When it snows, we get going. Before it has a chance to melt we are out and about first thing looking for good light, great snow shots, and animals in the snow.
It’s pretty common for animals to hunker down during a snowfall. Once it’s over, they are out foraging for food. And we are keen to find them.
When I told a photographer friend that I actually just drove around looking for animals, he looked at me as if I was mad. I confess it takes a lot of time, and we spend a lot of time doing it. Sometimes you get lucky and it pays dividends.
After awhile though, you do find spots that tend to be more fruitful for different animals. I know where to look for antelope, eagles, osprey, and elk. It is WILD-life so nothing is predictable, but repeated outings make me more consistently ‘lucky’.
We left early, just as the sun started breaking the horizon (about 6:30am) and wandered around for hours.
Honestly, it’s rewarding just to be out in the beauty of nature. I never used to like snow, but have come to appreciate and enjoy the gorgeous fresh snow clinging to the trees and blanketing the forest. When I see the animals emerging from them, I appreciate that this is their gorgeous home that we live in together.
This year we went to number of old stand-by’s that we enjoyed, and a few new spots that may become new favorites. We got some wonderful sunsets and amazing Arizona scenery. It is always difficult to pick favorites, but I’ve tried to narrow down my favorites to the top 10 that resonated with me. For me these photos evoke a memory of beautiful space and time. That is the beauty of photography and art in general, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I think my favorite landscape photo of the year was this sunset at Aker Lake. We were there 3 nights. It was peaceful and quiet. Every morning and every evening we went out to take photos. On our last evening, I went out to take photos and found these two hikers had pitched tents at the water’s edge (ironically, right next to the sign that said NO CAMPING). As they fished for supper, I took photos that just popped with the color of their tents against the lush trees right at sunset. Better lucky than good.
2. We do not see a lot of cactus where we live, but were camping in Kofa Wilderness in southern AZ and found the light and glow on the mountain ranges to be magical.
3. Dogtown Lake is small lake outside of Williams, AZ. It offers wonderful views of the Bill Williams Mountain range and great reflections on the water. On this particular visit we were gifted with a wonderful early morning sunrise.
4. Carnero Lake has become one of our favorite spots. It’s quite small, and generally quiet – though not always. We enjoy hikes around the lake and the ducks and coots that find it home. I got a great kick out of these ducks ‘walking on water’ as they chased each other across the lake.
5. Just outside of Page, Glen Canyon is home to the Vermillion cliffs and Marble Canyon. The mighty Colorado River flows through stunning canyons with craggy ridges and cascading rapids. It’s a wonderland of hiking and exploring opportunities, with amazing views in a serene environment.
6. I am so humbled by the awesomeness of nature. We travel her backroads looking for gorgeous overlooks, and are always inspired by the diversity of our beautiful state and it’s many moods. While our monsoon season was very dry this past year, the few rain storms we did see brought in some fantastic skies, making me all the more thankful to be in a spot where we can enjoy the show and the view.
7. We frequent Green’s Peak outside of Show Low. We particularly enjoy it in the Fall when the aspens are bursting with golden hues. The landscape is so vast and broad it’s hard to capture. We enjoy the elk, antelope, and hawks that roam through the meadows and trees.
8. Green’s Peak is also home to a number of small lakes that are popular fishing holes for local fisherman. Of course we love the water and it’s reflections of the landscape along it’s shores. During the Fall it is particularly alluring with the changing colors and mirror glass still water.
9. We pass Lake Mary every time we go to Flagstaff. We don’t generally stop, as we are on our way to do something in Flagstaff. We often see fisherman or boaters enjoying a day at the Lake. On this particular occasion it was hard not to stop and capture this sprawling field of yellow daisies against this stunning sky. Sometimes you have to stop to smell the flowers and take in the view.
10. Whitehorse Lake is a recreational lake deep in the Kaibab National Forest. It offers kayak rentals, boat ramps, fishing opportunities, camping, and hiking. If you are lucky you might see osprey fishing, waterfowl or deer. On our visit we actually had an unusual encounter with a feral pig, which for me, was particularly thrilling.
