We go to the Mogollon Rim often just to look for animals. Our elk have been very elusive lately. On our most recent trip we saw a large herd of probably 100 elk.
But with all our multiple sightings, they were very camera shy and spooky… and by spooky I don’t mean scary, I mean scared. They ran at the mere sound of us, and just wouldn’t stay still for a shutter release.
I keep telling ’em… I’ll make you famous :). But they don’t listen.
No worries… I’m persistent. I’ll be back!
I was born in Phoenix, AZ… and have lived here all my adult life (despite the fact that I have traveled and lived in a dozen or so states). So we are pretty familiar with AZ, and her backroads.
But, I have never been to Tonto National Monument, until this week. It was a first for both John (who moved here when he was 11 mo. old) and myself.
Despite the fact that I was less than impressed, it was a good trip, a nice hike (which Journey was marginally allowed on), and very scenic.
We loved the view of Roosevelt Lake from the ruins more than we liked the ruins themselves. It was blue blue sky day… but made for a nice diversion for the day.
On the way to Flagstaff, we caught 2 bald eagles and a golden eagle hanging out outside of Lake Mary.
Eagles are always a thrill to see. I’m still waiting for that special opportunity of an eagle swooping down picking up a fish… but alas, just haven’t caught that yet.
In the meantime I’ll take every opportunity to just enjoy these majestic birds.
This guy looked like he had been digging around in the mud as his white head was covered in mud.
One thing I have learned… is to take the camera wherever we go. It’s when we don’t bring it that we see animals. Fortunately, this time I had it on hand and was able to get a few shots to capture the moment.
You know, I live in Arizona, and it still astonishes me the delta in temperatures and climates in a mere 3 hours. I do believe the delta is getting larger as time goes on. It used to be 20F, now it borders on 30 – 40F difference between northern AZ and the Phx area. When we left our home in the mountains it was snowing, 20F with 4 inches of snow on the ground.
When we arrived at Bartlett Lake, outside of Carefree, AZ, just 3 hours south, it was 78F, and people were in shorts and t-shirts. Crazy!
We soaked up the sun before heading back to our cool climate.
All the sudden I am fascinated with Mary Colter. While she is a figure from our past (born 1869), I find her a fascinating character. When her father died at only 53 (who refused her pleas to go to Art School), she struck a deal with her mother that she would use what little money he left to pay for her to go to school. She would then get her education and become a teacher to provide monies for her mother and young sister. Her mother agreed, and Mary moved her mother and sister from St Paul, MN to California to go to the California School of Art and Design. There she got her architecture degree in 1890, and as promised got a job teaching to support the family.
By 1902 she was hired by Fred Harvey to design a style of architecture that would become known as Rustic National Park, used by most National Parks to follow. Her association with Fred Harvey lasted for 48 years. Many of the Fred Harvey buildings she was associated with have been since demolished by the railroads.
But the Grand Canyon remains the single largest treasure trove of Mary Colter works , including the Lookout Studio, Hopi House, Hermit’s Rest, and the Watchtower, all of which continue to thrive and entertain… albeit, unfortunately as gift shops today.
One of her last ‘masterpieces’ was the Watchtower at the Grand Canyon-South Rim. It was built in 1932. It was modeled after several Indian towers, mostly all already in ruins. She wanted a tower that could serve as a spectacular vantage point to take in the awesome Grand Canyon vistas.
But she wanted it to last… so she had it built with a concrete and re-bar support structure on top of which the ‘boys’ had to cull the landscape to find the individual stones from the natural environment to plaster on the exterior. Individual stones would pop out to cast eclectic shadows, and different styles and designs from different tribes made up the exterior.
The inside was painted by the then well known Indian painter, Fred Kabotie, based on ancient drawings provided by Colter to assist in the decorations.
It is a fascinating building, and largely intact from the original tower devised by Mary Colter… though one can no longer go onto the roof, and glass window panes have been added for safety reasons.
If you find yourself at the Grand Canyon – South Rim, don’t miss the Watchtower, as it is a fascinating piece of living history outside a stunning landscape.
See more Grand Canyon – South Rim photos … here.
