Bosque Del Apache

Time sure flies when you're having fun, so the saying goes. The week with my family over Christmas was a time get reconnected after 17 Christmases in Minnesota but it is time to start heading back to Minnesota.

Only one photography stop on the way home and it is a doozy, Bosque Del Apache. I have known of Bosque Del Apache for many years and this will be my first visit. It is truely an amazing sight to watch thousands of Snow Geese take flight at the same time. I experienced my first 'blastoff' while photographing by one of the fields. All of the Snow Geese took off at the same time, circled the field then landed back where they started. WOW was the first work from my mouth. There were many more wonders this day that these few images can not convey. If you are ever in the Albuquerque ares you have to check this place out.



Roger

Huntington Library

Today was a trip to the Huntington Library with cousin-in-law Gene. Gene used to work at the Huntington Library and is now a member. The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens is located in San Moreno California and is a top cultural location in Southern California.

Members can enter the Library grounds 2 1/2 hours before the Library opens to the general public. We used that time to explore the new Chinese Garden. It was magical being alone with the morning quiet in this beautiful place.

Roger

Joshua Tree National Park

My brothers have been keeping me very busy and I've been having a ball. Ralph and I had a day of shooting and we decided meet Ralph's friend Paul and shoot Joshua Tree National Park. I have been to Joshua Tree many times but not for the past 20 years so it was like rediscovering Joshua tree all over again.

We did what Ralph likes to call a "DDD" which stands for a Dawn Desert Dash. What this means is that we get up at 2:30am, leave by 3:00am, so we could be in the Cholla Gardens by sunrise at 6:48am. We made it with time to spare. I was playing with blurring the Chollas and this one is my favorite. It looks like a bird ready to take flight.



One of our stops was a campground that had this tree. According to Ralph it's the only tree of it's kind in the park. I forgot to ask Ralph what kind of tree is was, though.



We ended the day with a hike into the Wonderland. There were many wonderful things in Wonderland and this cactus and dead wood was just a sample.

Roger

Valley of Fire and the Mojave Desert

The detour caused by the prediction of snow in Flagstaff had many benefits. Not only was I able to drive thru Zion yesterday but on the suggestion of my brother Ralph I was in for more treats. Ralph's first suggestion was a detour thru the Valley of Fire in Nevada, along with a beautiful drive along the shore of Lake Mead. The Valley of Fire is a Nevada State Park and is a pretty incredible place. The previous image is but just a sample of this place.





The second suggestion was to cut over from I-15 to I-40 thru the Mojave Desert in California. At first I thought I was on a desolate desert road until I realized that this was a pretty popular place. A stand of Joshua Trees rivaled those in Joshua Tree National Park. As you can see in this image there was still some snow on the ground even though this was a beautiful day.

The next stop is at Robert and Paula's and celebrating Christmas with all of my family in Southern California.

Roger

Horseshoe Bend

I've picked two images to share with you from today's adventures. As originally planned I took a detour to Page AZ and stopped off at Horseshoe Bend. The day was cloudy but the sight was awesome. A thousand feet straight down is enough to get the butterflies active in ones stomach. When I get back to this part of the country I'll be giving Horseshoe Bend another visit.

My new destination for tonight was changed from Flagstaff, AZ to Hurricane, UT. I didn't want to get stuck in Flagstaff what with the snow on it's way. One benefit of the new route was that it went thru Zion National Park.



On the road to the east entrance of Zion there was a pasture with buffalo. Most were gathered around a wind mill but these were off on their own. I really like the contrast of the buffalo against the snow and the overcast sky.

I didn't get to Zion till about 5pm as nightfall was quickly descending. The east entrance is spectacular with the high mountains and deep canyons. Have I been there an hour earlier there would have been some nice photo ops. While my camera does not hold any mages of Zion my eye took in all the beauty.

Roger