Only 2 more days...

til my vacation!! I can't wait. I already booked my campsites and hotel for the trip. I can't go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon since the road to it won't be open til May 15th. Darn. I will have to save that for another trip. I also can't go to Cedar Breaks National Park since THAT road is closed too! Oh well. This is my planned itinerary:

Saturday - Leave here around 4 or 5 am. Drive from Bakersfield to Valley of Fire State Park (about 50 miles from Las Vegas). See the sights...take pictures. Camp there overnight.

Sunday -Leave Valley of Fire State Park and drive to Zion National Park. Have reservations for Watchman Campground for 3 nights. Check out the scenery. Take in a few hikes.

Monday - leave really early from Zion and drive to Monument Valley (about 253 miles from Zion) - more picture taking....scenic drive tour of the park. After plenty of pictures have been taken and souvenirs bought, drive to 4 Corners Monument. I have always wanted to be in 4 places at one time - hehe. (4 corners is about 1-2 hours from Monument Valley)... drive back to Zion (this will be the longest drive of the trip probably)

Tuesday - Zion National Park - more hiking, picture taking, souvenir shopping at the Visitor Center...and some relaxation!

Wednesday - drive to Bryce Canyon (about 86 miles from Zion) - Have reservations at Bryce View Lodge for Wed and Thurs night - sight seeing, picture taking and finally a shower!!!!!! (no showers at Watchman Campground - I will be smelly by then - lol)

Thursday - all day at Bryce Canyon - hiking, sight seeing, souvenir shopping and more relaxation!!

Friday - packing it up and calling it a trip. Heading back to Bake-O. This might not be as long a drive as it will be on Monday (but long enough! about 549 miles!) , but undoubtedly will be the most exhausting. I might have to overnight it somewhere along the way..... perhaps Mojave National Preserve??? It's all up in the air from this point on.

I will post pictures from my cell phone here from time to time on my OTHER BLOG. Will try to do it daily (unless I have no cell service - lol).

I am seriously excited!!!

Decisions, decisions!

I am debating on where I should go first on my vacation. My original plan was to go to Valley of Fire State Park then to Zion National Park, then Bryce Canyon NP then to Monument Valley, then to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (no not all in one day!). But now, I am thinking maybe about hitting the North Rim first, then Monument Valley, Bryce, Zion and then Valley of Fire. Hmmm....I want to hit all of those places (maybe throwing in Canyonlands NP or Grand Staircase NM if I have time and money - lol - I have my National Parks pass so at least I save money on the entrance fees - hehe). I dunno. We'll see which route I take. I have to figure this out by Friday, since I want to leave early Saturday morning. I am not normally a planning-out-my-trip kind of person. I am more of the play-it-by-ear type, but I have a week vacation, not 2 so I have to kind of plan it out. (I SHOULD have asked for 2 weeks!!!) I checked the weather, and it says it will be good, so I am crossing my fingers. I can't wait!

The joys of a macro lens

Ok - the photo below was taken on my patio, so it doesn't qualify as a travel or an adventure, but I wanted to put it here because I am sure I will be uploading these kind of pictures a lot, now that I have a macro lens. I just love it. You can capture the most minute detail, such as a waterdrop on a leaf, or an aphid on a flower with a macro lens. If you like to take pictures of flowers or just of nature in general, a macro lens is a must. Now, I am still learning how to use this lens. I have to get readjusted to thinking about f-stops and shutter speeds and ISO's now that I have a digital SLR. The old Kodak point and shoot camera is great, but for close-ups, it plain sucks, and the shutter lag is a complete drag. The digital SLR gives me a lot more freedom in choosing what I want the shots to look like. There are so many options! I loved my dad's old Pentax SLR, but I am totally digging the digital SLR's because you can practice and practice and never waste film. And you can see your results immediately instead of waiting for film to get processed.

I am going on vacation next week, and am planning on going to Bryce Canyon National Park, and maybe hitting up Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, as those places are all within just a few hours of each other. Can't wait to take some more pictures!!! lol.

