Kudos and my new web site

Returning from Arizona we stopped at Branson to see a couple shows where I was informed that the Trumpeter Swan Society had picked one of my photos for their November photo of the month.  It can be seen at http://www.trumpeterswansociety.wordpress.com/.

In addition, my old website, vanormanphoto, has been defunct for some time but I have finally got the new one, http://www.vanormanphotography.photoshelter.com/ ready.  It allows me to put up a lot more images and sell directly from the site.

Grandchildren Quiz

We left Alamogordo Monday morning and stopped for the night in the tiny town of Shamrock, Texas.  A vaguely familiar building was lit up down the street from Big Vern's Steakhouse where we ate.  This iconic Route 66 building was featured in a movie that Mack, Ryan, Grace, Leah, Laura, and Marley have seen many times.  Do you know the movie that used this building???

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Black and White
Alamogordo is not on the beaten path but it does have some unique attractions. The best known is White Sands National Monument.  Surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range and associated with Holloman Air Force Base it is not unusual to have the Air Force close the monument to visitors or even stop traffic for an hour on Highway 70. 

Michigan residents will feel right at home when visiting White Sands.  The dune formations are very similar in appearance to Lake Michigan dunes. There are differences, however.  The sand is gypsum based, very fine, and very white.  So white in fact that one can easily imagine being in a winter wonderland-especially when hundreds of locals bring their kids to sled down the dunes on Saturday afternoons.

The most prized photographs are taken only after hiking a long ways in order to avoid areas that have heavy footprint traffic.  A little caution is in order when hiking into the monument.  Bring water and keep track of landmarks since it is easy to get turned around in this area.  

While white is the dominant color at White Sands, black dominates the landscape at Three Rivers Valley of Fire north of Alamogordo.  When first driving through the area one speculates as to how surface fires could have blackened all the topography but soon realize that this is volcanic activity with lava being pushed through cracks in the earth which then flowed out over the land.  Many organisms here are quite dark while the same types are very light colored at White Sands.  Black lizards on white sand or white lizards on black rock don't last long when predators are about.

Petroglyphs and Pistachios

As we approached Alamogordo a huge pistachio statue loomed next to what looked like a typical tourist trap store (http://www.pistachiotreeranch.com/).  Knowing nothing about pistachios but intrigued by the orchard-like grove of pistachio trees growing next to a well kept vinyard and all in a desert environment- I slammed on the brakes.  Inside we found not only a tasting table for pistachios (lemon-lime was my favorite while cayenne flavored should be avoided) but also a well-stocked wine-tasting table.  Their pistachio wine, to our palates, did not have any hint of pistachio.  We walked out with an apricot, pomegranite, and a peach wine, along with a bag of pistachios and candied pecans.  Later that evening I decided that a few pistachios would make a nice snack.  They are something like potatoe chips and before I realized it I had eaten the entire bag.  Upon examing the label I found I had consumed 1360 calories.  Oh well-the label also said no cholesterol in pistachios.  I hope Edie does better with her candied pecans. 

On our final day in Alamogordo we drove up to the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino for a Sunday champagne brunch at the Gathering of the Nations Buffet (http://www.innofthemountaingods.com/).  With a huge selection of food, seniors can gorge themselves for $12.95.  Afterwards, we waddled out of the restaurant deciding some exercise was necessary.  Edie wanted to see the Indian petroglyphs at Three Rivers which would require some hiking to view.  Over 21,000 have been found in this area.  Although the trail was very rocky for anyone who had fractured their patella recently, the hike was a welcome bit of exercise.

Manny's Buckhorn Tavern - San Antonio, New Mexico

New Mexico Green Chili Cheeseburgers - just the name hints that you are in for a little more heat than the bland Eastern Cheeseburger promises.  The small town of San Antonio, New Mexico seems to be the center of New Mexico's quest for cheeseburger perfection.  Two restaurants, so close they could throw rocks at each other, compete for the title of best cheeseburger served.  Gil Garduno's blog (www.nmgastronome.com/blog/?p=164) gives a great view of the competition.  Edie and I had eaten cheeseburgers at the Owl Bar in January and decided to try the Buckhorn Tavern this time.  There was a line waiting when we arrived at 2 in the afternoon but we soon found a seat at the bar.  It took a while to receive our order but we were warned by the sign which informed us that "if you were in a hurry this was not a fast-food restaurant".  At the bar we could watch the burgers being fried and check the potatoes being fresh cut for our french fry order. 

