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Category: full moon

21 March 2023

Chasing the moon Kofa to Owl Arizona

Saguaro desert Kofa Mts sunset moon King Rd BLM Kofa AZStayed at my Kofa camp and shot the pre-full moon for a few nights before clouds settled in.  Then left, chasing the moon first to cloudy Yuma followed by clear skies in *Owl, Arizona.

desert Kofa Mts moon King Rd BLM Kofa AZI spent four days chasing the moon before it was full, starting at my Kofa camp.

Saguaro moon King Rd BLM Kofa AZ

Saguaro moon King Rd BLM Kofa AZSadly, I wasn’t always paying enough attention to see it break over the horizon during a cloudless afternoon.  But I did have fun shooting the moon with the big Saguaro cactus next to my camp.

Northern Mockingbird in flight cactus King Rd BLM Kofa AZAnd I tried for birds.  They’re so fast, this Mockingbird didn’t pose for long.  Would have been really cool to catch a bird on the cactus with the moon nearby.  I’ll have to work on that.

mt bird moon rise King Rd BLM Kofa AZ

Saguaro desert mt moon rise King Rd BLM Kofa AZI was way more prepared the following day and under clear sky found myself chasing the moon up over the horizon of the rugged Kofa Mountains, not for the first time.

Saguaro mt moon King Rd BLM Kofa AZAnd still played with the cactus.

sunset clouds King Rd BLM Kofa AZPlus enjoyed a lovely sunset.

Mockingbird Saguaro King Rd BLM Kofa AZThe next day’s clouds didn’t forebode well for chasing the moon.  Yet a bland gray sky makes a nice background for shooting birds.  And when I’m inside editing video, like this one about safe boondocking in bad desert weather, the camper acts like a bird-hide.

Mockingbird Saguaro King Rd BLM Kofa AZAnd if the windows are clean enough some shots come out pretty good among the scores of lousy ones.  Bonus is listening to the elaborate song of the Mockingbird, named for their ability to mimic everything from sirens to other bird species.  I don’t talk to them for fear of them sharing my secrets.

desert Chocolate Mts sunset clouds King Rd BLM Kofa AZBummer about clouds obscuring the moon however did bring on a delightful sunset.

Coyote

Sierra in bed King Rd BLM Kofa AZSierra when I tell her “We’re going to roll.”

In the morning I discovered the trail-cam caught a coyote after dark, and that the camper was out of propane.  The later meaning I have no choice but to move to a town for a refill.

desert Kofa Mts sunrise clouds King Rd BLM Kofa AZ

bumper rock collection King Rd BLM Kofa AZAnd being clouds were predicted through the day and into the night my decision sent me toddling south to Yuma.  So I said a sad goodbye to the Kofa Mountains and my lovely rock collection and hit the road.

RVs BLM-VFW Yuma AZAfter filling both propane tanks and getting a few groceries I ended up back at the BLM-VFW camp just north of town.  Thank goodness for just one night, with cloud cover there was no chasing the moon.

Sierra cat in bedI left that crazy camp by 9am, rather early for me, to visit Joann plus shower, laundry, fill water bottles, and she fed me.  We talked about improving ourselves, looking for the right words, and so far like “evolving” meaning change and growth.  I love our mind expanding conversations.  Left her place to dump tanks and drop off garbage bags for free at the Speedway.  Then hopped on Interstate 8 east to continue chasing the moon from my next camp.

desert Mohawk Mts Owl AZ

purple Phacalia flowers Mohawk Mts Owl AZred flowering Ocotillo Mohawk Mts Owl AZ

                                       Phacelia                                                                Ocotillo

Exit Mohawk Valley, where I didn’t actually go.  Years ago I tripped on a little piece of BLM land in the Mohawk Mountains with many small drainages that offered wildflowers at this time of year.  Sadly, not as many this year but still a pretty place.

camp view E Hist80 & I8 Mohawk Valley Owl AZAnd not a bad place to boondock considering how close to the Interstate and railroad.  You can see that camp in this video.

moon light behind Mohawk Mts Owl AZmoon light clouds behind Mohawk Mts Owl AZ

full moon rising clouds Mohawk Mts Owl AZfull moon rise Mohawk Mts Owl AZ

Even with some clouds I did watch the moon rise over the Mohawk Mountains well after dark but was too lazy to set up the tripod so handheld doesn’t come out very good.

desert full moon set Mohawk Mts BLM Owl AZ

full moon set bushes Mohawk Mts BLM Owl AZBut the following morning came out much better as the moon set and ended March’s time for chasing the moon.

Next stop Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and here’s the road trip to get there.

*Owl, Arizona was established as a water station at Mohawk Mountain pass in 1870.  Later a garage and dance hall was built and people came from 50 miles away to dance.  The town burned in the early 1960s and is now privately owned by J.L. Foraker.

