Imagination Post!

I had a fantastic weekend camping. The air was cool, the creek next to the campsite babbled pleasantly, food cooked over an open fire tasted better - as it always does. In general it was a great visit into the wild.

Unfortunately the trip didn't coincide with great photographic output. So the reader will be left to imagine a narrow valley of Douglas Fir, surrounding and shading the origins of the Platte River. Marshy Meadows choked with Willow scrub teased the potential for Moose, but didn't reveal any to these eyes. Last year's prickly Porcupine visitor to our camp didn't return, much to the relief of Blizzard the Golden Retriever's human companions. Those dogs are amazing in the water though. A fast moving mountain stream doesn't even faze a Golden as it chases a treasured muddy tennis ball. Watching them wade through white water, tail wagging, where biped humans would be struggling to stand is quite a sight. Knowing that the wet, muddy dog will not be sleeping in your tent is priceless!

So, photographically what happened? To start, that stretch of woods is a bit tight for shooting with my telephoto, or even birding in general. Birds hide in the treetops, only offering brief glimpses before they vanish behind the trunks. Early morning and evening sunlight is blocked by the slopes, leaving bright skies and dark foregrounds at peak birding hours. Columbines were blooming along the road in a few places, and they were great, but those stretches of road weren't ones where a camera could safely be left on the passenger seat to get a shot. Sadly, my point and shoot Nikon met an untimely end a few weeks ago, and the replacement, a waterproof & shockproof Panasonic didn't arrive in time to make the trip with a charge. Once I have that tool back in my bag I will be more able to relay the experience visually.

Finally, the 4runner passed it's most recent challenge with flying colors...opening even more possibilities for accessing the high country in search of the those Rosies and other high alpine breeders.

Birding highlight, Dusky Grouse hopping from the middle of the road to eye-level in the brush beside me. I did reach for the camera on that one, but go figure, the Grouse was not content to sit beside a vehicle with a dog head sticking out the back window.