Winter has arrived…

It’s been a warm and dry fall and up until a few days ago only about one inch of snow has fallen. That all changed yesterday and today and we have had about 18″ of new snow in the Flagstaff area with more to come. Instead of our NATRA group trail run today some of us went cross-county skiing (but I forgot the camera!). So, here are a few shots from the neighborhood instead.

New snow blankets the Ponderosa Pine forest.
New snow blankets the Ponderosa Pine forest.
Detailed texture of snow clinging to branches.
Detailed texture of snow clinging to branches.

Birds of a feather flock together…

A few days ago we did a mountain bike ride in Sedona. Near the end of the day we travelled across a large area of red rock sandstone located on Llama Trail. Carved into the sandstone was a series of small pools — some of which contained water.

Birds gather at a water hole.
Birds gather at a water hole.

We were treated to this gathering of birds drinking from the pools. After they had their fill, they flew off to their next destination — and we finished our ride.

Descending Pig Trail, Sedona.
Descending Pig Trail, Sedona.

Some photographs from the early years: Part I

I’ve returned to one of my long-term projects: scanning all of my 35-mm slides. There are over 7000 slides — taken between 1978 and 2010. At the rate that I’m going I estimate it will be a few years until I am done. I only work on these for a few hours each week.

Most of the slides in the early years were shot using Kodachrome and Ektachrome. Later years included Fuji Provia, Fuju Velvia, Kodak Elitechrome, and Kodak Ektachrome E100VS.

1981: Portrait of my friend Ron — also a photographer. He was trying to show me how to take candid and interesting portraits. Think I got this one right.

 

1985: Self-portrait taken during a bitterly-cold ski tour.

More to come!

SpaceX/Dragon mission to the International Space Station

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is expected to complete the CRS-1 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station on Sunday, October 28. The spacecraft will detach from the ISS and return to earth completing its first resupply mission to the station.

Earlier this month, I was able to capture photographs of the ISS and SpaceX/Dragon flying across the night sky just before the craft docked with the station.

ISS and SpaceX/Dragon fly across the sky prior to docking.
ISS and SpaceX/Dragon fly across the sky prior to docking.
SpaceX/Dragon mission to the International Space Station
SpaceX/Dragon mission to the International Space Station

In this pair of images the SpaceX/Dragon capsule races to catch the ISS as the pair move across the western sky separated by about 20 seconds. The first image is a composite of seven images each of 30 seconds duration and show the pair rising up from the west. The second image is a single 30-s exposure that shows the separation and how Dragon trails ISS.

Just wandering around on East Pocket above Oak Creek Canyon

A few days ago we decided to spend the day wandering around the East Pocket area. This location overlooks the Red Rocks-Secret Mountain Wilderness on one side and Oak Creek Canyon on the other. It is a relatively flat area surrounded by steep cliffs and deep canyons. Back in the fall of 2005 we explored this area for the first time and decided that we needed to return to see more. Well, it took a few years…

To get to this location you drive south on FR231 — also known as Woody Mtn Road. From the end of the pavement it is about 28 miles to the East Pocket. The dirt road is pretty good for the first half — and not too bad over the second half.

Looking west from the East Pocket area into the Red Rock - Secret Mountain Wilderness near Sedona, Arizona.
Looking west from the East Pocket area into the Red Rock – Secret Mountain Wilderness near Sedona, Arizona.

There are no trails on the East Pocket but there are old, abandoned forest roads that are disappearing into the forest. We set off towards the south to see if we could reach the southern point and then find a way across the canyons and climb back to the flats farther south. For an idea of what the terrain looks like, follow this link to Google Maps.

Upper reaches of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon near FR231.
Upper reaches of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon near FR231.
We were not successful in getting across the canyon because there were some steep rock downclimbs and we were not prepared to attempt this without ropes and other climbing gear. I guess we’ll just have to return once again. The walk out to the edge was interesting and we had this fabulous view to the west of the Secret Wilderness area and the cliffs marking the edge of the Mogollon Rim.
Cautionary sign upon entering upper reaches of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon.
Cautionary sign upon entering upper reaches of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon.

On the way home, we stopped at the bridge that crosses the extreme upper reaches of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. At this point, there is no water and it consists of a rock strewn stream bed in a mountain forest of pine, spruce, and fir. There is a cautionary sign informing hikers of the difficult hiking to be found while heading downstream. We did this canyon from the upper end to the lower end about 10 years ago. It was a very challenging, but ultimately rewarding, 13-hour hike (and swim).