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Arizona, full moon, Kofa NWR, photography, Places I've been, Sonoran desert, United States, Yuma boondocking, full moon, moon, photography, Sonoran Desert 13 Comments
15 February 2023

Time to shoot the moon

moon set Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAAfter several weeks recovering from the Quartzsite Crud and being whipped by the wind I made plans to shoot the moon back at the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.

I am grateful to Yuma friends who let me park for a quiet night in their driveway.  Sure beats the noise of traffic, trains, and planes at the VFW-BLM camp north of town.  I pretty much slept away the day.  Did post a video taken in Silly Al’s Pizza from the visit with Sue and Mo in Quartzsite.

truckcamper Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CABack to the Cargo Muchacho Mountains BLM camp and parked in the same tireprints only because somebody was in the place I really wanted.  They left late in the afternoon but it was too windy chill to walk over and check for signal strength.  Because I had signal where I was, I uploaded a fast time-lapse of the traffic at Roadrunner camp near Quartzsite.

moon sunset clouds Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAEven though it wasn’t yet full I was hoping to shoot the moon.  Low clouds hid the moon until sunset.

truckcamper Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAThe next day I discovered a good signal at the desired campsite so moved about an 1/8th of mile deeper into the canyon.  Put me insight of vegetation near a dry wash and I could hear birds chirping.  Temperature reached 76° so I was able to sit outside and soak in the warmth.

sunset Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CA

moon rise Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAWatched the sun set and was able to shoot the moon.

full moon rise Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAThe next day was equally warm so I got more time outside.  The full moon rise occurred after dark making it difficult to shoot the moon without setting up the tripod which I was too lazy to do.

Ocotillo moon set Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CA

Ocotillo moon set Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CA But the next morning I was up early enough to shoot the moon setting.  Had some fun adding the Ocotillo to some of those shots.  That night I heard coyotes howl followed by the braying of burros.

Sierra cat sleepingSo I decided to set up the trail-cam the next day.  Afternoon wind kept me inside.  Good day for napping.

dirty window view windy Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CAOops, dirty window

Several more days of high wind kept me inside.  Although I was feeling much better my voice still wasn’t back to normal so I didn’t want to push my luck.  I had to go outside once to get a full water bottle from the passenger side floor of the truck and that damn wind whisked two empty bottles out and sent them south to Mexico.  I managed to finish and download a video from my first walk into the Cargo Muchacho Mountains from just before Christmas.

I’ve spent a lot of this winter in the Yuma, Arizona area because it’s the warmest place to be even with the wind, however, I hope to shoot the moon in March over the Kofa Mountains.  But not before making a trip across the border to Los Algodones, Mexico for new eyeglasses.

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California, Cargo Muchacho Mts, full moon, Places I've been, United States photography, Quartzsite crud, Southwest winter wind 22 Comments
22 June 2022

Staying home for June’s moon

tree frames moon Skull Valley AZI’ve been staying home to conserve fuel, work on a non-traveling pattern, and shoot June’s moon.  In my mind that’s my Mom’s moon, named after her birth month and born on the solstice she would have turned 96 years old, Dad a few days later would have been 99.

About two weeks since my last trip off the ranch to Dewey then back with chores along the way and I stocked up with enough food that I haven’t gone anywhere since.  And that was the plan.

Temperatures in the high 90s are mostly keeping me indoors and running the AC.  Sure glad I have big windows to see the beautiful landscape and wildlife.  In fact I put out three more wildlife water-bowls within sight of my desk windows.

trees stormy clouds Skull Valley AZ

trees storm clouds Skull Valley AZPresumably June 15th marks the beginning of monsoon in the Southwest.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  There was hope as dark clouds built up, swirling and wind whipped, but dropped no moisture.

white Prickly Poppy flowers Skull Valley AZOnly the hardiest flowers manage to survive like Prickly Poppy.

grass trees Brush Mt sunset clouds Skull Valley AZThough I try to keep the house comfortable too often running the AC, I also sit outside most afternoons chasing the shade, or as Bob calls it “chair hopping”.  The clouds do make for beautiful sunsets and once the sun goes down I open all the windows overnight.

moon Skull Valley AZCleared enough to give a peek at June’s moon.

Flycatcher bird Skull Valley AZIn the morning one bird I think is a flycatcher found the hanging bowl of water.  Sadly, it seems a lot of ants found a bowl on the ground.  I hope someone escaped to warn the others of drowning.  I moved the bowl in hopes of that not happening again.

grass trees clouds sunrays Skull Valley AZAnother 97° day kept me indoors running the AC until late afternoon when the sunlit clouds drew me out.

moon Skull Valley AZPlus another sight of June’s moon.

trees boulders mt sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

grass trees sunset clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZAnd another delightful sunset.  One bonus of hot weather is saving on propane to heat water as it comes out of the cold faucet hotter than hot.

selfie stick tripodvideo kit

bluehorn tripod/selfie stick extends 40 inches & BOYA miniature omnidirectional microphone

