The Valley of the Sun

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Matt Hunt

Since I was not able to camp at White Sands, and started the morning an hour further west, I had a little more time than I had expected on day 2 of my road trip. Heading into this day, stopping at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ was a possibility, but now it was certain!

I was very excited to cross the state line into Arizona. It’s a state I had been wanting to visit for such a long time, and I was finally there! What beauty there was for my eyes to behold. All of the various plants lining the desert floor, while the mountains overlooked them. These are the kind of mountains I like. The rest of the land around them is perfectly flat!

Saguaro National Park is actually split into two separate sections; the Tucson Mountain District to the west, and the Rincon Mountain District to the east. I only stopped at the latter, and went around the loop drive, which was about 8 miles total.

Despite this being one of the hottest and driest deserts in all of North America, there is quite a variety of plant and animal life here, and I was able to sample a good bit of it all!

Of course this park is named after the most recognizable cactus of them all, the Saguaro. These cacti are exclusive to the Sonoran Desert, and symbolic of southern Arizona. They can live for up to 200 years, and grow to be 60 feet tall. When fully hydrated, they can weigh over 4,000 pounds! The blooms of the Saguaro represent the Arizona state flower.

I was also lucky enough to get to see some animal life while in the park! I ran into these two right on the road! A rattlesnake and a Gila monster!

Maybe I’m a little crazy, but I had been hoping to see a rattlesnake! I was definitely watching my step everywhere I went, because I don’t want to invade their space, but I did want to see one with my own eyes, as well as get a photo. I think they are beautiful creatures! How lucky was I to be able to do just that in one single trip around the loop drive?!

After leaving the park and picking up some tacos for lunch, it was on to Phoenix! I just had a couple of goals for my visit to Phoenix; hike Camelback Mountain, and get a good skyline shot.

It was raining when I arrived in Phoenix. What kind of luck is that? How many days a year does it rain in Phoenix, like three?! I was watching the radar closely, as well as noting the clearing visible to the west. The rain did let up by late afternoon, so off I went to Camelback!

Temperatures were only in the 60’s, yet I was still sweating like crazy on this hike, or climb, as it would be better described! There are two options to get to the summit; the Cholla Trail, and the Echo Canyon Trail. I took the Echo Canyon Trail, which is 1.23 miles in length, with a 1,280 ft elevation climb. The summit of Camelback is 2,704 ft above sea level. If you ever plan on doing this hike, bring plenty of water! I only had one bottle, and downed the whole thing before reaching the peak, and it was a cool evening! I can’t imagine doing this in the typical desert heat!

The views from the top are fantastic, of course.

Since they ticket anyone in the parking lot after dusk, I had to get down and go elsewhere for my skyline shot. Luckily I had spoken to a park employee before the hike and found out that the Piestewa Peak Park, not too far away, stayed open until 11 pm. So that is where I went to get my skyline shots. I didn’t actually climb to the peak, as that was about the same climb as Camelback. Instead I formed my own trail in a way, and went to a smaller peak to the south, where I was able to capture the skyline.

Conditions weren’t perfect for the shot I really wanted, but since it was my only night in Phoenix, it would have to do! It was certainly better than nothing. The Phoenix skyline itself is not anything spectacular, but the mountains in the background make it special! Blue hour from that spot was pretty cool, too!

I did have one more shot I wanted to get in the Phoenix area before leaving, and I pursued that the following morning. I wanted to get a good shot of the jumping cholla cactus with the backlit sun at sunrise!

For this shot I went to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Gateway Trailhead in North Scottsdale. I had scouted out this location the day before. The only downside to this spot is that McDowell Mountain blocked the very early morning sun, so by the time the sun peaked over the mountain top, it was a bit more intense, and not quite as golden in color. Still, the shot turned out okay!

The jumping cholla is an interesting cactus, and probably my favorite one! It is covered in spines, which feature tiny barbs, helping them stick to anything they touch! You have to be extra careful around these cacti. The branches are segmented, allowing smaller sections to break off. This is how the seeds are spread, and why you typically see these cacti in groups that are close together. In the picture below, you can see all of the little segments littering the ground around the cactus!

What a cool plant! I really enjoyed the Phoenix area. It is beautiful, of course, and features a wide array of outdoor activities and life. If I lived there, I’d hike Camelback a few times a week for a cardio workout! I hope to visit again some day and stay longer, but if I don’t get the chance to, I’m glad I can say that I conquered Camelback Mountain!

White Sands New Mexico

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Matt Hunt

When I crossed the state line from Texas into New Mexico, that marked the 30th state in the USA that I have visited. Only 20 left to go, and I’d add two more in the coming days! My destination in “The Land of Enchantment” was the White Sands National Monument. It’s a beautiful place if simplicity is your thing. Bright white sand dunes, with the backdrop of the San Andres Mountains to the west, and the Lincoln National Forest to the east. The monument sits just to the west of Holloman Air Force Base, and south of a missile testing range, which results in closures of the park.

I lucked out, because the previous three nights the park was closed to back country camping. I had planned on camping in the dunes, as that is the only way to shoot the sunrise in the park. The gates did not open until 8:00 am, and sunrise was about 30 minutes prior to that.

