with a star - Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Today, we'd like to introduce one more our team member - Irina.


Please, tell about yourself.
Hi! As you all already know my name is Irina. :) I was born in Russia, but almost all my life, I spent in Ukraine - on great and beautiful Crimea Peninsula. It's southern part of Ukraine that was very famous in Soviet Union like tourist place.


How long have you been doing photography? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?
I've been doing photography since my teen age. That's a kind of our family passion. :) I took this passion from my dad who's been done photography since his teen age. I remember from my childhood a lot of photographs of my mom and dad, my grandmas and grandpas. They all were done by my dad. They were black and white pictures developed at home. Yes, my dad developed and printed them on his own. :) He teached me how to do that, and I have began with black and white film photography, with developing and printing. I clearly remember how it was exciting... My dad, mom, and I always printed photographs at very late night. We didn't have black room, so there wasn't choice to do that at day time. My parents set up printing tools, and for me, it was like a some kind of magic. :) We still keep the gear in my parent's home. :)


What is the most important about your work?
I love it! This is the most important. This is my passion, my hobby, my lifestyle. Photography really sooth my soul after working day. I'm not professional photographer; I work as software quality assurance engineer. So photo art helps me to relax at the end of the day. :)


What are your main sources of inspiration?
I guess, it's mother nature. At first glance, landscapes are still. But this is not true. Every moment changes all around us: look at the sky... it's in motion, look at the light on hills.. it's in motion. :) I like to come back in my favorite places such as Yosemite park and others... I have a lot of pictures taken from the same point, but the photographs all different. So yes, definetely mother nature is my source of inspiration. :)


Name 3 things you can’t live without?
Just things? :) or something else...? :)
OK... my family, my camera, and my computer :)


Do you have a Favorite quote you'd like to share with us?
It's not a quote... but a phrase that I like and believe in it. Actually, there are two of them:
Everything in our lives is given for us for some reason.
Everything happenes for better in our lives.