Latest Photos




These are pictures from my April, 2008 trip to the desert.

Tule Elk

These four pictures of Tule Elk were taken at the San Luis Wildlife Refuge, where they were just standing in clear view. Lots of racks!
White Faced Ibis

We stopped to photograph a White-faced Ibis...
Red-winged Blackbird in Flight

And got the miracle. I've been trying to photograph a red-winged blackbird for over a decade, but they're usually flushed at too great a distance. I just managed to snap this shot with the blackbird at exactly the correct distance, at a fast enough shutter speed (0.001 seconds) and just enough depth of field. I was very lucky, but it's a nice picture.
Red-winged Blackbird in Flight

This one isn't as good.
White-faced Ibis

We then returned to the ibis for several more photographs.
Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon State Park is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, just north of Mojave. It's where the desert meets the mountains, and the rock formations are vibrant, particularly when the sun first hits them in the morning.
150,000

My Explorer reached 150,000 miles.
Trona Pinnacles

The Trona Pinnacles are fascinating. They are old tufa (similar to the tufa at Mono Lake) but the lake has dried up and left a salt flat. So the pinnacles are now complete, and calcifying. In some of them, particularly from a distance, they look like dogs' teeth, but when you get closer, some of them are pretty big. Few people make it out to Trona, and few of them go to the pinnacles, they're not easily seen from paved roads and they are not well known.
Desert Dandelion

Desert Dandelions were the most common flower we saw.
Unidentified Desert Flower

I've not found an ID for this flower... yet.
Desert Chicory

Desert Chocory mixed with dandelions.
Unidentified

 
Desert View

The desert view from Hole in the Rock.
Hole in the Rock

Hole in the Rock had some fantastic rock formations.
Mesa

A Distant Mesa. Note the different erosion rates.
Hole in the Rock

More Holes.
Green Desert

These mountains were green... Either they were about to bloom, or we just missed it.
Yucca Flower

Yucca flowers were pretty common.
Joshua Tree Flower

A flowering Joshua Tree
Ocotillo

The ocotillo were in bloom.
Snowcaps from Keys View

The skies were very clear for viewing a good distance, and these snowcaps were clear.
Looking to People

The view into the valley was a bit more murky.
A lizard

A loan lizard.
Joshua Trees in Bloom

The joshua trees were still in bloom.
Yucca in Bloom

The yuccas were also impressive.
Vervain

Vervain.
Phlox

Phlox
Desert Dandelions

The most common flower was the desert dandelion.
Flowers

More random flowers.
Hedgehog Cactus

Hedgehog cactus was also blooming.
Eagle Mountain Ghost Town

Eagle Mountain used to be a mining town, and also a prison town, but was closed down in 2003. The ghost town is fenced off with a caretaker, in the hopes that it can become a town again.
Harbor Seals

It was low tide at Bolinas Lagoon, so there weren't many birds. The seals were hanging out, though.
Western Grebe

A solitary Western Grebe came into view.
Canada Goslings

These goslings were swimming on Lake Nummy.
Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird was high in the tree.
Phoebe

A Phoebe was barely visible.




Return to the Galleries Page
Return to my home page


All images are © Copyright 2008 James C. Armstrong, Jr.