Traffic Jam
Say what you will about my choice to leave city life for the country. Even though I miss bits of living in a big city, I’ll take this traffic jam over road rage and exhaust fumes any day.
I love my early morning commute.
Happy Monday everyone!
Having a Case of the Mondays?
Well then, I hope this momma Bison cheers you right up! Have a good one, friends.
Osprey on the Hunt
I spotted this osprey at Glendo State Park this summer. He sat still on this limb above the water looking for fish with those sharp, yellow eyes. Later that day, another osprey flew over the hood of the truck with a fish in his talons.
Thunder-Boomer Over Cornfield
Thunderstorms hung high above us this weekend. The cornfields are really enjoying the rain.
Sneaky Lizard
I was documenting petroglyphs and pictographs (prehistoric Native American carvings and etchings in rock) at Legend Rock in Thermopolis, WY and this little fella sneaked in for a portrait.
Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!
The Sun’ll Come out
This image is from one of my many wanders this summer. I turned over images and research to my client yesterday. I’ve been cooped up in my dark, cool office for a couple of weeks completing this project and processing images for several other clients. I was excited to wake up today and take a walk to breath in the fresh Wyoming air. I imagined my eyes squinting, hearing the bird singing and simply being in awe of the outdoors again. Unfortunately it is pouring down rain so I’m back in my office. That’s okay, I’m grateful to have the work and the sun will come out soon. I just know it. In the meantime I can reflect on the adventure that took me around the state this summer.
Happy Wednesday!
Feeling the Warmth of Morning Light
A cold front blew into Wyoming this weekend and will hang out with us for most of the week. Thank goodness I am done shooting my state parks project because it snowed yesterday in the Big Horn mountains. I wasn’t that far north but was close enough! I’m not ready for winter and I’m hoping we have a decent fall. But the planet Mars is already in it’s fall season so that means the cooler days of autumn aren’t far from us. I’m going to hang on to summer as long as I can and continue to enjoy early morning walks with the birds singing me along my way.
Happy Monday my friends! I’ve been buried in over a thousand images for the parks project and hundreds of portraits from some senior sessions. But I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and hope to get back to our regular updates very soon.
Cheers!
Glendo State Park
I’m not a big water sports kind of gal so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that there was more to Glendo State Park than a big lake with boats. I took a wander to the wetlands and watched the pelicans go fishing. I also watched an egret grab a fish in his talons but he was so fast I couldn’t catch it in time with the camera. You’ll just have to trust me. 🙂
Wild Skies and Winding Wyoming Roads
I guess that if you need rain in your part of the world, invite me over. It seems almost everywhere I have traveled to for this project, I have been challenged by the weather. Fortunately there have been small windows of perfect light for my shots and the wild skies have provided some pretty intense scenes while I drive the winding roads of Wyoming.
Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger began as a fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River. Later it became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail. The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War. The post closed in 1890 and the town of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, remains near the fort and takes its name from it.
I stayed after sunset for a torchlight tour around the fort and enjoyed skits put on by enthusiastic volunteers in 19th century costumes. Good times! 🙂
Guernsey Bambi
Guernsey State Park is a beauty. Along with a large body water for sporting, there are ample opportunities for hiking, biking, rock climbing, and my favorite- wildlife spotting. I saw twin mule deer fawns hiding in the brush and they, of course, were precious. These little ones are growing fast but haven’t lost their fuzz or spots yet. Her mature eyes are mesmerizing… and those ears!! 🙂
Fort Fred Steele
Named for Major General Frederick Steele, 20th U.S. Infantry, a Civil War hero, Fort Fred Steele is located on the west bank of the North Platte River. It was occupied until August 7, 1886 by soldiers who were sent by the U.S. Government to guard the construction of the transcontinental railroad against attack from Indians.
Unfortunately, many structures in the fort have suffered from repeated fires after being abandoned in 1886. In 1969 it was place on the National Register of Historic Places and is managed by the state.
This site is off the interstate near a rest area so it is easy to find. The interpretive center shows how the fort was built and objects found around the fort from that time. My favorite is the masonry detail.
Charcoal Kilns and a Ghost Town
This stop was not on the official list for my State Parks adventure. I have read about these kilns and quickly realized that Piedmont was only 10 miles south of I-80 . So, I made a detour in-between parks and traveled down a long gravel road to check it out.
