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| Birds repositioning for a hazy sunrise, Peeples Valley Arizona |
Storms bring good stuff, which creates an excellent excuse to catch you up what I've been doing, photographically.
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| Google Images, East side of the White Tanks Mountains, 1990 and 2023 |
Ready for some quiet time after December's usual excesses, I headed for the desert January 3. I had two nights reserved at White Tanks Regional Park, which was a quiet little second home in the 1990s. With the stunning encroachment of subdivisions, it has become a bit of a zoo.
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| Moon behind gathering storm clouds, White Tank Mountains Arizona |
That first night, while enjoying a beer and Trader Joe's Chicken Tika Masala (on my top 10 camping meal list,) I got philosophical. This place has always been a bit challenging to shoot, and with the addition of loud crowds, I decided to bail. My thinking was that the campsite was paid for whether I used it or not, and I could be happier for the same price in a favorite free site ("dispersed" in forest ranger lingo).
There are spots in the Harquahala Mountains which remain quiet and still feel like a second home. Granted I go on weekdays, but I've never seen another soul camping there.
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| Rainbow at last light, Harquahala Mountains Arizona |
The afternoon was rainy, and I didn't expect any light until the morning. I was in my jammies (embarrassingly early, I admit) listening to Guy Tal's webinar about (of all things) living an authentic life. I looked up and saw this,
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| Purple sunset, Harquahala Mountains Arizona |
and this. I ran out into the rain in my cotton PJs and joyfully got wet shooting and laughing my head off while yelling happy profanity. Alone has its advantages.
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| Foggy Tree Tunnel, Peeples Valley Arizona |
It snowed here at home mid-month, but I confess there are no snow images good enough to share. Then we had a warm spell and the El Nino moisture fell as rain. The next morning there was fog. Every good Arizona photographer I know loves fog. I was on my way to photograph some bridges north of Prescott (more on that project later) and was stunned into hanging out in Peeples Valley, 3 miles from home, for over an hour.
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| Fogbow, Peeples Valley Arizona |
Between the horses and the tree tunnel at Hidden Springs Ranch and the fogbow across the highway, it was time well spent.
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| Little Hell Canyon Arizona |
Once all this burned off, I headed up the road to start a project on historic Arizona bridges. This one spans Little Hell Canyon near Drake. I'll write more about this work soon.
