The Henry Mountains

 

I think I may have found my new favorite place in Utah... the Henry Mountains. I spent 3 incredible days exploring the mountains on my recent trip to the southwest. Over the course of those 3 days I only saw 4 other vehicles, 3 of which were traveling together.  The rest of the time I was by myself, and it was glorious. I was blown away by the beauty of this small collection of mountains.  There is a very nice network of dirt roads that provides for lots of exploration opportunities and I only scratched the surface of what's there. 

The most interesting bit of trivia that I've heard about the Henry's is that they were the last mountain range in the lower 48 to be surveyed. Also interesting is the fact that the mountains are home to about 350 bison.  The Henry Mountains bison herd is one of only 3 free-roaming and genetically purebred bison herds on public lands in the U.S.  I never saw any of the bison during my visit, however. What I did see was some pretty incredibly scenery and nights with skies absolutely packed full of stars. Like a lot of places out west, I can't wait to go back and explore some more!

Pigeon River Eagle

 

I went for a drive in the woods today and in addition to the hordes of black gnats and mosquitoes, I saw this bald eagle perched atop a tree overlooking the Pigeon River. He was quite a long ways away so I had to zoom my camera all the way in to 600mm to get this photo of him. 

Calm Superior

 

It sure is a peaceful night out there.  The moon is very bright tonight and Lake Superior is amazingly calm.  And the bugs that have been so prevalent during the day lately are nowhere to be found! 

Vermilion Cliffs Sunset

 

A great memory of an incredible night spent in an unforgettable place.  Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona is a place you have to see with your own eyes to believe it.  To say the landscape is otherworldly is an understatement. 

Mr. and Mrs. Merganser

 

While out on a drive through the forest roads today I happened across two male mergansers fighting over one female. The birds were on a fast-moving creek and the males were chasing each other up and down the swift water. It was quite a sight to see.  Eventually one of them chased the other off and the two shown in this photo swam upstream together.  

Aurora Lane

 

I'm still going through images from the Aurora Storm that occurred on April 23-24, 2023. This one was taken looking down the road from my driveway. This night ranks in the Top 3 of the Aurora events that I've seen in northern Minnesota.  It was simply unbelievable. 

Spring Sunset Rays

 

Beautiful sunset this evening!  Loved how these rays were shooting up from behind the clouds.  A magical moment.