Off for the annual SW Thanksgiving trip. First stop is northern UT.
Cold and cloudy, but not enough snow to bother us, especially the lab dogs. And a good big parking lot to chase tennis balls in!
Next stop Sand Island. Foggy and cloudy here too. Lot's of snowy roads coming down through Canyon Country. Dogs had enough walks and chasing balls to sit still for picture and get ready for another long drive to New Mexico.
Sandhill crane morning at Bosque del Apache NWR near Socorro. Snowy on the backside of the storm.
Snow geese at BdA. Nice sunny days, not totally warm though. About 43K snow geese in at the time.
Midday hike in a shallow wash. Most of the snow had melted and getting warmed up a bit after a morning of taking photos in the cold.
Blue phase snow goose - an adult since the head is all white.
Evening sandhill flight into the ponds. Landing gear down!
Finally, some (relatively) warm weather. I really like the grasslands here, watched a female northern harrier hunting and capturing mice, but could not get a decent shot.
Warm and tired in the evening. I think the dogs like to be in front of the heater too. Settled in for the nights entertainment. It can be surprising how entertaining watching someone knit a complex pattern can be! Way better than the last cold weather trip to BdA in the tent....
Back to Canyon Country. Looks like sheep were the big news on this day.
Solid fog and clouds around Moab, so we headed back north. Into the sun in Wyoming which makes everyone happier.
Last light on the last day - heading back to winter and sub-zero temps. Another SW trip done.
(Thanks to Ski and MarkBC for helping to figure out how to post from a Mac!)

Cold and cloudy, but not enough snow to bother us, especially the lab dogs. And a good big parking lot to chase tennis balls in!

Next stop Sand Island. Foggy and cloudy here too. Lot's of snowy roads coming down through Canyon Country. Dogs had enough walks and chasing balls to sit still for picture and get ready for another long drive to New Mexico.

Sandhill crane morning at Bosque del Apache NWR near Socorro. Snowy on the backside of the storm.

Snow geese at BdA. Nice sunny days, not totally warm though. About 43K snow geese in at the time.

Midday hike in a shallow wash. Most of the snow had melted and getting warmed up a bit after a morning of taking photos in the cold.

Blue phase snow goose - an adult since the head is all white.

Evening sandhill flight into the ponds. Landing gear down!

Finally, some (relatively) warm weather. I really like the grasslands here, watched a female northern harrier hunting and capturing mice, but could not get a decent shot.

Warm and tired in the evening. I think the dogs like to be in front of the heater too. Settled in for the nights entertainment. It can be surprising how entertaining watching someone knit a complex pattern can be! Way better than the last cold weather trip to BdA in the tent....

Back to Canyon Country. Looks like sheep were the big news on this day.

Solid fog and clouds around Moab, so we headed back north. Into the sun in Wyoming which makes everyone happier.

Last light on the last day - heading back to winter and sub-zero temps. Another SW trip done.
(Thanks to Ski and MarkBC for helping to figure out how to post from a Mac!)