I guess everybody knows I’m bummed about not traveling so I figured if I shared a video about that I’d feel better.  One of the important things about a YouTube video is the thumbnail, you know that first image that is suppose to catch your attention and make you click and watch.  Being this video was just me sitting inside and kind of ranting a bit I racked my brains for an interesting thumbnail.  Little did I know how much pre-thought goes into making a completed video.  So I took my new toys/tools outside and set up a shot using the tripod/selfie stick and remote.  After the video went out Sue asked what the tools look like, so I took pics and here they are.  In fact I was out early in the morning for this staging as it was predicted to be 99° later.

wearing rubber boots Skull Valley AZ

trees boulders moon Skull Valley AZ

almost full moon Skull Valley AZAnd it was still warm when I went out at 6pm to shoot the almost full June’s moon.  Some may laugh, but because so many plants here have burrs that stick to clothing, I wore my rubber boots while out shooting the moon and scoping out a location for the next night too.

yellow Devils Claw flowers with thorns Skull Valley AZDevils Claw

BTW, I did feel more accepting of the lack of traveling after making that video.

ice bottle in front of fanAwake to 70° at 7am with door and windows open all night but the AC back on in a couple hours then off in a couple more hours when the power went out, thankfully only for another couple hours but enough for the RV to warm up.  Big winds kept the outside 90° doable for a while at 87° inside. I tried ice in front of a fan and wouldn’t want to have to rely on it.

I spent most of the day chasing news about the Pipeline fire northeast of Flagstaff and the flooding in Yellowstone National Park.

unidentified bird on Apache Plume Skull Valley AZUnidentified bird

Finally in the late afternoon I went outside to just sit and enjoy the air.

tree Bradshaw Mts full moon rise Skull Valley AZtree Bradshaw Mts full moon rise Skull Valley AZ

tree Bradshaw Mts full moon rise Skull Valley AZtree Bradshaw Mts full moon rise Skull Valley AZ

Then I donned my rubber boots and walked the electric line trail to a nearby hilltop to shoot June’s moon the night before actual full Strawberry moon.

tree mt bird full moon Skull Valley AZI took lots of photos but the night’s winner was when the Raven flew by.

baby quail birds Skull Valley AZSo many photos of June’s moon and more kept me busy inside processing and managed no AC at 89° outside.  I finally had to get out in the late afternoon but didn’t get much reading done because of the nearby small wildlife watching.  Saw some baby quail starting to grow topknots.  They are just so cute.

Side-blotched lizard Skull Valley AZA side-blotched lizard posed for a while while flexing its muscles.

dragon fly on leaf Skull Valley AZThe biggest surprise was seeing a dragonfly in this dry environment.  I can’t believe my little water bowls are enough to bring them in.

Whiptail lizard on metate Skull Valley AZHowever, the lizards sure like the easy access metate water-bowl.  This whiptail drank, then after its pushups I wondered if it was going to throw the mano like a medicine ball.  Great morning entertainment.

tiny grasshopper on yellow Cowpen Daisy flowers Skull Valley AZI did manage once again to stay inside working playing on the computer much of the day without AC.  Yet by about 3pm it was time to get outside and see what my world had to offer.  Have you ever seen a grasshopper so tiny?

chipmunk on metate Skull Valley AZThe next morning, Chipmunk came by before I filled the waters.  The metate is so shallow it dries up rapidly.

scrub jay bird Skull Valley AZScrub Jay

Yet birds are beginning to find the water also.

RVs clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZ

grass shrubs Brushy Mt clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZAnother day of AC inside until afternoon when clouds danced above and looked like possible rain.

brush boulders rainbow clouds Skull Valley AZI heard drops on the roof, rushed outside, and felt six raindrops. Could almost smell rain in the air.

trees rainbow clouds Skull Valley AZThe westering sun broke through and delivered a lovely rainbow as the clouds slipped to the north.

sunset clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZFollowed by an exquisite sunset.

trees clouds dbl rainbow Skull Valley AZAnd an encore of double rainbows.

Cottontail Skull Valley AZSo once again the next day there were lots of photos to process.  In between taking more photos like when a Cottontail joined me for breakfast.  Then outside in the afternoon sitting on the shady side of the RV.  I only get a little reading done because the world distracts me.

grass bush sunset clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZ

grass bush sunset clouds crepuscular rays Skull Valley AZCloudy sunsets are magnificent, especially with crepuscular rays reaching out.

rope holding door open Skull Valley AZI’m getting into a pattern.  Certainly not my usual pattern.  But it will do for now.  If I stay home I don’t spend money.  Well, that’s not 100% true.  Because there are parts ordered for repairs on the 5th-wheel, camper, and the truck’s AC.  But that’s next week.

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Arizona, full moon, Places I've been, Skull Valley, United States, wildlife full moon, moon, photography, sunsets, wildlife 23 Comments
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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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