Bodega Bay

Towards the end of our trip we spent a couple of days at Doran County Park Campground on Bodega Bay.  The campground is near large tidal flats that had many different birds looking for food.

There were lots of members of the sandpiper family.

A few Elegant Terns

Quite a few Great Egrets

Even a few Canada Geese

While we were in the area, we took a day trip over to visit the Point Reyes National Seashore.  These images were taken at the Tule Elk reserve at the north end of the park.

Northern California

We spent a few days in various locations in northern California.

While staying at Riley Creek I managed to get these photos of a Townsend's Warbler.

A little bit later we spent a couple of days at Union Landing State Park near Westport, California.

A pelican landing

Killdeer

Seal in a breaking wave

Raven landing

The breaking waves are especially pretty when back-lit by the late afternoon sunlight.

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

During our trip we spent some time visiting the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in northern California.  They were starting to get their winter residents.  Here are a few of the images captured during that visit.

A group of White-fronted Geese.

A couple of ducks, one napping and the other stretching.

A Black-necked Stilt and a Lessor Yellowlegs.

The geese all tended to be looking the same direction.

Between the sound of the shotguns of nearby hunters, and our motorhome on the refuge loop road, the geese were very skitterish.

Something definitely had their attention.

Bodie State Park

The ghost town of Bodie north of Mono Lake in California had a population of 10,000 in 1879.  Today what remains of the once thriving mining town is now a California state historical park.  The park strives to maintain the existing structures in a state of "arrested decay".

A panorama showing Bodie, the mill and mine workings.

Remains of old mining equipment.

"Arrested Decay"

The church.

Everyday items left behind, now covered in dust.

Bottles in the windows of an old house.

Remains of curtains still hanging on.

More old buildings.

Old gasoline pumps and vehicle.

The old ore processing mill with the mine workings on the hills behind.

An interesting pair of buildings.

Near Lee Vining

Soon after visiting the Alabama Hills, we spent a few days at one of our favorite campgrounds along Lee Vining Creek.

Plants near Mono Lake that have gone to seed.

Portrait of a Gull at Mono Lake taken in late afternoon light.

An American Dipper or Water Ouzel.  These birds walk under the surface of rushing mountain streams feeding on insects found in the stream bottom.  It is hard to catch them still and in the sunlight.

A Clark's Nutcracker.

A chipmunk found the birdseed put out by neighboring campers.

Portrait of a Steller's Jay.

"What should I do with this?"

This Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel was filling his cheeks.

Barbara's favorite campsite's cascade.

Alabama Hills

We started our recent RV trip by traveling up the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.  One of our first stops on that trip was an overnight visit to the Alabama Hills which are near Lone Pine, California.

A couple of shots taken in late afternoon light.

First light hitting the Sierra Nevada crest.

Sierra Nevada Mountains bathed by early morning sunlight.

The next two images are an attempt at HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing.  HDR is a technique where the same scene is photographed with a series of different exposures to capture details in the shadows, midtones, and bright areas of the scene.  These different exposures are then blended to produce one image that has more detail than can be obtained with a single exposure.