The Dark of Night

After clouds, a thunder storm, some campground lights, and wrong locations I was finally able with Roy’s assistance to get some Milky Way pictures. June 11th was the night that both of us realized how dark the night is. We even got lucky and had just a tad of light from a building which allowed for some semi natural light painting. I will take any help I can get when it comes to lighting up the dark scenery. We are returning tonight to the same area just a different position.

I was spooked by the quiet of the night. It was funny we were near water so every little plop I heard the hairs on my neck would rise up. I lived in Florida so water + plop equals Alligator just saying. So there were no gators only maybe a turtle or two, we did see a sign for turtles not gators. I will say there were a couple of times during the night I did feel like I was being watched and it was not Roy’s eyes. It was just almost like whatever it was might have been just curious, if not I would have been eaten. I am not sure if this was intentional or not but I found that both of us were talking in hushed tones, it almost felt like when you were a kid and did not want to get caught talking in church. Very peaceful and strangely refreshing. I also tried my hand at some night landscape that I need to work on that is also another beast in it’s own way. As we were getting ready to leave Roy asked if I wanted to leave my tri-pod there until tomorrow, I said no. Well I get all packed and put me seat belt on and say I’m ready to go. He asked are you sure. I had left my tripod I am so glad he looks after me. (this is after he couldn’t stop laughing).

So I am finding the internet does not work very well during the day, maybe that’s when we are supposed to be out exploring. I did do a little bit of exploring earlier in the day due to internet not cooperating. Custer State Park is broke up into three scenic drive areas 1. Iron Mountain Road (twisty turning) leads to Mount Rushmore. This road also has pigtail bridges and one lane tunnels. 2. Wildlife loop here you will find bison, burros, Prairie Dogs, and an occasional deer. 3. Needles Highway there is a tunnel that feels like you are being threaded through a needle. That isn’t how it got it’s name. We will be driving each of these and I know I will have some pictures.

So before our night adventure began we decided to drive into the town of Custer. Yes, I bought a t-shirt. I also stopped in the visitor center where I got more travel books. I was also warned tongue in cheek – not to hang here during Sturgis unless I enjoy mega crowds. They are looking forward to it after last summer. After browsing through them I see a trip to Wind and Jewel cave in the future. Plus I found info on what to do when we are in Rapid City. After the adventure of the ‘big’ city we decided to head up to Sylvan Lake lodge (we were thinking dinner). The lodge was just too crowded and lacked parking. I was able to practice some landscapes and people scapes. So we took a short drive down the needles highway.

I do want to share a snippet or preview of one way traffic. Coming down the Needles highway we approach a one lane tunnel, there is a little bit of a bottle neck. We could have gotten on the end of this round of going through the tunnel but we waited. So after four cars went through coming towards us we decide to inch forward. Picture this we are inching our way in the tunnel and this little car enters the opposite end. A true game of chicken. (Roy did not back down). It was cute watching the little car creep out in reverse.

So for dinner we ended up at the Blue Bell Lodge, they have the sweetest lean Buffalo. (Which probably roamed the grounds at one point. ) They advertise that it is from South Dakota. From here we headed home did some web surfing and started our night adventure.

I am posting some photos of the buffalo from our first night in the park

Blowing in the Wind

A few things to know about Wyoming it is windy, high, friendly people and you cross the Continental Divide. We were at 7000 feet while we were in Lyman WY and we are at 7000 feet tonight in Rawlins WY. We do start down the other side tomorrow, Casper WY is only around 5500 feet. We have had wind before today mostly a tail wind which has saved on gas. Today however we had a crosswind, and an 8 foot wide dust devil to deal with. This is another time I am thankful my husband was a trucker, we went for a sway but he was able to let the devil pass at the best place it could. The people we have come in contact with are very sincere and happy, it is amazing and refreshing. I get the impression in this part of the country people seem more relaxed, and less stressed. Crossing the Continental Divide occurred twice today once at 12:30pm elevation 6930 then again at 1:30pm elevation 7000 it is amazing 70 feet does make a difference.

I am running a streak we saw another couple of wild horses today which adds to the total for the trip. No bison yet but did see some pronghorn antelope that aren’t really antelope. Find out why here As always there were plenty of cows.

Some nostalgia for Roy at leaving Lyman WY today we were able to get gas at the original Little America. He told me the story about this being one of the places he would stop when he was driving truck. Speaking about his trucking days, I was able to see the original two lane I80 next to the current I80. I also was able to feel what it must have been like driving a two lane interstate, there was construction on the westbound side of the road for about 18 miles. I would say interesting is an understatement.

I was able to take a few quick shots with my cell phone of snow fences. You can tell which way the snow blows by the direction of the fence. The other way I was able to tell we were in snow country were the gates and signs that read when flash return to ……. I am so glad we did not go through this area closer to winter, I am a snow magnet.