Both restaurants serve excellent green chili cheeseburgers.  The Owl Tavern burger was rated as one of the top ten burgers in America in 2003.  In 2005 GQ magazine rated Manny's as the 7th best burger in the country.  The latest accolades arrived when Bobby Flay from the Food Channel arrived for a culinary "Throwdown".  Manny's came out on top and Governor Bill Richardson declared Friday July 24 as "Buckhorn Tavern Day".  Edie and I both agreed that the Buckhorn's burger was bigger, better, and tastier than what we remembered having at the Owl Tavern. 

Mt. Lemmon

On our last weekend in Tucson we decided to visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum again followed by a drive up Mt. Lemmon.  The museum has one aviary with local birds and a second with just hummingbirds.  Both seemed somewhat devoid of birds compared to what I had remembered on previous visits.  A consolation prize, however, was a show stealing performance by a young Great Horned Owl at the raptor flights.  With a lot of head-bobbing, hooting, and dancing on branches he had the entire crowd laughing and showed why most people are fascinated by owls. 

The trip up Mt. Lemmon is a spectacular drive through hairpin turns, rock formations, and views of the desert below.  The climb starts at 3,000 feet and ends at 9,000 feet near the small resort community of Summerhaven and Ski Valley.  The cactus to conifers trip is the equivalent of driving from Mexico to Canada.  The bird life changes as altitude increases.  At the Molino Canyon Vista Point I found Black-chinned Sparrows-a lifer for me.  At the Molino Basin campground I was hoping to find Crissal Thrashers but drew a blank.  A rather tame tree-climbing Greater Roadrunner, however, was quite curious about me.

As I was packing up, the camp host drove up on a golf cart and informed me that you can't enter the campground without a $10 fee (on top of the fee you pay to stop anywhere on the route).  He was very nice about it and let me skate when I played the Michigan Ignorance card.   He said he was also a birder and known all over the country as the "Vagabond Birder". 

At the top I photographed Yellow-eyed Juncos which was another lifer for me.  The Junco is quite common on this "Sky Island".

Our plan was to eat at the Iron Door Restaurant and then drive down the mountain to a previously planned  vista for sunset pictures.  At 4:10 we entered the restaurant and were informed that the kitchen was closed.  So much for a great meal with spectacular views.  Our backup plan was pizza in Summer Haven at the only other restaurant around for miles. The pizza was ok but not great as was the sunset which featured a very uninteresting sky.

The Pond at Elephant Head

South of Tucson, a large monolith resembling an elephant from certain angles protrudes from the Santa Rita Mountains.  Near this monolith a small ranch owned by a man named Bill Forbes has become a pilgrimage for bird photographers.  Bill is a constant tinkerer and also inventor of the Phototrap, a triggering device for cameras.  Most photographers visit Bill to spend a day sitting in a blind near a small pond that Bill has dug.  Movable blinds and assorted perches provide artistic opportunities. 

November is one of the poorer months for species variety but since I had a three day weekend from my volunteering duties I spent Friday morning at Bill's.  I arrived an hour before sunrise and birds were already moving around the pond.  At 7:30  light hit the setups and birds began increasing in numbers.  Many of the birds were sparrows and doves but Gambel's Quail, Gila Woodpeckers, Pyrrhuloxia, and Cactus Wrens made their appearances.   

Black-throated Sparrow

Gila Woodpecker

Cactus Wren

Gambel's Quail

Curve-billed Thrasher

Wycliffe Bible Translators

Wycliffe Bible Translators is an organization dedicated to translating the Bible into every language and dialect on earth.  They are presently working in over 50 countries.  They have an extensive volunteer system which allows individuals to further this effort by undertaking tasks and performing work which would otherwise hinder and slow down the work of the translators.
Edie and I volunteered a couple of weeks at an associated organization called the Summer Instititute of Linguistics (S.I.L) headquartered in Catalina, Arizona.  Most of the Institute's work deals with Mexico.  Our first task was to "mud" a new fitness room to serve the several hundred volunteers and translators on site.  A local Curves had closed and donated all their equipment.  Our second project was painting a house owned by a translator who had just returned from Mexico.  This translator has worked on the Mixtec language in Oaxaca, Mexico for the last 15 years and should be finished in 2012.  A third project dealt with preparing a house for an arriving volunteer family.

Our stay here was a learning experience especially since we arrived with very little information.  Our first surprize was our accomodations.  Expecting anything we were given keys to a posada which turned out to be a very comfortable 2 bedroom apartment.  This was partly due to the absence of the multitude of volunteers who began arriving in late Novemberr and peaks in January and February.  The second surprize was the variety of ways volunteers serve and what they accomplish.  New houses are built, vehicles are repaired,  furniture refinished,  and data entered. 

Our Posada

View of the Santa Cantalina Mountains from the back of the posada

Working on one of the translator's  houses