sanmiguelphotographyblog

In February 2007, I traveled 500 miles south from San Jose to Anza Borrego Desert State Park in southern California along the Mexican border. Anza Borrego Desert State Park is the 2nd largest state park in the country behind Adirondack State Park. I attended a one-day “advanced” four wheel drive (4WD) recovery class sponsored by Bill Burke. Bill Burke is considered one of the foremost 4WD instructors in the country. I describe him as a combination of “Crocodile Dundee” meets “MacGyver” (from the TV series) – meaning he has had every backcountry adventure imaginable and he can fix anything with a Swiss Army Knife and a piece of wire. The course was an opportunity to practice getting unstuck using a winch and hi-lift jack. And yes, I took some photographs too…

In early January 2007, I traveled 8 hours south from San Jose to Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea and Anza Borrego Desert State Park in southern California. Joshua Tree NP is a challenging place to photograph in my opinion because the park doesn’t have many “prominent” landmarks like other national parks, other than Joshua Trees. I plan on returning in the spring some year when the Joshua Trees are blooming. While in southern CA, I attended the North American Nature Photographer’s Association national convention in Palm Springs.

Late in November 2006 and early December 2006, I traveled 1,000 miles (16-hour drive one-way) to eastern Utah and Arizona to photograph Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Monument Valley. I can’t begin to describe how COLD it was. Daytime high temperatures were often around 15 degrees with a strong 30 mph wind. For several days, we couldn’t use the windshield washer in my truck because it would freeze on the windshield even while the defroster was on high.

At the end of October, 2006 I traveled east to Utah visiting Zion National Parks and the Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah. The fall foliage in south western Utah around Zion and the Grand Staircase was exceptional.

In early in October 2006, I traveled to Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra Mountains of California to photograph the fall foliage. Owens Valley has been described as one of the most beautiful places in the world. Because California had received lower than usual rainfall in 2006, the color of the fall foliage lower than usual.

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