2018 Heading to AK

My route north from Yellowstone had to go through Bozeman this time meaning I would be taking some new roads. What an amazing state Montana is! I passed through many miles of wheat fields and pastures, not much traffic but what country to see.

After crossing into Canada near Glacer/Waterton NPs I went right through Banff, stopping at the Columbia Icefields Visitor Center for the night.

 

From there I made it to just north of Grand Cache where I found a very nice (and free) user maintained camping area. No designated sites as such, plenty of grass, a great spot to relax for 2 nights.

After that it was on to Dawson Creek and the Alaskan Highway. I stopped one night at a long rest area next to Muncho Lake. It was sunny then rained, then sunny and an rain again. Met some other folks traveling to AK, including one couple from France who had their small RV shipped to the souther tip of South America. They have been traveling from there north with a year and 4 months allotted for the travel. What an adventure! When I left that spot the next morning I saw a caribou, some woods bison, stone sheep, and assorted small bears, no grizzlies. When on the road even though I am always on the lookout it is very hard to stop to photograph the wildlife.

This trip I stayed in free spots(except at the ice fields), mostly larger rest areas with other travelers. The last night before I got to the Fairbanks area I had a rest area to myself, sort of. Around 9 pm I happened to look out the window facing the woods and saw a snowshoe hare….then I saw another one. The windows were really dirty so photographs were pointless. When they seemed to leave I went out and cleaned the windows. Then I checked again, they were back with their buddies. The day had been totally bereft of wildlife until then so I had some fun photographing the hares. They’re now in their summer coats, thought their feet are still white. I don’t know if they stay white or are just the last part to change color. Anyhow it was fun and of course the next morning when I walked the dogs they smelled the critters all over the place.

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2018 Spring in Yellowstone

Tetons in early May

The route I regularly take to Yellowstone means passing through the Tetons, this trip was no exception. Looks like they had a good winter and the later snow added to the cover.

The drive into Yellowstone is always interesting and it was a great day for it.

 

Mammoth Hot Springs cg is  good place to use as a base for visiting Lamar Valley.  The Bison calves are old enough to be easily seen, they’re often called “red dogs” at this stage. I was surprised to see the Pronghorn Antelope so frequently. In the past they have seemed pretty skittish but not this year. Of course there were some bears out, but they were generally so far away a spotting scope was needed. I did see  sow with 2 cubs,and took a few images,but they are greatly cropped.

There were quite a few elk cows around but it did’t look like they had started calving yet. Back in the campground one elk cow has been chasing people around. Turns out she has good reason to be concerned, she has a very new little wobbly calf. She was very near my trailer when I took a series of images yesterday. She’s moved to the far end of the campground but i’m always on the lookout inn case she comes back this way.

After seeing some bears but too far away to photograph decently i decided to invest in a good spotting scope. I figure even if I can’t photograph the critters I’ll be able to watch them, something I really enjoy. Once I settled in the one I wanted I found  for a little more I could  get an attachment to take photos with my iPhone.  Mind you nothing has arrived yet and there will be a learning curve. The photos I get, if any, will be fun ones, not serious stuff. It should be interesting as the trip progresses.

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2018 City of Rocks SP, NM

Earlier this  month I had the chance to stop for a few nights at City of Rocks SP north of Deming, NM. Several friends have stayed there and their reports have always been good ones so I wanted to experience the place. What a nice state park, sites are good sized, generally not close together and best of all they are close to or set in among the rocks.

I took a few images during the day then got out the evening of the full moon to capture the

Moonlight on the rocks

moonlight on the rocks. I don’t often get such interesting foreground lit by the moon so it was fun.

 

The last night I was there there was enough time before the moon rose to capture the glory of the stars in a really dark sky. I used a light to paint the rocks just a bit.  The zodiacal light was visible, too, and since it is a rare thing it was really nice to capture it with the rocks.

