A Few Elk From Saturday's Get-Together

Hikin' Mike

Saturday morning me, Tom, Ed Hughes and Skip met at the San Luis NWR near Los Banos Ca in hopes of photographing some Tule Elk and other wildlife. We had a pretty good time, or at least I did and it was nice to put some faces to names also.

Here's a few of my shots from the outing...

Rohirrim

Nice Shots Mike. Must have been fun shooting those guys.

Nee7x7

Dang! I'm jealous!!!
Great stuff, Mike! I especially like the last one.

BTW, I live only 45 minutes or so down the road from Ed. Didn't realize there were Tule Elk near our area...doh! Looks like it's well worth the drive to go check 'em out. Holler at me (as in a PM!) next time you guys plan an outting, won't ya? I've been cooped up too long now with grandson caretaking (he just started kindergarten, so now I have some free time...whoohoo!!!) and I'm ready to get out and do some serious shooting~

Thanks!
~Nee

Hikin' Mike

Thanks for the comments!


Nee, We'll let you know when we do this again.

ehughes

It was a blast getting together with everyone on Saturday morning, even though we couldn't get real close to the elk..

Here are a couple I walked away with.





Ed

Nee7x7

Great stuff as usual, Ed!

I'm curious...how big is the preserve? I see a fence in a couple of Mike's pics and some sort of pipe coming out of the ground in one of yours. I especially love the one you took of the elk with it's antlers showing above the tall dry grass. ~Nee

Nee7x7

Thanks, Mike!!!

Hikin' Mike wrote:

Thanks for the comments!


Nee, We'll let you know when we do this again.

I'll look forward to hanging with you guys. Anybody for Yosemite before they close the roads to the high country?!!! ~Nee

ehughes

Nee7x7 wrote:

Great stuff as usual, Ed!

I'm curious...how big is the preserve? I see a fence in a couple of Mike's pics and some sort of pipe coming out of the ground in one of yours. I especially love the one you took of the elk with it's antlers showing above the tall dry grass. ~Nee

Thanks Nee, the elk have about 85 acres to roam, they are behind very tall wire fences, which just happen to have openings just large enough for most lenses

thalliday

The animals and the company were great! Hey Nee, the San Luis Wildlife refuge is about 10 miles outside of Los Banos and is an easy side trip if you are heading to Monterey or San Francisco from your area. It would be nice to join up with you next time.
Not sure if I will be able to make it over Tioga this year before the snow which is often in mid October. I hear the aspen trees are already starting to turn color over near Mammoth and June lakes.

Michael_Hansen

Great shots Mike and Ed!...I need to get over there sometime :

Nee.....I'm in Porterville. Howdy Neighbor!

Hikin' Mike

I'm heading over Tioga on Friday with the family. I do want to make a "solo" trip before the snow flies.

Nee7x7

Hikin' Mike wrote:

I'm heading over Tioga on Friday with the family. I do want to make a "solo" trip before the snow flies.

Hi Mike,

Got a couple questions for ya...

How long does the drive to Mono Lake take once you're in Yosemite Valley?

What time are you heading over to Tioga on Friday?

I'm asking because we're going to be camping at Bass Lake from Friday until Sunday, but Friday looks to be a pretty busy time for us with driving up and setting up our campsite. We'll have our five year old grandson with us, so I'm not sure he'll be too excited about another long drive through Tioga pass (unless I go solo and leave hubby and grandson at the campsite, which isn't the best option, !).

We have lifetime passes to Yosemite, so if it doesn't work out this weekend, I'd love to try again another time in the near future. Only problem is that next weekend after this one is the Civil War Re-enactment in Fresno and we're planning to attend (great photo ops there, plus it's really interesting and educational). BTW, if you'd like to meet up with us there, that would be totally cool, too! Same invite for Ed Hughes and any other California folks who'd like to attend!). We'll have our grandson there as well (he lives with us full time, so he's usually included unless the great-grandparents are available to babysit). There is a fee to attend the Civil War re-enactment. I think it's $10 per car, but don't quote me~

Anyhow, I hope we can plan a get-together with you and any other local photogs who'd like to go shooting before too long (and hopefully before Tioga pass closes), so we'll be sure to keep the lines of communication open!