I am fixing the last paragraph as I fell asleep while writing, sorry about that.

I have yet to be able to get a Milky Way shot. Lyman WY was a nice level spot good view interesting foreground clouds suck. The night at Rawlins I couldn’t see the core but I was able to see a part of the Milky Way. The campground is too close to I80 for me to get good pictures. I am hoping maybe Casper WY but for sure Custer. In the coming days you will see a group of pictures from our first week, and I will also put together a post covering things I forgot to mention, in my other posts.

Legal High Point

I have to say today I was higher than I’ve been in a long time. The views were amazing although the amount of winter homes dotting the mountains near Sundance and Park City Utah were a tad distracting. The first part of the rise out of Salt Lake City was gently curvy it seemed like a lazy gentle rise. The second part past Sundance on the way to Park City felt more like being pulled straight up. Right outside of Salt Lake City we passed Bridal Veil Falls, no pictures I did not think to grab my phone which I did grab for some older cars. Speaking of old cars they must have been a meet-up happening or they were just out for a Sunday drive on Monday.

This trip we have seen more wild horses than on any of our other trips. In fact today we were lucky to see three separate groups. The first group was near water with a dozen foals some were resting on the ground while the mares flipping their tails to keep the young cool. I also saw one nursing it is so amazing to be able to experience the mother baby bond. This group was near Beaver not so far down the road there was a group of three stallions hanging together. On the climb outside of SLC was the third group a few Appaloosa with also fouls. We saw a larger group on yesterday also.

All of the animals we’ve seen so far have had a fair amount of babies. In fact, we must have been seeing a calf take his/her first steps, it seems out west they let mother nature take control. Who would have thunk Wyoming had so many sheep and yes there was a black sheep in every flock we saw. Birds have been of the robin variety with a few (sea)gulls put in the mix.

Tomorrow we are on the way to Rawlins, WY which means one day closer to Custer State Park. Tonight I’m out to find the milky way.

We found Beaver

So today was day two, 6/6/21. We are enjoying cool breezes and open windows, the last two days were brutal in the heat department. Over 100 degrees, Beaver Utah is about 80 and the nice part of this is it should get a tad cooler. Every trip requires a mascot and ours is (wood) Chuck a stuffed Beaver. I will be posting his photo bombs in the future.

The drive up today was interesting, a lot of traffic going from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Utah. Las Vegas is open for business, full capacity the employees were fully masked but the crowds were about 1/3 masked. The place itself was also extremely busy. We were able to have dinner at the Angry Butcher with a friend.

So far not many wild animals, did see some wild horses and a few ravens just above St. George Utah. The ravens were just dotting the skies. The landscapes though have become covered with solar panels which to the naked eye look like lakes. The night sky is dark which is amazing to be away from light pollution.

On a side note we (Roy and I) are still doing daily short video clips on every subject. At the rally in October we will show the DVD.

It’s TIME

Yes, summer 2021 is here and we will be off like a herd of turtles. We have five days of one night stands and then we are onto Custer State Park for a month. I really hope to capture Mount Rushmore in all it’s glory. There will be lots of night photography and I hope to capture some animals along the way.

I am posting pictures of May’s full moon. It was extremely cloudy and due to some issues these were taken from our patio. Enjoy.

Can’t wait to hit the road.

People of the Night

I do not mean vampires, although I do hear the howl of coyotes when I am out at night. We decided to travel out on a night with no moon it is the best time to see my new love, The Milky Way. Roy does not need to get jealous because I need him to drive on these dates. If you are interested in finding out when the best time to go and see the milky way is check out the Photopills App Our first stop of the night was off the I10 on Box Canyon road I had a great view of the milky way but any panoramas I would attempt would not work. So plan B head up to Joshua Tree National Park, there is a parking area near the Cottonwood Campground. This is becoming my go to spot when I’m in the park. So what about those people of the Night I mention.

We pull down the road and see one other car and see he is stargazing so we think. After I get set up, and take some photographs I notice that my foreground is not quite in sharp focus. I am also working on nighttime panoramas. I have my nodel rail which keeps the horizon in line. I added a rotator that allows me to advance my camera by a certain number of degrees so it is easier to stitch the pictures together. Before I had this I had to turn on a light and make sure the camera was moved correctly. Special gadgets make life easy. I then notice my foreground wasn’t quite in focus. So I pull out the big light so Roy can illuminate a tree I can focus on. I think at this point I captured the curiosity of the Night person I hear foot steps and a voice what are you shooting? I explained the milky way and some light painting. Like every night time person I’ve met out here in the night he was very friendly and helpful. I asked him what he was doing, he said is is more into astrophotography. He mentioned his set up was to photograph nebulas. Here is his website Orion Bear Astronomy enjoy his awesome pictures. His timer went off and Roy said when you come back he wanted to know what every nebula was.

