2024 Stevens Family Calendar

Every year, we produce a calendar featuring photos we have taken throughout the year that we give as Christmas gifts.

A lot of work goes into making the calendar: taking the photographs (and all the upfront work of planning and managing the trips where we take the photos); processing them; gathering them and sorting them into "buckets" that will eventually become the pages; designing the pages; creating the pages (which I do); working with a local graphic artist (Lourn Eidal at Crystal Peak Design) to get all the type set, everything placed just so and to get the calendars printed; sorting them; wrapping them; and mailing them across the country.

But the hardest part is picking the photos to use. The most painful part is picking the photos not to use. So many great photos end up on the (virtual) cutting room floor.

A magnificent shot I didn't have room for

Another painful part (for me) is that, sometimes, despite all efforts to make it perfect, things go wrong. This year, the printing came out a bit darker than the proof. I probably could have (and should have) had them reprinted. But, I was on a tight schedule because of a trip we're leaving on a few days after Christmas. So, this year is just a bit dark. 

Then, I didn't notice until after I had shipped and distributed some calendars that holes had not been drilled for hanging. I got most of the local ones fixed, but lots of people will have to punch their own. Sorry about that!

I get lots of questions every year about the photos and I am always sad about not being able to put every good photo in.

So, I am trying something new this year: a monthly blog post about that month's page and the photos that made it and the ones that didn't make it.

Whose Work is It?

I already told you that I design the calendar. The photos come from me ...

Shooting on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, and in Dutch Harbor, Alaska;
Photos: Scott Stevens

... my husband, Scott ...

Scott in Dutch Harbor

... and my daughters, Caty and Becca. Caty is a voracious photographer like Scott and me and Becca is not. So, Becca's contributions are less: generally pulls from video she takes when SCUBA diving or casual shots she grabs while on trips.

Becca and her boyfriend, Aaron, in Maui

Often Scott and I or Caty and I or Scott, Caty and I have photographed the exact same thing and I often lose track of whose photo is whose.

Scott and Caty even got aerials from a balloon

That's OK. 

I try to balance how many shots each of us have. I don't give photo credits in the calendar because of this and because I don't have the space. We know who we are. 

As you would expect, because travel is our thing, Scott and I have the most. But, Caty gets a good portion as well.

The photos we feature are taken between the cut-off dates for the previous year and this year for the next year's calendar. In this case, that means October 2022 through November 2023. It can vary depending on our travel schedule.

The Full Calendar

To kick us off for this series, here are all the pages for the 2024 calendar. 

I will cover each page separately in the future.

Each month, I identify every photo, but I don't have the space to do that for the cover, the opening or the back cover. So I will do that here.

The Front Cover 

The front cover features one of my favorite photos from 2023 surrounded by a collage of favorite shots that I couldn't fit in on the actual pages. Every month is represented.

The photo in the middle is a Many-banded Aracari, a member of the Toucan family, that landed on a wire just feet away from us as we stood on the canopy walk platform at the Sacha Lodge on the Napo River in Ecuador. I don't think I could have gotten a better shot if it had been a captive bird in a studio.

Both Scott and I had other photos of this gorgeous bird in the mix for the calendar, but the profile photo was definitely the way to go.

Too much cable; not enough drama; Right photo: Scott Stevens

Now, briefly, let me explain the perimeter shots, which I have grouped by location/theme:

Birds of Arizona: Broad-billed Hummingbird, Summer Tanager and Crested Caracara;
Left and right photos: Caty Stevens

Redwood National and State Parks; Umpqua National Forest; Lassen Volcanic National Park

Scenes of Colorado/New Mexico: Sunflower; Eastern Screech-Owl;
Cumbres & Toltec Railroad; Middle photo: Caty Stevens

Labor Day Lift-Off, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Photos: Scott Stevens

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado; Saguaro National Park, Arizona;
Left photo: Scott Stevens

Alaska: Russian Orthodox Church, Dutch Harbor; Calving glacier, Prince William Sound; Bald Eagles, Dutch Harbor; Middle photo: Scott Stevens

