my travels in pixels

We had to be careful what route we entered Custer State Park as two of them had low tunnels that we would not have fitted under. We were told that this was a mini Yellowstone. In that there are bison, pronghorn and prairie dogs, that is true, but it’s nothing like Yellowstone. Our first campsite was in Blue Bell which reminded us of Jasper as our site was nestled in around the Ponderosa Pines and green grass in between. A sign at the entrance to the campground, says that if you haven’t booked, then you need to before going any further! The sites are electric but a storm that morning had knocked out the power, so we didn’t have any for the first few hours. We went out on the wildlife road for a few miles and saw a few bison and two pronghorn. There were traffic jams for prairie dogs which Lindsay thought was hysterical and he would get frustrated at being caught behind them. He forgets that we thought they were cute when we first encountered them. The next day we move...

Lake Clark, AK About 18-months ago I researched where we could go to photograph some bears, and decided on Silver Salmon Creek Lodge at Lake Clark and booked it; so it has been a long anticipated wait. The booking included flights from Soldotna to Lake Clark, accommodation, food and a guide to take us to photograph the bears and a boat trip to photograph the puffins. We chose August as this is when the bears are fishing for salmon and our whole trip has been based around this holiday within a holiday. Prior to our flight from Soldotna to Lake Clark it pretty much rained for two weeks, apart from about four days, which we spent looking around the rest of the Kenai peninsula with day trips to the towns of Kenai and Homer.  On the way to Homer you see a number of beautiful snow capped mountains, with glaciers and mountains greeting you as you drive into town.  We also went down to the Russian River an hour away a number of times as we were told that we would defi...

Glacier NP is stunning. We spent the first day driving around the park in our own car, travelling along the Going to the Sun road which had opened for the season only a week beforehand. They are upgrading the road, so our nice clean car of one day, was covered in mud. More annoying was that the side steps were muddy and wet, so we walked it back into the car every time we got in and out. So many photo opportunities but at first most of the pull offs were on the wrong side of the road, so they would have to wait. When I got my camera out, there was no battery in it! I hadn’t used my camera since Yellowstone and I had recharged my battery and hadn’t put it back in. Lindsay said the look on my face was priceless. He lent me his camera and we used my wide lens. It took me quite a while to realize that the camera wasn’t working the way I was used to as he had his set up differently. The only wildlife we saw was a white mountain goat but couldn’t get a photo. The next day we ...

Even though it was summer, the weather in Sequoia was really pleasant. The only time we felt hot was when we walked down to the General Sherman tree which has a paved pathway in the sun, and when you go down, inevitably you have to come up! Sequoia is just over 6,000ft in altitude. While most people come here for the trees and we did too, but bears were also on our agenda.  black bear and cub The first morning out we took the bus shuttle up to Crescent Meadow. After about 15 minutes Lindsay heard some rustling up on the hill above the trail we were on. There were a sow and her cub eating the seeds from the big pine cones. We stood there for quite a while taking photos, she wasn't worried about us at all. Like Yosemite, this was the only sighting we had. We went out on trails a few more times, walking in Sequoia is lovely, there are lots of trails and most of them are in the shade. We camped at Lodgepole campground which was definitely the right one to be in. I had book...

Heading up the 101 which runs a bit inland from the coast we came across the "Avenue of the Giants" drive where you drive through the spectacular redwood trees. We got the last spot at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park which was surrounded by ferns and tall trees. It was beautiful.  view in front of our campsite, there is a road there but you can only tell when a car drives past Our aim was to get to the Redwoods National Park which is further up the road and we had rung and they said they had plenty of sites. I think we were given the wrong number as the Elk Prairie campground was reservation only and booked out.  There were sites at Mill Creek State Park and we got a lovely secluded site but the park is not really amongst the redwoods. Still in pursuit of better redwoods we headed north, they had three sites left at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. I’m not quite sure what happened to the National Park, it seems to be melded in with the various State P...

Mesa Verde National Park, CO This park showcases the dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans who made this place their home for more than 750 years, from A.D. 550 to A.D. 1300. The first afternoon we drove the Wetherill Mesa and took the “tram” which has tyres not metal wheels! around to some outlooks that allow you to photograph some of the cliff dwellings from across the other cliff. Mesa Verde (may-sa ver-dee) means green table. The following day we took the Mesa Top Loop road and toured the Spruce Tree house and the Cliff Palace, the later is a ranger led tour that you pay for in advance. There are two other ranger led tours, but we felt that one was enough and had given us an insight into how these people had lived. Not much is known about them as they didn’t leave any written records, so much of what they know is a guess. These communities were built high above the valley floor for security against attacks, all food and water would have had to have been carried in. They had ...

For years we never thought of going to the USA, in fact Lindsay didn't want to come, so he told me after we had left home! Luckily he loved it so much he wants to go back. I found photography workshops that showed me photographs of the South West National Parks that whet my appetite. And after reconnecting with an old school friend, who encourage us, we started planning... We went to the consulate to organise a six month visa and they offered us a five year one. The idea for this trip was to travel for six months in a similar fashion as to how we travel in Australia, so we needed a way of getting around and somewhere to live. But of course the USA is not Australia and things are very different there. We spent a lot of time researching what to get and how to do it. There was a van for sale in the town we were staying in that could be converted, we pulled out the spare seats and made up a frame for our bed. We had already bought a number of things before we came over such as an Engel...