Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[PrincessInOz]

A Tame kind of Wild Animal Encounter



The Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park was another local attraction that X and Y said we should go-see. Given the rain and cold, I wasn't sure that we would make it here; but sometime during lunch, the rain let-up and the clouds started to lift. DH and I decided to chance it.
The Wildlife Park is located about 5 miles along Highway 84, off the 160. Opened in 1986, it is a privately owned facility that operates as an animal refuge. We were advised that the best time to visit was at feeding time, which was 4 pm at the time of year we were there.


The 'office' looked just like a house to me. We got there after 3 pm and paid our entry fee. We did take a look inside; there were the standard souvenirs, but nothing appealed. It really isn't a big place.






We were early enough to complete the ½ mile circuit by ourselves and then we did a second round with the duty person as they fed the animals. We learnt a fair bit about the animals and the operation here during feeding time.

I will admit that I'm not really a fan of caging animals in small enclosed spaces. I don't mind open-range zoos or zoos that have changed their animal enclosures more in line with a natural habitat look and feel. Having said that, during the 50 minutes it took to feed the animals here, I was very impressed with the operations here. Despite its size, the facility does have the best interest of the animals at heart.

All of the animals here are non-releasable:

• Some are rescues from people who had them as pets and realized they don't make good pets.
• Others were orphaned and were brought in by the general public.
• Others again were born in captivity and have been declared non-releasable due to their lack of fear of people.

The animals in this refuge have lost their natural fear of people and do not have the skills to survive in the wild. If released, they would most likely be killed trying to get to people for food or starve to death due to lack of survival skills. Their only option would be death if they were not in a zoo or taken in by the refuge.



And the animals? They seemed happy enough; although I was a little uncomfortable about the style of enclosures they were living in. But it was one of the few chances we had to see native American animals.



BigHorn Sheep






They were horn-y.











Mountain Lion






She was beautiful!











She's a petite and shy eater.





When her food was put out, she grabbed it and went to a quiet spot where no one could see her eat.













I was fascinated by the elk. Given that hunting season was about to start, this one was safer in here than out in the wilderness.







Check out his rack!







These were horns he's shed over the last 3 or 4 years.







Wolves













They were feeling a bit frisky when we were there.







And it was a nippy sort of a day.











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[PrincessInOz]

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Coyote












Their food.






Which the magpie bird steals!







Until the coyote decides not to share.







I do understand why the Grizzly is behind bars; but I felt sorry for her.






We were lucky that she hadn't started to hibernate.







And then I saw what she was fed.







She eats well here.







I love cats. So it was only natural that I fell in love with the bobcat.





















My! What big teeth you have, grandma.







Such a gorgeous face.








Porcupine. All the animals eat well here.















There was even donkeys! No Shrek, though.














I was gobsmacked to see an Emu! Turns out emu farming had been huge in the 80’s; and this one had been kept as a pet until the owners couldn't cope.








When feeding time was over, it was time for us to leave. Some of the more domesticated animals were around to see us off.













I can't say that I'm a fan of penning up wild animals; but I really appreciated the work that this refuge does.


If you are in the area and want to visit, go support them. But definitely hit them at feeding time. It really is the best time to see the animals; and a tame way to see some of the native wild animals of this region.



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[PrincessInOz]

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The Third Sunset - Snow Glow




X and Y had called us when we were at the animal refuge. They had been a bit concerned that we had stayed out all day in the cold and were wondering how we were doing. We assured them that we were fine, cold; but fine and after we were done watching the animals being fed, we headed on back to their property in time for the standard uncorking of the red.


Mother Nature had a surprise for me this evening. The clouds had lifted and this was our view this evening.






Snow! It had definitely been cold enough for snow to fall on the higher peaks. I'm guessing that the snow line was somewhere in the region of about 8,500 feet.






I might have hoped and expected to see a patchwork of red, orange and yellow foliage before I got here. But I cannot deny that Mother Nature did not give me a colour show whilst I was here. It might not have been the colours I had expected to see, but it was equally as stunning.






Sunset was beautiful.







Amazing!






Pinks, Purples, Greens, Blues and White.







This is one of my favourites from the Pagosa set.






We definitely got to see a mountain snow glow this evening. It looks so sweet - all fairy floss pink and lavender.







