Month: September 2017

The days I was at the Grand Canyon the thing that impressed me the most (after getting accustomed to the spectacular view) was watching the birds.  Although there are many other players, the main attraction generally consisted of ravens, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures and the ultimate vulture, the California Condor.

I tried and tried to get photos of these birds in flight but became increasingly frustrated at my inability to get acceptable photos which were blogworthy.  I finally decided to just enjoy what I was seeing and resort to internet research to share what other, more talented, photographers were able to capture.  I do have some raven pictures, some taken as recently as today in eastern Arizona, but the others you will see I found online.

The ravens were the most prevalent and put on the best “show” as far as entertainment was concerned.  Yes, then would often just cruise by at various altitudes but would also chase other types of birds, chase each other, come to an almost screeching halt in mid air, only to tuck in their wings and dive-bomb nearly straight down and perhaps the most fascinating thing was when they would twist and turn while flying at high speed, ending up upside-down and then change course downward.  I simply stood and watched them for extended periods of time.  Because of their often rapid flight and sudden course changes, it was almost impossible to zoom in for a decent picture.  Even getting a good shot while they soared by beneath you with the canyon in the background was a seemingly impossible task.

All types of birds would be like gliders, riding the thermals of warm air radiating off the canyon floor and walls, changing altitude on a whim and cruising for extending periods without needing to flap their wings.  Simply amazing to watch.

A seemingly simple picture, but one which eluded me. A raven cruising below observation point-level:

(Photo credit: judyrobinsondesigns.wordpress.com)

A raven who suddenly used his wings as a parachute to virtually stop forward motion in flight, and would then often tuck in his wings and drop nearly straight down.

(Photo credit: patokallio.com)

The ravens would sometimes fly by at my eye-level, only a few arms-lengths away while I was standing at the railing of one of the many overlooks.  I never felt like they were getting uncomfortably close and certainly never witnessed any behavior where they seemed to be attacking any people.  I think they have just gotten comfortable with people being around and know they zip by unscathed.

Ravens are beautiful birds.  All black, but if you see them in the right light there are traces of blue and green which somehow reflect off their wings.  They are larger than crows, but are of the same family.  The main distinction other than their size is their larger beak, which also has a pronounced curve.  I will post my photos separately.  I posted one or two the other day of two ravens on the ground in one of the overlook areas.

Next up, the red-tailed hawk.  Stunningly beautiful in flight or even perched on the ground.  The hawks would normally just cruise through the air, sometimes relatively slowly, but always twitching their heads while scanning the ground for their next tasty morsel.  Even when lazily flying they often changed course unpredictably making it difficult to get a good closeup.

(Photo credit: bendbulletin.com)

(Photo credit: ndow.org) Nebraska Dept. of Wildlife

(Photo credit: i.pinimg.com)

(Photo credit: kids.nationalgeographic.com)

When locating photos of the two types of vultures I noticed they are strikingly similar in appearance while in flight.  Condors are much larger, however.  A common turkey vulture (in the east people often call them buzzards) has a wingspan of “only” about 5 feet.  Condors, however, can have a wingspan of up to 9 1/2 feet and are the largest bird in North America.

Condors almost became extinct back in the late 80’s.  According to Wikipedia, their number dwindled to only 27 and the United States government launched an effort to capture the birds and keep them in captivity while breeding new batchs (condors can live up to 60 years).  They slowly released more and more into the wild and in Dec 2016 their number was estimated to be almost 450.  They are found mainly in California, Arizona and southern Utah.  Some of the photos you will see online show tags on the leading edge of their wings to help identify them and track their movements.

Over the course of several days I saw lots of turkey vultures and did see a few which seemed unusually large, which I assume were condors.

While not very attractive when perched on the ground, vultures are graceful and beautiful in flight.  They often fly too high to see the coloration on the underside of their wings.

(Photo credit: pestkilled.com)

(Photo credit: Mike Baird)

California Condors:

(Photo credit: mediad.publicbroadcasting.net)

(Photo credit: media.npr.org)

 

 

 

I spent the morning Friday traversing a series of scenic roads from Flagstaff, south through Sedona and Payson to Scottsdale, a northeastern suburb of Phoenix.  There I visited Taliesin West, the winter home and workplace of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright bought approximately 800 acres of land here (before it became the sprawling suburb it is today) in 1937 for $3.50/acre, which was considered a high price back in those days, and Taliesin West was built soon after that.  Two years ago I visited Taliesin (pronounced tally-ESS-en), his summer home in southwest Wisconsin.

For having been designed and built in the late 30’s it is typical Wright, contemporary even by today’s standards, with a low profile and materials to blend in with it’s surroundings, incorporating natural light throughout and with every detail having a purpose.  He lived and worked here, and had his many apprentices living on site, literally in tents or other basic structures.  The site is still used today by students who live and work here year-round.  The only place we visited on our tour where photographs were not allowed was the huge design studio where, although students now use computers, plotters and 3-D printers, they are working on drafting tables and other furniture used by Wright and his minions back in the day.  It is a magnificent facility.

I also need to mention that a woman from Chattanooga, Tennessee saved the blog when she discovered my digital camera laying next to the guest registration book at the gift shop and turned it in at the tour desk.  I had set it down to write my information in the goofy book and forgot all about it (evidently I need to get a strap and tie it to my body, which may also help keep Mr. Butterfingers JohnBoy from dropping it into a canyon somewhere…).

