This week’s photo challenge is ‘Renewal’….this one was tough for me as I always want to resort to the sunset or something simple…I have loads of those photos!   After quite a bit of thought, I decided to focus on what renews my spirit.  For me personally it is anything and everything outdoors, primarily, any activity that can be done in or near the mountains.  The photo below was taken on a backpacking trip in Denali last summer – this is Mt. McKinley.  Many people travel to Alaska to see this majestic mountain and leave disappointed because of bad weather or cloud cover – we got lucky that day!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/weekly-photo-challenge-renewal/

This was the view from our hotel in Savonlinna, Finland.  I have always loved the strong, stark shapes of this photo.  The clean lines, cylinders, and circles really remind me of geometry and of how challenging that class was for me!!

I fell in love with the train station in Porto, Portugal and took several shots – this was my favorite.