Rocky Point

Rocky Point, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO: 100

It was a hazy day on Saturday, but I kind of like the effect it had on a few of the shots.  This view of Rocky Creek Bridge from Rocky Point is one of my favorites on the drive to Big Sur.

Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

 I saw a few humpback whales in Monterey Bay yesterday.  I was actually hoping to go on a whale watching excursion but they were all cancelled in the afternoon due to high winds.  You can see in the photos the water is pretty choppy.  I shot these from shore near Lucas Point in Pacific Grove.  No single shoot is all that interesting but I think they make a fun series.  These are the final photos from a longer series that start from when I spotted his spout.

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Humpback Whale -- Pacific Grove, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Rain in the Driest Place in the United States

Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, CA
Canon Powershot SX40 HS

Technically, it is Furnace Creek in Death Valley that is considered the driest place in the United States with an average annual rainfall of  2.3 inches of rain since 1971.  I was just reading that Calexico, CA was actually drier through the first decade of this century by about a half inch a year.  Perhaps in fifty years or so we'll be calling Calexico the driest place in the US.

There have been years when it didn't rain at all in Death Valley.  There have been other years when it had rained so much people were able to go kayaking in Badwater Basin.  Here you can see rain but no kayaks.  It was somewhere in between.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 124, Image #27.

Navajo National Monument

Navajo National Monument, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, f/8, 1/80s, ISO: 100

Navajo National Monument is actually inside the Navajo Reservation.  I'm not sure how that all worked out.  It's a quiet little monument with a number of short hikes to Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.

OK, I'm not sure how to spell Puebloan or if that's even a word.  Pretty sure it is.  They used to be called Anasazi, now they're called Ancesteal Puebloans.  Pueblans?

Anyway, cliff dwellings are cool.

Square Butte

Square Butte, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, f/7.1, 1/100s, ISO: 100

Simple and lovely.  Among all of the amazing things to be seen in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, Square Butte would be easy to overlook.  Anywhere else it would probably be a destination unto itself.

Bison Crossing

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Did you know that there are buffalo at the Grand Canyon?  I didn't, at least not until I saw this sign a few weeks ago.  They're not real American Bison, not full-blooded anyway.  They're bison/cattle hybrids, same as what you'd find at the Bison Paddock at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  They're not native to this area, or anywhere really.  I get the impression they're considered a nuisance by the Park folks, but I suspect tourists like them so they're probably tough to just get rid of.  Just guessing, mind you.

Peering Into Horseshoe Bend

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

Jim likes to walk out onto the edges of cliffs and look down.  Gives me the willies.