This metal dragon sculpture is hooked up to a propane tank and literally becomes a fire-breathing dragon at night.

Behind the red doors in the photo below is a huge dining room where Wright and his 3rd wife (Mr. Wright had a rather, shall we say, colorful life) would entertain guests.  It was designed on a gently declining level, similar to but not as drastic as stadium seating in modern day theatres, and, in fact, doubled as a movie theatre for guests when not being used for formal dinners.

Even the gate at the entry to the property was designed by Wright.

The only feature which I have seen at many Wright-designed (for clients) properties which I did not see here was the use of stained glass windows.  I didn’t think to ask our guide why that was, but it is a beautiful and remarkable property regardless.

Mr. Wright lived and worked here (winters) from when he had it built in the late 1930’s until his death in 1959 at the age of 91.  It is still used today by students of his work.

After touring the property (the scheduled 1 1/2 hour tour took almost 2 1/2 hours!) I tried, without success, to locate a good friend from when I used to live in Pennsylvania (a radiologist client of the accounting firm I worked for who raced cars as a hobby.  I was his “pit crew” for about a year and traveled with him to races throughout the eastern US) who now lives in Scottsdale.  I had no way to contact him before I got here and there was apparently no one home when I arrived at the entrance to the gated community (I left a message via the intercom).

After waiting a short time to see if perhaps someone would show up I headed east on another series of scenic roads to the little town of Lakeside in the eastern part of Arizona where I will spend the next 3 nights before moving on to northern New Mexico.

 

These were taken with my smartphone camera later in the afternoon on Tuesday.  I previously posted pictures taken earlier in the day.

These were taken with my smartphone camera later in the afternoon on Tuesday.  I previously posted pictures taken earlier in the day.

On Wednesday I went back to the Grand Canyon for the second day.  I drove north from Flagstaff and went in the East entrance.  This took me to several overlooks I could access with my own car before parking at the Visitor Center and taking the Orange Route buses to parts of the Park I hadn’t seen yet.  Approaching from the east I started the day with different vantage points than I had the day before, and had the sun at my back.

Rain was moving in to the area (and arrived earlier than they had forecast) but I was able to get a few hours in before things got windy and wet.  I would have loved to have parked at the airport, just south of the Main entrance, to watch the many helicopters taking off and landing but the storm looked pretty nasty (it was) so I passed and headed back to Flagstaff before it reached the Park.

These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  I will post closeups, taken with the digital camera, in future posts.  As noted before, colors become more pronounced as the day progresses.

Here are more photos taken with my smartphone.  I will post closeups, taken with the digital camera, at a later date.  There were more clouds today, as a storm front was moving in to the area, so there are small pockets of shadows which moved quickly over the landscape.

Large, black ravens were among the several birds which put on quite a show over the Canyon.  I will address the birds and their behavior in a separate post, possibly tomorrow.  I did get these two pictures which give you some idea just how big they are.  Ravens are part of the same family as crows but are considerably larger.  They are jet black and are beautiful creatures.  They are also supposed to be extremely intelligent.

 

Thursday I headed west of Flagstaff on the dreaded interstate to get to a fantastic, fun to drive 155 mile stretch of Historic Route 66.  The portion I drove is separated from the interstate, unlike a portion I drove in Illinois last year which was parallel and, frankly, rather boring.  Today’s drive was very different and brought back memories of vacations my parents took me on when I was a kid (remember Burma Shave signs???).  It was quite an enjoyable drive.

I tried to capture photos of established businesses (some, closed, unfortunately) that have been there since the glory days of “The Mother Road”, not just opportunists who bought a property on the route and have tried to make it “look old”.  I wish I had brought my Asleep at the Wheel CD to play the “I Get My Kicks on Route 66” song over and over while I drove….

First town – Seligman:

Between Seligman and Peach Springs:

This (below) was past Valentine, near Hackberry.  Yes, there is an active business buried under those trees.

This was in the town of Kingman, the largest town I visited along the way:

Also in Kingman.  Of course The AmazingMrD (me) would have to come back and have lunch here on the return trip.  Best chili dog and root beer I’ve had in a while….

In Cool Springs, before traversing a tricky stretch of narrow, winding, mountain road.

When I got to the town of Topock (right at the border with California) I cheated and took the interstate 45 miles back to Kingman, where I had lunch and then took the old road back east towards Seligman.  The leisurely drive ended up taking all day, but was very enjoyable.

 

Here are some other things I saw along my drive today.

Once I got past Kingman things transitioned very quickly to desert.  The last portion of the drive from Kingman, through Oatman and on to Topock was rough country, but very scenic and fun to drive.

Signs at the stone building in Cool Springs (which is an active business, but wasn’t open today) directed you to the “Rest Room”, which was merely a facade leading to the open desert.  It did have a sink, mirror, soap and towel dispenser so you could “freshen up,” though….

This young burro was so intent on licking salt off the road it didn’t seem to care anything about what was going on around it.  He/she was standing right in the street in the little town of Oatman.

Yesterday I posted two photos of a gentleman creating a piece of artwork based on what he was inspired by at the Grand Canyon.  Here is a closer look at what he was working on.