Mountain Sunset

While reading after our hike, the pages of my book turned red. I looked up to a red sky with hints of white mixed in. I ran inside and grabbed my camera. I had my big lens on, but it was too big. I wasn't able to get the full sunset. I switched lens but when I walked back outside there was a tree in the way. Not wanting to miss the sunset, I ran barefoot over gravel and concrete to find a new angle. After taking several shots, I walked back happy with the pictures that I took.

Teddy Bear Cactus

These types of cacti are named after their soft looks. From here it looks like the cacti is a soft object but stand next to it and look at all of the needles waiting to poke you. Another interesting thought about the cactus is why is it multicolored? It starts black on the bottom, turns brown, then yellow on top.

Hillside

Facing away from Scottsdale were clear blue skies. Facing toward Scottsdale were hazy/ smoky skies. The hillside cuts into the blue sky and attacks it with cacti. The sharp rocks and needles on the cacti are no match for the clear blue sky.

Arizona's Mountains

These mountains are different than the ones that I have seen in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. These mountains were much rockier, had cacti on them and didn't have any trees on them. The other mountains that I have seen have big tall pine trees, don't have cacti and have some rocks but not nearly as many as these do.

Dead Tree City

As we hiked away from the city, I turned around for one look and saw this dead tree. I believe that this is one of my best pictures from the trip. The dead branches just break off into different directions almost like a firework. Then you look behind the tree and there is the city of Scottsdale. Then behind the city are the mountains that surround Scottsdale.

Birds of the South

Still, on our hike, I saw this white and gray bird. After looking at several bird identifier websites, I still can't figure out what type of bird this is. I found several close looking types but they all say a small detail that this bird doesn't have. It could be an out of state bird that was just flying by, who knows.

Red Rocks

While walking on a trail, I saw this rock that had an interesting color. On the sides and bottom, the rock looks normal but on top is this red mark. The rocks does look very smooth making it a possibility that it could have been cut open and this is the center. This is a very cool but mysterious rock.

Desert Lands

Outside the house, where we stayed, were hundreds of acres of open land. In that land, I saw several types of birds, two types of rabbits, and I heard but did not see coyotes. I also learned that there are snakes but they are dormant. In the picture are several different types of plants. There is the brown grass, cacti, shrubs and several other types of plants that I don't know the name to.

Mountain Sunrise

As the sun rose, it caused the mountains to become black. The mountains made sure that the picture was not too bright and overpowering. Your eye is drawn on the mountains border with the sky before being taken all around the top of the picture. After your eye follows the darker clouds it starts to focus on the bright yellow and orange clouds before returning back to the dark mountains. 

Birds of the South

This sparrow is the next bird in Bird of the South. After taking this picture the sparrow flew away. I walked toward the bush to see if there were any more birds, which there were not, but I did see spikes on the bush. How could this sparrow sit on a spike? This is the last Bird of the South picture since the night is falling and the next day we were on another drive, this time to Scottsdale.

Birds of the South 

On this trip I took several pictures of different types of birds, these pictures are going to be called the Birds of the South. This bird, which I believe is a woodpecker, is atop one of the old, native New Mexican homes. This picture the almost like a silhouette. The bird is black and house is mostly black or a very dark color. This is contrasted by the bright sky.

Rolling Clouds

I would have liked to capture this picture with the clouds parting over my head but instead the clouds broke a few miles to the Northeast. This is what the rain came from. While it might not look very big and dark, it was a very rare and impressive rain for Las Cruces. Also notice the old, native style homes. With Stucco walls and red trimming around the windows, this is what the old New Mexican houses looked like.

Cactus Animals

I was sitting outside during the end of the rain storm and I looked down. I saw this cactus and noticed something on it. I can't tell if they are spiders who made a home in the cactus or are pieces of an object the look like spiders. If it is a spider then its head would be really small but if it was an object, then what would the object be?

Flying High

After the rain storm, this hawk flew out looking for a meal. I had seen several other birds flying about in the sky but I couldn't quite take a good picture of the bird. This hawk started in the right side of my eyesight before circling above me the swooping down in front of me. I chose this picture because you can see the detail on the bird all the way to the point on the beak.

Water Leaf

On the end of my rain walk, I found this leaf hidden in rocks. It was a jewel that a nearly missed if I had not looked down at a circle of rocks. The water droplets were in perfect spheres on the leaf. They reflected the sky and surrounding leaves. Making them a yellow and red color.

Spider Web

After a very rare rainstorm, I went walking around looking for raindrops on plants. I saw this spider web which had some water on it but not like the next pictures. I like how this is such a good and clear picture that you can see the tiny worm underneath the web. The worm is probably the spiders dinner, I would not choose that for my dinner.

UTEP

This is the start of our Southwest Trip. We are going to be visiting Las Cruces, Phoenix, and Scottsdale. When we got to the stadium we were only expecting to see the stadium from the outside but the grounds crew was cleaning up the stadium for the Sun Bowl. They left a gate open as they used leaf blowers to clean the stadium. This allowed us to go inside to stadium.

The Start of the Play

To start the play, the center hikes the ball to the quarterback. I was able to take this picture after the ball left the center's hand but before it was able to reach the quarterback's hands. You can see the wide receiver, number 13, running across to fake out the defense trying to give the Texas Longhorns extra yards.

Moments Before Kickoff

The kicker places the ball on the tee then walks back 10 yards. The rest of the team lines up with him before running as the kicker kicks the ball. It is a flag if a person on the offense passes the ball before it is kicked. I took this shot exactly a quarter second before the kicker kicked it. He kicked the ball so fast that after half a second the ball was off of the screen.

On the Run

Texas's quarterback Sam Ehlinger was on the run before throwing the ball away. One of the hardest things to do as a quarterback is run and throw at the same time. This is why if you see a quarterback on the run, the ball is normally not accurate.