Monument Valley Camping

This was the view in beautiful Monument Valley, Utah, where we “Glamped” overnight for a couple of nights. I say glamped because we have many of the comforts of home while away. We have satellite TV, streaming TV, Starlink internet and our laptop computers.

Glamping: A Luxury Outdoor Experience. Glamping, short for “glamorous camping,” is a type of outdoor accommodation that offers a more luxurious and comfortable alternative to traditional camping, i.e. “roughing it.”

There are other places we visited on this trip which we will post about later. Click on the image to enlarge.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day, America! On the 249th anniversary of independence from our tyrannical overlords of yore, we seem to be enjoying much in the way of prosperity, peace and the blessings from above.

From The Patriot Post:

On July 3rd, the day before the Continental Congress affirmed our Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that the 4th of July “ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.” He continued, “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

He added: “You will think me transported with Enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even although We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”

The defense of Liberty requires eternal vigilance…

Image above; Posing for the camera with our patriotic colors showing. Click on the image to view enlarged.

Today, we celebrated with prayers and thanks for our freedoms, followed by a steak and salad dinner.

Saguaro Propagation

If I understand the propagation of the Saguaro Cacti in the southwest correctly, the seeds in the fruit are eaten by various critters and deposited along with bird waste randomly in the desert, where a young cactus may eventually grow.

In any case, I photographed this Curve Billed Thrasher dining on some of the fruit on the big saguaro in our yard today. Click on either image to enlarge in the image viewer.

A Hardy Feast for Fathers Day

It is interesting that “Fathers Day” and “Hardy Feast” are anagrams of one another; that is, each phrase contains all the same letters in a different order.

In fact, the entire weekend – Friday the 13th, Flag Day and Fathers Day each featured a “Hardy Feast.” Patty Melts on Friday, a Seafood Bake on Flag Day and Beef Tenderloin Steaks (a.k.a. Filet Mignon) with a green salad on Fathers Day.

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads, Granddads and Great Grandads out there. If there are any Great-Great Granddads left, then a special shout out to y’all.

Desert House in 3D

It has been a while since I posted any 3D photos, so here is an image pair I took this morning with the Samsung Galaxy S23 camera phone. It was a little after nine AM and the sun and shadows were nice at this camera angle.

If in case you don’t have a pair of red/cyan 3D glasses, here is the 2D image:

Click on either image to enlarge in a new tab.

A New Camera Lens

My 75-300mm telephoto lens disappeared mysteriously over the last year, basically since we went to view the total solar eclipse near Waco, Texas, last year. The lost lens may eventually turn up, since we’re not generally that lax with keeping and caring for our equipment, but (s-word) happens.

So, in the meantime, before (and if) the old lens shows up, we ordered a new telephoto lens for my Canon EOS Rebel T6i camera, namely a Canon EF100-300mm replacement for the lost lens. To be sure, the new lens is somewhat superior to the old one, since it is lighter, has less chromatic aberration and is more compact than the “lost” lens.

As a quick functional test of the newly received lens, the photo above was taken of a white winged dove that perched on the bird feeder crook in the back of the house. The photo above was taken through the new lens at about a range of fifteen yards and cropped down to feature the bird. Thankfully, there seems to be no signs of chromatic aberration and the bird’s features come through very well.

Now, if the old lens turns up, it will go to one of the local charitable foundations for resale in their thrift store. The new lens, will be available for more shots like this of wildlife or whatever presents itself as we continue to photograph the world around us, both at home and on the road.