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...
No comments:
Post a Comment