August 22 -- A Meeting At A Ghost Town, And Hummingbird Craziness

I was planning on hitching a ride with a friend who lives "down the street" to attend the Cochise County photographer's meet at the "ghost town" of Gleeson, west of the Chiricahuas, but finally opted to go by myself as I wanted to stop at the Wal-Mart in Douglas to get 2 bags of salt crystals for my water softening system . It was "trash day" at Portal, so I dropped on my bags at the trash truck and chatted with Tom, the "trash guy" who commutes all the way from Willcox (92 miles one-way). Then it was east down Portal Road, then south on Hwy 80 into Rodeo, New Mexico, then back into Arizona and Douglas, 55 miles away. Douglas is the nearest big town of any consequence to Portal, and the favorite places for "Portalites" are Wal-Mart and Food King. I'd looked online and saw that Wal-Mart had Morton Salt Crystals (40-pound bags) in stock, so I went there, asked the guy where they were -- and he showed me a bag, not of crystals, but pellets (I find out later from my friend Helen that pellets are probably better for the water sofenting system as you don't have to clean any encrustation on the top). So as I was looking for the crystals, and didn't know if the pellets worked for my system, I left an tried the tractor store up the road; same story, only the pellets. The guy there said probably the closest store that would have the crystals would be Lowe's or Home Depot in Sierra Vista, about 109 miles one-way from Portal. Looks like it was going to be another over-200 miles day...I headed up Hwy 191 to Elfrida and Gleeson -- and along the way got some spectacular cloud displays, billowy formations that seemed to be growing over mountain ranges --

There's a horse in center distance in the 2nd photo, but as I was trying to get all of the huge cloud, he ended up as a tiny dot in the distance. The way to Gleeson was winding through foothills dotted with ruins -- and then I realized I must've passed it without knowing it. On the way back I saw Gleeson Cemetery, and an old structure on the other side of the road -- that was it; Gleeson. There are displays in that building, which used to house the jail. Gleeson, as so many other towns in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, were mining towns, and you can still see the mine openings into the hills, along with tailings. I introduced myself and got "Oh, I've seen your photos!" A warmer bunch of folks you couldn't imagine. Some of use brought our camp chairs (I found out afterwards that I left my chair behind at Gleeson) to sit and listen to the music supplied by 2 live musicians. My new friend Olga, who was kinda the "doyenne" of the group, had brough taquitos and snacks, so I opted for those and kept my Subway sandwich for dinner. Around 12pm the clouds moved in; the structure in this photo is the foundation of the old school -- 

Then a "weather event' occurred down to the south -- a band of rain that started off small and compact at first, sort of looking like the beginnings of a tornado, then it spread and dissipated before coming to our little group near the jailhouse -- but the wind picked up and raindrops were starting to fall. I almost never get photos of people (I don't know why) so I depended on the group photo, taken by a participant; here we are in front of the jail --

Yours truly is second from the right; it was all I could do to hold my stomach in. :o) The members were from all walks of life; for instance, Olga and her husband had lived in Orange County, in the city of Orange, then she decided to come back to Cochise County where she grew up (her husband preferred the Pacific Northwest) and became a teacher here. Everyone has a story to tell...By 1pm the weather was threatening, so I left to head to Sierra Vista, 51 miles to the west, where dark, ominous clouds were shrouding the Huachucas. I actually ran into spots of rain, but for the most part I ended the day dry. Hurrah! -- the Sierra Vista Wal-Mart had oodles of the salt crystal bags I was looking for. So I carried the 2 40-pound bags to the truck (I'm surprised my arms didn't fall off) and headed back east to Portal and the Chiricahuas. On the way back, traveling on a paved back road, I came upon a flooded section of the road, with a patrol officer on the other side with a stalled vehicle. I wasn't sure how deep it was, so I kinda "blasted" through, and when I got next to the officer he was motionin with his hands, pushing down, meaning "slow down!" . Well, at least I didn't get HIM wet...The roads I travelled were dotted with road signs reading "Do not enter if flooded"; I was luck more roads weren't. At Douglas I filled up with gas and headed back north up Hwy 80. It's wide and lonesome country there, with mountain ranges to the east and west. And a swear there must've been a raptor on every 3rd power pole!  Mostly Red-taileds, but I'm sure Swanson's (and a few Golden Eagles; some raptors were much bigger than others) were there, too. As I was driving along, with the Chiricahuas appearing on my right, I remember having the feeling of -- contentment. AND that I was truly heading home; that I was meant to be here. After arriving back at Faranuf I grabbed a quick bite to eat (that Subway sandwich and taquitos from the Gleeson meet) and looked out at the feeders. Dang it if that Gray Fox wasn't back again, chowing down on bird seed! --

He was calm as could be, unconcerned with my presence -- until I got a bit closer to shoo him away from the bird seed trays. Then I decided to change my technique in photographing hummingbirds; instead of shooting with my 500mm lens looking out from the back deck , I put on the 100-400 lens and stood on the outer deck, looking in at the hummingbird feeders. The light was perfect, and it's going to be my hummingbird photo technique from now on..

Rufous

Broad-billed

Another Broad-billed (I was trying to turn this one into a Plain-capped Starthroat)

A menagerie of hummingbirds at the feeder -- From the right, Black-chinned male, Rufous, and Broad-billed

Then the clouds to the east over the Peloncillos began to weave their magic once again, and there was lightning flashing inside -- 

The days here at Faranuf, Portal and the Chiricahuas just keep getting better and better...