Society Islands - Tahiti

 

Tahiti and the Society Islands offer some of the most beautiful scenery and intense colors found anywhere in the world. The goat here is part of a herd running wild on Moorea. Not much animal life there but the landscapes are gorgeous. 

Cape May, NJ

Egrets are solitary birds. This one was the only sociable one out of many in Cape May, NJ.  Most others stayed well away from any photographers across the marshes.

This sea gull chased off any other birds that came near his lunch. He was feasting on a crab just to his right.

Chuckwalla

Found this critter warming up a on a rock near Mastodon Peak. They're larger and wider than regular lizards and almost the size of a gila monster. Good camouflage for the decomposed granite in the area too.

Red Tailed Hawk

Hawks are common around here. This one is a red tail. They are active throughout the day and feed mainly on small rodents. We have an abundance of ground squirrels in the area so this one should stay around for a while. It's always cool watching birds of prey in action.

Gold Mill

This is an abandoned gold processing mill that operated in the early to mid 1900's. Located in Joshua Tree National Park, it is reached by an easy 2.2 mile round trip hike. Of course, the rocks and canyon behind the mill require exploring as well which added a mile or so to our hike.

Joshua Tree National Park

We went hiking in Joshua Tree National Park the other day. Windy and cold was the order of the day. Quail Springs seemed like a just a short walk. Eight miles later we were done. I always have to see what's over the next hill. It was well worth the sore legs. In addition to beautiful scenery, we found a sheep skeleton with horns still attached. With the recent rains, the live ones have moved deeper into the back country. That sounds like an excuse for another hike.

Coyote Buttes

The Coyote Buttes area in extreme northern Arizona contains sandstone formations within a wilderness area that are amazing geological wonders. While hiking this area it is easy to imagine oneself on another world. A 3-4 mile hike over the hills brings you to a formation called "The Wave". The layers of sandstone here swirl through the hills and give the impression of being inside a wave at the beach. Each layer of stone is colored by different minerals making each one slightly different. The surrounding area also includes slot canyons, Tee Pees and enough interesting formations to keep me busy for days. The area itself is so fragile that a permit system is in place to limit visitors to 20 per day. Permits can be difficult to obtain but well worth the effort.