Faces of Ecuador: Giant River Otter, Napo River; Marine Iguana, Isabela Island, Galapagos;
Left photo: Scott Stevens

Colors of Ecuador: flowers in Guayaquil; fruits in Otavalo; Galapagos Butterfly on Isabela Island

Fall: 1 & 3: Denali National Park, Alaska; 2: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee;
4: New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia; Photos 1, 2 & 3: Scott Stevens

Brown Bears, Silver Salmon Creek, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska;
Left and right photos: Scott Stevens

Scenes from Hawai'i: Maui beach, Haleakalā silversword, Green Sea Turtle and
Ring-necked Pheasant: Left two photos: Scott Stevens; Right middle photo: Becca Stevens

This is where I would normally show you photos I didn't use, but the cover (and the back cover) picked up some that I like but didn't use on the pages, so you won't see the "extras" until I start covering individual months (with a couple of exceptions that I will get to momentarily).

The Opening
One of the devices I came up with a few years ago when I was struggling to place some great photos that just didn't fit the themes I had selected for the calendar pages was to add a two-page opening section.

That also gave me an opportunity to add pictures of our family (oft requested by recipients) and to include a message. Now, the opening has become a regular thing.

Let me give you a rundown of what I included this year:

A rare photo of all five of us together; this one before whale-watching in Maui;
Aaron, Scott, Caty, Becca and me

I also included this one of Aaron, Becca and a Green Sea Turtle 

(no, they aren't always underwater!)

One of the trips Caty and I took was specifically to see the annular solar eclipse; 

this progression was taken at Great Basin National Park in Nevada

After a going east to see fall foliage, Scott and I stopped in New Orleans and 

he got this marvelous shot at the Bayou Bacchanal Parade

We had some other cool N'awlins shots we didn't use; Photos: Scott Stevens

Colorful, just not calendar material; Left photos: Scott Stevens

When Caty, Scott and I went to the Big Island (Hawai'i), we saw a small eruption at Kīlauea; 

Photo: Scott Stevens

We narrowly missed seeing the major Mauna Loa eruption; that would have rated as a full calendar page! Top photo: Caty Stevens; Lower left photo: Scott Stevens

And, we saw a rainbow over the Kīlauea Crater

Plus, we snorkled with Manta Rays! Photo: Caty Stevens 

I also included these two unrelated Hawai'i shots because I liked them, but they didn't fit the beachy theme of the August page: Haleakalā National Park and a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly on the Big Island

Caty and I visited White Sands National Park on our way home from the eclipse

We also stopped at Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park in Nevada

And, when Scott and I went to Grand Teton National Park,

we found a view with Bear #1063 (you'll see her picture in my February blog)

I took two trips to Grand Teton/Yellowstone this year; Top photo: rural Wyoming, Scott Stevens; Bottom photo: Yellowstone National Park

Scott and I also took two fall foliage trips in the calendar timeframe: Left, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee; Middle, Starved Rock State Park, Illinois; Right, rural Illinois; 

Right photo: Scott Stevens

Scott took two trips to Alaska and I took one; Prince William Sound on a foggy, foggy day

The highlight was birding in Dutch Harbor: Left, Bald Eagles; Right, Whiskered Auklet and
Black-footed Albatross and Northern Fulmars

We also birded in Lake Clark National Park; Common Murres in flight

The highlight there was seeing baby Brown Bears!

Scott and I traveled to Ecuador for nature and culture: Mealy and Blue-headed Parrots on the
Napo River and the Basilica of San Francisco, Quito

The trip included a brief foray to Galapagos: Eagle Ray, Santa Cruz Island;
Isabela Lava-Lizard and Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise, Isabela Island

Caty and I traveled to Arizona: Left, Black-chinned and Broad-billed Hummingbirds square off;
Photo: Caty Stevens; Right, Spotted Owl on Pinery Canyon Road

Caty and I went to California and Oregon, including visiting Redwood National and State Parks;
Left, Lady Bird Grove; Right, Roosevelt Elk Bull

And, you can't beat home sweet home; Labor Day Lift-Off, Colorado Springs;
Left photo: Caty Stevens; Right photo: Scott Stevens

The Back Cover

I used the back cover to reflect the places we had traveled.

Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Photo: Scott Stevens

Sweet rides: Durango-Silverton Railroad and Labor Day Lift-off; Photos: Scott Stevens;
Napo River, Ecuador: Silver Salmon Creek, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Scenes from Alaska: Aurora borealis, Healy; Photo: Scott Stevens; Alaskan Moose, north of Anchorage; Bald Eagle atop a church steeple and crabbing gear, Dutch Harbor

And, of course, we saw birds everywhere! Left, Trumpeter Swan, Yellowstone National Park; Photo: Caty Stevens. Right, Vermilion Flycatcher, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

Scenes from Colorado: Raccoon, Fountain Creek Regional Nature Center; Colorado/New Mexico border; Million Dollar Highway; Great Blue Heron, Chatfield Lake State Park

Ecuador scenery: Isabela Island sunset; Tintoreras bay; Hacienda Molinas;
Sacha Lodge, Napo River

More Ecuador: Rose plantation, Cayambe; Basilica of San Francisco, Quito;
Green Iguana, Guayaquil; Right photo: Scott Stevens

Looking for fall: Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina; Lorain West Breakwater Light, Ohio

Hawai'ian critters: Mongoose and Black Durgon; Right photo: Becca Stevens

Architecture: Hot Springs, Big Bend National Park, Texas; Charcoal Oven, Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, Nevada; New Orleans, Louisiana

So, that wraps up what we've include on the covers and in the opening section. 

This was, perhaps a bit repetitive with what you can see on the actual calendar. But, I gotta admit, those little photos on the back and front are pretty small. And, with the darker-than-desired printing, they can be tough to see. I hope this shed some light.

In my next post, I'll talk about the wonders of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming when I cover what's in and what's on the January 2024 page.

Colorado is next; Photo: Scott Stevens

Eating Our Way Home

Oh, yeah!

The rest of our trip home was concentrated on nature, food, music, food, relatives, friends and (you guessed it!) food.

First Stop: Georgia

Tim and family

After time in the Smokies, we headed down to Atlanta to visit Scott’s nephew, Tim Stevens, his wife, Lisa, and their youngest daughter, Maddie. 

That's Tim's photo, left. We forgot to take many while visiting.

We had hoped to see Scott’s niece, Julie, as well, but she was busy *she is the busiest person on Earth, so that was no surprise). 

We stopped briefly along the way a Tallulah Falls near Georgia’s northern border. 

Years ago, you could stop and see the falls from a touristy place with an overlook and a store. I think it cost about $3.00 for a look. 

RIP Tallulah Point 1912-2020; Photo: GAB News Online

It closed in 2020, so we went to the very pretty Tallulah Gorge State Park to see the falls.  

Above the falls

The Park surrounds Tallulah Gorge, a 1,000-foot-deep canyon formed by the Tallulah River. The six-section Tallulah Falls drops 500 feet over one mile. 

There is a lovely Visitor Center and a number of overlooks.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, the time of day was not optimum for seeing the falls, which were shadowed by the deep gorge, for any of the overlooks. 

Oh, well! 

We ate at both of Tim’s and Lisa’s restaurants in Roswell, a suburb north of Atlanta. 

Bask opened this year. It is a fabulous upscale steakhouse is designed with a 1920’s club atmosphere. Its hallmark is a farm-to-table sustainable approach to food. 

A beautiful restaurant; Photos: Bask

Tim has carefully curated his relationships with farms, wineries and meat providers to provide seasonal, locally sourced southern cuisine paired with a one-of-a kind wine list, barrel-aged beers and prohibition-style cocktails. 

 

We forgot to photograph the food. Photos: Bask

Damn!

It is beautiful, the wine is incredible, and the food is delicious. What a treat! 