One last thing. I had spent the last 3 evenings looking at the east. But I had kept my eye on what the west and sun set was doing. We’d seen it when we walked round the property and there had always been a bit of cloud hanging about the hills. It was on this evening that the clouds rolled by and I finally pointed my camera to the west.







Rocky Mountain High. This is truly an amazing part of the US.







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[PrincessInOz]

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A Simple Dinner




Y kept dinner simple that night.



Salad.






Bread, that we had bought from the Pagosa Bakery.






Lentil Curry.






And baked potatoes. My dinner!






The irony of this simple meal is that when we are home, baked potatoes are what we always have on a Tuesday night. We'd traveled half-way round the world to come home to a very familiar meal! And on a cold, crisp night, it was very welcomed!



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[PrincessInOz]

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Star Gazing over Colorado



Remember my stargazing attempt in Monument Valley? The moon had gotten in my way and I had been determined to attempt a long exposure shot of the stars sometime during this trip.


I had been keeping an eye on the Colorado skies the last couple of nights. What with clouds and everything, neither night had quite been right. Tonight.....it was cold, crisp and clear skies.
Perfect conditions. I had set up the camera outside and left it open for over an hour. In the meantime, I got to stay inside and enjoy.







I wasn't alone in my enjoyment.....we spent the night at home enjoying family company and catching up on the family pictures and videos.






And my star gazing attempt?




It was equally as satisfying. This is the result of keeping the lens open for over an hour's worth.







Despite the slow and cold start to the day, it sure finished with snow dust and sparkle!

 

[Pluplo and The Duck]

Love the photo of the stars. Thank-you for the welcome I have been lurking for a long time, and thought it was time to say hi

 

[tiggrbaby]

Wow, that star pic is amazing! You really had a lovely time with family, too.

 

[ejud]

Great stuff- all of it!



Jud

 

[dolphingirl47]

They had a great variety of animals at the wildlife refuge. I share your misgivings about the enclosures, but it looks like the animals are loved and that is better than putting them to sleep.

The sunset was stunning and I love the star photo.

Corinna

 

[mvf-m11c]

You got a lot of pictures of the animals. Your sunset photos are getting better and better. The star photo looks very nice.

 

[jedijill]

The animal refuge was neat to see! Other than elk, it is hard to find the other animals in the wild! I get lucky every once in a while and see Big Horns in Rocky Mountain NP. We do get brown/black bears that come down to find food but you never see grizzlys. I saw one in Yellowstone several years ago.

Yeah, you finally got to see snow capped peaks! I love that last picture of the tree and the star and the sunset. Beautiful! I would frame that and hang it in my living room.

Now I have a hankering to drive up to Rocky Mountain NP tomorrow...hmmm, maybe I should.

Jill in CO

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Great set of pics.

I particularly love the one of the stars, but the sunset photos are also stunning.

Those wolves are beautiful. I desperately hope we see some in Yellowstone.

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm another who isn't fond of animals in cages, but I agree that it's better than other options they have. What does astound me is the number of exotic animals that people try to keep as pets! As a cat and a dog lover, I think the mountain lion, bobcat, wolves and coyote are all beautiful

What great luck with the snow that day! Love those sunset pics and the star gazing one too

 

[Pinkocto]

All caught up again. Glad you still were able go enjoy the day despite the rain and cold. The museum looked fascinating, I love seeing that kind of stuff.

And the animal refuge is right up my alley. It warms my heart that people take care of animals like that. I do hope the bear gets a little more freedom than that cage though.


The star picture is beautiful!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics! Those animals are so cute!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the photo of the stars. Thank-you for the welcome I have been lurking for a long time, and thought it was time to say hi

Thanks for unlurking! I always love when people comment. Makes for more fun.

Wow, that star pic is amazing! You really had a lovely time with family, too.

Thanks. Yes, we really enjoyed spending time with the family in Colorado. DH, in particular; as he hadn't really spent this much one-on-one time with his cousin in a long time.

Great stuff- all of it!



Jud

Thanks Jud.

They had a great variety of animals at the wildlife refuge. I share your misgivings about the enclosures, but it looks like the animals are loved and that is better than putting them to sleep.

The sunset was stunning and I love the star photo.

Corinna

The animals were obviously pretty contented with their lives in that refuge.

