Sedona Photos

Randy and I started out toward Camp Verde on Sunday. We were trying to find a trailhead outside of Camp Verde. We never did find it. My resource was a hiking guide that was published in 1995.....might have been the problem. I think I need to invest in some new hiking books.

We ended up in Sedona.....trying to capture some images for our photography class homework. This is a photo of Cathedral Rock.

It was a gorgeous day.......62 degrees and sunny.

We went to a place called Red Rock Crossing.

We used a tripod for most of these shots.

We wanted to capture the mirroring of the rock in the water. The red color of the rocks is due to a thin coating of iron oxide mineral.

Sedona is a beautiful place that is a 2 hour ride from Payson. I love to visit Sedona but would not want to live in a tourist attraction.

Terry Bradshaw Highlights Payson

Here is a link to a program Terry Bradshaw did on YouTube about our town of Payson.

Townofpayson_InsightswithTerryBradshaw.mpg

www.youtube.com

Insights with Terry Bradshaw takes a closer look at one of Arizona's hidden gems - Payson, AZ. Nestled in the largest stand of ponderosa pine forest in the w......

Digital Photography Class Photos

I am enjoying the digital photography class I am taking at Gila Community College. We have an assignment each week. This week I decided to walk around the neighborhood and focus on photos that might look good in black and white.

Several of our neighbors have houses in the valley and live there in the winter, so I walked around their yards and took some photos.

The camera takes the photo in color and I have been working in a program called Aperture to change the image into black and white and add a colored filter, sharpness, etc.

I have been "into" clouds lately....this day had some good ones.

We had a "water" assignment and Randy and I went to Tonto Creek to get these photos. I was trying for the "cotton candy" effect.

These photos were taken at the fish hatchery.

We have to do a series of photos this week.....not sure what my subject or theme will be.

Guess What Cooper Found

Cooper and Randy went out for a walk this morning and look what Cooper found. Yep.....an elk leg complete with fur.

He carried it the equivalent of 4 blocks. He was so proud of himself! His jaws were very tired when he finally got home.

We let him chew on it for a half hour and then we decided enough was enough. It's now in the garbage can and he knows it. He looks longingly at the can.

Pony Express Comes to Town

Each February for the last 53 years, the old west is brought to life as an elite group of riders thunder through Arizona. The group rode down Hwy 87 right through the middle of our town of Payson.

The group arrived at our post office with mail from other towns. The guys were all dressed in buckskin much like the pony express riders of the past.

They all lined up so we could get a good look at them. There were about 30 riders. The kids were given special centennial bandanas and had the guys sign them. (Arizona is 100 years old this month.)

Each rider had a mailbag and these were collected.

They signed bandanas for about 20 minutes. (Note: Wren and Dakota.....we got bandanas for you.)

The kids loved getting close to the horses and giving them a pet. Boy, were they well-behaved horses!

The group had ridden 100 miles that day. They were going to camp along the Verde River that night and have a big steak dinner. The next day they planned to ride another 80 miles.

These men and their horses are part of search and rescue teams across Arizona. This event is the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the world. Each rider is sworn in as an honorary mail messenger braving weather, terrain, and modern-day obstacles to deliver the United States mail.