Full Moon

No, it's nothing to do with some tourist in a thong.

We just had another full moon here and couldn't resist going out on the Ala Wai Canal again in hopes of taking a different full moon shot.

These are not the best in the world but I'll keep on until I get what I am hoping to achieve.

 

Behind the clouds more than out

 

Finally

 

 

Arizona and Utah

It's Flagstaff, Arizona.  I'll be up here for maybe 6 weeks and so far, I've not been back to the Grand Canyon yet but have made my way up to the Arches National Park and Monument Valley in Utah.

As I was headed north into Utah, I looked back in my rear view mirror and noticed something familiar with the view.  Pulling over and getting out, I recognized this spot where Forrest Gump stopped running.  I'd always wanted to see this spot.

 

It seemed you could drive forever on this road without seeing anyone for miles but kept on plugging away toward Moab, Utah.  

Knowing there was about to be a full moon and an eclipse that weekend, I went directly on to the Arches National Park hoping to find a great spot for the moon shots. 

Being several hours prior to sunset, i visited lots of the turn outs with dozens of arches

As sundown approached, the formations began to glow, bringing out incredible desert colors.

As I was headed back to a spot I wanted to photograph the full moon, I turned through a canyon and was face to face with a full moon.

It really was an inconvenient place to stop for a photo so took a quick shot and moved on to one of the turn outs I had mentally reserved.  Others who had seen the large moon rising were stopping and a crowd formed snapping photos with iPhone and iPads too.  I probably took a dozen myself.

Realizing I had failed to nail down a hotel for the night and had no cell phone coverage, I went back to Moab where I was turned down at 3 places.  The nice lady at the Hampton told me there was absolutely nothing to be had for a room but gave me the number of a lodge 20 miles up the Colorado River.  I got the last room.  The next morning, before sunrise, I got up and rode down a couple of miles along the river to witness another Blood Moon eclipse.  Gosh it was cold out there.

There was a lot of prophetic stories about this Blood Moon/Eclipse so I found it just a little spooky out there by myself watching it.

After checking out of my room I went back to The Arches National Park to see a few things I missed the afternoon before.  My pedometer on my handy dandy Samsung phone told me I walked 4.7 miles through that dust place in a pair of Justins.  I really needed a more appropriate set of hiking boots.

Arches after arches. Since I may never get back there, I mistakenly thought I had to see them all but after a while, one decides that if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

So, after woofing down a hamburger in Moab, I headed south toward Monument Valley, passing by my Forrest Gump site.  Monument Valley is run by the Navajo Nation and so my good ole National Park card was no use there.

By the end of the day, I  was tired, dusty and felt like the desert around me.  Headed back south, I stopped off at a lesser tourist area and checked into a mom and pop motel and was glad to get it.

Harvest Moon - Victoria County, Texas

The moon was beautiful but the mosquitoes were more than plentiful.  

 

Checking my compass trying to decide where this thing was going to come up, I stood just off the road across from a small pond waiting for 8:09 pm to arrive when this moon would appear.

Just before the rise, it began to become much darker and I could hear a swarm of mosquitoes approaching with a whine like a loose fan belt on an old truck.  As the moon rose, I found myself 25 yards or so too far to the north so I scurried through the weeds trying to get this shot with the windmill in it.  When I stopped moving and began to focus those blasted insects finally caught up with me.

Sure I'd love to have taken a bit more time setting the camera just right on the tripod but I found it nearly impossible to do so swatting those things off my legs. *Note* It's foolish to go into the weeds wearing only shorts and sandals.

Anyway, a day later, I'm still scratching what is probably a hundred or more bites.

Desert Moon

I had anticipated the "Super Moon" for May 5, quite a while.  It was supposed to be 14% larger than any other full moons.  That sounds pretty big but someone else said it's like comparing a 15 inch pizza to a 16 inch pizza; yes it's bigger but if they aren't side by side, you don't really notice.

Friday evening, I went out to White Sands again to scout out where I thought may be a good place for a moon shot.  It's really a amazing place and I can find something fascinating there each time I visit.

Early in the afternoon, before the sun had even set, the moon rose in the east over the mountains.  Even though it wasn't completely full, it proved spectacular.  Saturday came and in the afternoon,  clouds began to appear.  I kept grumbling in my head, "Oh, no!...clouds won't help much in the full moon photography department."

I, along with half the state of New Mexico began filling the park and as the sun began to set, I roamed around on the dunes looking for a spot where I could get a clear shot without the added benefit of a hundred people in my frame.  That's if the moon showed itself.  The winds had swept the dunes causing ripples in the sand and building berms against the roots and plant life.

Finally, just after 8:00 p.m., the moon lazily peaked out between the some clouds.  It never really presented itself with clarity but that's the chances you take when you have no control over the elements.  I hung around another 30 minutes attempting some clear shots but around 8:45, I folded my tripod, made my way back to the car and exited before the rangers chased me out.