Picket Post Trail

So Super Bowl Sunday was a cool and rainy day and its now Monday, Feb 4 and we are getting more of the same.  Another good day to hunker down and get caught up on my blog.  

On Jan 21 we headed out to the do the Picket Post Trail or at least a portion of it.  The full trail is a 9 mile loop.  We went out just over 2 miles and turned around and headed back. Total 4.4 miles with a 285 ft elevation gain.  For the most part it is pretty level following a creek bed around Picket Post mountain.  The trail itself is fairly wide and consists of sand with some stepping stones laid out in the shallow creek placed just right to walk on when crossing the creek.   I actually did this trail a second time on Jan 30 with our Wednesday group although we went an additional mile out before turning around.  That morning the more adventurous members of our group were heading up to do Flatiron.  Flatiron is only 6.2 miles but has a 2936 ft elevation gain with much of that being towards the end when scrambling over large boulders replaces traversing a tail.  I was just a bit hesitant in stressing out my ankle and knees and thought discretion was the better part of valour.   

Stopped on the trail for a little water break.
As you can see the biggest problem the trail presents
is fine sand working its way into my boots. 

In addition to a few other hiking groups and the odd cow hiding in the scrub just off the trail there were lots of riders on horseback. 

Next up is Peralta Trail up to Fremont Saddle.  That was a workout.

Salt River Wild Horses

There is a herd of horses that live in the desert and can often be seen down by the Salt River.  On Jan 20 our Photo group took a drive to the river in search of the wild horses.  They are apparently doing well and are quite prolific as we have seen reports on the news where the wildlife officers track the horses and shoot the mares with darts loaded with birth control medication.

We searched two different spots on the river and were fortunate to spot 4 horses on a sand bar in the river as we were driving by on the highway.  We made a quick turn into a picnic area parking lot and traversed the rocky beach down to the waters edge to get some shots.  While they may be termed "Wild" they are certainly comfortable with gawking tourists with cameras in hand.  

The river is fairly wide however no more than 1-2 feet deep at any point.
Lots of high water marks well up the banks.

Either a Great or Snowy Egret looking for lunch in the shallows. 

Algae was plentiful in some of the areas sheltered from the current.
Not sure what this plant is but it seems to be doing quite well.

Four horses across the river with some of our group pulling up boulders for chairs.

We waited for them to do something but for the most part they just stood around. 

This guy got up and shook off all the sand.

Nice reflection in the water. 

Looks like these two had something to say. 

Another shot of the river with lots of colours.
You can just make out a white Egret in the river. 

It was a nice days shoot with other like minded individuals.  We even scouted out the nesting trees of the herons.  They weren't there yet but you could see plenty of last years nests in the trees.  We will go back in March and hopefully catch some nesting activity.

A few more from BTA

On Jan 13 I headed back to BTA for the 9:00 AM BTA Photography Walkabout.  I left a little early to get a few pictures before the crowds started to gather.  I attended the session which wasn't perhaps the most helpful session but I did get some good pictures while out on my own.  I had packed a lunch as the Gold Canyon Photo group was meeting there at 1:00.  I headed out to the Meditation Gardens and sat on a bench, ate my sandwich and enjoyed the views.  When the GC group showed up we headed out to take more shots.  

I must have a few thousand pictures from BTA but it never ceases to amaze me how just a little change in the light or the time of year can make a big difference in how the same scene will look.  So here is yet again a few more pictures from BTA, most of which are taken from a slightly closer perspective. 

This guy was some distance away and given my
24-105mm lens I had to do some serious cropping.
My wish list for next year includes a 100-400mm Zoom.
I should be able to see his beady little eyes with that lens. 

Will be interesting to follow this cactus from buds to blooms. 

The Acorn Banksia from Australia
Got some great bokeh in the background.

More flowers to look forward to. 

Who said the desert has no colour

Even the rocks have some colour

Needed to increase my depth of field by another F stop or two to get all the bark in focus.
Next time.

Some leading lines taking you down the garden path. 

There is a Gazebo that has this chandelier.
This is from directly below.
I was taken with the geometry but I needed to back off on the zoom just a bit. 

they talk about using leading lines to draw you into the picture.
fences make great leading lines but I needed to get that front post into focus.
More depth of field practice required.

It rained overnight and the water droplets were still hanging from the oranges. 

Large terrace with some intricate tile work. 

Back to the pond again for a little more traditional shot. 

 Love the eye lashes on this tree trunk.

Thats it for today.  Lots more pictures to go through plus a series of shots using bracketing and my new High Dynamic Range (HDR) software, Aurora.  Got some great results especially considering its my first time trying bracketing and HDR. 

Game is over and the darn Patriots won again.  But they were the better team, again.  Thats what happens when you have the best quarterback and coach in the history of the league and there can hardly be any argument about that anymore.  You don't know how it pains me to have to admit that.