December 4 -- Faranuf Is Paid For, I Get Fingerprinted, and A Look Back At Steens Mountain

I left early in the morning, driving on the scenic Northshore Road in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but making good time as the scenery was socked-in with low clouds from a lingering storm front that drenched California (all we got here was just enough rain to muddy the dust on the cars). I was heading in to Henderson first, then Las Vegas, aka "Lost Wages"...I stopped at a Bank of America in Henderson to wire the the money for payment on the Faranuf house in Portal. It felt funny, standing in line inside the bank as I was used to using the ATM and have hardly set foot inside a bank these days. I was ushered into the presence of the branch manager when what I needed to have done was made known -- having the bank wire the money to the title agency in charge of the escrow. Juanita and John, branch manager and assistant manager, were helpful, friendly and efficient, and before I knew it the money was sent -- and I was "elevated" to a more prestigious account with B of A since I've been a "preferred customer" since 1982 -- and I had a lot of money in the account.. ;o) Portal, Arizona -- my new hometown -- is about 100 miles to the east of the closest Bank of America branch, so I was considered going with Wells Fargo, but Juanita and John enticed me to stay with B of A by adding things that could be done online, which is perfect for my "new" home town. So I left the bank humming a tune,  with only the closing documents to sign next week then Faranuf will be in my possession -- Yippee!  I headed into Lost Wages for my next destination, passing as I did so a nondescript building called "The Library". It looked like it was no longer in business, which was a shame as it looked like a strip joint, with the girls advertised as "Librarians". What did they look like -- cat eye glasses, hair in a bun, a severe look on their face as it they were about to dish out a punishment for a lost book? Ooooohhhh.... Just kidding, I am NOT into that.  But the image a strip joint called The Library conjures up is kinda fascinating....I was heading for a place called "Fingerprint Pros" as I had to get my fingerprints "done" for volunteering with the Nevada Dept of Wildlife. I went in -- and promptly found out that I was missing an important paper. So after getting "fingerprinted" I headed back to the Dept of Wildlife office, about 7 miles to the north, to get the missing paper, then headed back to Fingerprint Pros and dropped it off, then went BACK to NDoW to drop off the fingerprint report and missing paper... I'm glad I didn't have anything else planned for that afternoon, as it was after 3pm when I finally headed back to Overton, which is about an hour's drive on Interstate 15. But everything I set out to do that morning was done, and now I could look forward to a relaxing Friday -- doing another bird count at the Overton Wildlife Management Area... :o) And in between all of the above, I found out that the 2004 Tundra I was interested in purchasing will be at the Henderson CarMax in time for me to drop off the rental car at the Enterprise next door to the CarMax. Things just seem to be falling into place perfectly these days...I was heading down Moapa Valley Blvd, heading south to Overton, when I noticed sunset colors beginning to take place in the clearing skies, especially looking east. So I drove south out of Overton, to an area where I could look both east and west; here's the view looking east toward the Virgin Mountains and Gold Butte --

And looking west to the Valley of Fire -- 

Here's another look back at one of the highlights of Travels of Discovery. I visited SE Oregon before I started making daily posts to my blog, and it's well worth highlighting. Especially Steens Mountain, a single fault block range much like the Sierra Nevada (which is why it's called "mountain" singular, not plural;  and it's Sierra, NOT Sierras) that has a gently sloping west side -- it was heavily grazed by sheep until fairly recently -- and a precipitous east side dropoff, again much like the Sierra. Here's a photo of Steens from the approaching main road -- 

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge runs through this area; the area in the foreground is part of it, and Steens is in the background, perhaps not impressive from a distance, but once you get closer...See that "notch" in the mountain, to the left of the photo? It's called Kiger Notch --

And the above photo shows Kiger Gorge. You really have to be there to be awed by its vastness, dropping thousands of feet to the gorge's floor. And that's the Notch to the right. The gorge was formed by a huge glacier; you can still imagine what it looked like, thousands of years ago, and the Notch was formed when the glacier broke through to the other side. It's just an astounding example of glaciation. And I visited Steens during the height of the wildflower season; here's Little Blitzen Gorge, looking west with the wildflower fields in the foreground --

There's a lake up here, Wildhorse -- 

The views from atop Steens -- it's not particularly high, only about 9500 feet at its highest point -- are amazing, sometimes going for a hundred miles looking east or south. Here's another of the Steens gorges; these were all viewed while traveling on the dirt-road loop trail, 66 miles of 4-wheel-drive road that is one of the premier dirt-road experiences in the western US -- 

It's really hard to grasp how immense these gorges are, and the distance to the bottom. And there's plenty of wildlife to be found here, too -- 

And we can't leave out the birds... Rosy Finches are here, along with more common birds like Yellow-breasted Chat -- 

And how about this, a Snipe on a post -- 

A closeup -- 

With its far-ranging vistas, stupendous scenery, abundant wildlife, and being near to an major wildlife refuge in Harney and Malheur, Steens Mountain is an outdoor enthusiast's dream area. Just writing this post, and viewing the photos again, makes me want to go back...

