Category: Foto Friday Fun

This week’s Foto Friday Fun features images chosen by 13 readers including hiking Grand Canyon and the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa, some small wildlife, and my old hiking buddy Carson.

Liberalwarrior chose #6363.  A nice repetitive pattern that goes well with the ear vines I make.  Or should I say made, as I haven’t made any in a long time.  Once I started blogging my beading went out the window.

Jim and Diana chose #214, a panorama.  This flat area on the Bright Angel Trail was a welcome sight on my first rim-to-rim hike across Grand Canyon in 2008.  It’s located at the top of the Devil’s Corkscrew and signals that Indian Garden isn’t too far ahead.  Of course there’s still getting to the South Rim which you can see in the distance.

Diane and Nigel chose #304.  In 2008, my first year working at Grand Canyon, Carson and I spent a lot of time exploring the area, especially trails on the Kaibab National Forest where he was allowed.

Rita chose #0693.  A beautiful and harmless three-foot Gopher snake seen on the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona.

Lisa chose #1403, “the start of my quarantine.”  Except that it’s cold there right now, I wouldn’t mind being quarantined at the North Rim Grand Canyon where this foggy shot was taken on the Bright Angel Point Trail 8-18-10.

Doris chose #2017, “the year I hike to Phantom Ranch to celebrate my 70th birthday.”  I am impressed.  As I also was when backpacking in the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa where this shot was taken 3-17-10.

Yogi chose #4320.  Another shot from the Bright Angel Point trail head on the North Rim Grand Canyon National Park.  I love how the sunset colors are mimicked on the canyon walls.  Rangers get paid in sunsets.

Sherry chose #9118.  Another canyon sunset from a different view near where my RV was parked the summer of 2014.

Jeff chose #1000, “the fine for violating San Diego’s closures.”  Not sure I couldn’t have been fined for feeding the hummingbirds outside my RV on the North Rim in 2009.  Park looked the other way as long as there was no seed.

Jodee and Bill chose #226.  I caught a lot of sun through the back window on my previous 5th-wheel parked in Yarnell, Arizona.

Jo chose #7000.  You know how much I like rocks and there was no shortage of boulders along the Barker Dam trail in Joshua Tree National Park, California.

Melissa chose #2021.  Another view from the Drakensburg hike as above.

Susie chose #0324.  The doorway view from my desk in the Yarnell house taken 2-21-19.  Had a couple Anna’s hummingbirds hang out all winter.

My choice from last summer at Bryce Canyon National Park which is currently closed.  So, I’m dreaming of my return with a new start date of May 3rd, I hope.

Thank you for playing along with Foto Friday Fun which allows me to share these photographs and memories.  For more of the story just follow the links.  Please join in next week by leaving a number between 0001 and 9999 in your comment below.

Do you have a favorite this week?

This week’s Foto Friday Fun features images chosen by 12 readers including several signs, quite a bit of Grand Canyon, some South African wildlife, and my old dog.

Jim and Diana chose #221.  As a newbie Park Ranger at Grand Canyon I hiked with staff rim-to-rim, north to south over three days, during my first season in 2008.  Plus a few times after that.  I tend to take photos of signs, this being an important one that tends to get ignored by a lot of visitors.  My favorite line when asked about hiking to the river, “Down is optional, up is mandatory.”  Look for a link for the first day of that hike in the last comment below.

TreDeuce chose #9797.  I love the contrast of golden fall Aspen and the evergreens.  This shot from a favorite camp at Marble View on the Kaibab National Forest.

Jo chose #7203, this backwards date of March 27th is her “first day of lockdown in South Africa and two of my granddaughters’ birthdays.”  Wonder if the wildlife notice the lack of people?  This Mountain zebra was seen in Karoo National Park, South Africa during my 2014 visit.

Che chose #2004.  The Colorado River, 3000 feet down, from the remote Toroweap overlook on the north side of Grand Canyon National Park.

Diane and Nigel chose #2703.  When they visited Grand Canyon we stopped at the Walhalla overlook but I don’t remember the cloud inversion from that trip.

