Still Gravity

The Gregory Mansion and view of the Apalachicola River - License our images  here . This is a small state park on the banks of the Apalachicola River, Florida. The name Torreya comes from a tree discovered here in 1835. The people of the area knew the species as "Stinking Cedar" or "Savine". There is an old house/museum in the park. The Gregory Mansion was built in 1849 on the other side of the river and later moved to the actual spot. Confederate troops visited this house during the Civil War.   Trails go down to the river. The campground was mostly empty. Lush forests at Torreya. 

Looking for breakfast in the lake - License our images  here .        What kind of ducks are those?  The Muscovy ducks. And no, they don't come from Russia. They are immigrants from Central and South America.  The red and fleshy stuff on the face is called caruncles - means "flesh" in Latin. The caruncles appear when they become adults. It helps with the cleaning of the face and the feathers thanks to oil glands.   We took these photos while camping in Geiger Lake , Mississippi.  The caruncles of the Muscovy Ducks.  Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.                       Hans Christian Andersen

We met it in a trail of  Palo Duro Canyon , Texas. The colorful "dinosaur" crossed the path and stopped on the border. It looked at us without showing fear. We got close and began a photo session. The lizard stayed put and displayed its best angles. What a professional model! Our common collared lizard in Palo Duro Canyon - License our images  here . They are also called eastern collared lizard to differentiate from its western cousin, the Great Basin collared lizard or desert collared lizard. Their major difference is in the colors. The eastern one has more vivid tones. But temperature and season influence their skin color. You can confuse them.   When running on their hind legs, these lizards look like tiny dinosaurs - check the first image of the collage. This one is a male. Males have well-defined orange bands across the body. The colorful fellas are Oklahoma's

Our campsite in Meaher State Park -  License our images here . Tiny state park on an island close to the city of Mobile, Alabama.  There are only two short trails in this park. One ends at Ducker Bay on a boardwalk. We found rabbits on this grassy trail. The other one goes to the Blakeley River. There were folks fishing there - there is also a fishing pier at Bay John.  Views from the short trails.  USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park is close to Meaher State Park. We visited this park-museum seven years ago. Interesting place if you like history and military stuff.  Our campsite had a view of the I-10 bridge over Mobile Bay. A line of tiny dots of lights after sunset.      

Swamp in Sam Houston Jones State Park, Louisiana - License our images  here . This park is close to the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It's a swampy place that borders the Calcasieu River. But no mosquitoes, we got cold days in this season. There were not many visitors. We only crossed three hikers on the Riverwalk Trail. Wildlife was scarce. There are some nice homes across the river.  The Calcasieu River and a lone wanderer near the trail.  The park was named originally after the Virginian born Sam Houston of Texas. Later the name was changed for the Sam Houston Jones of Louisiana - a state governor that lived nearby. Dark at night, returning from the bathhouse, we met a bobcat having a feast in a garbage can that someone left open. The tactical light froze the ani

Entrance to Capulin Volcano National Monument - License our images  here .         This is an out of the way place and, disappointment, the road to the rim of the volcano was closed because of rain runoffs. We had to "enjoy" the volcano from ground level - boring, because it's just another small mountain.  The volcano and the notice of closed road.  Capulin is an extinct  cinder cone volcano  part of the  Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field . The last eruption was 60,000 years ago - not so long ago.  The surrounding area has many volcanos.  Remote, arid, windy, and volcanic region in the northeast of New Mexico. Not much traffic around here. 

The sand dunes of Colorado -  License our images here . Mountains of sand pushed by the wind against the rocky cliffs of the Sangre de Cristo Range. These are the tallest dunes in North America, resting at a corner of the San Luis Valley. We got a site in Piñon Flats campground inside the national park. No electricity, but there was water across the street.  Our campsite in Great Sand Dunes National Park.  A trail went from our site to Medano Creek, right at the start of the dunes. The creek was dry. It's the season. Winter is almost here. Pretty rocks all around there. Colors and patterns to choose from.  Rocks by Medano Creek.   The greenish looks a  banded hornfel . Igneous rocks created through the heating and baking of other rocks by volcanic

Entrance to the Base Camp Family Campground in southern Colorado - License our images  here .        Base Camp is a good name because it was our base camp before going to  Great Sand Dunes National Park . In need of laundry, a shower, and some rest, we got a campsite for a night in this place.  The flatness of the  San Luis Valley  tried to scare us away sending sand charged winds with guts of 40 mph. The pop-up camper shook wildly but survived the test. The sunset brought some calm.   This valley is huge - over 122 miles - and has a long geological history. Once, it was the shore of a sea, the  Western Interior Seaway . A walk around the camp and view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from the camper.  There is a great view of Blanca Peak  from the camp. This is the fourth highest summit of t