Cheers,
~Nee

Nee7x7

Hi Tom!

thalliday wrote:

The animals and the company were great! Hey Nee, the San Luis Wildlife refuge is about 10 miles outside of Los Banos and is an easy side trip if you are heading to Monterey or San Francisco from your area. It would be nice to join up with you next time.
Not sure if I will be able to make it over Tioga this year before the snow which is often in mid October. I hear the aspen trees are already starting to turn color over near Mammoth and June lakes.

Thanks for the info. Is the refuge open all year? I'll bet Spring is a great time to visit the refuge with new babies born around that time. Maybe we can plan a get-together around that time frame? Count me in when the next shoot comes around~

Cheers!
~Nee

Nee7x7

Hi Neighbor!!!

Michael_Hansen wrote:

Great shots Mike and Ed!...I need to get over there sometime :

Nee.....I'm in Porterville. Howdy Neighbor!

I'm almost amazed at how many Central Valley folks are online here at Dgrin! We don't have any photo clubs in our area* (hmmm...there's a thought) so meeting up with local photogs isn't all that easy. *Fresno might have a camera club, but I'm not sure.

I get to P-ville every so often. I've bought some filters from Harrison and Harrison there. Most of my trips through that area end up around Springville or above (Camp Nelson is great...Belknap has the best campground if you can find it, !). Isn't there some sort of bird preserve near your area? That's another trip on my back burners I'd like to make sometime.

Anyhow, greetings from Farmersville! Looking forward to meeting you sometime in the near future...hopefully!

Cheers,
~Nee

thalliday

The Civil War Revisited would be a good place for a meet up! I can't make it this year but here are some links. Perhaps we can post this earlier for next year so more folks might plan to attend! It' is the largest annual event of its type in the country with over 2000 participants. Go figure.


http://valleyhistory.org/CivilWar.html
http://www.kmj580.com/articles/civilwar.shtml

Hikin' Mike

I'm heading to the Rock Creek Campground Friday. Probably hit the Tioga Pass Gate around 1PM or so. I've got my wife and two toddlers so the timing may be totally off! I too have a lifetime pass (Golden Access) so anytime is good for me.


As for the time from Yosemite Valley to Mono Lake, just a guess but probably at least 2 hours.

The Refuge is open year round.

We went to the Civil War Re-enacment last year and had a great time. Unfortunately, I could walk better then. I'm using a walker now, so unless I borrow a wheelchair, I'll have to pass on that one this year.

Harryb

That third shot is outstanding.

Michael_Hansen

Nee7x7 wrote:

I'm almost amazed at how many Central Valley folks are online here at Dgrin! We don't have any photo clubs in our area* (hmmm...there's a thought) so meeting up with local photogs isn't all that easy. *Fresno might have a camera club, but I'm not sure.

I get to P-ville every so often. I've bought some filters from Harrison and Harrison there. Most of my trips through that area end up around Springville or above (Camp Nelson is great...Belknap has the best campground if you can find it, !). Isn't there some sort of bird preserve near your area? That's another trip on my back burners I'd like to make sometime.

Anyhow, greetings from Farmersville! Looking forward to meeting you sometime in the near future...hopefully!

Cheers,
~Nee

My family had a cabin at Camp Nelson until just a couple of years ago....I spent a lot of summer weekends roaming around that area when I was a boy.
We always walked down to Belknap while staying at the cabin...so i know right where it is I guess we need to have a central valley field trip!
Wanna go to Sequoia NP some time? I know where the bears are...ask Ed !

Nee7x7

Michael_Hansen wrote:

My family had a cabin at Camp Nelson until just a couple of years ago....I spent a lot of summer weekends roaming around that area when I was a boy.
We always walked down to Belknap while staying at the cabin...so i know right where it is I guess we need to have a central valley field trip!
Wanna go to Sequoia NP some time? I know where the bears are...ask Ed !

