Wow, I was wrong…it’s been four years since I posted on this blog…time sure flies! Anyway, had some time to spare at the airport before leaving, so started thinking about why the start of a trip is so different for me than the end of a trip?  I like home just fine…but I always feel so free when embarking on a trip. Then, I realized that the start of a trip/big adventure is sort of like being a kid…the possibilities for the adventure to come are pretty much endless…anything is possible…and there are not all the responsibilities of being an adult. I don’t think it gets any better than that!

Travel, in general, is so cool because you meet so many different sorts of people. Not five minutes after I walked into John Wayne Airport, a woman was standing near the sink area in the restroom and was looking intensely at me as I walked in. I used a sink at a different area on the opposite side of her but had to walk past her to get out of the restroom (she was still standing in the exact same spot!). I should have known better…I knew there was something strange happening…but I made the mistake of making eye contact with her. *sigh* She immediately started telling me ALL about her urinary tract infection and how she had to pee every few minutes and how it was affecting her job because she was spending so much time in the restroom (she worked at one of the stores in the airport and got in trouble every time she had to leave). She was looking at me like I had the answers! After listening to her for a couple of minutes or so, I suggested calling her doctor right away and hightailed it out of there!

Got into Bozeman about 11:05 PM after an extremely bumpy ride into SLC…so bumpy that the flight attendants never once got out of their seats and no beverages were served L.  No matter how much I fly, I’m still a complete wimp when it comes to persistent intense turbulence and I really could have used a “beverage.” I always try to channel my mom during turbulence because it never bothered her a bit! Thankfully the flight to Bozeman was fairly quick and uneventful.

Happy at the hotel now and should be getting to sleep soon! Big day tomorrow…meeting up with my group at 1:15 to head to Gardiner, Montana. Goodnight.

Embarking on my Bucket List Trip #2

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog (three years to be exact!)...and a lot of things have happened in my life...some sad, some happy and some in between. I've missed blogging on several trips including two of my bucket list trips...one was a three week trip to Alaska including going to Katmai National Park to see the coastal brown bears...truly a magical experience to see these magnificent creatures so close and not be in fear of them (well...except that one time we ran into a sow and her three cubs on the trail..that got our adrenaline pumping!). We also ventured to Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords National Park and the Kenai Peninsula...all magnificent places! The other was a trip to Maui in February to see the humpbacks and their calves up close and personal in zodiacs. Another crazy magical experience to hear them sing, see them breach, see them teaching their young to slap their fins, and see the males competing for the females...and all so close! A few photos from these two trips are below.

Anyway, I digress...  I am getting ready to embark on my #2 bucket list trip and thought this would be a good time to try to start up the travel blogging again. I'm about an hour out from heading to the airport and have a lot of mixed emotions going on. First, I'm heading to Yellowstone in the dead of winter on a small wildlife photography tour...only three other people (strangers...gulp). Never done anything like this before so I really don't know what to expect. I'm very excited for all the wildlife possibilities, beautiful winter landscapes, and learning as much as I can from our photography guide, however, never having spent this much time in really cold conditions (I see some negative numbers in the forecast!), I'm feeling a little out of my comfort zone (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but rather anxiety-producing for me). Also, packing for a photography tour is hard enough with all the gear involved, but add on negative temps and you have some interesting packing situations. Also, leaving my elderly cat is always a little hard to do, even though I have wonderful cat caregivers looking after her...she still prefers mom. Finally, I think I just have "stranger-anxiety!" What if I don’t get along with these people and have to spend a week with them in the park? What if we have nothing to talk about? I can come off rather reserved until I get to know people, so what if they don’t like me? Yep…a lot of fears (and a lot of excitement) going through me right now. I’m used to traveling solo for the most part, but a small group tour…this is something new! I’m ready…then again, I’m not…so I thought I would write about all my adventures each day…and hopefully add a few wildlife shots in with them.

Okay, better do one last check of the house...and then off to the airport. Here are a few shots from those trips I talked about earlier in this post. More blog post to come from Montana...

My Local Escape - Part Deux

It's been quite awhile since my last update. I've been busy hanging around home and doing projects. I have been making quite a few visits to the wetlands over the past couple of months (although not as many as I'd like with the time change and all) and thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from November and December, basically since I've been back from Yosemite.

