Arizona Wanderings
p.3 #1Arizona Wanderings
Boyan, I’ve come back several times to enjoy these images again. The first four to me are so epic, and I just realized they conjure up vibes of Lord of the Rings which I love. My imagination has been fired up and I’m so glad you shared the inspiration.
Dec 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM
p.3 #2Arizona Wanderings
This is such a wonderful collection of photographs. I especially like the first two.
Dec 12, 2025 at 02:41 PM
p.3 #3Arizona Wanderings
Wow, I normally just hang out in wildlife forum but see that I need to visit here more often. Wonderful set that reminds me of my visits to see my brother in Tucson and the saguaro NP. I also having a confrontation with the Cholla in my sandals. Bruce
Dec 12, 2025 at 05:56 PM
p.3 #4Arizona Wanderings
B Benson wrote:
Wow, I normally just hang out in wildlife forum but see that I need to visit here more often. Wonderful set that reminds me of my visits to see my brother in Tucson and the saguaro NP. I also having a confrontation with the Cholla in my sandals. Bruce
Chollas are deadly. My worst experience ever went something like this... I am with a tripod, low to the ground around chollas. As I move around I feel a prick in my shin area. I instinctively swat it away... and now I have a cholla ball embedded in my fingertips. I am alone and need to get creative. With my good hand I take the camera off the tripod, then use the legs of the tripod as an improvised "tweezer" to hold the cholla ball in place while I pull my hand away and swear worse than a drunken sailor. And then spend the next 10 minutes with real tweezers pulling cholla spikes out of my fingertips. This is THE reason why I always add tweezers to my emergency kit. One of my least fond experiences.
But, as is often the case, certain species have found a way of turning lemons into lemonade. In the "cholla infestation" canyon I mentioned, there are bunnies who barricade the entrances to their burrows with cholla balls. I have no idea how they do it, but it is pretty unambiguous - a 2 ft circle around the entrance is littered with dried out cholla balls
.
Wow, I normally just hang out in wildlife forum but see that I need to visit here more often. Wonderful set that reminds me of my visits to see my brother in Tucson and the saguaro NP. I also having a confrontation with the Cholla in my sandals. Bruce
Chollas are deadly. My worst experience ever went something like this... I am with a tripod, low to the ground around chollas. As I move around I feel a prick in my shin area. I instinctively swat it away... and now I have a cholla ball embedded in my fingertips. I am alone and need to get creative. With my good hand I take the camera off the tripod, then use the legs of the tripod as an improvised "tweezer" to hold the cholla ball in place while I pull my hand away and swear worse than a drunken sailor. And then spend the next 10 minutes with real tweezers pulling cholla spikes out of my fingertips. This is THE reason why I always add tweezers to my emergency kit. One of my least fond experiences.
But, as is often the case, certain species have found a way of turning lemons into lemonade. In the "cholla infestation" canyon I mentioned, there are bunnies who barricade the entrances to their burrows with cholla balls. I have no idea how they do it, but it is pretty unambiguous - a 2 ft circle around the entrance is littered with dried out cholla balls
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Dec 12, 2025 at 06:15 PM
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p.3 #5Arizona Wanderings
The nests you saw with cholla protecting it probably belonged to Desert Woodrats. They use a variety of materials as makeshift protection for their nests, which are usually pretty complex.
Either way, amazing images! I really want to make it out that way sometime soon and spend a week in the backcountry.
Did you backpack with your gear?
Either way, amazing images! I really want to make it out that way sometime soon and spend a week in the backcountry.
Did you backpack with your gear?
Dec 13, 2025 at 04:13 PM
p.3 #6Arizona Wanderings
Never saw any desert woodrats but there were tons of bunnies. But you are correct that I am making an extrapolation that is likely incorrect.
Backpacking in Southern AZ constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. No water anywhere. Carrying 1 gal/day is just way too much weight. I own a 4x4 and there are enough dirt roads to get you most places. I usually drive to the middle of nowhere and use it as a base camp for day trips. There are always 10+ gallons of water in the back. Topo maps with slope angle shading are a great scouting tool.
But occasionally I will make overnight trips that require "only" a gallon of water. The first 4 in the series are from the summits of Signal Peak and Ten Ewe Mountain in the Kofas. I will usually hike up in the afternoon when the route is in the shade, with nothing but a gallon of water, a Subway sandwich, a foam mat, a sleeping bag, a body and a long lens. The trail is not long but is very steep and often very faint or non-existent. Then I shoot sunset and the moonrise, spend the night, and then shoot sunrise in the morning. One has to be careful up there because especially in December and January the weather can get quite rough and windy. Since I don't bring a tent to save some weight I pay attention to the forecast before I go. Some years ago Floris van Bruegel wrote on his blog that the wind broke a pole on his tent up there. It is always possible to descent some to a sheltered location if necessary, don't want to over dramatize it and make it look more difficult than it is.
shaneonymous wrote:
The nests you saw with cholla protecting it probably belonged to Desert Woodrats. They use a variety of materials as makeshift protection for their nests, which are usually pretty complex.
Either way, amazing images! I really want to make it out that way sometime soon and spend a week in the backcountry.
Did you backpack with your gear?
Backpacking in Southern AZ constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. No water anywhere. Carrying 1 gal/day is just way too much weight. I own a 4x4 and there are enough dirt roads to get you most places. I usually drive to the middle of nowhere and use it as a base camp for day trips. There are always 10+ gallons of water in the back. Topo maps with slope angle shading are a great scouting tool.
But occasionally I will make overnight trips that require "only" a gallon of water. The first 4 in the series are from the summits of Signal Peak and Ten Ewe Mountain in the Kofas. I will usually hike up in the afternoon when the route is in the shade, with nothing but a gallon of water, a Subway sandwich, a foam mat, a sleeping bag, a body and a long lens. The trail is not long but is very steep and often very faint or non-existent. Then I shoot sunset and the moonrise, spend the night, and then shoot sunrise in the morning. One has to be careful up there because especially in December and January the weather can get quite rough and windy. Since I don't bring a tent to save some weight I pay attention to the forecast before I go. Some years ago Floris van Bruegel wrote on his blog that the wind broke a pole on his tent up there. It is always possible to descent some to a sheltered location if necessary, don't want to over dramatize it and make it look more difficult than it is.
shaneonymous wrote:
The nests you saw with cholla protecting it probably belonged to Desert Woodrats. They use a variety of materials as makeshift protection for their nests, which are usually pretty complex.
Either way, amazing images! I really want to make it out that way sometime soon and spend a week in the backcountry.
Did you backpack with your gear?
Dec 13, 2025 at 10:16 PM
p.3 #7Arizona Wanderings
Woah! The first six are stunning! Thank you for sharing!
Quick question: I might be judging the location of the sun in the second image wrong, but my brain is telling me that the formations need to be backlit, but they are kind of side lit here? May be, we are seeing a moon set as the sun rises? I am not sure, the image leaves me a bit confused.
Quick question: I might be judging the location of the sun in the second image wrong, but my brain is telling me that the formations need to be backlit, but they are kind of side lit here? May be, we are seeing a moon set as the sun rises? I am not sure, the image leaves me a bit confused.
Jan 18, 2026 at 08:17 AM
p.3 #8Arizona Wanderings
It is a simultaneous moonset and sunset. The sun was somewhere behind my back though I don't recall exactly where.
Jan 18, 2026 at 09:38 AM