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico - License our images  here .   The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge was a few miles north from our campground in the gorge . This is one of the highest steel bridges in the US. A challenging work of engineering finished in 1965, the arched bridge crosses the gorge six hundred feet over the river.  We arrived at the bridge early in the morning and street vendors were already setting tents and tables in the parking lot for a day of business. A while after, a couple of buses dropped tourists from Santa Fe . The bridge got packed with people.   Before leaving, we bought a comfy blanket from a Native American lady. But surprise! She was Native American, but not from the US. She was an Indian from Guatemala - impossible to tell apart from the locals. We had a friendly chat and were surprised to learn that she had to travel two hours to reach this place to sell her stuff. Tell me about a hard life.  The river and the gorge se

C hiking in La Vista Verde Trail at the Rio Grande Gorge, New Mexico -  License our images here .          We camped in a small BLM campground at the Taos Junction Bridge. Only four campsites, and there was water, but no electricity. The host was an amicable man from Boston that told us that the camp would close by mid-October. We were among the last campers for the year - check a closer photo of our convenient campsite here .  The Rio Grande and our small campground. There are trailheads close to the campground and also some people come to fish in the Rio Grande.  The canyon is pretty and feels wild.      Some of our shots from hikes in the canyon.  The waters of the Rio Grande were cold and clear. We got some nice views from th

We got a nice shot of this mule deer -  License our images here . We met a small herd of mule deer hiking the Frey Trail of Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico.  There were six or seven animals. Two were blocking the trail. They were resting at the shadow of some shrubs. The others were scattered in the surrounding area - also resting in the shadows.  Reluctantly, the ones on the trail moved aside. After we passed, they returned to their fresh spots on the trail.  Here you can see the male and the ones on the trail.  Mule deer are named for their large ears. Interesting that they can move them independently. These deer are found anywhere in the west of the US and are bigger than the white-tailed deer.    Are mule deer dangerous to us?  They usually flee, but these nervous animals can charge. This is especially true during the rut or

The Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument -  License our images here .   The sun was already high when we arrived at the rim of the dusty canyon.  The hike through the Frey Trail was easy. Along the way, we crossed a herd of mule deer that made us stop for pictures. A while later, standing on the steep cliffs of the Frijoles Canyon ( map ), we were engulfed by a feeling of awe facing the circular ruins of the Tyuonyi village.  The old yellowish rocks were the only leftovers of distant human memories. The strong wind of the last days of the fall, whispering through the piñon pines, appeared to carry echoes of voices a thousand years old. Spells of an enchanted place with amazing views.  Then our descend began.  The remains of Tyuonyi village.  On the canyon floor we met more things: a sacred  kiva  and a wall of dilapidated cliff dwellings.  The holes on the naked rock reminded small caves, except for the geometric patterns born from the human hand. Here and there, forgotten s

Our campsite in Hyde Memorial State Park near Santa Fe, New Mexico -  License our images here .         We camped in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Hyde Memorial State Park. Elevation range: 8,300-9,400 feet (2,500-2,800 meters). The primitive campground is in a forest of pines and close to the paved road that goes through the park. A small creek crosses the camp. Nights were cold up here - it's November. The park has the East Circle and West Circle trails. On the west side, the trail climbs higher on the mountain. A trail called Piggyback interconnect the other trails.  C in a trail of Hyde Memorial State Park close to the sunset.            Santa Fe Less than ten miles away and a few thousand feet under our campground was Santa Fe, the old city

Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico -  License our images here .       This man-made lake is a fresh oasis against the aridness of the surrounding area. The dam of the Pecos River at the old Horseshoe Bend created this lake in 1981. The old river bend can be seen in Google Maps .  The name Santa Rosa comes from the city 10 miles downriver, but the original name of the reservoir was Los Esteros - estuary in Spanish.  Crossing the river in the 19th century meant being "West of Pecos". This was a way of saying "welcome to the wild West" with all its dangers associated.  The beautiful canyon of the Pecos River after the dam.  The Spanish explorer Coronado crossed these lands in 1540 and the area remained part of Mexico until they lost it after the war with the United States. This region was known as Agua Negra Chiquita - "Little B