Arizona Highways

Isn’t it terrible to enjoy watching someplace from your rearview mirror? While we have enjoyed San Diego as a city before, when you are there for just photography the daily traffic grind becomes tiresome. We do not know how people do this on a daily basis.

Our first stop in Arizona was Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. There was no competition for a parking spot because we were the only car in the parking lot and the only people on the trail. The silence was almost deafening. We also made a visit to Kofa National Wildlife Refuge which features a pocket of palm trees on a canyon rim. This time there were two cars in the parking lot.
While in Yuma we made a stop to catch up with some retired Forest Service friends, Ron and Artis Prichard. They spend their summers in Dillon but we had to go to Yuma to see them. :o)

Camped a night in Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument. Loved the cactus, but was surprised at the number of border checks there are in that area since it is so isolated and sits on the Mexican border. On Sunday we decided to hit Tucson  in time for the Super Bowl because there was no establishment around the monument that would be televising the game. Pete had no vested interest in either team but it was after all the Super Bowl. Can’t spend all of your time in cultural isolation! LOL!

Remember looking at copies of Arizona Highways as a kid . . . that is the back drop of Tucson. While the town itself is okay the surrounding areas are breathtaking. The cactus, Saguaro National Park, The Sonoran Desert Museum, Sabino and Bear Creek Canyons. And there was a full moon last week. Moonrises and Sunsets!

Another surprising find is Tucson’s water treatment facility, Sweetwater. While, not so sweet to one’s nose, it has proven to be a mecca for birds and Pete even got a bobcat. Does that qualify as Urban Wildlife?

Two Side Bars: #1 Have you ever tried to locate roadrunners? Hmmm like looking for a needle in a haystack. #2 When you pull into your campsite and there are cranes and a construction crew think twice. They are building an interstate on ramp right through the middle of the campground. There are several senior campers surveying the construction site. The male species and big machines . . . boys will be boys!

Happy Trails!!!!

First Post 2012 – California Dreamin’

Well, here we are in sunny San Diego. It took four days to get down here, including one spent with friends in Las Vegas. Monida was a little snowy but passable. Malad Summit was closed, so we had to camp at a gas station. Made it to Vegas the net day.

SoCal is nuts. People everywhere. We’re camped in the I-5 Wilderness Corridor – that is, the 200 yds between I-5 and the railroad. The Sounds of Silence it ain’t. I looked in the rearview mirror today and there was nobody right on my bumper. I thought the world must have ended.  It’s like stirring up an anthill.

The photography has been pretty good. La Jolla has pelicans, sea lions and seals all within about 500 yds, so I’ve done that every day. Landscapes are harder to find. We went to Torrey Pines tonight and that has some potential (we held off due to the golf tournament over the weekend)so we’re going to extend a couple days to try and get a good sunset. After that it’s over to Arizona, probably for most of February.