When planning this road trip and picking a route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Jose, California, I drew upon memories from years ago, when I drove a short distance along the California coastline during a business trip to Southern California. Looking at a map the place that I remembered driving through or near back then was Pismo Beach. I don’t recall anything about Pismo Beach other than walking along a pleasant beach, which might not have even been near Pismo Beach, where I was the only one on the beach.
So I booked a room for a couple of nights in Pismo Beach, as our last stop over prior to our San Jose destination. Pismo Beach is a busy tourist town with many lodging choices on or near the beach. So there was no problem finding a place with an ocean view and from which one could be walking along the beach within a few minutes of leaving one’s lodging.
On our first walk along the crowded beach, we walked beneath Pismo Pier and I made the image above with my iPhone. This type image is typical of those that everyone makes below a pier. I cropped closely to the pylons to remove people moving about near the pylons.
Staying in Pismo Beach was not very enjoyable. It was crowded everywhere and noisy everywhere.
On our second day in the area, we drove north of Pismo Beach along highway 101 and highway 1. Highway 1 is a scenic drive near the coastline for a long distance, but we only traveled a small portion of this coastal highway. Highway 1 was still closed north of Lucia due to damage, so we could not have gone much farther than we did.
It was a foggy morning as we began our day, but the fog along the highway mostly dissipated quickly, but there was heavy fog offshore and in patches above the near shore hills.
We stopped in the smallish town of Cambria, where a sign pointing to “Moonstone Beach” got my attention along Highway 1. There was a walkway along the shoreline, where I walked a short distance and shot a few photos.
Wildflowers on Shoreline
I have seen wonderful photos of wildflowers along the California shoreline, but those here were thin and past their prime.
We saw a couple of Elephant Seals along this beach, north of Cambria, but I did not have my big lens on my camera and the seals were just a bit too far away for my 24-70mm lens. The heavy fog bank in the background completely obscures the landscape behind it.
California Coast 2
If I ever come back this way again, staying in Cambria, which has many lodging choices, will be a much better choice than Pismo Beach.
It was another heavily overcast morning in Badlands National Park with sporadic light rain.
Traffic Stop, Badlands NP, September 18, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo through the windshield
These female Bighorns and lambs were in no hurry and did not care that they were holding me up in my quest for early morning photos.
Bighorn, Badlands NP, September 18, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo
Shooting under the heavy overcast, most of my images were dark. I brightened them, but did not want to overdo that and ruin the reality. These images look better on a large screen with proper brightness for viewing images, but may look very dark in this blog post, especially if viewed on a small screen. Some of these images have embedded links to the images on Flickr, where these usually look much better than in this blog.
I shot all of these image at a number of different viewpoints along SD240, the main road through the park. I met a young lady from Michigan, who was also shooting images. We seemed to be stopping at the same places for awhile. She observed that the color in the badlands rocks were more saturated when wet. I told her that she had discovered the reason geologists like to view wet rocks, rather than dry ones.
Since my arrival in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, I had seen numerous free roaming bison, but they were always too far away and/or laying about in grass, so that I could not get good photos. As I was leaving today, I hoped that I would spot more bison in situations where I could capture a few descent images. I already had my 80-400mm lens with a 1.4 extender mounted to my camera, just in case.
Indeed, I did begin to see bison as I drove along one of the refuge roadways on my way to the exit. However, these were again too far away to successfully photograph.
Finally, I came to a location where I could see bison behind a fenced off area. The bison were close enough to the fence line that I could photograph them, but I would have to hike across an open field to get to the fence. As I prepared to do that, I noted a group of bison on my side of the fence. Going to the fence line would put me too close to those bison, so I had to nix my plans.
Scanning the area, I noted a small herd of bison on the opposite side of the roadway that were far enough away that I could stand beside my van and photograph those. Initially, I tried handholding my big lens, but that proved difficult and awkward, so I mounted it on my tripod. I began to shoot that small herd and watched as they slowly walked in my direction.