We finally got a little snow…. not much, but enough to have the animals hunker down and get out of the wind and snow. This little pygmy owl sat and gazed at the snow and watched it come in. Any time we see some of the more ‘exotic’ and rare animals, we are thrilled… and this pygmy owl was no exception.
While I like the action in this photo, as this buck was spooked. It is not a great photo because it is too constrained. It is instead, a perfect example for what not to do. I have left no room for the buck to run. Since I cut off the action, the viewer is left to wonder what spooked him… or where he is going. It lacks that sense of place.
A better photo that shows a sense of place, and includes the subject (my buck) and his environment – the forest and trees. One where the subject is looking at you, and it’s eyes sharp are a bonus. Having the subject well lit, and not in the shadows help to draw the eye to your subject…. albeit often hard to get everything to line up, particularly when working in the wild.
We were just talking about how we would love to see some different animals. It’s not that I don’t love our deer and elk, but it would be nice to expand my wildlife photos. Fortunately these turkey were very accommodating.
Turkey are generally very elusive. I don’t know how many times we have spotted them and I trekked over the forest trying to chase them down, and never saw them again. Now that I think about it, that sounds pretty silly.
These turkey (we saw 2), were most likely males. You can see what looks like a tuft of elk hair sticking out of their chest, called a beard, which means they were probably males. Although, oddly, about 10% of females also have the beards. They also had blue cheeks and a dark almost metallic chest which are other indicators of a male.
Most turkey found in AZ are Merriam turkeys. However, these were the largest turkey’s I have ever seen… most we see are much scrawnier. A Gould turkey is more rare as they became mostly extinct and are only slowly making a comeback in AZ, NM, and Mexico. The Gould turkey is slightly larger than the Merriam turkey, and has white tipped tail feathers, which these have.
Whichever variety they were, I has thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph them.
Lehman Caves, on the Eastern Edge of Nevada, are just outside of Great Basin National Park, not far from Zion National Park in Utah. They were discovered by Absalom Lehman in 1885. For us, our trip was not much more than a byway toward our home in AZ. We thought we would check out Great Basin National Park, which unfortunately, despite their website saying it was open, was closed. So the Caves ‘saved the day’ giving us a highlight we had not anticipated. You can see my limited photos of Great Basin National Park here.
We took a tour into the caves. The pathways were paved and well lit. Our guide was new, but friendly and informative. She explained how after Lehman discovered the caves, he invited everyone he knew to come check them out. They literally had parties and dances inside the caves, knocking down stalactites and stalagmites out of the way with sledge hammers to make more open space.
People would right their names in graffiti on the ceilings and walls of the cave with their candles.
There were sections that were dry and old.. others that had bred new life and were dripping into puddles below. It was a huge cavernous area full of a number of cave formations we would learn.
When we were there, there was a group of ‘cave cleaners’ who had volunteered to meticulously clean the inside of the caves. Using feather dusters on long sticks, toothbrushes, paint brushes and tweezers, donning their lit mining hats they carefully inspected and cleaned the cave floor, spires, and formations.
They had small trays where they picked up anything from hair strands, clothing fibers, to gum wrappers. What a pain staking job!
We found it fascinating and entertaining. It was an excellent reprieve from our long journey.
While the East coast is getting hit with repeated snow storms, Arizona is getting left out of the action. Now I know most people don’t think of AZ as getting snow… but for Northern Arizona it is part of our seasons, and one we count on to get precipitation to keep our trees healthy and our forests free from wildfires. For a normal winter (October – March, or so) we would expect to see maybe 6′ – 10′ of snow. While that may not be a lot for some Eastern states, it’s about right for us. Thus far this winter, we have seen none.
That is until this past weekend. I’m happy to report we finally got some snow! Woohoo. We probably got about 8″ at our home. Having been house bound, we opted to go to the rim to check out their snow and maybe get some pix.
The rim probably got around a foot of snow. It was beautiful.
There is something special about new fallen fresh snow, clinging to the trees and their trunks. It is a magical sight. I never used to like snow – too cold. But I have developed an appreciation for it’s beauty.
… and it always tends to bring out the animals. We were lucky to see a number of elk – all of whom where quite surprised to see our Jeep slogging through the deep snow.
kritterspix 