Thanks. I was very happy with the sunset and the star photo myself. Nice to know that you loved them too.

You got a lot of pictures of the animals. Your sunset photos are getting better and better. The star photo looks very nice.

Thanks Bret. I think it's easier to take sunrise/sunset photos when the surrounds are stunning. I had a lot of help from Colorado scenery.

The animal refuge was neat to see! Other than elk, it is hard to find the other animals in the wild! I get lucky every once in a while and see Big Horns in Rocky Mountain NP. We do get brown/black bears that come down to find food but you never see grizzlys. I saw one in Yellowstone several years ago.

Yeah, you finally got to see snow capped peaks! I love that last picture of the tree and the star and the sunset. Beautiful! I would frame that and hang it in my living room.

Now I have a hankering to drive up to Rocky Mountain NP tomorrow...hmmm, maybe I should.

Jill in CO

Did you make the trip?

I was really happy to see the snow. It's what I think of when someone says Colorado to me.

DH and I have been pretty lucky in our animal spotting at NPs. We saw grizzly in the Canadian rockies, brown bear in Yellowstone and black bear at the Appalachians. And we've also seen Bighorn sheep, coyote, bison and elk as well. I think that's why we head out to the countryside.

Yes. I want to frame that sunset picture. Thanks!

Great set of pics.

I particularly love the one of the stars, but the sunset photos are also stunning.

Those wolves are beautiful. I desperately hope we see some in Yellowstone.

I hope you see them, Wanderlust. I think we saw a wolf on the road when we driving in Sedona on this trip. It crossed the road in front of us and DH and I did a double take. We quickly turned the car around to take another look but the animal had disappeared. It was too quick for us to identify it then and we thought it could have been a dog; but when we saw the grey wolf at the refuge, we both went OMG!

I'm another who isn't fond of animals in cages, but I agree that it's better than other options they have. What does astound me is the number of exotic animals that people try to keep as pets! As a cat and a dog lover, I think the mountain lion, bobcat, wolves and coyote are all beautiful

What great luck with the snow that day! Love those sunset pics and the star gazing one too

Thanks. I was gobsmacked when I saw the emu. Can you believe someone kept that as a pet?

All caught up again. Glad you still were able go enjoy the day despite the rain and cold. The museum looked fascinating, I love seeing that kind of stuff.

And the animal refuge is right up my alley. It warms my heart that people take care of animals like that. I do hope the bear gets a little more freedom than that cage though.


The star picture is beautiful!

The bear has an enclosed paddock next to that caged area. She was there because it was feeding time and she was waiting for her food. The paddock wasn't large but it was big enough. There were a few toys in the paddock for her; including a tree truck, a rubber tyre and balls. There was enough space for her to have scratched out at least 5 different hollows for her to rest in.

Great pics! Those animals are so cute!

Thanks. I love animals, so I completely agree with you. They are so cute!

 

[PrincessInOz]

OT - Happy Australia Day, 26 Jan 2014





Happy Australia Day!


Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788. Aside from the obvious public holiday day and BBQs, it's a day where the handing out of Australian Honours (including Australians of the Year, Orders of Australia etc) have become the ceremonial ways to mark the day.

The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.


For me, it has become a day in my calendar to head out and grab some shooting practice.

The fireworks at the Docklands tonight were stunning! Some of the best I've seen in a long time in Melbourne. Normally we might expect to see one or at most three barges out of the water. There were 10 on the water and it worked out to be great timing for me. I am finally trying out the 9-stop ND filter that's been in my bag for over a year. I did use the filter on the trip at Treasure Falls but this was my first time out shooting fireworks with this filter.


I know it's not technically part of the TR; but I thought you might like these shots.






























































































I hope to get more practice when I can with this filter this year.

 

[zanzibar138]

Great shots PIO! What is the purpose of the filter?

As an Aussie, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I never knew that Australia Day was such a recent thing I remember celebrating it as a kid, but don't remember exactly when the celebrations started.

I always learn so much through your TRs!

 

[ejud]

Wow. Happy Aussie Day- and those are some great shots!



Jud

 

[jedijill]

No trip to Rocky Mountain NP today. I had a scare with my dog last night and didn't think I should take off and leave her. I'll get up there on the next nice weekend.

Happy Australia Day! The fireworks pictures are fantastic!

Jill in CO