Archive for the ‘Travel Updates’ Category

Spring Break: Grand Canyon

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

I had visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last summer and now I finally got to see the South Rim. It was pretty impressive and well, grand.

It is amazing to stand on the edge of a huge precipice that seems to stretch on forever knowing that I have now been on both sides. I would love to go across the canyon at some point in my life.

It is hard to imagine that there is so much beauty everywhere in the world. Without seeing things like this, I would never have believed that just around the corner is an amazing sight like this.

Out on this white pillar I spotted another rare sight hidden in the trees. It was making strange sounds and crawling around in the bushes. So of course I went to investigate.  There in the bushes was…..

The Gabriel! He was only one of many interesting sights we saw. The Colorado River could be sen far below in the canyon.

The colors were phenomenal and created such depth in the canyon that the entire canyon was just breath-taking.

At the edge of the East side of the canyon was the Watchtower. An impressive tower that you could climb into and overlook the canyon.

We also found some ruins that were interesting. However, no indian ruins seem nearly as impressive as Mesa Verde was.

We ended our day by taking a quick visit to Sunset Crater Volcanic National Monument. It was slightly disapoointing because there was no crater you could go see, just volcanic rock.

It was a long but impressive day. Tomorrow we are exploring Sedona!

 

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Spring Break: Route 66

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Today we started out our day in Lake Havasu City, there I happened upon the strange Gabriel species again. This one was giant, he dwarfed a lighthouse that was on the edge of the beautiful lake.

Another strange and rare sighting of the Gabriel. After that we headed over to the famous London Bridge. Yes, the real London Bridge in Lake Havasu City Arizona. Strange right?

So apparently the original London Bridge was becoming old and ruined so they decided to rebuild it. This left the old bridge nowhere, so they put it up for sale. Lake Havasu City bought it, shipped it, and then rebuilt it right here on Lake Havasu.

Next on the day’s agenda was Historical Route 66. My dad and brother were going on a long bike ride up route 66 and my mom and I were going running.

I had never been on Route 66 before and it was quite the experience.

We ran along a Wildlife Refuge’s lake that was very beautiful but extremely hot. We also saw a coyote but sadly I didn’t have my camera with me.

Then was the long drive around a beautiful hilly valley that really gave us a taste of what Arizona is made of. There were towering monoliths or red craggy rocks, hills full of yellow wildflowers and cacti, and long expanses of open countryside.

All along the way were interesting sights. Mostly things people would consider eye sores or trash but they were really interesting and amazing. A lot of old rusted out cars, old houses broken down, and well, trash.

Probably the most interesting part of our day was visiting the tiny town of Oatman. It was full of local color, tiny shops, and of course, donkeys. What quaint little towns isn’t ruled by donkeys?

They were everywhere. All over the streets, walking up to cars, people, and trying to get food from everyone. They were adorable; there were babies all over the place but it was so hot they all were taking naps.

It was quite the sight, watching all these donkeys just wondering around the town in search of shade and food.

It was a good day on Route 66 and there will be more adventure for tomorrow. Tonight we are bedding down in Flagstaff, tomorrow…. the Grand Canyon!

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Spring Break: Mojave

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

For spring break I am going on an adventure in Arizona on a road trip. I am basically doing whatever comes to our whimsy along the way. Whether it be stopping at some old worn down houses on the side of the road, chasing animals for photos, or seeing some indian ruins. Today we decided to stop by Mojave National Preserve.

Mojave is a majestic landscape filled with rocky outcroppings and valleys filled with blond cacti. To me, Mojave is blue skies the stretch beyond the reach of the mountains held up by the arms of the prickly cactus that dwells below.

At the entrance I was able to discover a strange new unknown species called the Gabriel. I was able to photograph its strange behaviors. There was the normal behavioral patterns,

The lounging stretching pose that harkens to possible ancestry to extremely odd primates…..

There was also a nurturing side that showed some obvious caring,

There was also behavioral patterns of strange joyful behaviors that caused spastic and odd behavior.

Finally is the most interesting ability that the Gabriel has… levitation

During our trip we are following around my dad and my brother as they ride their bikes around where ever we happen to be.

In Mojave we explored the area around the visitor center which was an old train station. With the dilapidated of their old remains, it was a beautifully haunting place.

It was a good day and I look forward to even more adventures soon.

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Lemurs

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

These amazingly fuzzy and funny looking creatures are just another species on my list of cute yet simultaneously frightening animals. I just feel constantly watched around them because of their huge eyes. It is just creepy and look slightly malevolent.

That is a face that screams, Yeah just get a little closer so I can bite your finger off. So creepy yet so fuzzy looking. It is like a death trap, you just want to get close and give it a pet but you know if you get too close it will eat your face. They are tricky animals, crazy one moment and totally zen the next.

What can I say, I am just attracted to deceiving animals. Why can’t they al just be simply cute?

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Farm Animals

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Alpaca’s are fascinatingly ugly animals.With strange clumps of fur, jutting teeth, and eyes that watch you warily at all times; the alpaca is a shifty animal at best. I feel like I must constantly watch out for spit whenever I get near these animals. I have always felt something sinister about them and I think it is because of their teeth.

A face only a mother could love. Every time I look at a llama or alpaca I cringe. Yet for some reason I feel totally fascinated by them. I want to go in closer for a better look but my whole body screams stay back, it bites!

And then there is this guy.

This animal is terrifying in a sinisterly stupid way. Look at its eyes, so focused yet totally vacant, and its teeth just sticking out at odd angles. Evil I declare, and I will stay away because you frighten me. What else can I say?

