Trail Guides

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - The Wellness Center had a poster up in the kitchen trailer advertising a hike to Kibbie Lake. We checked our Yosemite hiker's guide and the hike sounded interesting. Plus, it was their gas. Three hours of driving later, we reached the trailhead at the end of a single lane fire road. During the drive we quickly learned that the organizer had never been to the end of the road or on the trail. Fortunately, the trail was relatively easy to follow.....until we ran into a huge granite outcropping on our left, a stream on the right and no easily discernible trail. Enter the group above - - Father Steve, an elementary school principal, and sons Ben (red shorts) and Sam. Ben was my personal guide and told me he had carried his own pack to their camp, asked a lot of questions and was unfailingly polite.

They guided us up a barely visible trail through heavy growth bushes up to the granite face and onward to the 6,513' top near where they were camped. The lake stretched out ahead and beside us (below).

LH had explored the trail we finally took minutes earlier and signaled us to follow...and then took off with single-minded determination to find a route. She did, but to the other side of the lake. See Below.

Cold Water

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - Having discovered that by going off on her own that she had outsmarted herself, Faithful Scout contemplates a nice cold trip through a Kibbie Lake off-shoot to reach the side everyone else was one.

While the water was nice and clear - - snowmelt usually is - - this explorer found it a bit deeper than planned. Help, in the form of Sam, is swimming in her direction to aid, if necessary, getting the backpack across. So, half soaked LH reached the side of the lake we were on and, a short while later, put on her bathing suit and went for a swim.

Breakfast on the limb

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - We spotted this young guy out for his morning breakfast stroll through a nearby meadow. The deer here are quite small - - bigger than Key Deer but not as big as normal deer. They are aware of humans but don't seem skittish and will hang around for photos and cross the road in front of people / cars / buses and wander where they want.

Floating

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - The temperature today was mid-90s, the water temperature of the Merced River is a bit above 60....so why not rent a raft and spend about 3 hours floating slowly downstream with spectacular scenery all around.

Da Bus

YOSEMITEN NATIONAL PARK, CA -- Introducing.....Da Bus. This is what we (mainly) drive five days a week. (Some runs, like Rafting Pickup, utilize Bluebird school buses.) It's an electric /diesel hybrid for low emissions. The hump on the back roof holds 900 batteries. They charge under deceleration but not braking. No super-big extension cord is used to charge overnight. Basically the bus is a $500,000 rolling computer with a steering wheel. If a problem light shows up on the overhead console of 30 lights one of the remedies for curing the problem is shutting the bus down completely including power....waiting...turning the power back on and re-booting the 27 computer system.

Yosemite gets lots of visitors...so the 44 passenger seating is just a start. A lot of times it a rolling sardine can stuffed with 80-90 people at a time. We use a clicker to count people on our 1-hour runs. I've hauled 400 which is a lot of cram them in, shove them out.

Another fall(s)

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - On our joint day off together we took a hike to Hetch Hetchy, another area of the park. It features more waterfalls, a snake-like winding road to get there and a reservoir which holds water for San Francisco.

Above, the long view of Wamapa Falls
LH takes a pic of GVV who takes a pic of LH while the water cascades through the lower falls area behind.
And another black and white water-spray, slick-rock pretty pic

El Cap photos

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - The highest point on El Cap is 3,600' not 3,000 as i mentioned in the previous blog. The difficulty of the climb and the sheer height kept it unclimbed until 1958.

On the shot above two climbers are about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to the top. It's 4pm and they may have to spend another night on the wall. The shot below has one of four climbers in a team. He's the last guy / gal on the line with the gear/food in bags on a separate line dangling below. This is maybe 1/4 way up a different route from the shot above and already in the shade. They will have morning sun.

NOTE: to get a better view double-click on the photos to enlarge.

Hanging Out

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - El Capitan's 3,000' vertical wall draws rock climbers from all over the world to challenge it. Very Good climbers ascend in three days or a bit less; experienced climbers may take five days; those who have bit off more than they can chew are hanging out for , maybe, seven days. Now, maybe, one of my readers could relax their mind and slip onto a sleeping mat anchored to the wall with nothing but 2,000' below you and fall asleep. I prefer my sleeping bag on the ground.

Our wi-fi connection is being overused so the pics may not go up. if not, then I'll try to put them up tomorrow.

