Enjoying myself at Whitewater draw

Click the pics before the pics fly north for the summer.

It looks like this will be my last picture of a sunrise at the Pima County Fairgrounds until next winter.

It's great being back at Whitewater Draw again. I knew I was going to come back here, I just didn't know if I was going to go to Tombstone for a while, and then come to Whitewater draw, or vice versa. But just as I was getting into Tombstone, it occurred to me that if I waited too long to visit Whitewater Draw, there might not be any birds left here, since March is when they leave, but if I go to Whitewater Draw first there's a better chance all the Sandhill Cranes won't be gone yet.

That was probably a wise move on my part since there's so few Cranes still here they may all be gone shortly. And if there's anything I definitely don't want to have to see it's a handful of poor, sad, Cranes that can't leave due to age or disabilities that are going to have to stay here and slowly starve to death. I know that's the way nature is, but it hurts me to think about it, and I definitely don't want to watch it happen.

There was a lot of people here parked in the parking lot today, but only a few folks are boondocking here. I also noticed that there was only two photographers here that I saw, since most of these folks are birders, with their binoculars and spotting scopes but no cameras. I guess when the majority of Sandhill Cranes are gone there's less things to take pictures of. Because the main thing here is not just a picture of a Sandhill Crane, it's the magnitude of thousands upon thousands of Cranes that makes this place special.

Theboondork

This giant class "A" towing a trailer pulled into Saggy Bottoms yesterday and I didn't think he could get back out again. It's a tight turn around the boondocking area and a few folks had to move their vehicles so he could get by since he couldn't back up pulling that car trailer. But he finally got turned around and left.

I think a quick glance at Google Earth on the Internet would have told him going to Saggy Bottoms might not be a good idea in a rig like that.

And that's why when I'm looking for a boondocking area down unfamiliar dirt roads while towing the Arctic Fox, I unhook the trailer and go exploring in my truck.

Sandhill Cranes leaving for somewhere.

The only two photographers that I saw  at Whitewater Draw yesterday.

Sandhill Cranes returning from feeding late in the afternoon

Sunsetting over Whitewater Draw.