Lake Havasu is home to the famed London Bridge, but it is also home to a lot of RV’ers and boaters.
During our brief stay, we had a wonderful visit with our special friends, and saw an abundance of large (& fast) boats driving through town and on the waterways. Though February is not necessarily prime time for the boaters, it certainly was for the RV’ers, who litter the campgrounds and desert with big rigs.
While we weren’t there long, we enjoyed our stay and the warm weather (89F) away from our snow packed roads (6F the morning we left).
It almost seems like an oxymoron using the word ‘Best’ with ‘2020’.
We have had more trips cancelled this year than we went on. We tried to go to Grand Canyon-North Rim on three separate occasions, and had every trip cancelled for one reason or another, including closures due to Covid, and forest fires.
I contend that the pandemic was different things for different people – some worse affected than others. For us, we tried to take our isolation on the road in our camper as much as possible to keep our sanity through this year’s events. So, without further ado.. here are my top picks for 2020, in no particular order:
(1) Mogollon Rim
(2) Mogollon Rim
Both these photos come from a trip to Mogollon Rim along Milk Ranch Road, which we found to be very crowded with campers this year.
(3) Carnero Lake
Despite the fact that we fought serious camera and lens issues throughout the year, we were able to enjoy (and capture) some beautiful sunrises at Canero Lake. I wish my osprey photos had come out as well.
(4) Carnero Lake
(5) Aztec Peak
As many times as we have been to Workman Creek outside of Young, we had never been (or even heard of) Aztec Peak. There is a gate that prevents you from driving up the road past the creek every time we have been there. We attempted to go to the area for photos several times, but were always deterred due to road closures. Persistence paid off and the third time was the charm when we found the gate open, and were able to enjoy the overlook from the peak, the highest point in Sierra Anchas Wilderness.
(6) Alstrom Point
We had put off our trip to Alstrom Point, not due to road closures or fire, but lack of clouds. The forecast called for weather though, so we packed up and headed out to this amazing overlook over Lake Powell. Unfortunately, there were no clouds, but still made for a wonderful outing.
(7) Flagstaff, San Francisco Peaks
Back behind Flagstaff, is an area called Government Prairie. Dirt roads wind around through scrubby brush and open fields. If you keep driving, the pine trees become more prevalent, and this wonderful view of San Francisco Peaks reveals itself.
(8) Sheeps Crossing
Sheeps Crossing was originally built in 1926 to allow sheep herder’s to herd their sheep across the Verde River, reducing the numbers lost in the swift currents. On the National Register of Historic Places, it has been re-built due to years of use.
(9) Fossil Creek
Just outside of Camp Verde along the Verde River is a stunning gushing stream, Fossil Creek. While it is harder to get there now that they closed access via Strawberry, and made it a fee area, it remains a gorgeous, if not sadly overgrown area.
(10) Greens Peak
Outside of Show Low is a popular area called Greens Peak that we frequent every year. It tends to get a lot of weather (snow and rain) that make it flourish with greenery and animals.
(11) Hart Prairie / Kendrick Peak
We had gone to check out Lockett Meadow, a stunning place for aspen color, but there was a line waiting to get into it due to overcrowding. So instead we found a new area we hadn’t yet explored, Hart Prairie, just outside of Flagstaff.
(12) Mogollon Rim, FR 95 bridge
We’ve gotten very little snow this year, so when we heard it was supposed to snow on the rim, we immediately headed out. We enjoyed a beautiful winter wonderland for a short period.
That wraps up my 2020 Best Of. Let’s hope 2021 abounds with happiness, laughter, great views and interesting places, storm clouds, and stormy weather.
