Photo: tree in Chiricahua

Due to intense media pressure, I've been forced to post something about my trip two weekends ago. So here is a teaser photo. This is a cool tree that Lacey noticed when we were hiking in Chiricahua. The photo has been digitally altered a bit to make it more effective. The original just didn't quite represent how the tree actually came across when we were there. I essentially changed the photo to sepia tones, and fiddled the brightness and contrast a bit.

Gone already

So not a few days after she arrived, Carolyn is now on her way back home. The trip was too short, but they always are. We certainly made the most of it, and we have the pictures to prove it (hopefully... I haven't looked at them yet, but we took a few hundred photos between us.) I will be posting them hopefully sooner than later, though I would like to post my pictures from last weekend first. Plus, I still have to deal with shipping somebody's stuff back home. So don't hold your breath...

But, in case anyone was dying to know, the mule ride was awesome! Yes, I am still sore in places I'd rather not be sore, but it was so worth it.

Photo: the 'stang

Powerful, yet graceful. It commands the respect of its peers. It purrs while it's idle and roars on the highway. It is, the Ford Mustang.

Photo: Arizona orange

The sunset wasn't that great, but I did get that typical desert orange colour. I've cropped this image to remove the blacked-out landscape.

Photo: la lune

Photo: cacti in sunset

Tucson Trek: Part IV

So after spending 2.5 hours at the desert museum, I drove back to Tucson to visit the Center for Creative Photography. It houses the largest collection of prints by North American photographers, and specifically, the man himself, Mr. Ansel Adams. They have one gallery devoted to Adams, but it only has about 12 photos up at a time, so it was a bit disappointing. The photos were awesome though, it goes without saying. They also had an exhibition of Harry Callahan, whom I had never heard of before (not that I claim to know anyone outside of Ansel Adams). His work is quite different from Adams: instead of depicting all the glorious details of nature, he breaks it down into its simpler aspects. It was very cool to see his works.

Anyhoo, enough blabbing. Afterwards, I was tired, so I decided to just head home. As it neared sunset, I decided to stop at Picacho State Park. I hiked up a little ways and took a few snaps.

Photo: mountain lion

They had two mountain lions at the zoo, and these pictures don't begin to demonstrate just how powerful and majestic they were.

Photo: prarie dog

Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks?

Photo: the ocelot sleeps

It was mid-day by the time I was strolling through cat canyon, so all the kitties were catching some rays.

Tucson Trek: Part III

Ok, so I'm a bit behind on my posting. I had another Tucson trek yesterday, during which I took another gigabyte worth of photos. But the lack of comments is making me terribly unmotivated (hint hint), so I'm just going to finish up last weekend first, and we'll see when I get to yesterday's stuff.

Photo: yawn!

So these mountain lions were pretty cute too. They were just lazing about in the afternoon sun, cleaning themselves as cats tend to do. The first photo is a crop of the second one.

EDIT: uhm, okay, so if you squint really hard, they may look like mountain lions, but in actual fact, these are bobcats.

Photo: Elf owl

This cute little guy was trying to catch some Zzzs... but clearly he didn't trust the general populace, so he kept one eye open. I swear he was maybe a bit taller than my hand.

Photo: road runner!

So this is what a real road runner (a.k.a. Geococcyx californianus) looks like! Sorry the photo isn't very telling... but there was some weird couple accosting me about the macaw in the previous cage, so I wanted to vacate the area quickly.

Photo: anonymous bird no. 2

I think this is a seagull.

Actually, this is another cactus... but it really looks like a seagull from that angle... well, at least like one of the seagulls from Finding Nemo. Here is a picture of the cactus that gives a bit more perspective.

Photo: anonymous bird no. 1

Not quite sure what kind of bird this is. It didn't quite trust me, which I suppose is understandable. But I liked its stripes, so I made it a subject. Mua ha ha ha!

Photo: orange and red flower balls

Tucson Trek: Part II

Ok, so where was I? Ah yes, the hummingbird centre. So after that I meandered through the bird cage, and then took a stroll to cat canyon. It's getting late, so I will leave you with a cat canyon teaser.