The photo below is one of my all time favorites from the wetlands. Who would have thought it would be of a seagull? Not me! I call this one "All Dressed Up," because of those gorgeous spotted tail feathers. I had really never noticed a seagull with such beautiful markings before. I did some research and found out that this is a "teenage" ring-billed gull...not quite of breeding age yet. I also loved the way he seemed to be comfortable with me around and also as interested in me as I was in him. Finally, I loved the background (bokeh) orangish colors in this shot. By the way, you can click on any photo to see it larger, or visit my Flickr stream at the top of this blog.

The photo below shows a Snowy Egret at dusk. She is backlit by the sun and her feathers are literally glowing with the light...especially those hanging from her chest.

When I captured this Green Heron in the photo below, I had no idea what he was. I had never seen one before, but I did know he was pretty cool looking! He was perched on the wetlands bright yellow dredging pipe.

This Black-Crowned Night Heron shot below is another of my favorites from the last couple of months. I went for a walk on a Monday evening and there were hardly any people out and about (which is always a plus when you want to photograph shy birds). As I was walking along one of the trails, I looked down and saw this guy just as the sun was setting. I think we were both equally surprised to see one another. He tolerated me taking a couple of photos and then I moved on. This was my first spotting of one of these guys. They are so cool with that red eye! I now know where they hang out during the day...in big trees with lots of branches away from the trails...but every now and then I spot one out of the trees and it is always a thrill. What a beauty.

 Speaking of beauties, this Reddish Egret (below) caught me completely off guard the other day just as I was walking into the wetlands. It was a couple of hours before sunset and he was wading in the shallow water fishing with the sun backlit against his gorgeous red feathers. He turned and looked at me and somehow I got the timing right and the camera clicked at just the right moment. We actually walked along beside one another for quite awhile after this...really cool!

The shot below is of a Forester's Tern in flight. The wings are a teeny bit blurry, but I ended up really liking this photo. The photo, overall, looks almost black and white and the tern looks like she could be sketched (at least to me:).

A Forster's Tern making quite the racket while shooing other birds away from her fishing ground!

One evening in late November, I went to one of my favorite spots in the wetlands, which I have named, "The Bayou." There must have been 50-60 white pelicans busy fishing over there. I had never seen a white pelican at the wetlands before, so I was thrilled! I spent about an hour watching them. 

I call the photo below "The Entourage," because to me it looked like the pelican was a larger than life star surrounded by her entourage of gulls.

A shot of the wetlands at dusk.

Trees and reflections in the "Bayou area" of the wetlands at sunset.

The shot below is of a Willet at sunset. If you can catch the light just right when the sun is setting at the wetlands, it doesn't matter what you photograph, it will be beautiful! Not that the Willet isn't beautiful..he is!

A Snowy Egret surrounded by orange and yellow marsh grass...so much for trying to blend in!

Another shot of a Snowy Egret over in the "Bayou area." She got pretty close to me as I stood and photographed her for quite some time.

I am hardly ever quick enough to capture these little sparrows. They whip around the bushes faster than lightning. These two were brave little souls and let me get close enough to photograph.

Okay, so I had been trying desperately to photograph an American Avocet for a few weeks, when I finally came across this guy along one of the trails. This was at dusk...as you can tell by the golden reflection of the bird in the water...and for once he was close enough for me to get a good shot. A really beautiful bird.

Another "golden moment" at the wetlands. As I was heading along the trail back to my car, I found a lone Snowy Egret in the canal with the setting sun glowing against her feathers. Really, there is nothing as beautiful as seeing one of these birds bathed in the sunset light. 

I remember one evening in mid-December when I was walking the wetlands, there were not a lot of birds out, so I ended up walking the entire wetlands this night...it was a good three hour walk. As I was walking along one trail, I kept hearing the sounds of a hummingbird. Finally, he landed on this scrub brush and I got him in silhouette against the ocean (and setting sun) in the background. I ended up really liking the shades and tones in this photo.

This was a sparrow that I came across walking one of the trails. He was another brave soul that didn't flit away at the first sight of me. Instead, he continued his business of getting a drink of water in this puddle along the trail. I loved his reflection in the water.

A Forster's Tern at dusk. I love Terns! They have the best and most unique personalities!

Forster's Tern in silhouette.

A shot of Catalina Island from the wetlands with a lifeguard tower and Pacific Ocean in the foreground.

A gorgeous sunset in Bolsa Chica with the lifeguard tower in silhouette.

That concludes the second installment of my wetland adventures. I will probably be spending a lot of time here since my next trip is not until June. I also have a couple of other wetlands and ocean locations that I plan to photograph over the next few months. I am really looking forward to the days getting longer!