Gila River revisited 08/28...yes, another day trip!

[timh]

Some friends of mine had been wanting to go to the Gila River to check out a spot that we have traveled to many times. It wound up being a nice family outing with his folks and mine along to explore with us! I won't post all the pics of the area, just the ones unique to this trip since we did the same one a few months ago.:ylsmoke:

We traveled the same route that took us the majority of the way on dirt roads only. While traveling up Barkerville Rd. we ran across an injured Great Horned Owl lying in the middle of the road, he had obviously been hit by a vehicle. We quickly came to realize that he was paralized and could move nothing but his head.

We had originally intended to picnic at a new spot we found but our friends all wanted to see the railroad bridge and tunnel so we drove down to a spot underneath the bridge to enjoy the shade.

Much to our chagrin the water level was way up and the river was filled with mud and debris. No swimming today I guess!:snorkel:

After realizing that the water level was up and our new spot would be under water we headed for the old spot.

We hung out for a while but were not very pleased with the area anymore as the trash was rampant and it smelled of an outhouse. I really wish people could clean up after themselves.

So off we went headed back toward home. It really looked like we would get into some rain on the way back but it seems that they just danced around us.

Gila Monster crossing the road!

I have been fairly heavily involved in R/C rock crawling lately and have been looking for new competition sites. We decided to take a little jaunt into the Tortolita Mountains on the way back to see what we could find. Finally got into some rain but unfortunately no good comp sites..

And to top it all off we got a great lightning show just after we arrived home.

That's it, short and sweet, hope you enjoy!!!:victory:

 

[1leglance]

Alright this is really making me see the need to just get out and see more on day trips...I have been thinking in terms of camping and your report shows that even a quick trip can be filled with great times and cool sites.

thanks!

 

[timh]

Alright this is really making me see the need to just get out and see more on day trips...I have been thinking in terms of camping and your report shows that even a quick trip can be filled with great times and cool sites.

thanks!

Absolutely, some of our best, most memorable trips have just been day trips!

I will probably start posting up the day runs in advance again soon, you should join us sometime!:smiley_drive:

 

[mph]

What happened to the owl?

 

[timh]

Great trip report with fantastic pictures. What are you shooting with? Love the DOF effect on the Gila Monster and the railroad bridge especially.

Thanks


Shooting a Canon SX10is. Both were just shot in auto mode also. On the Gila Monster I was zoomed in a bit and that seems to give it a real dramatic DOF.

 

[timh]

What happened to the owl?

Let's just say he suffers no longer.:ylsmoke:

 

[stolenheron]

awesome shot of the gila monster. i'd love to catch one.

shame about the owl getting hurt, i rescued a cardinal that got hit by a car last week. also found a malnourished white-tail fawn in the woods.

 

[Mr. Leary]

I wish we had attractions close enough for day trips in Texas.

Looks like fun. Great pics!

 

[sjk99]

awesome shot of the gila monster. i'd love to catch one.

shame about the owl getting hurt, i rescued a cardinal that got hit by a car last week. also found a malnourished white-tail fawn in the woods.

Hope you just mean catch a photo of one. GM's are protected under state law.

http://wc.pima.edu/Bfiero/tucsonecology/animals/rept_gimo.htm

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/nongameandendangeredwildlifeprogram/reptiles.shtml

Please take their picture but otherwise leave them alone.

Thank you!

 

[stolenheron]

you can touch if you're a herpetologist doing research having permission from the state....

 

[timh]

you can touch if you're a herpetologist doing research having permission from the state....

As long as they don't touch back, I have heard that it doesn't feel very good.:Wow1:

 

[SilverBullet]

Great write up, thanks. And as for the RC crawling, my AX10 has been covered with too much dust, but did you find a spot?

 

[timh]

Great write up, thanks. And as for the RC crawling, my AX10 has been covered with too much dust, but did you find a spot?

No new spot yet. Get that thing dusted off and go crawl with NARCCA, I think most of those guys live in Prescott. I came up in July for their summer shootout at Watson Lake and took 1st in sportsman.:ylsmoke:

 

[stolenheron]

As long as they don't touch back, I have heard that it doesn't feel very good.:Wow1:

amen to that haha. the last gator and copper head i worked with almost got me.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

How did you manage to capture a picture of the lightening? I was pondering this the other day as I watched a nice "show" in the sky recently.