Silhouetted Palms

I love silhouettes. They just have such a great look to them. I must remember to do more of them in the future.

 

Chris. 

Sand Dunes

We took the time to visit the sand dunes in the south east corner of California again while we were down there. I love all that sand. Everywhere you look you see sand. It's like the worlds largest beach.

 

Chris. 

Date Palms.

If you've never seen how dates are grown and harvested this could be a shock! They grow and are harvested at the tops of these date palms. It's a labor intensive process but the resulting fruit is like nothing else on this planet! So delicious. The palms are as high as a telephone pole. Huge.

 

Chris. 

A Kid, A Wall and Foot Pegs!

There is just something about a climbing wall that kids just cannot resist!

Chris.

At The Mexico Border

We took a drive down to San Luis, Arizona to touch the Mexico border fence with our bare hands. Unlike the crossing, your really not supposed to hang out at this fence. LOL.

You can see the border patrol truck on the other side of the fence as they drove by to check us out. They gave us no hassle but they were watching.

Chris.

Moon Rise

 

This was the other reason I wanted to head out to the mountains when we did. Full moon. The sunset and moonrise were less than 30 minutes apart so I was sure there would be great photo opps. These were hard to get without my tripod but  I'm happy with the result.

Chris. 

 

Desert Sunset

There is something so awe inspiring about a sunset in the desert. I can't describe it. Just the way the sun dipped behind the mountains in the west. It just made me stare in awe.

I love the orange glow in this photo. So warm and inviting. I wish I was close enough to the highway to have gotten on the other side of the power lines but I still love this photo.

 

When the sun was almost completely under the horizon I spotted this. The colors were quickly moving from orange to purple and then to black. Such an amazing sight.

Chris. 

Cacti and Rock

I definitely need to go back to the deserts of Arizona and capture some more images like these. On our next trip down there I'm planning a whole day in the Kofa National Wildlife Reserve. I could easily have spent an entire day here.

Our next trip down won't be for several years now I think so the kids will be older and will be able to handle a day with Dad in the desert....or not. LOL.

I had to drive out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge while we were so close. I was hoping to see some wildlife and get some great landscape photos. We saw one small snake and were warned off by a rattle snake but other than that all I got were some great landscape photos. I forgot my tripod back at the park, still kicking myself over that one, but still managed some pretty nice photos.

This is the point at which I decided to return to the rental van. I had lost the trail and didn't want to get too far from the van and have to cut right across country to get back to it.

As we were making our way back to the van, I spotted a line of cacti growing up and along this ridge line. I really liked how they formed an arc in the image. There are more further up the mountain but they would not fit into the composition.

This small cactus was just loaded with spines! I can't even imagine falling onto that one. Oh, just after this image, we were warned by a rattle snake. Startled us but it was a few yards to our south and only rattled at us twice then left us alone. I couldn't see it and decided not to search for it even though I really wanted that photo!

This was the largest cactus in the area. It was just standing out by itself keeping watch on the area like a silent guard.

You can't visit the desert mountains without looking for this classic desert scene! I had timed our trip so we would be leaving around sunset and I knew the setting sun would shine some fantastic light on the area. All I needed to do was pick my spot and wait for the light. I saw this scene on our way into the area and made note of it for the drive out.

Chris.

Mountain Scape

 

I had to drive out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge while we were so close. I was hoping to see some wildlife and get some great landscape photos. We saw one small snake and were warned off by a rattle snake but other than that all I got were some great landscape photos. I forgot my tripod back at the park, still kicking myself over that one, but still managed some pretty nice photos.

Don't you just want to climb this?

Chris. 

Signal Peak.

 

I had to drive out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge while we were so close. I was hoping to see some wildlife and get some great landscape photos. We saw one small snake and were warned off by a rattle snake but other than that all I got were some great landscape photos. I forgot my tripod back at the park, still kicking myself over that one, but still managed some pretty nice photos.

This is looking east into Palm Canyon at signal peak. I lost the trail and never did make it to the palms but we still had a great time walking around the area.

Chris. 

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

 

I had to drive out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge while we were so close. I was hoping to see some wildlife and get some great landscape photos. We saw one small snake and were warned off by a rattle snake but other than that all I got were some great landscape photos. I forgot my tripod back at the park, still kicking myself over that one, but still managed some pretty nice photos.

Chris. 

More From The Camel Farm

I have been trying to post just one image from our vacation per day. I've made it over a week and it's killing me to do this. So, in order to get to the stuff I really want to share, I'm pushing things along a bit. Here are 4 images from the Camel Farm we visited.

 

Check out the eyes on this goat! They are just amazing. None of the others had these blue eyes.

This water buffalo's hair was very coarse. Like a scrub brush. It was very friendly though. Really liked the attention.

I'm pretty sure this goat was watching the kids with the treats but I think he just wanted me to get his best side. :)

Every where the kids walked, the goats followed. It was pretty cute.

Chris.

New Born!!

 

We went to the Camel Farm by Yuma to check out the exotic animals. Most of what they have are run of the mill goats and donkeys but it was fun none the less.

This goat was born only a couple of minutes before we got to the pen. The mother was still licking him clean. The kids were fascinated that it could stand and walk already.

Chris. 

Waiting For More.

 

We went to the Camel Farm by Yuma to check out the exotic animals. Most of what they have are run of the mill goats and donkeys but it was fun none the less.

This great donkey was just begging for me to keep scratching his neck. He was my best friend the whole time I was beside him.

Chris. 

Hi There!

 

We went to the Camel Farm by Yuma to check out the exotic animals. Most of what they have are run of the mill goats and donkeys but it was fun none the less.

The donkeys all just wanted some petting and attention.

Chris. 

Do I Smell Treats?!

 

We went to the Camel Farm by Yuma to check out the exotic animals. Most of what they have are run of the mill goats and donkeys but it was fun none the less.

This guy was very interested in the treats we bought to feed them.

Chris.