Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Travel

Grand Canyon Railway

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On our way out of Williams, AZ, this morning, Damsel got this shot of a vintage steam locomotive and caboose in the yard of the Grand Canyon Railroad The locomotive is still used for occasional trips to Grand Canyon Village. The railroad also uses more modern diesel electric locomotives on most of the runs to the rim. Click on the image to enlarge.

We were going to stay one more night on the road, but decided before pulling into the campground that we had plenty of vacation for the time being. We reset the GPS to take us the last 50 miles or so to our little home in Wickenburg, where we are enjoying recuperation and relaxation.

23 May 2012 by Arizona Photography Retirement Travel Wanderlust

The Colorado River and Grand Canyon

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We never get tired of seeing the scenery of the Grand Canyon. Although we didn’t spend a lot of time in the park today, I did manage to get a lot of nice photos. The one above is from a scenic view site about six miles west of the east entrance to the park on State Route 64. Click on the image to enlarge.

22 May 2012 by Arizona Photography Retirement Travel

Colors of the Desert

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This is a view of the lower Colorado River basin taken from US 89 west of Page, Arizona. The trees and terrain in the foreground are on the top of the mesa where the highway descends down into the basin. The ridge with the three peaks at the left and the cliffs beyond lie above the Colorado River on its journey toward Grand Canyon and beyond. Click on the image to enlarge.

21 May 2012 by Arizona Photography Retirement Travel

The Big House of Wupatki National Monument

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This is the Wukoki ruins in Wupatki National Monument. Wukoki is a modern Hopi word meaning “big house.” I took this image today as we went through Sunset Crater and Wupatki on our way from Flagstaff to Page, AZ. The ruins in the area are very well preserved and to my delight were accessible along a short foot path. Unlike Casa Grande (also meaning “big House”) near Coolidge, AZ, I could walk directly into this big house that was built over 900 years ago. Click on the image to enlarge.

19 May 2012 by Arizona Culture Photography Travel

Eclipse Excursion – Day One

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Today’s the first leg of our excursion to Page, AZ to witness the May 20, 2012 annular eclipse of the Sun. We had a good trip that took us from our Wickenburg home, through the Saguaro forests along AZ SR 74 to I-17, thence north to Flagstaff, where we set up camp for the night among the tall conifer trees. Tomorrow, we head towards the ultimate destination with a few scenic stops along the way. Click on the image to enlarge.

18 May 2012 by Arizona Retirement Travel

Roadwork

roadwork.jpgWhen we went to our friend’s house on the Colorado River last week, we encountered a little problem when towing the trailer down the drive to the road in front of the house. The last dozen feet or so of the road, it sloped downward a bit abruptly. There was no damage to the trailer, but the rear leveling jacks dug into the one-inch gravel for several feet.

Image: Before and after for the top of the drive and the end of the drive. Two feet wider at the top and flared at to bottom for more room. Click image to enlarge.

It just so happened that Kevin, our contractor (the gentleman that built our house) stopped by the day we got back from the river. I mentioned the problem on the RV drive to him and he agreed to bring his Caterpillar multi-purpose tractor and smooth out the grade to a gradual slope.

Today, we got the work done. Kevin ran the tractor and Damsel and I moved rocks, raked up gravel and helped a bit. It was a bit of work. Earlier in the day, Damsel and I widened the road at the top near the wash to make it easier to get the trailer around the curve. With Kevin’s help, we also widened the bottom of the road to enable a sharper turn when towing the trailer out.

Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, I want to hook the trailer up to the truck and tow it down and around to see if any more work is needed. Judging from the result from today’s work, I believe it will be just fine.

06 Apr 2012 by Arizona Retirement Travel

More Thoughts About the New Camera

telephoto.jpgI’ve had the new Canon SX40 HS camera for over a couple of weeks now and I am still getting used to all the features. This camera is just enough different from the old PowerShot that I have to think about how to operate it.

One thing I like a lot is the camera’s ability to zoom in on distant objects and get a clear image even though the camera is not on a tripod. The cottontail in the image above was sitting under a cholla about 25 yards up the wash behind our house. The red-eyed black bird was a bit closer, about 10 yards up in a mesquite tree across the road.

The viewfinder is sort of interesting; it’s not optics but rather there is an LCD display monitor behind the eyepiece. It acts as though it were a viewfinder on an SLR like Damsel’s Canon XTi. It takes a little getting used to it, but it works OK. If you open the flat panel display, it becomes active and the viewfinder is disabled.

Later this week, we’re going to take a trip across the Arizona Outback and head to some friends that live on the Colorado River near Parker, AZ. I plan to take a lot of pictures during the excursion. It will be our first trip in the new mobile home.

Click on the image above to enlarge.

25 Mar 2012 by Photography Retirement Travel

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