Grazing
I soon realized they were heading directly towards me and were soon going to be too close for comfort. I quickly retreated into my van, dragging my tripod and camera behind me.
By the time I was safely inside my van, there were bison crossing the roadway just in front of and just behind my vehicle. I began to photograph the bison from inside my vehicle.
Crossing Guard
The bison did not seem to be concerned about my presence, but the one above stopped to stare at me or my vehicle.
Follow MeResoluteWatchfulBison FamilySecurityGot a Tissue?Got Insect Repellent?Walking in Tall GrassBleh
After the bison had wandered away a safe distance, I started my van and continued on my way.
Having found no better and more convenient place for sunset photography during my mid-day exploration of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, I decided to hike back to Little Baldy again for sunset.
Wild Turkey in campground
I had already seen a flock of wild turkeys wandering freely and nonchalantly around the campground and as I left my campsite, I noted a dozen or more along my route. I had already mounted my wide angle lens and had no other lens with me, so I could not get a close up photo of these wild birds.
Wild Turkey in campground
These photos are not very good, but I wanted to include these as documentation of the wildlife in this area. These wild turkey do not seem to be bothered much by humans, although they will scurry away, when approached too closely. I suppose their lack of great fear of humans is a result of this being a wildlife refuge, where no hunting is permitted and contact with humans is common.
When I arrived at Little Baldy, I worked my way around to the western side and picked my way up the slope, looking for different view points from which to shoot today.
Little Baldy western slope in sunset light
From atop a large granite feature, I shot along the edge of Little Baldy as the sun sank low in the sky. Then I worked my way towards the top of Little Baldy.
Sunset on Little BaldyPost Sunset on Little Baldy
The sun was already sinking below the horizon, when I got near the top of Little Baldy. I managed to snap a few photos before the golden hour ended, but most were similar, even though I tried moving around as fast as I could to get various perspectives.
Possibly, I might have gotten better and more varied shots, had I gone to the top first, rather than shooting from the side of Little Baldy.
Tomorrow I will begin the next leg of my journey towards my primary destination of this road trip.
I drove to the western portion of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge to scout the Charon’s Garden Wilderness area. In route I stopped at a small reservoir, Post Oak Lake.
Post Oak Lake, iPhone Scouting Photo
Post Oak Lake is a small reservoir formed by a small dam across a tributary of Post Oak Creek.
There is a nearby military base and there were a couple of jet fighter aircrafts, practicing maneuvers, that periodically screamed overhead, breaking up the silence in this area.
Post Oak Lake from the dam, iPhone Scouting Photo
I walked across the small dam, shooting the shot above from the dam. I believe the dam is leaking. A small stream of water was emanating from one side of the dam a few feet below the top of the dam. That stream was not from the dam overflow or controlled flow. I photographed the leak area, but the image detail is insufficient to illustrate the leakage. The leak does not appear to be sufficient to indicate an eminent dam failure.
Post Oak Lake, iPhone Scouting Photo
From the lake area, I could see geological features in the distance that looked interesting and might be good subject matter for sunset photography.
I continued a short distance down the roadway, past Post Oak Lake, to the end of the road and the trailhead into Charon’s Garden Wilderness. It was a moderately hot afternoon and I wanted to travel lightly on this scouting expedition, so I did not take my heavy DSLR, but I did take a bottle of cold water, enough for a short hike in and out.
Blending In, Lizard in Charon’s Wilderness, iPhone Photo
I did not spot much wildlife in this area. Other than a few lizards scampering around, I saw one or two squirrels or chipmunks, a few birds and a jackrabbit.
The most interesting wildlife that I spotted is the Eastern Collared Lizard, the Oklahoma State Lizard. It is fairly large and colorful.
Protesting my presence, Mountain Boomer, Charon’s Wilderness, iPhone PhotoCan you see me now? Mountain Boomer, Charon’s Wilderness, iPhone Photo
I had to follow this one around to get close enough to shoot it with my iPhone. It hid beneath a rock overhang and peeked out just long enough for me to get the shot above.