He did return with his pointer and some amazing explanations, Roy said he was only joking he just can not see the shapes in the sky. I on the other hand said please go ahead. The Picture on the right shows the Sagittarius Star Cluster I think. I was just amazed at his knowledge. Unfortunately I got a lot of information all at once and some stuff did not stick. The cluster that I always bring out the pink purple colors is called the Lagoon Nebula. I also learned a few of the constellations that surround the milky way, one of this is the scorpion it does pop out once he traced it for me. I am interested in getting a pointer not sure I am ready to upgraded my camera for an astro set-up. We did talk that I might be able to use my long lens on a tracker and get some of the Nebulas out there. I will make that a next summer project. (JK)

Just talking in between shots we looked over and were able to watch Jupiter rising. I was able to capture it just coming over the mountain.

Later in the evening I was trying to capture Cassiopeia I was not very successful I will however try that constellation later this summer. We also tried some light painting to see if that could bring more attention the the stars, that was an epic fail. I also had as you can see a plane fly through the scene. This was towards the end of the night of the night and the cold was effecting my brains. (my story).

I enjoyed meeting Anthony and was glad that he wanted to share his knowledge with me. We did call it a night and I went over to check his setup and thank him for opening my eyes to the night sky. I am now excited for the Griffith Observatory to open so I can get up close to the stars.

Spring Cleaning

or should I say under remodeling. I asked a question about what and how people wanted to experience my travel blog this summer. The most common answer I got was whatever works for me. I want to make this a joint experience for you and me. I will be blogging about what we encounter and adding a few pictures in those blogs. I have also set a part of the site aside just for photographs under the menu Captured. Right now it is under A-Frame. This is a learning experience for me also.

In the coming weeks you will see some changes in the layout and featured content so as they say “Pardon the DUST”

April is so Pink

Yes I am almost ready for May moonshot. I have a spot when I am at home that I shoot from. My secret spot until there is a super full moon that is. This month I had two other photographers join me. One even got in my shot. I was able to keep some of the foreground because we still had some sunlight when the moon was rising. This year photographing the moon I am able to stretch my limits and learn more about composition. It does help that I am involved in two night photography Facebook groups.

May full moon we will still be here so I will see if my secret spot is back to being secret.

Poofect Ending ….

to an amazing weekend. I have a feeling our travels this year will be filled with humor, and ‘that really happened’ blogs. I say this with a smile and a shake of the head.

I had such a great time hanging in Anza Borrego and I have photos to prove it. I am working on editing and sharing those here and on facebook. This however is too juicy not to share ahead of those posts. As you know there is always a back story and lead up so let me start.

I woke up this morning, Monday, thinking what a full couple of days time to pack up and head home. I get dressed and think what should I wear jeans tennis shoes or sandals and shorts. We have to do the black tank and that is always messy so I decided on shorts and sandals. (SMART Move). Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the loading of the car, breakfast, finishing packing up, even getting Roy up. I am pleasantly surprised thinking we might get out of here way earlier then I thought. I have started helping with the outside when I can, today was one of those days. This is where Murphy showed up, I did invite him though unwittingly. I learned it is like saying quiet or slow in the OR. So here goes

I get the electric cord picked up and put away (so glad that I did),
Put my gloves on
Take out the sewer hose.
Made sure the hose connections are tight and secure
Gave the gate handles on both tanks an extra push to make sure they were closed

Those are all the right steps and I’m whipping through them. I squat down with the hose in my hand and am getting ready to connect the hose. People who know me know that squatting and balance and me can be an interesting combo. I am so glad I listened to the little voice in my head that said adjust your stance and where your feet are. Roy, put a cap on the sewer pipe that had a handle so it is easier to twist off, that is what I did. As I go to turn the handle I hear a gush, I struggle to get the cap on without getting covered in poo I did. I also experienced the longest 30 seconds of my life. The only thought that went through my head was OH CRAP!! The next thought was glad I didn’t shower last night.

This could have been so much worse.

I only got my sandals messy
I did not fall on my butt in the liquid mess
I had shorts on so I didn’t have to change
This was at the campsite not the dump station
Only a little came out

I share this for a couple of reasons: 1st it is funny, I didn’t get hurt, it wasn’t that messy. 2nd if you have full hook-ups at your campsite you should hook up the sewer hose and leave the gate handle closed when you arrive. As I am still shaking my head Roy is cleaning the site with a hose, so it doesn’t stink for the next camper. All I have to say you are not camping until you have a mess to clean up. Next up PICTURES.