The Blog at Doylespot

This is another Chichen Itza free-hand panoramic that was taken in the the Great Ball Court about 300 feet to the north-west of the pyramid El Castillo. It is by far the the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica measuring 545 feet by 232 feet.  The imposing walls are 36 feet high, and in the center, high up on each of the long walls, are rings carved with intertwining serpents.   At the far end is the North Temple where you can just barely make out Tasha checking out the ruined building.  Check out the hi rez version of the panorama and see if you could make the “Apocalypto” dash….

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We arrived at our hotel the Hacienda Chichen the night before, and woke up early to avoid the masses that arrive by tour bus later in the morning. This panoramic was taken next to the pyramid El Castillo near the center of the Chichen Itza site. The image has some serious parallax problems (notice the disappearing rope lines). I had to shoot the panoramic freehand when my tripod was confiscated at the ticket booth. I was able to pick up later, but you do need a special permit to use a tripod within the ruin site. Unfortunately you’re no longer able to climb the stairs of the pyramid. El Castillo was closed to the public after a San Diego woman fell to her death in 2006. In the distance of this panorama, you can see Tasha walking towards the Temple of Jaguars.

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Mount Si lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range just above the coastal plains around Puget Sound, and towers over the nearby town of North Bend. The hike up Mount Si is 4 miles from the parking lot to the summit plateau, with a vertical elevation change of about 3700 feet. Poor Bixby pooped out about a quarter of the way up, but he was still able to give that chipmunk hell from inside the backpack

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