Charon’s Garden Wilderness Trail, iPhone Photo
Those vertical looking rocks, ahead on the trail, were my primary interest. I continued hiking in that direction, looking for potential places for sunset photography.
I hiked leisurely for about a half an hour, stopping to shoot iPhone shots to document my progress. Most of those shots were of little interest and are not included here.
The trail is not always as apparent as that in the photo above. It crosses solid rock areas and goes through some intermittent wooded areas.
I soon came to Post Oak Creek and Treasure Lake. I eventually gave up my hike, after determining that the substantial creek would probably block my access to those interesting feature in the background. In any case, hiking in for sunset photography would require hiking out along a not always easy to follow route in the dark, so I ruled out this area for sunset photos today. I later learned from my campsite host, that the rangers did not like for hikers to be in this area in the dark, presumably due to the increased danger of night time hiking and the potential of becoming disoriented in darkness. I carry a GPS device that allows me to mark my route, still there are dangers of tripping and falling along portions of a trail at anytime and especially in the dark of night.
After departing Santa Fe, New Mexico we headed to Colorado, stopping for a couple of nights in Durango.
I had anticipated spending most of our time in downtown Durango, allowing my wife to shop to her hearts’ content; but she was not interested in shopping here.
Our motel was near the Animas River, with a walking/bicycle path along the river. We checked out that path, but discovered that it was not a great walk at this location, being completely open with no shade and it was warmer in the sunshine than we expected. There was a pedestrian bridge on this path with good views of the river and that was as far along this path as we ventured.
We drove a few miles into the downtown area, intending to have dinner at one of the many restaurants there, but we could find no available parking. After a number of circuits through downtown, we abandoned it and finally found a decent Mexican restaurant in a small shopping center off of the main roadway between our motel and downtown. We enjoyed our dinner at outdoor seating at that location and judging by the number of Hispanic customers, it appeared to be a popular restaurant with the locals.
There are numerous parks in Durango and long pleasant walking/biking paths along the Animas River, which we checked out the full day we had in the area.
Animas River 1, Durango, CORiver RocksAnimas River 2, Durango, CORiver Floaters
I noted that the two youngest kids in the front of this raft were more interested in me than the river. It must have been the phone camera that I pointed at them.
KayakersModern Art
There are modern art work pieces in the parks.
Modern Art
We drove around the local area to check out the countryside, driving up into a national forest and along numerous backroads. Along one of these roadways, I spotted a large rafter or flock of wild turkeys, maybe a couple of dozen.
I’ve driven past a sign for Caprock Canyon State Park on US 287 in northwestern Texas numerous times on my way to some western destination. So when planning my July, 2021 trip to the Grand Canyon North Rim, I decided to make this my first stop over along a different route than I would normally take.
I departed US 287 in the tiny town of Estelline, Texas heading west on Texas Route 86, traveling through an unfamiliar part of rural Texas. I noted that the countryside looked exceptionally green with lots of thick, green grass along the edge of the roadway, green pastures and farm fields with water filled low areas. Evidently, there had been more than the normal rainfall in this area recently.
Even though I had mapped out my route, the drive on this narrow, backroad route was slower and seemed longer than I had anticipated. There was little traffic, but the speed limit was much lower than the 75mph on the more substantial routes.
I passed through a number of very small towns and/or rural communities, stopping in Turkey, Texas to top off my tank at the only filling station in town, since I did not know when I would see another convenient filling station.
As I came into Turkey, I noted a prominent sign proclaiming Turkey to be the birthplace of Bob Wills, a famous and early Country and Western performer, with the group “Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys”. Bob Wills was one of the featured performers in the Ken Burn’s “Country Music” documentary on PBS. I had heard some of his music on radio in my early childhood.
Continuing on my way, I soon came into Quitaque, Texas. I had to look up the proper way to pronounce the name of this town. The locals pronounce it “Kitty Quay” and there is even this pronunciation indicated on signs on either side of the route through the town. The name reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning “end of the trail”, which is fitting for this portion of my journey.