North Dome trail pics

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - As Lydia's blog notes, we took a 9.5-mile hike on our day off. So, what do you need for a good hike??? Packs, hiking poles (optional) and a good book on trails.
Good scenery
And, maybe, a rock formation which is the only one in the Park. Indian Rock is the only arch in YNP

Another pretty picture

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - We took a trip outside the park to Sonora on our days off, both to shop for more items we forgot/need and to 'escape' to real life. We found an Indian restaurant (Bombay Pizza...with a name like that no wonder we were the only customers.) visited another spot where we've had lunch before (good food, cash only) and blitzed the Wal-Mart.

The waterfalls and streams in the park are flowing strong after 5-6 days of intermittent rain. Come August everything will be a trickle...or less.

Art shots

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - Some times we have to let the inner artist come out. These are black and white shots

Cloudy, but no rain...yet

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - Memorial Day Weekend, a time to enjoy the great outdoors. Thousands of folks created traffic jams getting into and around the park for three (fri., sat., sun.) days of on/off rain and 50's temperatures. Today, Memorial Day, looks a little brighter with low clouds and the threat of rain hanging in the air.

Two blogs down you'll see a pic from Glacier Point. Nobody is up there today or has been for the last three days. The road is closed due to snow. Half Dome has a snowy crown, but the low clouds don't let you really see it. Tioga Pass, the road to Nevada, opened Wednesday, and was closed by Friday morning. Plans to open a lot of the high country camp sites and services have been put off due to snow. Ah, the fun of working in Yosemite.

Our "tent among the boulders," isn't too bad. They have an evacuation-style plan instruction sheet on our door in clase of rock slide. The reality is if anything starts tumbling down the gigantic rock face right behind us the instructions won't help.

We've found out quickly that you really have to plan everything you do at least four or five steps ahead. Everything you need for the day or the trip or even a short walk/hike has to be packed, items put away in the bear box, and all unauthorized devices (extension cords) unplugged and put away. There's a system, a routine you need to get into to make life a bit easier.

We're still here

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - - The 90-plus degree days have given way to 60-degree days which is nice. Internet connections are sparse. Paperwork continues to be a snafu here. The place remains spectacular despite the frustration.

Glacier Point perspective

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - As part of our job training we got sent on a 4 hour tour to Glacier Point. Tough work, if you can get it. The Point overlook is a 7,200' and affords a special view. This photo included Half Dome (upper left); Nevada Fall which runs into Vernal Fall (lower right). The trail we hiked to Nevada went up the right side of Vernal Fall on the Mist Trail; crossed over by bridge and continued up the left side of Nevada to the top. From this perspective it looks like a 'little hike.'

You can hike to Glacier Point, which we did 4 years ago, on 4-Mile Trail....which is nearly five miles long...and gains 3,200' elevation from the valley floor. Of course, you have to hike back down also.

The day was a bit hazy without direct sunlight which makes the photo appear a bit 'flat' as you look out into the wilderness.

Another one falls

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - - The first of probably what will be many shots of Yosemite Fall(s) posted during our summer in the park. The water cascades over 2.000' on it's way to the bottom. The falls is the center piece of the park, photographed many times over by almost everone who stops in the park and can be seen from any number of places during a ride around the park loop.

As an added bonus for us, tonight we're watching a (free) showing of "Into the Wild" which was shot near Denali....and is the story of free spirit Chris McCandless and his ill fated trek into the wilds near the park. He died there.

First 2008 Yosemite hike

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - - We hiked to the top of Nevada Falls on Saturday. Mist trail (above) gets its name from the swirling mist which drenches hikers, makes the natural rock steps/trail wet and slick and, when viewed from above, produces a nice rainbow. Four years ago we went down the trail...not the most fun thing to do.

The power of the water cascading over Nevada falls and rushing downstream only to take another powerful and beautiful pitch from Vernal Falls (which produces the mist for Mist Trail) never ceases amaze. The shot below, with a small rainbow, shows the power and turbulence in frothy display....a perfect reason why no swimming is allowed. FYI: More people are killed by drowning than anything else in Yosemite.

UPDATE

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - - We're in the park slogging through the obstacle course of paperwork, housing and other mind-numbing, frustration-building items. Finding wi-fi isn't easy like we were told. No pics this time but the scenery is spectacular which somewhat makes up for the frustration factor.