Close up of a leaf - using a macro lens

Sacramento Wildlife Complex

Sacramento National Wildlife Complex

Black-Tailed Jackrabbit hiding in the grass

A pair of ears in the grass

Black Tailed Jackrabbit

Black Tailed Jackrabbit

Greater Yellowlegs

Ring-Necked Pheasant

White-Faced Ibis

Red-Winged Blackbird

Northern Shoveler

Northern Harrier

Mourning Dove

A Pair of Cinnamon Teals

Canada Geese

Black-Necked Stilt

San Luis Wildlife Refuge

The San Luis Wildlife Refuge is located in Los Banos, CA.



I posted a few pics below.


Links to Check Out:


San Luis Wildlife Refuge
San Luis Wildlife Refuge Complex

Western Kingbird

Song Sparrow

Great Egret

The Great Egret is similar to the Snowy Egret. Except, the Great Egret has black legs and a yellow beak. The Snowy Egret has a black beak and black legs with yellow feet. The young Snowy Egrets have black legs with yellow going up the back of them.

Great Blue Heron

American Coot

Kern National Wildlife Refgue and Tule Elk State Reserve

I went to the Kern National Wildlife Refuge on Easter Sunday with my friend, Arlene. When I first heard there was a wildlife refuge in Kern County near Bakersfield, I didn't think much of it. What kind of wildlife could be near Bakersfield?? Well, there are more animals and birds around here than one would think.

The refuge consists of over 11,249 acres of land, including wetlands and riparian areas and is home to over 200 species of birds, some of which winter here, such as the Sandhill Crane. On my visit, I saw several species of birds including: Red-Winged and Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, American Coots, Cinnamon Teals, American Avocets, Snowy Egrets, Black Necked Stilts and Killdeer, just to name a few.

While the area seems to be predominantly occupied by birds, there are also other forms of wildlife present such as Cottontail Rabbits, American Ground Squirrels, Coyotes, San Joaquin Kit Foxes, Bullfrogs ,Western Rattlesnakes and Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizards.

I have been to the area twice so far and on one trip, I spotted a Coyote in the wetlands, probably hunting for some dinner. At the first parking lot, there are a few lakes where you can hear the Bullfrogs croaking (but I have yet to see one - they seem to be good at hiding).

The refuge is open everyday, from sunrise to sunset, with a few exceptions. The auto tour route is closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays during waterfowl hunting season, which runs from October thru the end of January. The refuge headquarters are open from 7 am to 4:30 pm.

The refuge is located off of the I-5 at the Highway 46/Lost Hills exit, 18 miles west of Delano, CA.

We also visited the Tule Elk State Reserve. The reserve is home to a small herd of Tule Elk, a species that was nearly brought to extinction, but now is making a recovery thanks to reserves such as this. The elk were pretty far out in the park, but we were able to see them with binoculars. The reserve is also a nice little area for bird watching. I saw several species of birds there including Red-Winged Blackbirds, American Robins, California Valley Quail, Western Kingbirds and Western Meadowlarks. We also spotted 2 pairs of Burrowing Owls near the reserve, just off the side of the road.

The Tule Elk State Reserve is located off of the I-5 at the Stockdale Highway exit, about 3 miles to the west. It is open every day from 8 am to sunset.

I posted a few pictures below.

Links to Check Out:


Kern National Wildlife Refuge
Tule Elk State Reserve

American Robin - Tule Elk State Reserve

Burrowing Owls

Tule Elk

American Coot

A pair of Mallard Ducks

One of the many lakes in the Refuge

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

Lesser Yellowlegs

Western Kingbird

Cottontail Rabbit

California Ground Squirrel

Pair of Killdeer

These two guys were in the road. I guess the one on top wanted a better view, because he hopped on top of the other one's back and just stood there for a while.

Killdeer

I bought myself a birthday present today. I got me a new digital SLR camera....