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Emu

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

Because I have so many photos from our zoo adventure I am going to break ti down for each animal we saw. The first is the Emu. An incredible creepy and slightly gross bird. Similar to an ostrich but weirder. There is only one thing I enjoy about emus, their eyes. They have such brightly colored eyes and it is there only redeeming feature to me.

Within an animals eyes lies all their beauty.

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Yellowstone: Day 6

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Today was our last day in Yellowstone and I can’t lie, it was pretty disappointing. The entire park was incredibly vacant of all life. There were so little animals that we saw almost nothing. This includes wolves. For the second year I am walking away from Yellowstone without a photo of a wolf. It is disappointing but I can not forget what a wonderful experience I have been blessed with. I got to see a fox, coyotes, eagles, buffalo, big horn sheep, and many other things. I have had a wonderful time but I really want to see the wolves.

Today was a really sparse day. I didn’t take any photos all day because there was absolutely nothing in the park. Near the end of the day we followed a coyote from round prairie to their family. There were four coyotes, a family, all playing and having fun. They were adorable and rambunctious.

They were far away but still really fun to watch as they chased and tackled each other.

After we left the coyotes it started snow extremely hard. Everything in the park was quickly covered in snow. It was beautiful to watch the snow coming down and coating the valley. We found some animals including buffalo covered in the snow. They sit so still that the snow just clings to them as if they were a part of the landscape.

Theses animals were about it for the entire day in the park. Except for the very last stretch of the road were we found a coyote trying to cross the road.

AS always, I wish I didn’t have t leave Yellowstone. There is never enough time to do everything. I hope I can return soon and hope to see and photograph wolves next time.

 

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Yellowstone: Day 5

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Today the wildlife activity in the park seemed to pick up a lot. We saw all sorts of animals. We started out with a small coyote who crossed the road in front of us only to soon disappear into the snow.

We also saw some more coyotes later in the day. One of which had found what appeared to be a large elk bone and was chewing on it for quite some time.

We also were able to see some buffalo fighting on a snow bank. One was clearly the victor and the other left in a huff. It was really interesting to watch but a little scary having a fight so close to the car. They were locking horns and butting heads for a few minutes in front of us.

Even more exciting was what we spent the majority of the day doing; following around a little fox. Foxes are one of my favorite types of animals and I think one of the most beautiful wildlife species to be found in Yellowstone. I have photographed a fox before, but this fox was different. He had so much fur and color that made him look fantastic.

At first I had seen him a very long way away in Lamar Valley hunting. I predicted that if I waited long enough he would come closer to the road where I could get a decent shot of him. So I nestled down into the snow and sat out in the valley and waited for him for about an hour. I almost gave up to go find another animal because I heard wolves howling nearby when sure enough he popped up right where I thought he would be. He came trotting along and quickly made his way across the valley and yet again disappeared from view. I got a shot though so it was ok. Then we left and came back about an hour or two later and found him again on the other side of the road. We quickly realized he was going to cross the road at some point so we waited diligently for him to take action.

Sure enough he began to quickly head to the road and we followed him.

After he crossed the road he sat down on the snow embankment to watch all the people who were frantically trying to capture his beauty in a snap shot. He was awe-inspiring with his cat-like looks and beautiful red fur. He also had amazingly puffy feet that made him look slightly lopsided and funny when he walked.

He was a perfect example of the amazing wildlife that Yellowstone has to offer.

After the fox disappeared off into the snow covered valley we got to see many other animals like some more big horn sheep, deer, and prong horns. It was a really good day in the park. Still no wolves however and tomorrow is our last day in the park. I really want to get some good shots of a wolf, so hopefully we will get to see them before we are gone.

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Yellowstone: Day 4

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Outside our hotel is a group of deer that seem to hang around at all times. This morning they were especially cute; they were all huddled up next to a house trying to stay warm. It is a nice thing to wake up and have wildlife basically sitting on your doorstep.

There was a lot less wind and bad weather today and even some really nice sun that greeted us frequently throughout the day. The remnants of yesterday still remained and the snow plows and blowers were out in full force trying to clear away all the snow off the roads.

It was really fun to watch the snow being jettisoned hundreds of feet into the air. After the roads were cleared we decided to take advantage of the sun and go snow shoeing. We went out to Lost Lake which included a hike through the Petrified Forest, and a beautiful walk through a snowy canyon way tat led to the lake. We also found a kill. it was an old dead buffalo that had been eaten from the inside. It was gruesome but interesting to see.

After our snowshoeing was over we drove around Lamar Valley looking for animals. Sadly still no wolf sightings and in fact there are very little animal sightings at all. It seems like our luck may be changing soon however. We found a beautiful bull elk that we were able to follow for a while. This means that the elk are moving into the valley which means that the wolves should soon follow.

And as our final good sign for our changing luck was a couple of coyotes running across the road right in front of us. They didn’t stay long but we got a couple of pictures.

Tomorrow is a new day and with that we hope, as always, to find and photograph wolves.

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Yellowstone: Day 3

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Today was a snow storm. There was so much snow and wind that it felt like a snow hurricane. At certain times we couldn’t even see the road. This also meant that we didn’t see that much wildlife. Still no sightings of wolves but we saw plenty of other animals. There were a lot of buffalos hanging out in the snow, hunkering down for the storm.

We also had a couple of coyotes run across the road in front of us.

The big horn sheep were out again in their usual spot by the rocky outcroppings. We saw some bulls and some juveniles.

We also we able to get some shots of the pronghorn antelopes as we were leaving the park. They are one of my favorite animals in the park because of their majestic beauty. They are beautiful animals with good markings, ig black eyes, and little horns. There is something so beautiful about them that I find so enticing.

It was too windy and snowy to go snow shoeing but it was still a good day. We are hoping for better weather and always more wolves. Hoping for a better tomorrow.

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