Photo: hummingbirds

Nearly all the hummingbirds in the enclosed area were just sitting on branches, hanging out. I guess they have to rest sometimes.

Photo: hummingbird on the loose

The hummingbird section was excellent. I saw many different colours and types of hummingbird... but my best photos were of the hummingbird I saw buzzing around some flowers outside the actual hummingbird area. The second photo is cropped to show just the bird.

Photo: tree and cactus

The zoo itself was great. It was a mixture of plant and animal life, all indiginous to Arizona.

Photo: crossing-guard cactus

My first stop was the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum... which, really isn't a museum at all, but more like a zoo. Ok, actually, I lied. My first stop was a scenic outlook on the way to the zoo. The view wasn't all that scenic, but here is a funny-looking cactus I saw. Reminds me of a crossing guard.

Tucson Trek: Part I

It rained all day Saturday, forcing me to postpone my weekend travel plans until Sunday. I must have a few friends upstairs, because even though it called for rain on Sunday, the weather was absolutely fabulous as I cruised down the I-10 in my 2006 Mustang.

So... remember how I said I was going to be less picky when taking photos? Well, I filled my 1GB card, and almost filled my 512MB card. Granted, I am shooting in RAW, so my image sizes are larger... but still, I took about 250 photos in less than 12 hours. I'd say that's pretty good. Taking that into consideration, I will be only posting a few pictures at a time.

Rain rain, go away...

Please come back after I've left Arizona. Or at least wait until a weekday. My plans have been foiled :( It doesn't rain for a record 140 days, but as soon as my first Saturday rolls around... bam!

I guess I will go to the mall. Turns out it's a lot colder than I thought it would be, and I only have t-shirts.

I pimped my ride!

So there is another perk that I will lose when I turn... er... older than I am now, next week: I will no longer be required to pay the "underage fee" when renting a car. Why is this a good thing to have, you ask? Well, when the company is paying for the car, it means you get to switch companies and henceforth cars.

Originally, I got this lovely Nissan Altima... one of the cars that I'd always admired, but never got to drive. Well, turns out it sucks. Perhaps it was just the one I got, but the engine was running 4000 RPM at only 120kph. Boo-urns!



So yesterday I got a massive upgrade. Check it out here!

Yeeeeeee-ha!

2+2=5

So essentially, this is what happened to me on my trip to Arizona on Monday. Click on the picture to be able to read the text.

I made it!

I wanted to let everyone know that I survived the journey to Arizona, with only a few bumps and bruises. The weather here is amazing... just the right temperature... about 25 degrees celsius, but it's dry. I haven't been able to figure out this calling card thingy, so if anyone was expecting to get a call... well, I guess you'll have to wait. I'll post more details later tonight, but I need to get groceries now.

But I should mention that Customs & Immigration people are meanies.

Photo: Buddha

Carolyn took this photo while strolling the grounds of a monastery in China. You can see the gigantic Buddha on the horizon.

Photo: sunbeam

Here is Jack, enjoying his sunbeam.

Photo: goat

A couple weeks ago, Ryan and I visited this goat, among other animals, in Waterloo Park.

I hurt.

But you know, it's a good kinda hurt.

From snowballs to the sand dunes

On my last weekend before descending into the unforgiving desert, I will be climbing to the highest and deadliest peaks in Ontario, only to propel myself down to the bottom (presumably on my butt for much of the ride). I did buy some new equipment on Thursday, so at least I will look good doing it :) Boots, bindings, helmet, and gloves, and most of them were half-off! La pièce de résistance is probably the gloves... they have a temperature gauge on them, so I can see just how silly I am being!

Then, early Monday morning, I will fly out to Phoenix, AZ, for 4 weeks of torturous 25-30 degree weather (that's celsius people). I'm planning on doing some heavy-duty travelling on each of the weekends I am there, so I hope to have lots of pictures to post. I'll try to keep everyone on the up-and-up.