Grizzly Peak

This is one of my absolute favorite settings in all of the Disneyland Resort.  I have probably taken hundreds of pictures of this spot, never quite capturing what I wanted.  Strangely enough, it had never occurred to me to take a picture of this area at night.  I think that doing so afforded me the fresh perspective I needed to tap into that right brain creativity and convey the feeling this area brings me.  We often lose our understanding and appreciation of things when they’ve become too familiar.  It takes breaking out of our habits sometimes to return to a state actually living instead of simply being alive.

This is a great spot in the Golden State area at California Adventure.  It’s so dynamic with the textures of stone, wood, grass, and the way water carries rafts of soaked passengers through, beneath the trees and a grizzly peak.  They even have those binocular stands set up to take in the view.  I prefer looking through the viewfinder of my camera.

I love all the rustic charm of this ride and of the Golden State area at Disney California Adventure.  It truly epitomizes the beauty and feeling of California mountain climates.  But Grizzly River Run is one of those rides that finds itself rather lonely with the coming of cold weather.  I took this picture back when the days were long, the sun was hot and getting wet seemed a good idea to cool off.  With Fall making its way towards Winter, the idea of getting wet is far less appealing and the touches of snow on the looming Grizzly Peak are all the more convincing.

I love Disney’s attention to detail.  Not only do they give us large scale theming like the grand Grizzly Peak, with it’s waterfalls and rapids, they give us weathered off-road vehicles with bumper stickers!

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for waterfalls.  Whenever I visit California Adventure, I consistently find myself driven to Grizzly Peak.  The only tough part is deciding which side of the peak to take in.  You can’t go wrong with either!

A lot of waterfall shots use a slower shutter speed to get the silky smooth look of flowing water.  I love those types of shots, but I thought it would also be cool to freeze that motion for this shot.  The texture from freezing the water’s motion has a more rugged feel, which seems to suit the Golden State area of California Adventure.