St. Petersburg, FL (12/25/2019)

By now, everyone should have finished opening gifts and enjoying their Christmas dinner.  I hope it was a good day for all.

While traveling from New Mexico to Florida, I stopped overnight in a small town called Van Horn, TX.  It was only out of curiosity that I did, since I've passed by it many times when driving I-10, never actually entering town.  Now I know why.  With all due respect to the citizens of Van Horn, it is a run-down, dilapidated little town with a couple RV parks that also fit that description.  The one I chose is owned by people who also run a motel/apartment building, a towing service, auto repair and, so they claim, a radio station.They weren't even at the RV park, so I found an empty space and parked.  They were in the office the next morning, so I was able to pay for my stay.

The only reason I mention Van Horn is the glorious sunrise that peeked through my windshield and motivated me to run outside with the camera.  It was too late to find a good viewpoint or interesting foreground, so I snapped it from my space overlooking I-10.

A few days later, I was in Jacksonville, visiting my BIL & SIL, who happen to live in a condo located on a wide part of the St. Johns River.  It's always a great view from there, but this day was very overcast and gloomy.  That is, until we noticed the sunset going on over the river.

In St. Petersburg, I've spent quality time with my son, Randy, and his family.  Time with those beautiful grand-daughters is always a treat for me.  In between visits, I managed to get in a little bird photography, starting with the park known as Sawgrass Lakes on another overcast day.

Anhinga

Tricolor Heron

Little Blue Heron

Common Moor Hen

Some kind of Flycatcher???

A front brought several days of rain and lots of overcast weather.  On one of those days, I drove to the Sunshine Skyway to check out the shore birds.  For those unfamiliar with St. Petersburg, the Sunshine Skyway is a combination bridge/causeway system that connects Pinellas and Manatee counties, carrying I-275 and US 19.  Resting on several islands at the junction of Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the system provides a fishing pier and ample beaches for recreation.  At 430 feet high, the bridge allows ship traffic from the Port of Tampa to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

On the windy (Gulf) side, kite board vendors were trying to attract customers by keeping kites in the air, but no one was buying it.  And there were no birds at all.

On the calmer side, I found lots of shore birds and enjoyed a couple hours trying to catch good poses.  All the birds there are typical residents of the area, although I'm never quite sure of some bird IDs.  Shore birds can be tricky because many species are very similar, plus their appearance varies between male and female, juvenile and adult, winter and summer, and when they have their breeding plumage.  Anyway, some of the IDs are "best guesses" and you can correct me where I'm wrong.

Ruddy Turnstone

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

 This next series shows a Reddish Egret's normal behavior while hunting.  They dance around, run here and there and shade the water with their wings to better spot prey.  These antics make them one of my favorite birds.

 The Tricolor Heron is another favorite for the same reasons.  It's fun to watch them scurry about looking for food and plunging their head into the shallow water for the tiniest morsel.

The Willet is rather plain looking on the ground, but much prettier in flight.  Unfortunately, I never seem able to capture flight shots of them.

Willet

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

 Among the Black-bellied Plovers (I think) on the shore, a couple were hopping around with only one leg.  I have no idea how they lose a leg, but it doesn't seem to bother them very much.  It's a good reminder how one can overcome life's difficulties.

Florida (December, 2019)

Since leaving New Mexico, I've spent nearly a week crossing the country and a full week visiting family and friends in Florida.  No time for touring and no time for photography, so this will not be a normal travelogue in any sense, just a way to send Seasons Greetings without killing trees or adding to the burden of the USPS.

First, here's what we looked like getting out of Colorado in between snow storms.

Now, to all my friends and loyal followers, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May you enjoy all the blessings of family and friends during this special season and prosper mightily in the coming year.

Deming, City of Rocks & Silver City, NM (12/2/2019)

In many trips across the country, I've stayed in Deming several times.  The last time here was December, 2017 and January, 2018.  Travelogues from that visit will give you a better feel for the area and why I stop there.   Deming, NM (12/27 thru12/30/2017) and Deming, NM (1/1 &1/2/2018).  As usual, once again I stayed at the LOW-Hi RV Ranch.  It's five miles from town (and I-10) so there's no traffic noise, and the people are always friendly.  I enjoy their coffee gatherings each morning that always start with hugs.  It was good to see a few new and younger people in the group.

Since I didn't make it to City of Rocks State Park last time, it was definitely on my agenda for this stop.  Although I was there back in the 90s, I wanted to see it again and get some digital photos.  I'm probably posting too many photos, since some people just aren't as interested in rocks as I am.  Can you believe it?

This large field of unusual boulders also serves as a campground, with each campsite situated among the boulders.  some will accommodate RVs with electic and water hook-ups.

After leaving the state park, I drove around a bit, finding more boulder fields and some good views, including a different perspective of Cooke's Peak, named for the Colonel who led the Mormon Battalion through here in 1846 on their way to San Diego.  The route they created was subsequently used by trappers, hunters and settlers.  The Butterfield Stage used Cooke's Canyon as part of its 2800 mile route from Saint Louis to San Francisco.  Ruins of its stations can be found all along that trail.  In its attempt to stop the influx of European settlers, the Apache Nation used the canyon to ambush and slaughter the whites.  It was considered the most dangerous part of the trail west.

 

I found a small Catholic church with cemetery, and a red-tailed hawk who cooperated in a flyover.

Next, I traveled to Silver City, where Billy The Kid grew up.  No time to visit the museum that so prominently displays Billy's history, I simply drove around and took photos of some of the unusual homes and commercial buildings I found.  Note the wall built of bottles set in cement and guess how the builder came by all the bottles.

This was my favorite home in Silver City.

Back in Deming, I took a photo of one of the many sparrows in the park.  Later, I went out for the sunset that produced color in all directions.

Tempe & Phoenix, AZ (11/29/2019)

After a nice Thanksgiving dinner here at the RV park, I planned to spend Black Friday in Tempe, since I had not visited that part of the Phoenix metropolitan area in some years.  Heavy rain overnight and into the early morning, followed by wind and clouds, kept me indoors until after lunch when I finally made my way into Tempe.

My first objective was to tour the Arizona State University campus, and in particular Sun Devils Stadium.  I remember watching Fiesta Bowl games from there, before they moved the game to the domed stadium in Glendale.  The ASU students, unable to get student discounts for the bowl game, would climb the large rock formations adjacent to the stadium and watch from there.  That tradition probably continues today, even for regular season games.  Whether students climb up to watch a game or not, there is the obligatory climb up to the large letter "A".

Noticing a few people dressed in Muslim garb, I followed them to the Islamic Mosque and Community Center.

Since my last visit here, the town of Tempe built a dam in the Salt River, forming a lake in the heart of the city.  The lake, two miles long, attracts all forms of water sports.  Several bridges cross the lake to serve automobiles, trains, light rail and pedestrians.

The lakeshore has become a favored location for large buildings that are presumably part of the school.  Active construction is ongoing all around this area.  It appears that mirrored glass is the most popular choice for exterior siding.

Tempe has a great many parks, some surrounding the large rock formations that just seem to pop up all over town.  My favorite is called "Hole In The Wall", which is obviously a popular rock climb for locals.

I had wanted to take in the Desert Botanical Garden again, but with the temp in the 50s and a chill wind blowing, I decided to go into Phoenix and check out Roosevelt Row.  This is not only an historic neighborhood, but is well known for the murals painted on many of the commercial buildings.  Here are just a few of them.

I will be leaving here tomorrow, heading east toward New Mexico for a couple days.