Correction

MARIPOSA, CA - - The final item in my May 12 blog should have noted that Credence Clearwater Revival paid tribute to Buck Owens in their song "looking out my back door."

Mariposa (or butterfly in Spanish) is a gateway town for Yosemite. We're staying here tonight on our way into the park tomorrow. Somehow we seem to manage to hit areas where gold rush history is entwined in the location: Skagway (1898 Klondike Gold Rush); general area of Denali NP (early 1900's but nothing really came of the Kantishna location); Mariposa County (the trail of the 49ers (1849) with Hornitos being noted as one of the wildest towns in the Mother Lode).

Lizard Breath and other tales

FRESNO, CA - - Here's a fat little lizard whose photo I put up especially for the Queen back home. Since she seems to like our house sitter better than us, Queen may be sitting on his lap and reading this later on. We found this specimen sunning himself on our climb up Mono Rock in Sequoia National Park.

While we were driving around the park we stopped at an observation point looking into Kings Canyon NP. There was an information plaque showing various mountains which could be visible if there wasn't the heavy smog/haze in the distance. As we looked, a couple next to us started a conversation: "Where's Mt. McKinley, I know we can see it from here," she said. "Look at the map, it's somewhere near here." He shook his head and mumbled something. Lydia and I looked at each other, but said not a word. No sense in telling her that Denali (Mt.McKinley) was at least 2,000 miles north. And she probably wouldn't be happy if we told her she probably meant Mt. Whitney...which is the highest point in California and isn't visible from where we were.

Hazy Monday

BAKERSFIELD, CA - - We finally crossed over to the other side ... The Left Coast, The Land of Fruits and Nuts, La La Land, or just plain California. On our 480 mile trip from Zion National Park to Bakersfield we saw lots of high desert, the world's tallest thermometer (in Baker, CA, which interestingly goes up to 130-degrees) showing 88-degrees. What we really needed was an anemometer to gauge the wind speed as it varied from head wind to side wind and wobbled us around in Lil Blue the entire time.

So here we are in Bakersfield, home to plenty of farming / grape growing and oil operations. But that would be selling the town short if you are a fan of country music. The "Bakersfield Sound" changed the face of country music in about 1960 from slick Nashville production to a more natural sound from the most successful proponents Buck Owens and The Buckaroos and Merle Haggard and The Strangers. Texas born Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1950; died here in 2006 and his legacy lives on at Buck's Chrystal Palace.

FYI: The Beatles covered Owens' first big hit "Act Naturally" and Credence Clearwater Revival had a hit with Owens' song, "Looking out my back door."

Angel's Landing, part 2

SPRINGDALE, UT - - PLEASE READ THE BLOG BELOW FIRST AS THIS IS PART #2....Anyway, when you pass the first set of chains you come to the lookout - - a stepping-off point for those with brave hearts and limber limbs making the final ascent. It's a rest area for others and known as "Chicken Out Point" as one look at the rest of the climb up to the top puts pause to those with thoughts of tall tales but no lack of fear to back up the point. I stayed at C.O.P. which has a fine sight line to the shuttle stop on the valley floor some 1,000' below. Lydia went on to the summit and is in the photo below ... a blue dot about midway in the pic. The shot captures only a small portion of the true climb. Maybe next time.

Angel's Landing, part 1

SPRINGDALE, UT - - This imposing sandstone monolith is Angel's Landing, one of the most talked about hikes in Zion. Only the brave need apply for the final push to the summit. The sign below is a warning to those afraid of heights and those not comfortable hanging onto chains to stop now. This is the easy part of the hard part and leads to Scouts Lookout. See part #2 of this blog.

How to tell you're getting old

SPRINGDALE, UT - - Yesterday, I officially got tagged as an old guy. It hurts to tell the story but...We got on one of the transfer buses in Zion after a rather hot hike. The bus was full. A twenty-something woman got up from her seat and told me to take it. I had a bruised ego and tired feet so I sat down. End of story

Caught in the act

SPRINGDALE, UT - - It was a quiet morning on River Walk trail in Zion National Park...but evil lurks everywhere. As the surveilence photo (above) shows, there are a lot of beggars in certain national parks. Little furry guys and gals willing to do anything for a bite. Some are brazen like the fellow above, while others shamelessly pose and try to look cute like the suspect captured in the photo below.
We serched our database and came up with a photo of the The Grand Canyon variety of beggar (below). They are just as persistent. This one followed us for about 20 yards before assuming the attack posture.

