I’m slowly getting better at these landscape shots I guess. This one is pretty cool and the fence leads the eye to the mountains pretty nicely.
Not that the mountains are very impressive.
So I went out to Bobcat Ridge this morning and decided to hike way up on the ridge, following a coyote I saw from way too far away to photograph. I followed the ridge for quite a ways, then spotted a harrier and started trying to get close enough for a good shot and moved down from the ridge. I saw a trail off on the distance wrapping back around to where I want to go, so I made a b-line for it. Then I ran into a small prairie dog colony and decided to take a few shots.
That’s when the ranger came up to me and informed me that I was in a restricted area and that I would be ticketed. He was quite nice about it, and I was the most embarrassed I think I’ve ever been. It turns out that in front of my car on the bathroom building in the lot was a sign warning me about golden eagle nesting, and if I had come in on the trail that I was trying to take out, I would have seen the sign that told me the area was off limits. But I arrived in the dark and I took a circuitous route to get into that spot. He was nice enough to show me the eagles and the nests with his binoculars, which was pretty cool.
After he finished writing me the ticket, I quizzed him for tips on places to go, things to shoot. He even took my card when I told him I was laid off and thought he had family who could use someone who knows Flash.
A mixed encounter, and I’m not looking forward to finding out what my fine will be next week. I consider it a lesson learned though. If I go to a park, I am stopping at the entrance and reading every damn sign, to be sure I’m not breaking any rules.
The worst thing was, I didn’t get a single decent shot all day. Blah.