1. Pismo Beach, CA... wish I could get sunset shots like this in AZ!
2. Lil Buck… If only AZH had published THIS pic
3. Hawley Lake …. Through the Fog is Clarity
4. Javelina … not a common sight in this neck of the woods
5. Snow Elk…. Animal behavior can be so much fun to capture, sometimes these little guys do the darnedest things
6. Moqui Snow … I need to work on getting more landscape snow pix
7. Oak Creek Fall … Gotta love waterfalls & fall, such an amazing combination
8. Morman Lake Elk Pool … While this is a busy pic, lots of fun interactions to look at
9. Kaibab Daisies … I had never been to Kaibab Lake before, I need to get out more
10. Babies Rule … love me some baby wildlife!
I could go on, but I think the exercise of limiting oneself to only the best forces one to be critical of oneself, encouraging growth and improvement. Something we should all heed in our lives. Happy New Year!
Life gets busy, but we should never be so busy that we don’t take time out to frequent our favorite spots and do the things that rock our individual boats … and for us that includes the Mogollon Rim.
We actually got snow, sleet, hail, and rain during our short trip, which made for awesome scenery and elk wondering what we were doing there.
It made me wonder what took us so long… oh, there was that project, and that chore, and that meeting, plus that snow storm, the roads were closed… well, okay.
Always find time to smell the roses, or in our case fresh forest air.
Maybe a restaurant you meet your one and only? A place of solitude that elicits fond memories? A spot you go to so that you might clear your head?
We should all have such a place of tranquility and peaceful reconciliation. Alas, many of the restaurant / bars that my husband and I remember fondly – where we met, where we danced to quiet music, etc. – are now no longer there. And I’m not talking just change in names… buildings gone, and unrecognizably landscapes have taken the place of long forgotten icons.
But we still have our special place. It’s not a restaurant or a bar… it’s an attitude of peaceful reflection. My husband first went when he was a boy of 10 years old. He went camping with his dad. His dad felt he should know how to drive in case anything happened to him. So it’s a place, he first learned to drive with his dad – gone now some 20 years.
My husband took me there before we were married, some 30+ years ago now. It was then that we discovered these ruins as we looked over this grand landscape and saw this structure tucked into the side of the hill… seemingly undiscovered all these years.
We have been going back ever since, and deem it our special place. It is magical, tranquil, and awe-inspiring. We should all have such a special place.
Before Fall Colors have even popped yet, we got our first snowfall. Fall Colors dropped against the blanket of fresh snow made the maple leaves in their varying color stand out.
I love the contrast of color Fall brings, with the green Pines, yellowing Oaks, and emerging reds amidst the scattered Maples. It’s a potpourri of color and textures.
The snow just adds another dimension in this already gorgeous time in our myriad of seasons we get to enjoy.
It’s true that the South Rim is closer than the North Rim… by a bunch! But, give me the North Rim any day. The views are better, and the crowds less (that by itself is reason enough).
We enjoyed the many overlooks and stunning views along the way.
The aspen leaves were turning and the fall colors were stunning. The roads and the hillsides were covered with their golden hue.
Hutch Mountain Lookout tower is one of many throughout Arizona. It is on the National Historic Lookout Registry. It was built in 1936, and still serves as a manned major viewpoint for fires in the Flagstaff area. Located off of FR3 (Lake Mary Road) at Milepost 310, not too far down a couple good dirt roads.
The day we were there there were 9 fires in the area, all started by dry lightening, including the Tank Fire. The Tank Fire was in the very same area as the Tinder Fire which devastated our neighborhoods just a month before. As an eery reminder of those terrifying days, our neighboring subdivisions CCP 1&2 were issued pre-evacuation notices. Fortunately, the fire was quickly doused and completely contained.
From the top of the tower you could see the Chinooks flying on the horizon dumping water of the fire.
The surrounding landscape is full of Ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, elk and deer.
At 8535 feet elevation the days are cool, and nights brisk. Climbing the tower offers a vantage point across northern AZ.
Hutch Mountain Lookout tower is one of many throughout Arizona. It is on the National Historic Lookout Registry. It was built in 1936, and still serves as a manned major viewpoint for fires in the Flagstaff area. Located off of FR3 (Lake Mary Road) at Milepost 310, not too far down a couple good dirt roads.
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