Hiking info

CAMERON, AZ - - Bright Angel Trail descends at an average grade of 18-percent. The canyon rim trailhead is at 6860' elevation with the Three Mile Resthouse at 4748'. The canyon floor is at 2480. Hazards not mentioned in any information include mule droppings and large puddles/downhill streams of mule urine. So, when you're in a rhythm plugging along uphill and kicking up clouds of red dust - - and 16 mules have recently passed - - you also need to watch where you step. Murphy's Law #6860: If there's tricky footing or you aren't paying attention then that's where the mule crap will be.

Mule Train

CAMERON, AZ - - There are options besides hiking into the canyon. You can ride a mule or, more to the point, hang on and hope the mule is relatively friendly. The group in this shot are returning from The Landing on Bright Angel Trail which is the far end of the trail you can see. On the short 12 mile ride for a mere $154 per person you can have your butt go numb and inherit a backache which will last all day within 30 minutes of heading out. Of course the brochure puts it much nicer. Oh, lunch is included. The long ride goes to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Canyon and costs a whole lot more. While the idea of riding seems interesting, you need to know that the mules like to ride close to the edge of the trail and, since the trail is way, way down and way, way back up you will either be trying not to become to intimate with the saddle horn on the trip down and then when the going turns up learn to be fast friends with the saddle horn as you need it to hang onto to keep from sliding off.

The building with the green roof in the picture is 3-Mile House where hikers stop for water and some shade. This is where Lydia and I turned around. It was also where we met two 20-ish guys who looked pretty beat. They said they'd been to Phantom Ranch. I wasn't paying too much attention when they said they had left the parking lot at 5:30am. This was 1pm and they had gone 21-miles. "We stayed at the bottom for half and hour," the apparent leader of the pack said. "Had a beer, waded in the Colorado River where it had pooled up and the cold wakes you up pretty quick. It was worth it, but our feet are trashed and we'll be dead tomorrow." So I ask you: who was crazier - - the folks who paid to get a butt ache or the guys trying to see how tough they were.

The view

CAMERON, AZ - - The Colorado River looks inviting from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in this shot taken from the first view point inside the east gate to the NP. This is a new area for us as on past trips we have entered via the west gate north of Williams, AZ rather than this entrance which is accessed from highways north of Flagstaff. I was going to put up a 'toes over the edge' shot but then realized the shot didn't have the river in it.

Another long ribbon of blacktop and concrete

FLAGSTAFF, AZ - - Not too much in the way of photo opportunities today. We did see a couple of old churches, lots of red rock, a few passing freight trains, interstate exits that went basically nowhere, plenty of places to buy souviners, cheap gas ($3.31 per gallon) and prices ranging up to $3.67 per gallon. We hit the REI store in Albuquerque, NM, to buy a few things and got a lead on a good Mexican restaurant for lunch. Dinner tonight in Flagstaff was at a restaurant which served ..... Himalayan food which was somewhat like Indian cuisine. Tomorrow lots of photo ops unless the weather is bad as we head to the Grand Canyon...about a 110 mile drive from here.
Stay tuned.

Crop Duster update

SANTA ROSA, NM - - Thanks to a friend's information, I got a lead on the crop duster pictured in yesterday's blog. The plane in question is a 1978 Grumman G 164-B better known as the Grumman AgCat, a purpose-built agricultural biplane which began production in May of 1957.
This model AgCat is powered by a radial Pratt & Whitney R 1340 (9 cylinders) producing 600 horsepower. It has a constant speed, two blade prop. By Google-ing the tail number I found that the plane belongs to Foshee Dusting Co., Inc. of Natchitoches County, LA.
In other news, we're 600 miles farther down the road in Santa Rosa, New Mexico...600 interstate miles but the scenery is getting better.

Flying low

SALLISAW, OK - - Before we got out of Mississippi this morning we spotted this aerial acrobat plying his trade of crop dusting in this special agricultural aircraft or top dresser. Double click on the photo above and you can see the pilot wasn't so busy trying not to plow the field instead of spraying it that he couldn't take a look at me. The second photo of the plane heading away is for detail. I Googled a number of sites but couldn't come up with any information on a bi-plane like this one.

