2019 Tetons, more moose

Still in the Tetons and enjoying the moose Had a clear night recently so I went out to see if I could capture the Milky Way. As always out here it is spectacular and humbling.

Catching the moose has been a test of patience. They’re wild animals so where & when they will be visible is unpredictable. Being able to watch them is always a joy.

 

There is a river nearby and they tend to head towards it, the feeding is good there with the willows. But the willows are tall and thick so simply wandering in them to look for a moose is unwise. Fortunately when they decided to cross the river there was a wide clear spot upstream where we could watch.

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© Jean Clark, 2019(or earlier), email for Terms of Use

2019 Yellowstone day and night

I spent some time in Yellowstone in late August, moving from Mammoth area to Madison Junction then to Canyon Village. Managed to see some bison and get some nice images at night also.

 

It  was  warmer  than  I  was  hoping for but  all  went  well  

 

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2019 Black Hills South Dakota

Flower seeds
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Robaix Lake, Black Hills NF
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After leaving the COE east of Badlands NP some friends and I headed to the Black Hills. We were thinking the higher elevation might be a bit cooler and a NFS campground might be rather quiet after the COE. Sure enough Robaix Lake NFS campground was just what we were hoping for. The evening we arrived I took a walk down to the lake. On the way I spotted what looked like a giant dandelion gone to seed.

 

Milky Way over Robaix Lake
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Later that night I went back to the lake in hopes of capturing the Milky Way over the water. Sure enough it was there in all its glory, a sight neat never fails to awe me.

The next morning I was up and out to gain take the walk to the lake. I was thinking it

Early morning flower
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might be interesting to see some of the wildflowers with dew on them.

Later that morning I headed out to do the scenic drive called Spearfish Canyon. It is mentioned in so many of the travel magazines about the area I was curious to see it. Well, it is definitely a canyon, with the trees (fir or spruce for the most

Roughneck Falls, Spearfish Canyon,
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part) coming right down to the road. About 1/2 way along I could start to see some rock outcroppings up high but nothing to make me want to stop. There is one very popular and impressive waterfall, Roughneck Falls, it’s well worth the detour and walk along the boardwalk.

At the end of the drive I hopped on I90 east and took 85 south through Deadwood to get to 385 and the campground. Definitely better than retracing the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

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2018 Yellowstone Nights

During visits to Yellowstone I usually try to stay on the west side for a few nights. Madison campground makes a good base for getting around to the geysers and thermals.  This year was no exception. The Milky Way in the SW sky made a wonderful backdrop for some of the features in the park.

One night I was very fortunate to be able to photograph Great Fountain geyser as it went off. The breeze was blowing the wrong way for trying to capture the Milky Way behind it but it worked out OK. Usually night photography is a solo experience, but at times having at least one other person around  is handy. In this case the people happened to be lighting the geyser in just the right way so my photographs were enhanced beyond what I could have done alone. This geyser is unpredictable, the sign said it might go off between 9 pm and 1 am. Fortunately it went off between 10 and 10:30 pm.

When I’m traveling up this way I regularly check out the website, http://www.spaceweather.com. It gives great info about the sun’s activity and possible Aurora sightings. As it turned out there was a faint bit of the aurora visible one night. Not much compared to some I’ve captures but fun to see.

Sunsets, while technically not night photography, can be quite spectacular in Wyoming. With the foregrounds in Yellowstone they are truly fun to photograph.

 

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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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2017 Grand Canyon

From Utah I traveled the Grand Canyon. I got to the Desert View campground(a new one for me) before noon on a Wednesday and was able to get a very nice site. This campground is small, 50 sites, all paved with a nice bathroom and plenty of water spigots. It’s also quiet and sort of out of the way compared to the much larger campgrounds in the park. I’ve spent time at the Grand Canyon before, so I didn’t take a lot of images here. Tried to get some night images, though. When I first got here the moon was full and lit up the canyon.

One of the great things about this campground is that it is away from the central/busy part of the park. I can stand outside my trailer after dark and see the Milky Way from one end to the other in the sky above me, a fantastic sight.

As time went on the moon came up later and I was able to get a few images with the Milky Way over the canyon. Needless to say the canyon doesn’t make much of a foreground, being a big black hole so one night I took my high power spotlight with me and tried lighting up the nearby canyon walls at a couple of overlooks.

I did take a few daytime images, but except for one day the skies where totally cloudless which makes for pretty harsh light.

 

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2017 Goblin Valley SP

Goblin Valley SP is a unique place and since it was on the way to my next destination I decided to head there, hoping to snag a campsite for the night. I got there mid morning and was able to get a very nice site. That afternoon I drove around checking the park out.

The night was very clear and it was a lot of fun to go down into the Goblins’ Playground and do some photography. I didn’t wander around too much because I didn’t want to get lost! The waxing moon gave enough light so the goblins were visible but not so much that it prevented the Milky Way from being visible. That made for a very special opportunity for me.

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