It is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi - I have been playing around with it for a little while and already LOVE it. I also got a 75-300 mm lens and a 18-55 mm lens and a shutter release remote control. I spent a pretty penny on it, but hell. I am worth it I want a macro lens too, but that is gonna cost me another $400-$500. Maybe in a month or two....but I MUST have it - lol. I am such a nerd.

I smell a road trip coming on..... hehe

California Living Museum (CALM)

I went with Arlene to CALM (California Living Museum) last Saturday. It was a nice day. Sunny and warm. I had a good time, except when I dropped my cell phone (I didn't discover that I had lost it until an hour or 2 later when I was at Best Buy). Luckily, some nice person turned it in so I was able to get it back. (THANK YOU nice person, whoever you are!)

I posted a few pics below.


Links to check out:

CALM

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Desert Mallow

Golden Eagle

Desert Tortoises

These 2 guys were fighting. I took this picture as the bigger guy flipped the smaller guy on his back.

Bald Eagle

Bay Area Trip 3/30/07

I took a drive up to San Francisco on Friday. It was one of those spontaneous trips. I decided on Thursday that I was going to go, just for the day. But after driving up there and seeing what the Bay Area had to offer as far as sight-seeing, I decided that the next time I go up there, it will be at least for 2 days (preferably 3 - hehe).

I had wanted to check out Muir Woods National Monument for quite some time, but had never gotten to go. After stopping off at the Golden Gate Bridge to take some pictures and grab a few souvenirs at the gift shop, I made my way across the bridge .... next stop, Muir Woods.

Well, when I got to Muir Woods, the parking lot was full. The overflow parking lot was also full, as was the off-road parking along the roadway. After making several passes thru both lots and the roadside parking and still finding no spaces, I decided to head further north to Stinson Beach and Point Reyes National Seashore.

Stinson Beach was a nice little spot to take a breather from driving. There were some wildflowers, so I took some pictures. I walked around the park a little bit and some on the seashore before heading back to the car and back to driving.

On the way, I spotted some seals sunning themselves a little offshore and some Egrets and Pacific Loons wading and swimming in the water searching for food. There were quite a few wildflowers along the road as well, such as California Poppies, Calla Lilies, Iceplant and Forget Me Nots.

I ended up driving up to Point Reyes and checking out just a few of the many spots along the way, such as North Beach and South Beach. I tried to go check out the lighthouse, but again found myself without a place to park. I did get to check out the Visitor Center and pick up a few souvenirs though.

After that, I decided to try to see if I could find a place to park at Muir Woods again. So I made my way back and low and behold, I found a place to park this time! However, I didn't get there til a little after 5 pm, and it was at least a 5 hour drive home, so I couldn't stay very long. I checked out the Visitor Center and got a few souvenirs and then decided to check out one of the trails, even if I couldn't go very far. After all, I had come all that way! I had to at least get a few pictures. The woods were beautiful, full of redwood trees and ferns. I wanted to stay longer, but I was only able to snap a few pictures before leaving as it would be getting dark soon and I wanted to take a few more pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge before I went home.

On the way back to San Francisco, I took the Golden Gate National Recreation Area exit (right before you get on the bridge). There are some stunning views of the bridge and of the city from there. I wish I could have stayed later to take some night shots....maybe next time. There is another lighthouse up there at Point Bonita, but it was closed when I got there.

After taking some more pictures, I made my way back across the bridge and then back home to Bakersfield. I didn't get home til nearly midnight (I had left Bakersfield around 6:20 am that morning) and was tired and hungry and my hands hurt like heck, but all in all, I had a good trip.

Next time, I am staying overnight up there. There is just so much to see and do. Too much to do in just a few hours. There still is Fisherman's Wharf, The Presidio, Mount Tamalpais State Park, Drake's Beach, and soooo much more.

I posted pictures below (of course - hehe)

Miles Traveled: 286 miles one-way : 572 miles round-trip

Links to Check Out:

Muir Woods Nationsl Monument
Muir Woods
Point Reyes National Seashore
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate Bridge
Mount Tamalpais State Park
Stinson Beach History