The second night, we ate at From the Earth, a classy farm-to-table eatery and brewpub. 

Photo: FTE

It has won many awards including 2nd place in USA Today’s 2023 Best Brewpub in the U.S. The food is more casual, but tasty. 

My favorites were the carrot hummus and shrimp scampi appetizers

Dinner at FTE

From the Earth kicked off its sixth anniversary celebration with live music the night we visited. 

Tim and Lisa have created two wonderful establishments with great ambiance and delicious food. 

If you’re traveling in the area, check them out. 

During the day (between evening feasts), Scott and I drove north to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Rising Fawn. 

Just a hint of fall

It’s one of those well-equipped State Park Resorts you find in the southeast with campgrounds, super nice cabins, yurts and trails. 

Cliff face

The overlooks were pretty, but we didn’t have time to hike to the waterfalls and the trees weren’t bright enough yet.

Nice facilities

We lunched at the a the “best restaurant in town” just south of the Park. It was a food truck with picnic tables and gas pumps.  

I had a slaw dog and Scott had a fried bologna sandwich

We entertained ourselves by eavesdropping on two hunters discussing dogs and deer and some construction workers who had perfected the art of indistinguishable mumbling. 

NOLA

Our next stop as we started for home was New Orleans, where we spent our honeymoon in 1974. 

Almost 50 years between these visits to Pat O'Briens

Back then, before actually going to New Orleans, I had had a Disneyesque image of pristine balconies and limitless southern charm. 

The balcony part was right

I remember being shocked at how seedy and raunchy it was then.

Well, it’s ten times that now. I’ve been a few times since my initial trip and I always say, “never again.”

Lots happening 

Don’t get me wrong, the city has its pluses.

The food is fabulous, so that is a legitimate draw. But, you can keep the loud, drunken crowds thronging Bourbon Street. 

An hour or so is enough for me

That’s just not my thing.

Although rundown, there is charming architecture

Good music; Photo: Scott Stevens

A very open attitude about life

And, some amusing quirkiness

We stayed at the Bon Maison Guesthouse right on Bourbon Street. It was a lovely room with a comfy bed and a small kitchenette (handy for inevitable leftovers). Hidden behind a locked corridor to the street, the hotel has a private courtyard and an abundance of charm.

Lovely and convenient

The first night was surprisingly quiet considering location. But loud fellow residents and a trio of homeless men (who were actively consuming and injecting a variety of illegal substances) parked IN FRONT OF the entrance kept Scott up all night the second night. Worse yet, they did not move as we were loading our car to depart, so we had to gingerly step around them with our luggage.

I bravely took photos from the car

I was convinced they were going to mug Scott as he struggled to return our key to the lockbox, but it all worked out.

Location!

Despite the noise, it was nice to be able to walk out the door to everywhere we wanted to go without needed a car (a good thing, too, because Bon Maison has no parking and we had to leave the car in a public lot several blocks and $128 away).

We had dinner at the Palm Court, which is a couple of blocks off Bourbon on Decatur Street. It was a delight, with the very entertaining house jazz band and the eccentric owner Nina Buck, who had clad her impossibly thin legs in leopard-skin leggings and dancing through the restaurant.

Nina watching the band; Photo: Scott Stevens

She's 87 years old.

Scott and Nina hit it off

The music was good ...

Kevin Louis and the Palm Court Jazz Band

... the food was good (best bread pudding I’ve had) ...

Waiting for our food

... and the ambiance was extremely refined compared to the raucousness of just a few blocks away.

Bubbles!

The first morning we were there, we walked down to Jackson square ...

Celebrating Battle of New Orleans hero Andrew Jackson

... and had breakfast at Café Du Monde, a must-stop when visiting NOLA.

Serving chicory-laced coffee and beignets since 1862

The menu has hardly changed since the Civil War: coffee, beignets, hot chocolate, milk, fresh-squeezed orange juice and more recent additions of iced coffee and sodas. The beignets (the only food they serve) are hot, soft and pillowy. 

