Urban Wildlife

As I drove around in the Fountain Hills area, I found quite a bit of animals among the residential area (or you can say more houses among the wilderness).

A lot of quails, and here, a road runner. Not colorful like the cartoon counterpart, I am sure there's no shortage of lizards and snakes around this area. I didn't see a coyote though.

Lone Saguaro

Got up early in the morning, was hoping to drive out to Superstition Mountain, but GPS told me it's actually further out than I thought. Heck, since I am up, might as well see what's around Fountain Hills.

Saw this lone saguaro on a hill, lighting was nice. The only thing was, I left the ISO setting at 800 from last night, don't you hate that?! Reminds me of this article. At leat the memory card was in the camera when I left, :).

I have tried numerous times to get the darker sepia setting right. I don't think I have mastered it yet. Not using any fancy photo editor, but all done with Picasa. I think I am getting close to it.

Cactus Blossoms

The colors of these blooms are very bright, I guess they really stand out in their drab surroundings. Another wet Winter helps too.

Camera - Olympus E500.

Horseshoe Bend

Location - Page, AZ

This is a must stop for anyone who likes to shoot landscapes. From the edge, it is only 1200 feet down to reach the river bank. I took the river boat ride last year, and saw how high it was from the river, it was pretty intimidating.

Camera - Nikon D80, 17mm.

Little Colorado River Gorge in B&W

Located near Cameron, AZ, the Little Colorado River Gorge is truly a must see if you are in the area. The entrance fee is a measely $2 per car. The only thing I wish is that there's a longer trail along the rim, maybe in the future. On State Road 64 (from Cameron heading towards Grand Canyon East Rim), look for Scenic Overlook sign.

It seems like every time I come through here, its in the middle of the day. There's a lot of shadows to deal with when photographing here. It is nice to just sit there and take in the amazing scenery.

Red Rock Canyon

This is the second time I have been here, but for some reason, I don't remember much about my first visit.

The color is similar to Sedona, but formation is quite different, plus, you don't have the houses around like Sedona. I wonder if they have vortex here also.

More people were doing the rock climbing here, I guess the rocks here is not as loose as they are in Sedona. Cool place.

It's nice to take a break from the smoke filled casinos.

Painted Desert

I feel really fortunate to live so close to so many photogenic locations. A little over an hour north of Flagstaff, past town of Cameron, highway 89 runs right along Painted Desert. Magnificant colors in the layers of eroded hills is truly amazing.


Tire Track.

One small step for (a) man.....

Exposure by Erosion.

Fenced Out

Along side Highway 89, north of Cameron, AZ. Next to the beautiful Chinle Formation, and part of the vast Painted Desert.

Who ever put up this fence spent a small fortune, since it was miles and miles of fence. Not quite sure if they are keeping things out or in.

Pentax DL with kit lens. Simple B&W conversion with Picasa.

Twilight and Ruin

Taken from nearby Indian ruin.

I have not figured out when is the best time to come out here for pictures.

I'll have to try early in the morning some time.

Adjusted in Picasa.

Horseshoe Bend.

These photos were taken last week at Horseshoe Bend, 3 miles south of Page, AZ. The view was incredible, this is a must stop if you are in the area. 3/4 mile hike from the road, does have some climbs, and sandy path made it slightly difficult.

From top, it is 1,200 ft above the river. Since I am afraid of height, I couldn't get too close to the edge, but close enough to get some decent pictures. There were some people that were really close to the edge. If they only see what we were seeing from another side (maybe they were thinking of the same thing about us).

The next day, we took the Colorado River Discovery Tour (highly recommended - go with Kelli if possible!). We came around the Horseshoe Bend from the river, a totally different perspective. The last picture shows small dots of people standing on the edge. If they only knew sandstone is very brittle..........

back from my trip

Had a business trip last week to Akron. First day there (10/8), it was 88 degrees! Most of the trees were still green, so the color change was very late for them. It did get cooler during the week, which actually felt good.

On Sunday, we went to Petrified Forest National Park. It is located 120 miles east of Flagstaff. I didn't expect too much, but we're all pleasantly surprised with the landscape. The entire park is about 26 miles of paved road. 2 entrances to the park, one is near I-40, the north entrance, or the south entrance, which you can get to from Holbrook, AZ.

From the south entrance, you started off about a mile away from petrified wood scattered all over the park. Seeing it in this huge quantity is mind boggling. Some are intact, and there are also smaller pieces that have broke apart through time. Heck, they are over 200 million years old!

I highly recommend to take the entire park road to the north entrance; there are several stops along the way: blue mesa, tepee, news paper rock (Petroglyphs), agate bridge, Indian Ruins, and all the way to the north, part of the Painted Desert.

I am sure it is tempting to pick up a few pieces of "souvenir", but please don't. There are souvenir shops that sells pieces of petrified woods, they are from private land, so it is legal.

I have uploaded some pictures to my photo gallery. Please enjoy.

http://davew1099.multiply.com/photos/album/14/Petrified_Forst_-_Painted_Desert