Strawberry Reservoir | Utah

 

This is a very small area of the Strawberry Reservoir.  For those who are curious, I never saw any strawberries growing around here.  There are 7 campgrounds scattered around this part of the lake.  Out of those, only 1 has hookups, for people who must have air conditioning and other comforts.

 

My first site was overlooking the marina, of course.  Most days started out sunny and then started to cloud up midday.  This was sunset light, sometimes the best times to take shots.  Below is a little ground squirrel, they seem to be shy in this area.

I have no idea what kind of birds are, but I just like the shot.

 

This gives an idea how far away some of these campgrounds area.  I stayed in this campground the second time I was here this summer.

 

 

An old boat dock was in this little cove, but it has been retired. 

 

 

Following are photos during the second visit to this area this summer.  Just a different loop in the campground, different views.  I think I liked the views on my second visit more than the first visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Clouds sometimes create great sunsets. 

 

Eagle Nest State Park | New Mexico

Mornings are pretty here and I have been out taking hikes in different areas of the lake.

This is a white pelican and he has black on his wings that you only see when he's flying.  I have made several attempts to get a good photo of these, but they can see me coming a mile away!

 

Even though it's nice and warm here, there is still snow on the mountains.  We're up at almost 8000', so that's much higher.

 

These little prairie dogs are so cute and it's hard to get them to pose.

 

The town of Eagle Nest is small and rustic.

 

 

I love these guest cottages.

 

A place called Eagle Nest must have a metal sculpture of an eagle!

 

 

 

 I was in the gas station store and saw a customer looking at these, so I just had to get a photo of them.  The New Mexico people just love their chiles and it's on every menu in the state.  I'm not sure about it in candy though......

 

This little guy lives in my back yard.  The camp host said he was a chipmunk.  I did find out a few weeks later that it's a Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel! 

And my campsite!

 

 

White Bridge Campground | National Forest Service | Utah

This is where I've been staying for the past few days - White Bridge Campground in the Dixie National Forest. I find the name Dixie a little strange for this area, since I've always associated it with the southeastern U. S. - Georgia, Alabama, etc.  This is easy to get to, just take Route 143 out of Panguitch, Utah and keep going until you see the sign for the campground.  The fee is $17, a little high for the forest service, but Senior Pass will get you half price.  They do have flush toilets, trash dumpsters and water available.

If you're lucky to get a site on the south side of the campground road, you will be backed up to a little stream which will provide soothing background sounds.  It just happened that I found a decent looking site and didn't even realize I'd have riverfront property!

On the way to the camp, you might see deer, so drive slowly if it's early morning or evening.

You might also see sheep - this is a small group that wasn't interested in moving very fast.  Actually, they were standing still, just gazing around.  There was another, larger group that stopped traffic on this road in another location, until they felt like moving on.

There are little chipmunks and ground squirrels, as well as regular squirrels running around.  They won't pose for a photo, so sometimes I get just a tail end or a blur.  I did finally get a couple good shots of these guys.

I am always trying to get a great photo of a hummingbird, and this isn't it.  However, it does show something interesting about these birds.  If you look closely at the end of this guy's beak, you'll see his tongue.  Their tongues are actually little straws that suck up their nectar.  I can hear them buzzing around the campground at all times of the day.

I did check out other dirt roads in the area for boondocking, living without any services, so they would be free of cost.  There are some BLM areas available.  I didn't feel like I wanted to take my 5th wheel on any of those roads.  I found that most of those were out in the open, some were visible from the road and most had no shade.