December 2 and 3 -- Paperwork, A Visit to Nevada Dept of Wildlife, and More Looking Back Photos...

I'm surprised that I'm able to keep track of all this "stuff" I've been buying lately, but so far so good...The Faranuf (pronounced Far Enough) house in Portal, Arizona is due to be mine officially on December 12. The house inspections are done, septic and well tests, home warranty purchased, and all of this has been communicated to the title company in charge of all the documents, so now I have an estimated purchasing price and will go to the bank today (Thursday the 4th) to wire the funds to the title agency. Then on December 10 I'll head back to Portal, Arizona to sign the closing documents and -- voila!  -- it will be mine... :o) And in between now and that time, the 2004 Toyota Tundra will be delivered to the Henderson CarMax lot, and I'll turn in the rental I've been using, test drive the Tundra, and in all likelihood purchase it, and it will officially become Tundra II -- as the new Lance 1685 being built at the factory for me, due to be delivered in late January, will become Discovery II. And then there's always my new Canon 7D MK II... ;o) Yesterday the 3rd I went in to Lost Wages (aka Las Vegas) and met with Jennifer Waithman, the wildlife education coordinator for southern Nevada, working for the Nevada Dept of Wildlife, who runs the Overton Wildlife Management Area. I will be taking a class in January to become a "certified wildlife volunteer", meaning I will officially represent the NDoW at bird presentations, bird walks, etc. that I will conduct. Gee, I'll even get a brown shirt with a name badge, and hopefully another baseball cap! It's what I've been wanting to do since I embarked on Travels of Discovery in May 2013, and have been lugging around a projector and projection screen to be used with my MacBook Pro for the possibility of presenting such things to the public. So I'll probably be staying in Overton until the end of February, perhaps March, not only volunteering for the WMA but still doing bird counts and submitting them to eBird. Today, after visiting the bank, I'll head over to the Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson for some up close and personal looks at the birds there in the ponds, and more practice with my new 7D MK II with the 500 f/4 on...Here are some more photos from times past during Travels of Discovery --

The Wallowa Valley in NE Oregon, seen from the gondola ride

NE Oregon's  spectacular Wallowa Mountains

Glacially-carved Kiger Gorge in SE Oregon's Steens Mountain

The wide-open skies and vistas at Yellowstone National Park

Desert Bighorn Sheep at Zion National Park

Double rainbow on the the road to Loa, north of Torrey, Utah

Utah's Capitol Reef National Park (it's not your imagination, the landscape really IS tilted; look at the clouds)

Sunset at SE California's Salton Sea

"Mosquito Arch" at SE Nevada's Valley of Fire

December 1 -- Just Another Remarkable Day at the Overton Wildlife Management Area...

And my new Canon 7D MK II is proving to be just a superb all-around camera -- but especially with birds, and with the addition of the 500 f4 lens and 1.4x TC, far-away birds, getting their IDs.. The Overton WMA is a "multi-use" area -- and right now every even day is a "hunt day", so the birds, waterfowl in particular, are naturally "spooked", seemingly when you have to do is just THINK of looking in their direction. So having the 500 f/4 lens, particularly with the 1.4x TC attached, making it a 1200mm lens, comes in handy when you don't want to disturb the birds by getting closer and causing them to flee. And as many of the birds are "way out there", shooting with the 7D MK II means you can crop the photo (the 7D's crop factor is 1.6x) and the details will hold as the 500 f/4 is a prime lens. So, here are a few establishing shots of the WMA to set the scene --

Did I mentioned it's autumn at the WMA? -- Looking east in early morning 

Pintail Pond in the south section of the WMA

A duck hunter's blind and Pintail Pond looking north

Pintail Pond with the Valley of Fire in the distance

Gulls wheeling in the air above Pintail Pond

And what kind of gulls are those,  you might ask? Well, this is a perfect segue into my main discussion, of the Canon 7D MKII and how it's perfectly suited to help ID birds in the field...