Sallisaw got its name from a French word for salt deposits. Buffalo hunters in the late 1800s used salt bought here to preserve buffalo hides and other animal skins. This area belonged in turn to Spain, France, the Cherokee Indian Nation and the U.S. The Cherokee got the heave-ho, along with most of Florida's Seminole Nation and three other tribes in a relocation plan to move them to Oklahoma. That infamous forced march/relocation and the resulting inhumane treatment of those involved became known as "The Trail of Tears."

GREETINGS

HATTIESBURG MS - - Greetings from The Days Inn in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We're finally on the road; we're heading west and, right now, if it isn't Interstate travel it's some scenic marked route past cotton fields, peanut crops, sorghum and whatever else they grow out here. More tomorrow.

NEWS

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Finally. For those of you who read this blog to 'travel' with us each summer to our latest adventure job we're ready to head out again...finally. We're headed to Yosemite National Park to work as visitor transportation service bus drivers. So, after nearly 5 months of waiting to find out which location would get our 'treasured' presence we have one week to get ready to head out. Fortunately, 'Lil Blue' (above, on the road to the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite on our way home in '07) is ready to roll...with plenty to experience: '05 Glacier NP; '06 Skagway, AK; '07 Denali NP, AK and now we head to the Left Coast.

"the usual suspects"

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of ....." If you're old enough to recognize what radio show those famous words came from (I know I left out the final word...men, but bear with me.) you may be eligible for more than AARP benefits. Anyway, we found the head of a lizard on the bathmat in front of the shower in the master bedroom. We later found the real scene of the crime, easily distinguished by blood on several tiles on the walkway to the living room.

The call went out: "round up the usual suspects." These 'felines of interest' were quickly located. They sleep almost all the time and usually in the same locations. Suspect A (above) is 17lbs. of beautiful bitchiness. The Queen's motto is 'never purr when you can bite.' Suspect B (below), weighing in at 12lbs of affection, goes by the name of Princess, aka 'Cuddly." Her mellowness is the perfect antidote to the Queen's more strident attitude.

The search for clues involved the inevitable: check for lizard-breath. Problem: Get too close to Queen and she would bite your nose; get too close to Princess and she would lick you. We're sure we know who did the deed, but we cant prove it. Solution: mark this case unsolved and turn it over to the cold case squad.

On a cloudy day you can see...

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Sunny and 91-degrees yesterday; cloudy, windy and mid-60s today. So we made another trip to Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge. We saw - - but didn't get pictures of - - at least 5 manatee; a family of wild pigs; wild turkeys and three otters who looked like black slinky toys scooting across the road from one canal to another.

What I did get pictures of was heavy traffic on the Haulover Canal which, by the camera angle, makes the three fishermen about get run over. Actually, they just got tossed about in a heavy wake as the vessel did pass quite close to theie small boat.
The Black-necked Stilt is easily recognized by its long red legs. Overcast skies made this pic a bit washed-out, but it's the first Stilt we've seen this season
This Great Egret appears to be marching to his afternoon repast.
A Snowy Egret in flight
Tricolor Herons are year-round residents of Florida

Breezy day

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The appropriately named 'Tally Ho' out of Muskegon, MI, heads up the Halifax River (Intercoastal Waterway) on either a day trip or to a new destination. It's sunny, 91-degrees and there's a favorable 15mph win out of the southwest.

Two years ago we were already one week into our trip to Skagway, AK, and last year we were two days away from departing on the journey to Denali National Park (AK). This year we're still waiting to see where the wheel of fortune takes us.

Mystery bird

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - This interesting fellow was hanging out in a gnarled tree overlooking some wetlands near Tomoka State Park. This is probably a tricolored heron...at least that's the bird he more-or-less resembles in our Audubon Field Guide to Birds (Eastern Region) identifying photos. Sometimes you can't be totally sure.

