Hairy Woodpeckers

Hairy Woodpecker -- Mather Campground, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 800

Pongo and I bumped into this hairy woodpecker while we were taking a walk around Mather Campground at the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon last year.  Cute little guy.  Looking at this photo I was reminded of the other time I ran into a hairy woodpecker at Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park.  Two very different environments.  These birds live all over North America.  Anywhere there are trees, basically.  They look different in the Pacific Northwest, they're gray and black instead of white and black.

Hairy Woodpecker -- Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

In both cases I recall having to follow the birds as they moved around the tree and struggling to get good light as they moved.  So inconsiderate of them.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 122, image #907.

Monument Valley Panorama

Monument Valley, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM

I stitched this together from six individual shots I took at the Monument Valley Lodge a few weeks ago.  Well, Canon's photo stitching software did the heavy lifting.  Kinda cool, I think.

Cliffdwellers

Cliffdwellers, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/100s, f/10, ISO: 100

Not much to say here, just some cool rocks along the highway near Cliffdwellers, AZ.  Neat.

Chipmunk at Jacob Lake

Colorado Chipmunk -- Jacob Lake Campground, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 5000

We saw a number of chipmunks on our recent stay at Jacob Lake Campground, including this little guy or gal who joined us for breakfast.  I'm not sure what he/she was eating.  It did not look very appetizing.

Colorado Chipmunk -- Jacob Lake Campground, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO: 1600

The North Rim

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/60s, f/8, ISO: 100

Tule Elk

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 500

I took Pongo on a drive out to the San Luis refuge on Sunday.  He hasn't been out on an adventure in over a month so he was extra excited about the trip.  Most of the birds are gone until winter, but we did see a lot of hawks.  I always hope for a coyote or two, but no such luck.  There were a few elk hanging out near the fence, though.  It looks like they've shed most of the velvet from their antlers.

Big Cliffs at Grand Canyon

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/100s, f/7.1, ISO: 100

The shadows from the clouds were moving quickly across the canyon on our recent visit to the North Rim.  I like this particular configuration with the dark cliffs in front and brighter ones behind.  I also like how the greens and oranges are drawn out in this image.

Driving at Elkhorn Valley

Dad -- Elkhorn Valley Golf Course, Lyons, OR
Canon Powershot SD770 IS

That's my Dad hitting driver on one of my favorite holes on one of my favorite golf courses in Oregon.  Elkhorn Valley is an eighteen hole course in a secluded forest environment about twenty miles East of Salem.  It's an unforgiving round of golf.  Many of the fairways seem to have been cut out of the forest and and errant balls are sure to be lost in the dense undergrowth.  It's the only course I've ever been to that offers to replace any lost balls you may have had during the round.  It's a tough round of golf but it's hard to beat that setting.

Image selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 121, image #807.

Point Imperial

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

If you want to visit the Grand Canyon and avoids the large crowds, the North Rim is a nice option.  The views are a little bigger from the South, but the North Rim holds its own.  We had Point Imperial pretty much to ourselves on the visit.  Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

Rain Over the Teton Range

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

I spent four nights up at Grand Teton National Park earlier this month.  This was one of the clearer views I saw of the mountains over the course of that stay.  It rained every day I was there.  Made for some moody photos, though.

American Bison

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Saw this guy alone in a meadow a couple of weeks ago.  The scene was someplace between lonely and peaceful.

Horse

Horse -- Somewhere in Arizona
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 640

We saw a lot of horses on our recent road trip through the American West.  This was one of my favorites.  What a beautiful creature.

Wagon Train

Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/100s, f/9, ISO: 100

OK, not so much a wagon train as just a solitary wagon parked by a campfire site.  I went sepia with it to enhance that old-timey feel.  Kinda fun, I think.  Pipe Spring does a nice job of taking visitors back to a different era.

Cattle Crossing

Highway 89A, AZ
Canon Power Shot SD770 IS

Cows have to cross the road sometime, don't they?  We saw this crossing sign on our way up into the mountains leading to the Kaibab Plateau.  We didn't see any cattle, though.

Pongo at Big Basin

Pongo -- Big Basin Redwoods State Park, CA

This picture was taken a few years ago on one of the first day trips I took Pongo on.  He can't go on the trails at Big Basin, but there are plenty of roadways--some without cars--that he was able to walk with on, so it's not a bad place for dogs.  Actually, it's probably a better dog walking park than it is picture taking park, I've never been able to get many memorable photos from this place.  It's a nice park to spend a day in, though, and for Vertigo fans it's a must visit since this is the place where Scotty and Madeline went on their "date" in the redwoods.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 120, image #1954.

Texas Longhorn

Texas Longhorn -- Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/125s, f/9, ISO: 100

One of the coolest things about Pipe Spring is the effort given to make the place feel like a step back in time.  A vegetable garden and livestock add to the illusion.  The grounds have a corral with a couple of horses and a couple of longhorns.  The cattle weren't too into visiting with people when we were there, but the ranger said sometimes they can be downright friendly.

Desert Spiny Lizard

Desert Spiny Lizard -- Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 1600

I saw this little guy on the wall at the Pipe Spring Visitor Center.  I must have made ten trips to use their water fountain.  It was cold and delicious.  This lizard was hanging out nearby.  Ain't he cute?

Pipe Spring National Monument

Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i,  EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/100s, f/10, ISO: 100

I've been gone for a couple of weeks.  I was camping and taking photos on a circular route between California and Colorado.  I saw a lot of amazing things, including a couple of animals I thought I might never see in the wild.  I have a lot of pictures to work through, there should be some good ones coming.

I've been playing around with sepia tone on some of the photos I took at Pipe Spring.  The place had an Old West feel to it, so tinting some of the photos for an old time feel seemed like an obvious choice.  Too obvious?  Too corny?  I dunno, a couple of them turned out pretty cool.