These kilns are the remnants of a charcoal- making industry in Southwest Wyoming. They were built in 1869 by Moses Byrne to supply charcoal to pioneer iron smelters in the Utah Valley.
They were built out of sandstone and limestone- all local material- and are about 30ft in circumference and about 30ft high. Each kiln has a large doorway and a window placed high on the backside for loading cord-wood. Vent holes are around the bottom so that charcoal makers could adjust airflow. Once workers filled the kilns with logs, metal coverings were mortared in place over the doorway and window to seal before firing.
The making of charcoal stopped in the early 1900’s when the Union Pacific rail line was rerouted north of Piedmont. This left Byrne with no economical means of transporting his product to market. Therefore, the town died leaving a ghost town just up the road from the kilns.
These structures are obviously unsafe so I kept my distance as best as I could. But I did take a quick peek inside. 🙂
Herd of Bison at Bear River
Took this image as the sun was rising above the hill.
This is the herd bull. He’s an older fella…just look at the size of his head!!!
And here I am squatting right at the rear of the herd bull. All I can say is these guys are fed well and comfortable around people or else I would not have gone in there. It was quite an experience!
Bull Moose at Bear River
He’s a young one, but a handsome one.
Bear River State Park was my first stop. I drove through what felt like a million miles of desert to get almost to the Utah border. This was a small but lovely park with a few miles of nature trails, plenty of wildlife, and great attendance from the surrounding city. I saw two bull moose in the first 4 hours I was there. Pretty amazing.
With the Wyoming Wind, I Travel the Open Roads
I have been overworking and underposting and well, I’ve missed you. But it’s for a good cause.
I have the good fortune to be on the road photographing State Parks around Wonderful Wyoming. Tough life, right? Yeah, well, it is A LOT of time on interstates and back roads and a lot of hard work. But I am having great fun and making friends around the state is definitely a plus. In just seven days of shooting, my lens and I have captured bull elk, bull moose, rock chucks, a herd of bison, big horn sheep, pelicans, charcoal kilns, a ghost town and plenty of antelope and bunnies. I’ve been to prison ( 😉 ), historic forts, and have dodged rattlesnakes and skunks. I’ve even helped to herd cattle off of a park nature trail back to their ranch ground. I had a close call in my Honda with a herd of cow elk and their calves. I was in such shock that I couldn’t get my camera and myself out of the car quick enough to get their portraits. Phew! I’m outta breath.
Anyway, I plan to share bits of this project here when I can. I’ll be heading back out in a couple of days for several more stops but for now, I will be in my office backing up my work in 3 different places for safe-keeping. I have a couple more projects on the burner that need my attention as well. That’s how it is during the warmer months in Wyoming; you gotta get it all done before the hot summer turns to a chilled winter.
I’ll be in touch my friends. xo
Tilda Tuesday: In the Weeds
Ugh. As they say in the restaurant business, I’m in the weeds. I’m trying to find some balance in all this busyness so you know what that means? It’s time to step away from it all for a few moments. And that’s what Matilda and I did this morning. We stepped outside for some fresh air and I decided I’d try the multiple exposure function on my Canon 70D. I was encouraged to try this from my friend Tracie over HERE. I’ve done some double exposures in Photoshop by layering but this is the first time I’ve tried this function in camera. I obviously need more practice. In this image, one shot is of sagebrush and a bald sky. The other is of Tilda but because of the bald sky, there isn’t any detail for her upper half. But I like the stripes and curl of her tail. 🙂
Our little walk made it all better. Happy Tilda Tuesday everyone!
Flashing a Smile
Baby goats and little girls in tutus, that’s what a recent family portrait session was made of. I have some great neighbors who stopped us on the road where we were shooting and said they had 5 baby goats who just love little girls in tutus. He was right! We had a blast and the goats were precious. The girls were a little hesitant about getting too close, heck the goats were a little shy as well. All in all we got some great shots that day and I giggled and cooed when this shy guy flashed a smile.
Lamb Love
I have had a very busy week with calving. Very busy. So I thought I’d share a quickie with you. I’m working on a top secret project with a friend/client and she took me to see her neighbors that are lambing. Isn’t she precious!
Have a great weekend my friends and Happy Easter to you and yours.
Tilda Tuesday: Not Always the Center of Attention
Matilda was appalled that this photo shoot was about a precious 6 month old baby and not of her. Silly Tilly.
Uprooted Magnolia 
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