'Pacas & Pelicans!

In late September, early October, the American White Pelican migrates & stays awhile in Oklahoma. One of our beautiful lake areas hosts an annual Pelican Festival.  It's the usual small town festival - food, music, craft tents.

When I first read about this event, I wanted to go - not for the festival, but in hopes of seeing a big flock of these birds in one place, like the advertisements show! We went there a couple years ago and only saw a flock flying overhead. We could not find them in the advertised usual spots.

Last Monday, it was our day off and the weather was beautiful. We decided to take a convertible ride to Grand Lake for our Great Pelican Hunt.

We stopped at the places where they supposedly hang out and finally found a few at Bernice State Park, just outside of Grove.

These shots were the best I could get. They were too far away to get a nice closeup and the sun was not in my favor. But I was thrilled anyway to finally find some pelicans!

This guy below looks like he's wondering "what's the big deal?"

Later, I was excitedly telling a friend about our excursion. She said, "oh yeah, we saw them over at Ft. Gibson Lake." Like, no big deal, they're everywhere.  Whaaat?

After enjoying the pelican sighting, I remembered reading about an alpaca ranch nearby. I looked it up and found they are still in operation and receiving visitors. (How did we ever live without cell phones & Google? And Google on our cell phones?)

We hurried over and spent a delightful hour at Zena Suri Alpaca Ranch. (Link to their website here)

I loooove alpacas! Their sweet faces! Their gentle presence! Their soft fur!

My fantasy is to have an alpaca ranch - with ranch hands to do the dirty work, lol.

This is actually a llama. I've never seen one with a lion's ruff. The owner said he was left there by a former employee. She sheered the ruff once and Mr. Llama acted as if she'd taken his crown, so now she leaves it. I think it makes him look royal.

We visited an alpaca ranch in New Mexico a couple years ago. That owner told us they weren't sociable, they were shy, and didn't want to be touched. On the other hand, at the ranch we visited in South Dakota last year, the owner said just the opposite. His animals acted like house pets! I asked the Oklahoma ranchers about this and they said it's all in how they're raised. I'm suspecting the NM rancher was the skittesh one, not his animals. 

But back to the llama... the SD ranch had a guard llama. He was very serious about his job of guarding the gentle 'pacas. The owner said that many ranches have llamas instead of dogs to guard the herd.

Here at the OK ranch, the llama was very approachable and curious. Again, it probably depends on how they're raised and the temperament of the animal.

Oh that face!

They were all so curious about their visitors. And probably looking for treats, too.

This is the same guy as pictured above. Don't know why he pinned his ears back but he looks like an ostrich that way. Maybe he was annoyed at me.

And here he is again, on the left. Hasn't moved, same expression!

I love these nuzzling shots. They could be Valentine cards.

This baby! Such sweetness!

Coming home, good ol' Maps routed us on all the county roads. They wound around the lakes, up & down hills, on winding roads. But after nearly 3 months of temps in the upper 90s & over 100, when you don't even want to go shopping, it was wonderful to get outside & out of town for the day.  

October - the best month of the year!

Disconnecting in Branson

Just doing a little catch-up here. Back in May, we did a long weekend getaway to Branson, MO.

The weather wasn't great, but the purpose of the trip was to totally disconnect from work and everyday life. We had a view of the lake and enjoyed the sunsets. We did a train excursion. We both love train rides. Please note: these are best done in the fall, when the trees are in blazing autumn color.

We did the drive-through cave exploration. You don't drive thru in your car. It's like a wagon for adults. It was really fun!

For years, when we would take I-44 through Missouri, we'd see billboard after billboard advertising Fantastic Caverns. Finally, after literally 30 years of this, we decided to go see what it's all about.

The formations are beautiful. And who knew there were stalactites that looked like cameras and umbrella lights?

We loved the drive-thru experience. It's fun and easy. No climbing 140 steps like the last cave tour we did! 

Fantastic Caverns is a good experience for people of all ages and abilities. The surrounding grounds are park-like beautiful, too. 

I think these are how the caves were illuminated back in the day?? I don't remember. I just thought they were cool looking.

The history of Fantastic Caverns is interesting. It truly was first explored by 12 local women. Part of the cave was used as a bar during the days of Prohibition, even having live music!

I like driving through the hills of Missouri. We only did the two excursions. No shows. No shopping. Had our meals in the condo. Sat on the balcony enjoying the lakeview. Watched tv or read books. Talked and drank coffee and talked some more.

I also like experimenting with filters and effects. Closing out with another sunset on the lake, a heavily filtered version for some variety.

By the way, I highly recommend a getaway for couples where you totally disconnect from the distractions of daily life back home. Take your laptop & phone, but don't check emails, or Facebook or get into texting with people. And absolutely no communicating with work! Focusing on each other and taking in the peace around you will do wonders for your spirit.

The Cincinnati Chronicles - volume 1

I haven't blogged in such a long time! I've wanted to, but I kind of overwhelm myself trying to choose pictures to post. And then I think I have nothing to say. Well, I just returned from a short trip to Cincinnati. I posted a few images to Instagram, but honestly, IG doesn't really do pictures justice. All that to say, I'm baaack!

I call this one, "Not the Upside Down" for all the "Stranger Things" fans out there! This picture cost me $12, by the way. I wanted to get some unencumbered bridge shots and the closest parking we found was at the riverwalk. And wouldn't you know it, a storm quickly thundered up and we had to hightail it back to the car after only 10-15 minutes. We just made it, too, seconds before it down poured! 

Cincinnati is home to The Reds (baseball) and Bengals (who, in case you don't know, went to the Super Bowl this year!)

This view is from the Eden Park Overlook near Mt. Adams. Beautiful park and Mt Adams is a charming, quaint community. One of several in Cinci. We rode that river boat earlier in the day. More on that later.

I liked the composition of all the red brick buildings. The city has some incredible architecture, a mix of old & historic and new & modern. 

This is the tallest building, Great American Tower at Queen City Square. It was completed in 2011 and is 41 stories, topped by its signature tiara.

Next up - my city grunge collection.

The Cincinnati Chronicles - Urban Grunge

I love photos with grungy texture. We were exploring a neighborhood that was well known to our hosts and so we felt safe spending a few minutes in this alley. 

This part of the alley actually appears in a music video our hosts made.

I'm a big fan of Stranger Things (the Netflix show). The dead vines on these walls reminded me of the Upside Down. A few Lightroom effects and voila! my urban grungies take on a more sinister look.

I did a few portrait shots in some alley doorways that turned out really good, but I won't post them here.

Next up - the bridge collection.

The Cincinnati Chronicles - Bridges

 Cincinnati has a lot of bridges! And I was out to get a great bridge shot for my office. I don't think I succeeded, but here they are.

Next up - art, boats & a very impressive storm.