I started out the day at the Overton WMA at 7am, and caused my first waterfowl to go "quacking" off in the distance. I couldn't make out which duck they were at the time as I had only a distant "butt shot" view, but later, when zooming-in on the photos I'd taken, I was able to tell that they were Mallards, and marked them down as such in my BirdsEye BirdLog, for submitting a bird count to eBird --

In this next photo, I knew at the time that it was a Grebe -- but was it a Horned, or Eared? The difference between the two in winter plumage is somewhat subtle, so I couldn't make a positive ID as it was pretty far from me. So I took photos with the Canon 7D, MK II and 500 f/4 lens with a 1.4x TC attached (and I use the 10fps shooting mode, guaranteeing that at least one of the photos will turn out sharp; though the 500 has image stabilization, I AM shooting handheld) and while I'm not yet totally convinced, it looks to be -- according to my "National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America" -- a "paler winter" Eared Grebe, which can look an awful lot like Horned Grebe in winter. But Eared Grebes are more common here than Horned, so the law of averages go with Eared -- 

Also at Pintail Pond, where I saw the Mallards and Eared Grebe, there was a large "raft" of gulls,and from where I was standing along the shore -- and the fact that they were in the water, with more obvious markings hard to see -- I really couldn't make a definitive ID on them. There was, however, an obvious choice, given being in SE Nevada, but I still had to be sure...

So I waited until the whole flock flew up into the air, over the pond -- 

Then took in-flight photos of them -- and in cropping the photos in my pp program, my hunch was verified -- they were Ring-billed Gulls, with their "small mirror", or white patches, on their wingtips. The Ring-billed is the standard gull seen here at the WMA -- 

But, just to show you how "things" aren't always what they seem, and even the law of averages can go the other way -- my friend, naturalist and veteran birder, Ali Sheehey, said these are California Gulls, NOT Ring-billed -- and Californias can be seen in this small section of SE Nevada in winter. Thanks Ali! Next up, differentiating between Greater and Lesser Scaup is always a tricky business; Greater has a larger, rounder head than Lesser, whose head is also more "peaked". And in good light, the Lesser male's head has a purple "gloss" to it, while the Greater's can look green.  Cropping the photo below to about 60%, I determined that these are Lesser Scaup, and they are much more common in this area than Greater, too. So again, the law of averages... 

But once again, those darned law of averages aren't always reliable... My friend Ali Sheehey, upon viewing this photos, said the female on the right is a Lesser, the male in the middle is a GREATER (green head gloss, rounded head) and the male on the left is a possible Greater/Lesser hybrid. The Greater is rare for the area, so I had to go back into my eBird report for this day and edit the Scaups to Lesser and Greater, and put down the ID markings of the Greater, and let eBird know I had good photos in case of verification. Fascinating stuff -- at least to me! On to the next photo...I'd never seen Canvasbacks here at the WMA in the 3 months or so that I spent last winter, so I needed to crop the photo to make sure that's what these were, and put the sighting down on my checklist. And the smaller ducks are Ruddys --- 

Finally, the next was taken at Honeybee Pond, the northernmost of the ponds at the WMA; it's a great place for all sorts of birds that favor water. In the photo you can see Great Egret, a Mallard drake, and 2 smaller ducks that look like -- I had to crop just to be sure -- 

a Green-winged Teal male and female. These were the only 2 Green-winged Teals that I could positively ID as sure during my time at the WMA yesterday, thus proving that the 7D MK II, with its superior AF tracking and lightning-fast 10fps is an essential tool for bird counts, and with the 500 f/4 lens, along with the 1.4x TC, will get you the photos and positive IDs when the birds will fly in the opposite direction if you dare get any closer to them.

Another thing I learned about the 7D MK II yesterday evening -- its high-ISO shots can be very useable for Web viewing. I was coming back to Overton after going to the Valley of Fire for some sunset shots (the sunset colors never happened) when I saw 2 Desert Bighorn Sheep just off the road. I slowed down, and they went nearly straight up a hill without missing a beat. But they were still close enough for my 500 lens, so I pulled off to the side of the road and took a bunch of photos. At least, I THOUGHT I was taking photos; after about a minute I look at the LCD screen on the back, and it was saying "no card"!  DOH...I'd left the card back in the card reader attached to my MacBook Pro in Discovery. Luckily, I still had my landscape camera with card with me, so I put it into the MK II and luckily one of the sheep was still nearby. As it was getting dark, I though I'd try out a high ISO shot of ISO 10,000 (!) -- something I would never have attempted with any camera I've had, even if they had that high of an ISO setting (they didn't). Judge for yourself how it turned out; no noise reduction was used, ISO 10,000 mind you -- 

Wow. And I REALLY tempted fate by trying a photo at ISO 16,000 -- 

This one is noticeably grainier than the previous -- but it's still useable on the Web. I'm still astounded at the abilities of this camera -- and am ever so glad I purchased it. One last bird photo -- a Wilson's Snipe that I caught out in the open, in a stream; looks like it was cooling off --

 I think the 7D MK II will take care of my Camera Lust for another 5 years at least....And to end things for this post, here are a few more scenics, taken at the WMA yesterday -- 

A washed-out road and channel cutting between the two southernmost ponds (flood damage from the September storm)

Flood damage looking north 

Beautiful autumn (in December!) colors

Another great day at the Overton Wildlife Management Area...

