Last July 21st, Damsel took this picture near Moab, Utah. We were on our summer vacation and the petrol was pricey. Thank goodness that we’re in better shape for our upcoming trailer-towing excursion as we drive up the California Coastline – real soon now . . .
Well, we’re not exactly Buzz Lightyear, but with our new Garmin nüvi GPS navigation system, we will be able to find our way around during some upcoming excursions. We will be going on our summer vacation soon, so we decided to get this system installed so we can both figure out how to use it.
Now that our retirement goal is in sight, we plan to be on the go a lot more when we do retire. But, that being said, we still have a couple of adventures left before we retire. One is the summer vacation coming up soon and the other is the GUN BLOGGER RENDEZVOUS in September. We don’t plan on getting lost for that one, for sure.
Speaking of GBR-IV, are you registered yet?
In April, we camped along the Colorado River at the KOA in Blythe, CA. Before heading off to Phoenix and the NRA Convention that day, we took a little walk along the river. At one point, I thought I saw something moving in the water. It turned out to be a spotted catfish whose natural camouflage made it difficult to see until it moved. I estimate that this fish is about 20 inches in length. Click image to enlarge.
Sounds weird, but this is the bloom on a beavertail cactus. The cactus is similar to the prickly pear cactus whose growth is similar to the flat oval structure of a beaver’s tail. These hot pink springtime flowers are seen in various locations in Joshua Tree National Park.
Every once in a while, when I’m at my desk working, I get a twinge of wanderlust. When the great outdoors calls me, I go to the National Park Service Web Cameras page. From there, I can navigate to some of our favorite places in near real time.
I made this mosaic from several of the images I looked at during my lunch break.
Available webcams on the NPS Page:
Even though the mission of the webpage is to raise awareness of air quality, I like the instant gratification of seeing what the conditions are like in several different parks across the country.
Disclaimer: Some sites are in maintenance mode and the Hawaiian volcano site does not have a camera. Bookmark the site and when you get wanderlust, you can get a peek into the great outdoors.
From the page:
The National Park Service operates digital cameras at many parks to help educate the public on air quality issues. These cameras often show the effects of air pollution such as visibility impairment. Because these cameras are typically located near air quality monitoring sites, the camera web pages display other information along with the photo such as current levels of ozone, particulate matter, or sulfur dioxide air pollutants, visual range, and weather conditions.
I take a lot of pictures of the scenery when we travel. I consider only a few of my pictures to have that special quality that I want to share with others. Because I take so many when we’re out and about, there are some photos that I want to share that I can’t in real time. So that’s why this December photo is finally getting published in June. I think it’s a pretty view of Grand Canyon in it’s winter coating. Click on the image to enlarge.
We sure enjoyed our trip to the NRA and our little mini-vacation this month. We drove a rented motorhome from our home in southwestern Los Angeles County to Blythe, California and camped there the first night out. The next day, we drove to Phoenix and checked into the Desert’s Edge RV Park, near Deer Valley.
While the Phoenix RV Park may have been at the ‘Desert’s Edge’ at one time, the sprawling development puts it more in suburbia than at the edge of the wilderness. The campground sits a quarter mile from Interstate 17 and is in the heart of an industrial area.
Regardless of it’s suburban location, the Phoenix campground was nicely equipped and fairly quiet. The people were nice and we enjoyed staying there.
We camped in Wickenburg, Arizona, after three nights in Phoenix. The “Horsepitality” RV campground sits in a little hollow; the grounds are set up like a little western town and the mood is rustic and serene. There are stables set up for itinerant equine campers, too. The evening we were there, Damsel stepped out of the RV to capture these colors of a Wickenburg Sunset. Click on the image to enlarge.
After Wickenburg, it was time to head back to California, but we planned a stay in Twentynine Palms and a tour of Joshua Tree National Park before heading back home.
It was a great trip.