Sequoia NP is another fave of mine. Sometimes I get brave and drive up on my own, but I feel a little insecure about driving alone, so get together's with other photogs are a real boost for me to get motivated and overcome my fears of being a woman alone in the woods, (well, when hubby can't make it, that is, !).

I was a bear magnet last year when we went up there! I saw five bears in one day- 3 adults and 2 cubs! On another trip I saw a bear on our way up (Dee saw it, too, but I got the pic of it out my window!) and on another trip I saw a mama with one very tiny cub in a clearing and about 20 other people had stopped to gawk at them. The mama bear got nervous...and so did I, so my pics of that pair didn't come out.

I also saw a bear and two cubs in Yosemite at Glacier Point last year (one of the places I want to revisit before the roads close for winter!). I couldn't believe how close people got to the mama and babies. Mama did a few mock charges before a ranger showed up and scared her and the cubs away.

It's nice to know someone else has been to Belknap. I think it has to be one of the prettiest (though rustic) campgrounds we've ever stayed at. Haven't been there in years, tho...we only moved back to this area 4 years ago, so it's about time for hubby and I to make that trip as well.

Anyhow...I guess I'll just hafta take pics for all of you folks who won't be able to go to the Civil War Revisted this year. Wish you all could be there~
~Nee

Nee7x7

Hikin' Mike wrote:

I'm heading to the Rock Creek Campground Friday. Probably hit the Tioga Pass Gate around 1PM or so. I've got my wife and two toddlers so the timing may be totally off! I too have a lifetime pass (Golden Access) so anytime is good for me.


As for the time from Yosemite Valley to Mono Lake, just a guess but probably at least 2 hours.

The Refuge is open year round.

We went to the Civil War Re-enacment last year and had a great time. Unfortunately, I could walk better then. I'm using a walker now, so unless I borrow a wheelchair, I'll have to pass on that one this year.

Mike, I have a wheelchair you'd be welcome to use if you would like to go. I have a bum leg, but I can walk fairly well for short distances if I take breaks along the way. I also have a Golden Access pass...one of the *perks* of being gimpy, I guess, but it actually has been a blessing to be able to visit our Nat'l Parks and not have to pay the hefty entrance fees. We get the good parking spaces, too, so it's not all bad.

But I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles...not being mobile makes it so much more of a challenge with photography. While the other guys can hike to the harder places to get the "money shots", we have to be content with things closer at hand. I'll remember you in my prayers and look forward to meeting up with you and your family some time in the near future~

Cheers,
~Nee

Hikin' Mike

Nee7x7 wrote:

Mike, I have a wheelchair you'd be welcome to use if you would like to go. I have a bum leg, but I can walk fairly well for short distances if I take breaks along the way. I also have a Golden Access pass...one of the *perks* of being gimpy, I guess, but it actually has been a blessing to be able to visit our Nat'l Parks and not have to pay the hefty entrance fees. We get the good parking spaces, too, so it's not all bad.

But I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles...not being mobile makes it so much more of a challenge with photography. While the other guys can hike to the harder places to get the "money shots", we have to be content with things closer at hand. I'll remember you in my prayers and look forward to meeting up with you and your family some time in the near future~

Cheers,
~Nee

Thanks Nee for the wheelchair offer. I can get one from my wife's grandmother. She doesn't use it much. My problem is my knees. The doctors said I had Lyme Disease, but now they think I'm cured andnow I have some auto immune disorder that is causing my knee pain. Who knows.

Like you, I'm trying to make the best of a crappy situation...handicapped parking and free access to National Parks. But the downside is being limited in how far you can walk. My goal was (is) to make it up to the Vernal Falls bridge in Yosemite (1.5 mile R/T). Not sure if I'll make it this year, but the year isn't over yet!

This does make you look at common things in a different way though, as far as photography goes.