A limited, sugar-laden, menu

But, they are coated with so much powdered sugar that eating is a challenge. I was pretty meticulous and did a good job of containing the sticky white powder. 

Is that much sugar necessary?

Well, at least I was neater than everyone else we saw eating there. I left with no sugar powder on my clothes and just slightly sticky fingers.

I think the tabletops are two-inches taller by the end of each day just because of accumulated sugar paste.

I snuck around back to look into the kitchen and could barely see through the sugar-frosted windows. The cooks wear masks, most likely to prevent whatever disease one gets from inhaling sucrose on a regular basis.

Hot oil and sugar: breakfast of champions

More casual meals included a muffuletta that we noshed on for two days (the kitchenette came in handy) and a roast beef po’ boy and Caesar salad that we split for one dinner.

N’awlins food is wonderful. No question about dat.

We breakfasted the final morning a Brennan’s, where we had also eaten on our honeymoon. Despite its age, it looks crisp and clean, with lovely dining rooms and an outdoor courtyard.

Brennan's has been serving since 1946 (a youngster!)

The food was stellar: I had the eggs Sardou minus the eggs (fried artichoke hearts on a bed of creamed spinach with a tomato/herb hollandaise) and Scott had eggs Benedict made with crispy-fried Sheepshead fish. 

Mine and Scott's. Delish!

And, of course, we had bananas Foster. 

You can watch the full process of cooking the bananas in brown sugar and flambéing them in banana liqueur and rum here.

You get a treat and a cooking lesson

The only disappointment was with our fellow diners. Brennan’s has relaxed its dress code since the days when men had to wear jackets, but it’s the kind of place that requires a bit of respect. We dressed nicely as did some other people we saw. But, most were in shorts, tee shirts, jeans and hoodies.

I dressed up; Photo: Scott Stevens

There was a Saints/Bears game that day and it appeared many diners were headed to the game, so maybe that’s an excuse. 

Still!

While there, we noticed something interesting. The walls are decorated with numerous oyster plates (plus Audubon prints). But, the oysters are not served on oyster plates. Go figure!

The other thing we planned to do was photograph the Bayou Bacchanal Caribbean Parade. Scott had found out about it online and had the parade route and times mapped out. It was slated to start near the river, travel up Canal Street, then turn on Rampart and end at Louis Armstrong Park.

Louis Armstrong Park celebrates jazz musicians and Mardi Gras

We got to the Park early, so we decided to walk the route in reverse and intercept the parade. As we walked uncrowded Rampart and crowded Canal, we saw no evidence that a parade was coming – nothing blocked off, no people waiting. Long after if should have made its way to where we were, we still saw nothing and heard nothing. So, we decided to give up.

As we were walking several blocks aways, we thought we saw something on Canal, so we headed back to the Park, where we encountered several other people as confused as we were. Where was the parade?

Well, it wasn't Mardi Gras!

We checked another website that said the parade would come up Basin Street beside the Park, but regardless of where it was going to arrive, it was well past the scheduled noon arrival.

As a few other confused tourists started to mill about, we found a local who had a friend in the parade. He told us they were running late, but were coming. When they finally showed up, an hour and a half late, it was pretty disappointing.

Some nice costumes, but a small, tired group that was mainly just walking and sipping bottled water. 

Not exactly Carnivale!

Scott got some nice shots (he is good at this). I did not.

Mine left; Scott's right

So much for New Orleans. 

Not my favorite, but fun

Texas

Then, the long drive home with a stop in DFW to see friends. We had dinner at the very old school (I mean, you can get steak and spaghetti! together!) Candlelight Inn.

An interesting spot

We didn't go for the food. We went because Buddy Whittington, a fabulous guitarist who toured for 15 years with John Mayall, performed. Scott is a big Buddy fan. So, that was a treat.

It was a good show

And, I took a brief walk at a favorite spot: the Colleyville Nature Center.

This time my best sighting was a Brown Thrasher

All in all, a pleasant, but not awe-inspiring trip.

But, we got some color!

Trip date: October 27 - November 5, 2023