Sunday, May 06, 2007
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
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!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
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
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.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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
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
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