Sonny Bono's Legacy

We went to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge today Jan 5, 2015 and it was a great experience. "The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is located 40 miles north of the Mexican border at the southern end of the Salton Sea in California’s Imperial Valley."

Our first encounter with birds at the center were Quails and Dove...

... followed by a Roadrunner.

Then came thousands of snow geese ....

  

 ... that landed in a field below the observation platform...

... observing them more closely I realized they did not all have the exact same coloring.

We drove to another part of the national wildlife refuge and along the way spotted this Black Phoebe on a wire ...

... as well as a Meadowlark...

... looking all around for food...

... there was a lot of food but I don't think Meadowlarks eat the Kale being harvested in the field.

A little farther we caught sight of a Loggerhead Shrike...

...and in a distant field some Sand-hill Cranes.

At another Refuge observation point we found Snowy Egrets, some waiting on the bank of a irrigation canal...

... and others playing catch me if you can...

... near a few Long Billed Dowitcher's  feeding through...

... their straw-like bills/

 

 Across the pond were several Northern Shovels snaking as they floated along the reeds.

 

Just when we thought our birding day was done Sharyn spotted this Vermilion Flycatcher next to the entrance of the RV park where we are staying - It was a very good day for bird watching.

Quote of the Day~ “I claim that this bookless library is a dream, a hallucination of on-line addicts; network neophytes, and library-automation insiders...Instead, I suspect computers will deviously chew away at libraries from the inside. They'll eat up book budgets and require librarians that are more comfortable with computers than with children and scholars. Libraries will become adept at supplying the public with fast, low-quality information.

The result won't be a library without books--it'll be a library without value.” ~ Clifford Stoll (Arthor of one of my favorite books "The Cockoo's Egg" - Well worth reading

Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway - Wapiti Valley

 

Trail Town in Cody Wyoming going back toward Yellowstone we stopped at Old Trail Town ...

 

The old town is a treat to see and great for photos even from the outside looking in.

We also saw the original motorized RV nearby

A little outside of town on 14 we began to see some lovely and rugged terrain...

... huge hills or small mountains were all around...

... on goth sides of the highway.

Sharyn liked this boulder that had reshaped a tree...

...I liked the spires rising out of the ground...

... and Jilly loved just being in this part of the country.

We all liked the Big Boy in the canyon ...

...and this strange home. "The rambling log structure, with its undulating staircases, umpteen balconies and fun-house warren of half-finished rooms, has for nearly 30 years loomed over the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, inspiring stories."

The rock faces along the Wapiti Valley are great reminding me of Arched National Park without the arches...

... but with plenty of inspiring views...

... like these formations...

... or something that looks like the Great Wall of China...

... or Gaudi's Cathedral in Barcelona  ...

... or the Hill Fort in Alwar.

It all is like magic pottery of the gods...

...shaped like familiar historic cities...

... waiting to be discovered...

... or to unlock some meaning in the images formed.

We found a herd of pronghorns on the west side of Buffalo Bill Reservoir ...

... slowly grazing close to the road...

... and we finally got spotted...

... and not wanting to disturb them took one last picture of the Reservoir and called it a day.

Quote of the Day ~"What would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain." ~Victor Hugo

9/1/2014 A Quick Drive through Yellowstone to Cody

Our plans had changed a bit so Yellowstone National Park was a blur as we drove through with only a few stops to see hot springs or geysers or mud pots...

... but it was nice although not what we usually see.

Just outside the park on the road to Cody we stopped at a viewpoint and caught a Common Merganser scooting quickly across a lake ...

... and a great view of the surrounding forest ...

... that would be a perfect place for my Plein Air Painter friends...

... with the lake on one side and a superb mountain on the other

Fortutune did smile on us when Jill spotted this mama moos and we stopped for a picture and ...

... also got a picture of her young child.

It was a pleasant surprise great to see these beautiful animals so close and for quite a long time.

Quote of the Day ~ "Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it." ~ Henry David Thoreau