Quitaque is a picturesque little Texas town and I noted several items of interest on my way through town and on the short stretch of roadway from town to the entrance to Caprock Canyon State Park. I did not take time to stop on my way to the park, but I was determined to take time for photographs the next day, before I continued my journey. More on this in the next post, but here are teasers:
Mobil Gas PegasusBicycles and Boots decorate a Texas ranch fence line
I had checked into my campsite online, but I stopped in the park headquarters on my way in just to be sure I did not need to do anything else. The park ranger, warned me to keep my distance from the Bison and that they were free roaming and might wander into my campsite.
As I left the headquarters on my way to my campsite, I noted quite a few bison, but I did not stop to photograph them, thinking I would have plenty of opportunity for that later and I’ve seen plenty of bison previously. There are even bison ranches in this part of Texas, but the herd here is the only free roaming herd in Texas.
In the campground there is a prairie dog town near the restroom facility. The prairie dogs would bark a warning, whenever anyone walked along the walkway towards the restroom, most would scamper into their underground dens, while one seemed to keep watch.
The restroom facilities here are old and in great need of updating. This seems to be a popular park, as there were many RVs in the campground. So it seems to me that upgrading the park facilities would be a priority. I’ve since written e-mails to the Texas State Representative and Senator for this area, pointing out the need to put forth a better image for such a popular state park.
A recent Texas state ballot issue was approved to address the lack of funding for state parks. A previously targeted method for funding Texas Parks and Wildlife existed, but the state found other ways to use that money, rather than use it for its intended purpose. It remains to be seen, if the recent effort will result in much needed maintenance and updating of Texas State Park facilities or if our elected state officials will divert those funds, maybe to use in totally useless audits of the previous federal election in some districts or to sue school districts that want to require students and employees to wear masks during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a hiking trail originating from my campground, so I decided to head out late in the day, hoping to find some photographic opportunities. I hiked for some distance along the trail, eventually going down a steep slope into a canyon, but I did not find anything I considered photo worthy. I did not even see a bison, although there were plenty of indications that they had been in this area. There were also many irritating flying insects, mostly large biting flies and I had not even thought to put on insect repellant or bring any in my day pack, since there were few insects buzzing around the campground and mosquitoes are seldom a problem in this part of Texas.
I eventually decided there was no compelling reason to hike any further along this trail, so I turned back, taking a different branch back towards the campground.
There were some wildflowers scattered around and as I walked along scanning the area, often looking at the near trail wildflowers, I heard a very distinct sound that immediately increased my heart rate.
Trail Hazard
I stopped in my tracks and looked up. A few feet in front of me a rattlesnake was stretched across the trail issuing a warning. For all the times that I’ve hiked in wild areas, this is the first time I’ve encountered a rattlesnake. My camera was strapped to my backpack, so I tried to pull my iPhone from my pocket to get a shot, as the snake moved to the side of the trail and kept an eye on me for a few moments. By the time I got my phone out, it had already begun to disappear into the vegetation along the trail. So the image above is all I managed to get.
After this encounter, I was much more vigilant for the rest of my hike.
This post was prematurely published due to a mistake by the author, during the editing and preview process, getting my blogs out of chronological order and maybe causing confusion of followers. Consequently, I’ve made a few edits, trying to correct poor writing and/or errors and now I will republish this item and hope there are no more glaring errors. My apologies for the confusion.
After setting up in the campground at Bandelier National Monument, we drove down into the canyon to the visitor center and made a scouting hike upstream along the stream that runs through the Frijoles Canyon. Actually, the stream is referred to as the Frijoles River, even though it is usually just a narrow stream of water. I suppose at times of heavy precipitation, that little stream can become a raging river. We hiked an undetermined distance, but I’m guessing maybe about a mile along the river before turning back.
We decided that the photographic opportunities would be slim along that trail, unless there was early morning frost or maybe snow cover to provide more interest.