Another day and not much else

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Urgent update!! Other than lots of birds flying around, the space shuttle landing just a couple of hours ago and lots of nice weather there isn't really anything to report. Snow levels in parks where we've applied for summer jobs are still deep. The folks in Montana's Glacier National Park won't even think of starting plowing the Going To The Sun road - - which connects the west side of the park with the eastern (St. Marys) side- - until mid-April. This is mainly because of deep snow and migration patterns of some park animals...elk, moose, wolves, bears, etc.

The remodeling of the OB Library has been completed and we have a new establishment in town called "Caffeine" So I thought, 'great, a coffee shop really close by'. It turns out the place is a wine bar and bistro. I need to stop by and ask how they came by the name of the place.

For those readers in Georgia or those who know what kudzu is and how it can take over, you might want to add bamboo in that category. Paving an area with bamboo over might work and spraying the area with Agent Orange might do the job too but that would not only kill the bamboo but everything else and then we'd be in a haz-mat situation. So I lop away knowing that next year at this time the scourge will be back again.

Time out

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - This brown pelican was taking a time out from the hard work (flying, looking, diving, and hoping to catch some food) while casting an eye on anyone moving past. There's a fish cleaning area nearby on the pier. No fool this guy, maybe somebody else will do the hard work and throw him something easy to catch.

"We have liftoff"

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - About 30 minutes ago, at 2:28am plus a few seconds the Space Shuttle Endeavour began liftoff from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. This is only the second shuttle launch this late (or early in the morning, if you like) so it's a rarity. Sadly, heavy cloud cover along the coast isn't. Seconds after this photo the shuttle, in all its brilliant glory, was blotted out by the cloud cover.

Backyard Bandit

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Our screened-in Florida Room looks out on our 'natural growth' backyard. Natural growth being a nice way of saying that other than the sidewalk the area is a bit like a jungle. While sitting in a beach-style recliner surfing the internet and keeping track of business news on tv, I spotted some movement outside. Mama raccoon must have been hungry as she climbed up one of the trees which has a sort of fruit covering it. Normally we only hear the raccoons as they play their version of football or soccer and scramble back and forth across our roof late at night.

I was able to go back into the house, get the camera with the long lens (200mm with a 2x extender) and bumped the iso to 800 because the area was in full shade, and needed to be shot through a screen window at an angle. The above pic of mama caught in the act is not the spot-on super sharp pics we like to post but this bandit was too good not to share. She stared at me after hearing the shutter, thought about it and then scurried down the tree and out of sight. She was back in less than 10 minutes to sample the fruit again. This time I let her eat in peace.

Possum on the half shell

CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE, FL - - In the South, Possum on the half shell is one of the names a dead armadillo lying on its back is called. The armadillo above certainly doesn't meet that criteria. Good thing these animals are darn near blind or I would have scared this hungry fellow. They aren't fast; they cross roads at will and when they get scared - - like when a car passes over top of them - - they jump straight up. Oops! Another one bites the dust.
What started out as an expedition to look for birds on the eastern side of Mosquito Lagoon ended about 3 miles after we entered the Canaveral National Seashore gate. The area we wanted to go to is closed for Wednesday's launch of the space shuttle. We should have known after last weeks trip farther south gave us plenty of info on closed areas.
The word 'armadillo' is Spanish for "Little Armored One." It's quite easy to see the armor shell which makes up their outer covering in the U.S. version of the species - - the nine-banded model. Armadillos are native to the Americas. There are smaller ones and one - - the Giant Armadillo - - which weighs in at up to 66 pounds.
If you are interested, Google 'Armadillo Online!' to get the (long) site address for plenty of info.

Standing Guard

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - This Great Blue Heron appeared to be standing guard Sunday (3/2) over an abandoned building on the west shore of the Banana River in the Melbourne / Indian Harbour Beach area.

Reflecting on a great day

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Sunday morning dawned clear and warm. So it was time to head down to Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge again. Additionally, there are now ideas/locations in the planning stage by the u.s. government to turn a part of Cape Canaveral space center into a commercial launch pad. Doing so with one location being looked at would cause the loss of the area where we get these great photos. Stay tuned.

The photos of an adult snowy egret (above) and a juvenile snowy are just 2 of what amounted to over 100 shots LH and I took. And this was an 'average' day ....grade A weather but grade C
on the amount and variety of birds we got to see. Our last trip was 'C' weather and "A" birds. We've yet to encounter a Florida Panther like we did in one of our first trips to the Refuge in 2005.