More Florida Photos

I have been very busy and have not taken many photos, but I finally got out this week to explore Florida.  We walked the beach in Panama City Beach and visited St. Andrews State Park.

The poor bird below had an injured foot.

Gator Lake is in St. Andrews State Park.  Unfortunately, we did not see any gators.

But we did see birds.

The water level is very high.

After walking around the Gator Lake area, we headed to the ocean overlook.  There were around a dozen surfers!

We have had a lot of fog the last week or so.

The white tail deer here are a ubspecies, quite small, and totally unafraid.

Super Moon Pictures

Here are a few photos I took of the super moon the other night.

More Arizona Photos

While I was in Arizona, coincidentally my oldest son and his family were also out in the area.  We met up a few times including going for a hike one morning.  It was chilly, but the desert vegetation and rock formations were incredible.  My granddaughter took some of these photos.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows

Last week I attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show to buy things for the Gitche Gumee Museum's gift shop. I used to attend either the Tucson, Quartzite, or Denver show every year. I must admit, now I only go about every third year. The Tucson Show is actually over 40 shows all spread out around the city of Tucson. I only go to a few of the venues. It does not take long to spend your budget. Thanks to my friend, Karen Boaz for her hospitality and for driving us around the show sites.

 

I did not take many photos since I was so busy buying rocks, but here are a few.  The first venue we went to was the JOGS Show.

 

It is great to go the first day because you get first pick, but you have to stand in line to get in.

We were one of the first in to this large venue that has hundreds of dealers, so it was not yet crowded inside.

In Mexico they discovered a new banded onyx.  The photo below shows lamps made with this new as well as more traditional onyx.  I bought some lamps for the gift shop.

I cannot afford to buy these tables, but they are awesome!

I did buy several specimens of malachite, chryscholla, and azurite from the Congo.

My friend, Karen Boaz, pointing to a cool amethyst geode.

 

Arizona Photos

It has been three years since I attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show to buy for the Gitche Gumee Museum's gift shop.  This is the year I decided I should go and see what is new.  Tomorrow I will post a few photos from the show.  In the mean time, here are some Arizona photos I took while traveling in the area.

View from my campsite in western Texas when I was heading west.

 I just love dragoon rocks.  I call them "Fred Flinstone" rocks.  These outcrops are in eastern Arizona along I10.

Thankfully, my car serves as my RV.  It has been warm during the day, but cold at night.  Thankfully, I have a small plug-in heater.  The following photos I took while walking around the campground.

Almost all of the cacti had aged blooms.  It must have been a heck of a spring last year!

The orange trees are also happy.

After the show, I headed north and hiked some of the trails at Picacho Peak.  Picacho Peak State Park is a state park surrounding Picacho Peak in Picacho, Arizona. The park is located between Casa Grande and Tucson near Interstate 10 in Pinal County. Its centerpiece spire is visible from downtown Tucson, a distance of 45 miles. The summit rises to 3,374 feet above mean sea level.
 

Some of the rocks were coated in druzy quartz.

This next photo looks east down into the valley and I10.