I hit a snag when I arrived and the back country camping permits were sold out! They only have 10 campsites available, so if you plan on camping in the park, my best advice is to get there early! It is first come, first serve. They do not take reservations.

Be sure to bring your sunscreen, as the sun is bright and in abundance out here! The high that day was only in the low 70’s, but it sure did feel much warmer than that. I suggest not walking very far barefoot. While the sand is pretty soft in some spots, these dunes don’t get a ton of foot traffic, and as a result the sand has settled pretty well, and is relatively hard-packed. Walking a good distance barefoot is a good way to pick up a few blisters!

Even without a lot of subjects, with some creativity, the picture opportunities are endless. I knew I wanted to get a few shots of myself with nothing but the sand and the sky. My main subject for the evening, however, was the Yucca plant. There are quite a few of them out here.

There are actually 40-50 different species of Yucca, so don’t ask me exactly which one these are! I noticed that most of them grow in the valleys of the dunes, making it difficult for me to find the shot I really wanted with a Yucca in the foreground, and the San Andres Mountains in the background.

I spent at least a couple hours trying to find the perfect subject, parking in several spots and walking a great distance. Since I did not have my back country camping permit, I needed to be out of the park by 8:00 pm, so I didn’t want to be too far away from my car. I finally did find my subject with a couple hours to spare until sunset.

If taking photos is not your thing, or you have kids that you want to keep entertained while here, a popular activity is sledding on the sand dunes! They sell sleds at the visitor’s center. That, to me, sounds much better than sledding in the cold, wet snow!

As the last bit of sunlight gently kissed the white sand, turning it orange and pink, I was finally able to capture my shot!

This shot had everything I wanted: a Yucca in the foreground, the ripples in the sand illuminated by the last bit of sunlight, and the mountains in the background. Perfect!

After the sun goes down is one of my favorite times, as the sky gets a band of pink/orange to the east. At this point I was literally running from one Yucca plant to the next and snapping photos, as I was running out of time before I needed to get out of there!

It was unfortunate that I missed getting a sunrise shot in the park the next morning, as the sunrise was truly brilliant! I had spent the night in Las Cruces, almost an hour to the west, and as I was leaving, I noticed the high clouds in the sky. I had to stop and get a shot of the sunrise over the town, with the backdrop of those same San Andres Mountains, this time off to the east.

The sky definitely cooperated with me on this morning! It was a wonderful start to the day, and while I was wishing I would have been in the dunes for this moment, having those mountains as my foreground was not a bad consolation.

I hope you enjoy these photos! I’m thinking that at least one of them will be printed and hanging on a wall somewhere in the near future!

Texas Wildflowers

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Matt Hunt

It’s spring in Texas, which means it’s wildflower time! The Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) is the official state flower, and while you may find a few in Oklahoma, Louisiana or Florida, it’s primarily a Texas thing! I had originally planned on traveling to Ennis this past weekend, where there are large fields full of bluebonnets, but reports from the area stated they are not in full bloom. In fact, it may be an off year for the Ennis fields. Thankfully, the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and other wildflowers were in full bloom in the Texas Hill Country, especially in and around Llano, TX.

Patches of various wildflowers were on display along the side of the road from Dallas all the way to Llano. The fields became truly brilliant near Baby Head Cemetery.

I continued south on SH 16 and out RR 965 to Enchanted Rock where I was planning on hiking to the top. Unfortunately the park was closed when I arrived, and while it appeared to be temporary, there was already a long line of cars along the side of the road waiting for them to re-open, so I decided to skip that. There were several more thick beds of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes along the sides of RR 965, which is where I got this close-up view of the Indian paintbrush with the bluebonnets behind it.

After that I continued south on SH 16 to the Willow City Loop. This is a scenic loop with a lot of wildflowers, prickly pear cactus, oak trees, and the rolling hills that make this part of Texas so beautiful! The Willow City Loop is also home to the famous “boot fence” where each fence post is adorned with a cowboy boot.

Cowboy boots and bluebonnets… the only thing missing is a longhorn, and that’s about as Texas as you can get!

I took some photos at the railroad tracks near Buchanan Dam, but they did not turn out well due to the angle of the sun at that time of day. I should have been at that location much earlier in the day.

As sunset approached, I ventured back to the area around Baby Head Cemetery, as these were the best looking fields, with both sides of the road covered in a sea of red & blue.

On the drive back up to DFW, I just happened to look out my window from the rural pavement of FM 2005 somewhere northeast of Goldthwaite, and noticed how brilliant the stars looked! I had to find a place to stop and get some pictures! After several failed attempts, missing side roads and driveways until I was past them, I finally decided to let the car behind me go in front, slowed down, and found a good spot. I didn’t even realize I had stopped in a perfect location with some trees (bur oak, maybe?) on the other side of the road. It was a perfect opportunity to do some light painting with my new flashlight that I got for just that purpose! It turned out great!

Prior to leaving that area, I had one more idea! While the image above was shot at ISO 1600 (f/2.8, 20 secs), for the one below I wanted to capture a more realistic view of what could be seen with the naked eye out there. I used the same settings, but turned the ISO down to 250. This is still a little more than what I could pick up with my own eyes, but it’s not too far off! It’s also a perfect display of what I love about having a sunroof!

I hope you enjoy looking at these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!