Saguaro bloom in Saguaro National Park, Rincon Mountain District, Tucson, Arizona, April 29, 2024

 Bob visited the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona for a couple of days near the end of April, 2024. This was still early for the saguaro cactus to be blooming, but before he left he managed to see this one bloom on a cactus right next to the loop road through the park. This was on a very tall cactus, but, since no other vehicles were coming up behind him on the one-way road, he climbed to the top of his motorhome and got this shot. This saguaro had many buds waiting to bloom.

Saguaro cactus are the largest cacti in the United States. They frequently grow as one main trunk that eventually develop "arms." The national park with their name consists of two districts near the city of Tucson. The unit to the west is called the Tucson Mountain District and the unit to the west, the one that Bob visited, is the Rincon Mountain District.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Western Grebe on Saguaro Lake, Arizona, February 20, 2024

 Bob attended the 2024 Spring Arch Rally of the Natural Arch and Bridge Society in Arizona in February 2024. One of the scheduled trips was to see Elephant Rock by boating over Saguaro Lake. During the trip, Bob saw a number of waterbirds swimming over the lake, including this Western Grebe.

 The white and black pattern through the neck and head, including black around the red eye and the straight yellowish bill distinguish the western grebe from other grebes.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

California Condor over Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona

 Bob was just looking through his folder covering our trip during Rick's spring break in 2017 and came upon this image of a tagged California Condor flying over Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona.  Condors have been reintroduced to the Vermilion Cliffs area in northern Arizona and this female is probably from that reintroduction.  You can see the tags on this condor on the front edge of each wing.  Also, on the left wing, on the right as you look at this photo, you can see the antenna of a transmitter. This condor was Number 53, which turned out to be a five-year-old female, according to The Peregrine Fund researcher that we ran into later in the trip.

Not that long ago, only 22 condors were left in the world, but thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, there are now over 200 in the wild.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Hidden Arch, aka Goulding Arch, the arch in Monument Valley near the campground

We traveled through southern Utah and northern Arizona in April 2017. We lucked into a campsite in Monument Valley and the lady doing the check in for us mentioned a hidden arch. After we asked for more information about it, she told us that it's actually called Hidden Arch and is a short hike from the campground, but can't be seen from the campground. So the next morning we went to see and photograph it.

We hiked through the arch from the campground side and are looking back in the direction of the campground for this image. This image was made from three separate images and combined in the computer to create a more detailed final image. These images were taken with a Sony camcorder that can also be used to take 20 megapixel still images. The final result is about 46 megapixels. Taken at 1/60 sec, f/4, 6.2 mm, ISO unknown.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Coming at you! A California Condor in flight over the Colorado River

Coming at you!  A California Condor glided over us at Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, south of Page, Arizona.  We learned on this trip to the Southwest during Spring Break 2017 that all condors, except one, are tagged.  You can see the tags on this condor on the front edge of each wing.  Also, on the left wing, on the right as you look at this photo, you can see the antenna of a transmitter. This condor was Number 53, which turned out to be a five-year-old female, according to The Peregrine Fund researcher that we ran into later in the trip.

Not that long ago, only 22 condors were left in the world, but thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, there are now over 200 in the wild.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story!

Sedona, Arizona's Red Rock Crossing

Sedona, Arizona is famous for its red rock formations. In 2006, we made a side trip to Sedona as part of our travels to see the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. This image was of Red Rock Crossing.  Oak Creek is in the foreground and Cathedral Rock towers in the background.  These formations show the erosional patterns of sandstone rock formations in a desert environment.  Red Rock Crossing looking at Cathedral Rock is the most photographed spot in Arizona.

This was our first time using a digital camera for most of the images we took during this trip, even though we still felt that film would yield better results.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!