November 30 -- New House, "New" Truck, New Trailer -- and Sunset Time at the Valley of Fire

Those of you who have been following me for any length of time probably know that I'm in the process of buying a house in SE Arizona. Most would consider it to be out in the "boonies", for there is no industry in the area, and homes there tend to be either 2nd homes, or owned by retirees or people who are self-employed. I'll be renting mine out for 2015, then move in sometime after January 2016. The only  other "home" I owned was a condo in coastal San Pedro, California, so as condos are pretty much low-maintenance, having a home on 4 acres of land with a detached garage, well house, septic tanks, etc is quite an eye-opener -- and a lesson in self-reliance. I just had a septic tank check done, housing inspection report, termite check, calling about home insurance (it's a manufactured home, so the choices for insurance companies that offer mfg home insurance is more limited than "regular" homes), home warranties covering appliances, etc etc. I'm surprised I can keep all this stuff straight in my mind...AND then there is the matter of finding a replacement truck for the late, much-lamented Tundra -- which has probably been solved to my satisfaction, as there is a Tundra very similar to my Tundra at a CarMax lot in Buena Park, CA, that will be sent to their lot in Henderson, Nevada sometime this week so I can test-drive, and most likely buy it. (I REALLY recommend checking with CarMax for a quality used vehicle; on the website not only are there reams of photos of a particular car, but background history (number of owners, whether it was in an accident, any outstanding recalls) and also the amount of tax, license, and other fees that a particular state will tack on to the selling price, which is "hassle-free"; it's the advertised price, take it or leave it. What a relief after going through the hassle and frustration of dealing with new car dealerships!  AND there is a Discovery II coming down the pipe; it's being built at the Lance factory in Lancaster, CA, and should be ready in about 8 weeks or so. AND a new camera -- but I've had no hassles with that, quite the opposite; my new Canon 7D Mark II is probably the best camera I could possibly buy for the type of photography I do -- birds, and birds-in-flight. As I've proved in my 2 previous blog posts...So Sunday was a day of phone calls, and doing paperwork in Discovery. But I felt the need to get outside, and as the sunset on Thanksgiving was so colorful -- or what I could see of it, as I was stuck in the RV park's laundry room, doing a long-overdue wash -- I thought the same might happen today, as the clouds were around all day. So I headed south on Highway 169, the road out of Overton to Lake Mead NRA and the Valley of Fire -- and the clouds had, for the most part, disappeared. But not to worry, for the late-afternoon light has a way of turning the redrock of VOF, and the "tortured" landscape of Gold Butte, the Virgin Mountains, and the desert mountains lining the NE shore of Lake Mead into a dramatic study of light and shadow --

At the east entrance to Valley of Fire, looking west

Turning around, the view looking east

A shadow "selfie" in the redrock landscape

The desert mountains lining Lake Mead in the distance

Now this small "range" to the north of VOF's east entrance is interesting...There are at least 3 arches there that are not listed in any "standard" visitor's guide. You have to seek them out, but they are well worth the hike and detective work -- 

Even the entrance road to VOF "enhances" the landscape, I think, with its sinuous, winding curves -- 

The setting sun just makes the colors and features of the landscape more "contrasty" , and standing out in sharp relief -- 

Here's my favorite photo of the bunch; a glorious view of, in the distance from left to right, the Virgin Mountains, the Gold Butte area, home to Little Finland, Falling Man and Khota Circus, among other wonders, and the desert mountains, with the redrock of VOF and the snake-like road in the foreground -- 

There were a few clouds left, and this one hovered over the small range to the north -- 

The sun had disappeared over the mountains to the west, so I went back to the Overton-Lake Mead road, and took photos of the setting sun lighting up the desert mountains -- 

I sometimes use my 500 f/4 lens as a telephoto landscape lens, so I zoomed in on a feature at Gold Butte, about 30 air miles away (though it takes nearly 70 road miles to get there) called Whitney Pockets, and you can see the dirt road that winds its way to the Arizona border -- 

Well, the sunset didn't turn out to be as colorful as the one on Thanksgiving, but the views still captured the awe and beauty of this area of SE Nevada...