Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
What an amazing month-long trip! I started out in the panhandle of Florida, went as far west as Texas, then through Oklahoma and back down to Florida. It felt like two years but at the same time, it flew by. It was so fun (most of the time). Here is the list of campgrounds in chronological order and a favorite picture from each one. If you’ve never been to these parks, I highly recommend every single one of them!
I just have to start this off by praising the delicious food from The Loaded Bowl (follow them on Instagram, too @theloadedbowlokc) in downtown Oklahoma City. I don’t eat out much but goodness gracious, I think I’m missing out if vegan restaurants are all as good as this one. When you go, get the “down home bowl” and thank me later. I’d show you a picture of my meal, but…. oops, I ate it.
I was in town just for an overnight stay in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot, which I wouldn’t recommend. Bass Pro is great. The road noise? Not so much. I felt somewhat safe but didn’t sleep well at all.
On the bright side, literally, I rode my bike around as the sun rose over the city. I snapped a few pics on my phone and want to share them with you now. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget… “down home bowl,” you’re welcome.
Catch up on my travels, including this south by southwest (literally, not the music festival) trip by going to my Camping Stories page. Thanks for dropping in…
I *think* this will wrap up my recaps of the best park I’ve camped in… Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas. What beauty surrounds us as campers in this park! During the day it’s bison, roadrunners, deer, prairie dogs, and much more. In fact, pictures that will be favorites for a long time are from the canyons, deer perched high up. Take a look here. The sun sets and then there is a whole other list of things to marvel over. Here are a few of my favorite sunset, moon, and stars photos from Caprock Canyons.
These pictures today, as hip women say, “I can’t even!!” They’re definitely topping the collection of favorites from all my travels this year. What makes a photo special to me, well, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself lately even as a hobby photographer:
Am I getting a shot no one else has gotten, or can get?
Usually the answer is ‘no’ because lots of people get lots of great photos. My picture of an owl might be one I like, but there are lots of owl photos out there. Or sunsets, eagles, fog on a spring-fed river. To be totally honest, I’m sure people have taken pictures of deer in canyons before. But those people weren’t at Caprock Canyons the morning I set out to take early morning pictures. I rode my bicycle out to the canyons with no real goals except to capture some of the beauty of the colors as the sun rose and lit up the canyon. Well, that kinda sounds like a goal.
Leave the road, take the trails.
Pythagoras
I was on a trail for about 5 seconds then climbed up to a place I thought would have a better view. It was so quiet. Peaceful. I loved seeing the vivid colors of the canyon come out as the sun rose. I thought that might be the best part of the morning… but then…
It was one of those moments I won’t forget. I look over and two deer were perched on the side of the canyon. I couldn’t believe my eyes and all I could think as I changed lenses was, “Please don’t leave, please don’t leave, please don’t leave.” I was as quiet as a mouse in church as I snapped in the zoom lens. The deer already knew I was there but didn’t run off. I was so sure they’d leap away the moment my camera was ready, because… you know, Murphy’s Law.
Are the shots I’m about to show you ones that no one can get or has ever gotten?
I don’t know for sure the answer to that question, but I know this: these are my favorite wildlife photos I’ve ever taken. I love that I was there this early morning as these two deer awoke and started their day. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them…
As the sunlight began to eliminate the shade of the canyon side, the deer meandered down and into the shady valley below. I was not thinking I could top that moment for the rest of the morning so I returned to my bike. For the entire ride back to my camper all I could think is that somehow I love God more after this amazing experience. Seeing the deer in the canyon, perched on the side like they were, was part of God’s best work and I got to take photos of it. Lucky me!
Hello and welcome back. This is the third post (are you tired of hearing about how awesome Caprock Canyons State Park is yet??) in a collection of recaps about the cool things I encountered at this park. Obviously, the canyons take center state and after that, the bison. Click here for canyon photos and here for bison photos. But the most adorable creature is the feature in today’s post. I was so surprised to see them on the way to use the campground restroom that I could barely believe what I was seeing. A field full of prairie dogs! Chirping (or barking?) as if I was a pending threat! They were the cutest things I’ve ever seen and I want one. One of the first I got a picture of was howling out a tune and you can see the dedication in this first picture.
It just seemed to get more adorable every time I saw them. Here are a few of my favorite prairie dog photos and if you want one, get in line behind me.
Out of the Wilderness 