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2018 Arizona mixed

AZ sunset

This trip to Arizona has been great fun. It’s always nice to see a spectacular sunset

Rattlesnakes, these are used for snake proofing dogs. My Blue Heeler, Concho, is now snake proofed .

and my friends house in Buckeye seems to be a prime place for them. One Saturday we went to a nearby ranch were a man was doing snake avoidance training for dogs.

On evening at that same friend’s place we watched some team ropers practice. Taking photos under the lights was a challenge but fun, too.

Team roping evening practice

My Casita at the rally at Quartzite, Dome Rock in the distance

 

From Buckeye I went to the fiberglass RV rally at Quartzite where friends from all around the country gathered. Then I went south to spend a few days in the Yuma area. Lots of cultivation there with some huge cabbages ready for picking.

A friend with her yearling Arabian colt at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.

Back in Buckeye we went to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show one morning to see a friend show her colt.

My friend found out about a Mexican Cabalgata that was scheduled for Saturday morning so we went. What an interesting event to attend. When we got there the landowner came over to welcome us. As the Caballeros arrived with their horses

A caballero on his horse

it became apparent this is quite an event for them. I was watching it all with my camera in hand and a couple of the caballeros came over and spoke with me. I learned that the horses that really caught my eyes do have Andalusian blood (not surprising when you see them). As the morning progressed the band tuned up and started playing and more and more horses & riders arrived. Cabalgata loosely means horse procession from what I understand. Unlike the Arabian show where so much seems artificial, horses, preparation, presentation, etc. these horses and riders were natural. The horses were beautifully clean but

Caballero and his steed heading into the desert.

not otherwise enhanced (if they were it was impossible to see). Their actions were natural to them, not exaggerated. All in all it was a delight to see them and watch them in action and to see the caballeros on them. The camaraderie was apparent and the lack of competition refreshing.

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2018 AZ Balloon Classic

Every wonder how a hot air balloon gets from its bag to up in the air? Last Saturday I had a chance to see the process. While the balloons never flew they were all inflated and most impressive in the dark. The Classic was held close to where I’m camped at a friend’s so we went over to spend the evening and see what we could learn. I expected that spectators would be held back by fences, kept away from the balloons but not so. We were able to get up close and watch as the baskets/gondolas were moved into place, the deflated balloons unfurled and spread out then inflated. It was an interesting process and really takes quite a crew to get it all done. Needless to say putting them away is another process that involves a good crew.

As the evening progressed and it got darker the balloons really did glow. There were close to 20 balloons at this event. It was such fun to see and photograph them and now I have a new appreciation of the work that goes into managing a hot air balloon. I imagine the camaraderie the balloonists have is similar to what we Casita folks or photographers have. A common bond we all enjoy.

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2018, Whitewater Draw

This January trip west was delayed in southern LA by an ice storm. Sitting it out until I 12 and I 10 were opened in a mall parking lot behind a Cracker Barrel was interesting. After setting up a solar panel I made the best of the record breaking cold as I watched the area fill with 18 wheelers. Nearly 32 hours later we all got back on the road and the trip west to AZ was uneventful.

Once in AZ I stopped at Whitewater Draw to spend some time observing the Sandhill Cranes that winter there. The cranes number in the thousands and have a very different schedule than those I watched in Bosque del Apache over two years ago. IT was cold in AZ, too, but worth it to see the birds. 

I got to see a Vermillion Flycatcher, watch some handsome ducks and a Killdeer, too. 

2017 Joshua Tree NP

Last February I passed through Joshua Tree NP (couldn’t stop because the campgrounds were full) and decided I’d have to visit it again. Last month I was able to do that and really enjoyed it. I found a great site with a huge rock on the back side of it in the small Belle campground.Turned out that rock is popular with climbers so I got to watch a few folks scaling it. 

Though the days were cloudless there was enough of a breeze so it was never uncomfortably hot. The town of 29 Palms (with some shopping) and the visitor center were not too far away. Late in the day I went out and got a few images then I went out at night and got more.

The moon was waxing so between that and the ambient light from large cities west of the park the Milky Way wasn’t very visible but I  made do. The moonlight on some of the rocks with the north end of the Milky Way made for some interesting images. 

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