Jeff chose #72, “the minimum distance in inches for social distancing.”  I’d say my brother and I were much closer than that when this was taken in September 1956.

Sherry chose #7865.  Another sign, marking the Arizona Trail which runs for 800 miles north to south across the state, and that includes crossing Grand Canyon.  I have only done a few miles of the trail not including the canyon.

Yogi chose #8765.  Springbucks are an antelope that travel in herds and were quite frequently seen in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa.

Rita chose #3248.  Remarkable rock along the Palm Canyon trail in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California.

Sue chose #101, for the number of times she tried to watch the video on my sidebar.  I hope she was finally successful and that nobody else has a problem (please let me know).  If you did watch it, this is not the dog in the video.  This is my dearly departed Carson playing in Cave Creek during the summer of 2007 when I worked at Oregon Caves and camphosted just down the road.

Jodee and Bill chose #628.  A view of Grand Canyon looking south from Point Imperial overlook on the North Rim.

Sallie and Bill chose #175, the freeway they recently traveled for many days between Florida and Oregon.  No freeway gets you to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of Grand Canyon.  You arrive by mule, boat, or like I did the first time in 2008 by foot.

My choice this week:  you may remember seeing my truckcamper at Belly Acres in the last post with a fence behind it.  This junkyard and impound lot is behind that fence.  So what is that cool old car?

Thank you for playing along with Foto Friday Fun which allows me to share these photographs and memories.  For more of the story just follow the links.  Please join in next week by leaving a number between 0001 and 9999 in your comment below.

Do you have a favorite this week?

Update:  I am currently safely boondocked near Congress Arizona while getting the annual truck maintenance taken care of.  Will continue the journey north next week.

This week’s Foto Friday Fun features images chosen by 12 readers including plenty of Grand Canyon, south African wildlife, my first park, and my first and most recent birthday.

Liberalwarrior chose #7777.  No bad views of the Grand Canyon, but my favorite views are from the North Rim.  Maybe I’m biased.

Jim and Diana chose #228, “the number of days until the general election.”  I owe gratitude to my dearly departed friend Berta for prompting me to learn about politics, which she loved to discuss.  This shot was taken 11-23-08 outside her Yarnell home that was lost in the fire along with everything in this image.

Susie chose #0509.  A May 2015 sunset view over Grand Canyon from my RV parked on the North Rim.

Doris chose #0320, “the first day of spring.”  This shot taken in Pilanesberg Game Reserve on 4-3-14 was closer to the first day of fall in South Africa.  Note the Black-backed Jackal in the blurry background keeping an eye on the Guineafowl.

Diane and Nigel chose #2003.  Angels Window is a place they saw when visiting me on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.  I don’t think we went on top of it.

Rita chose #6039.  The trickle of a waterfall seen along the Suspension Bridge Trail in Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa during my last visit in 2014.

Sallie and Bill forgot a number this week, so there were 47 words in her comment and that’s what they get.  This is me at 1 1/2 years old in 1955.

Jeff chose #120, for the average rainfall in San Diego that has been surpassed.  Back in 1992 when this was taken rain wasn’t in shortage at Ryan Lake in Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument where I worked.  This shot, obviously in the Blast Zone, was taken from the Norway Pass Trail.

Sherry chose #9999.  This snowy view of Grand Canyon was also taken from my RV on the North Rim about one week before Susie’s view above.

Yogi chose #3222.  You all know how much I like rock.  This shot of tilted and eroded rock was seen from the Palm Canyon trail in Anza-Borrego State Park, California.

Che chose #7500.  I don’t know if these zebras were getting friendly or flicking flies off each others nose.  Got an interesting ground level view from the bird-hide near camp in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.

Jo chose #2603.  Called the Wall of Windows and seen among the hoodoos from the rim trail at Bryce Canyon National Park last May.

My choice this week:  The look for my Corona Birthday, without the beer. (So it’s a dirty mirror)

Thank you for playing along with Foto Friday Fun which allows me to share these photographs and memories.  For more of the story just follow the links.  Please join in next week by leaving a number between 0001 and 9999 in your comment below.

Do you have a favorite this week?