We returned to the canyon the next (first) morning of our stay here with our cameras, hoping for better photographic opportunities than we had seen on our scouting hike.
The park gate opening and closing times limit the access time to the canyon, so golden hour photography was not a possibility during our visit. This might not matter, since the canyon walls limit the time of the sunlight arriving and exiting the canyon. Some times of the year may be better than others.
Unfortunately, we did not get snow, nor even a heavy frost. Nevertheless, we continued hiking and trying to get a few interesting photographs. I was mostly unsuccessful in my efforts and I have chosen not to present any of the results of my attempts at creative photography here.
Early on the hike, we came upon several deer that seemed curious about us, but not concerned. I suppose they were accustomed to humans.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
A second deer, going in the opposite direction of this first one, came along and they each eyed each other in an appraising manner, before continuing on their way.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
There are many Native American ruins and cave dwelling in the canyon with many near the visitors’ center. Having toured those on previous trips, we continued along the trail towards a more distant ruin called the Alcove House. My son had visited the Alcove House during a previous visit, but it was not open when I was first here, so this was my first time to see this area of the park.
To get up to the Alcove House ruins requires climbing a number of ladders and steps up the canyon side.
Ladder & Sign, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
Much of the area at the final destination is roped off, which limits photographic compositions.
Native American Ruins in Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
In the afternoon, we made a scouting hike of a loop trail through Tsankawi, a Native American area near White Rock, New Mexico that is a part of the Bandelier National Monument. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my iPhone along, so I did not get any scouting photographs, which is too bad, since I think I missed opportunities to get photographs under a more interesting sky than we had during later visits.
Driving westerly along FSR 380, I came to a vacant campsite just off of the roadway. This was a site that I had noted, when passing by on my trip into Del Norte earlier in the week. The forested area around this campsite looked promising for photography, so I pulled into the site.
Rio Grande National Forest Campsite. iPhone photograph.Forest Campsite. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/60s, f/11, ISO 200.
As I was walking around the camping area, I heard a loud, raucous bird, that seemed angry about something. Thinking that I might be in danger of being attacked by an irate bird, I turned to look for the bird, catching a brief glimpse of it as it flew past me. It crashed hard into the side of my vehicle and fell to the ground. It was a beautifully colored woodpecker, which moved a little as I kneeled to inspect it. I hoped it was just dazed and would recover consciousness and be ok, so I gently picked it up and placed it in the wooded area nearby the campsite.
Kamikaze Woodpecker. iPhone photograph.
Unfortunately, it did not recover. I can only surmise that it objected to the red color of my vehicle or saw its reflection in the vehicle and thought it was another bird intruding upon its territory, or it was giving me a warning buzz that ended tragically.
Such events always make me wonder about the uncertainties of life and the random convergence of events leading to such tragedies. Would this have happened, if I had not parked here at this specific time or had I slightly modified my parking spot or backed into the campsite rather than pulling forward into it?
I just hope that I am not the cause of any other tragic events.
After shooting wildflowers in the meadow adjacent to Teal Campground and Williams Creek Reservoir, I decided to try getting images of the Canadian Geese that were usually feeding and swimming around near the reservoir shoreline.
I do not often try to photograph wildlife, since I’m usually not prepared for that type photography, and when I see wildlife unexpectedly, I am usually too slow to respond. The wild animals have scampered away and the birds fly or swim away before I can get a photo.
However, today I had my big lens (80-400mm) mounted already, so I was at least partly prepared. Even though, I still could not get close enough with the big lens without frightening away the geese, I could at least crop the D850 images and still get a reasonably good image.
Goose, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, 1/1250s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop). Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.Goose, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, 1/1250s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop). Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.Goose, Teal Campground. Nikon D850, 1/640s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm @ 400mm (before crop). Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Modules.
As I attempted to get closer, the geese did as they usually do and took to the water.
Geese in Williams Creek Reservoir. Nikon D850, 1/1600s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm @ 400mm (before crop). Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Modules.
Please do not fly away, stay tuned for more at Teal Campground and Williams Creek Reservoir,
