Except I’m going to reverse the order to “The Ugly, The Bad and the Good” for this blog post. We might as well end on a high note.
I arrived home early yesterday afternoon after 3 1/2 days of camping and birding near the Continental Divide between southwest Montana and Idaho. As always I was “boondocking” – staying in a relatively remote dispersed camping site without hookups to water or electricity. It was my first serious and extended test of my new (to me) camping trailer and on this trip I was camping alone. As always there were high and low points.
The Ugly:
As I was leaving my campsite to come home yesterday I bent the hell out of the right rear leveling jack on my trailer. Coming in had been no problem but going out I had to approach the gravel road at a different angle and the jack hit a mostly buried boulder that had no give so it was the jack that was damaged. This trailer is a little longer and lower than my old one and I’m still getting used to it. I’ll have to replace the damaged jack and I’m not looking forward to it. With a bad back it won’t be any fun.
Cows. Damn cows! For various reasons I didn’t sleep well at night on the trip so I relied on taking an afternoon nap sometime between 1 and 3 PM to compensate for it. But every afternoon right on schedule a herd of mooing, bellowing cows and their calves appeared out of the trees to chomp on the lush grass in the open clearing of my campsite and within feet of my trailer. I swear they were on some kind of daily migration schedule and holy hell can they ever make a lot of extremely unpleasant noise! I never got a lick of sleep, not once.
Good friend Nancy DeWitt describes cow bellowing as “the most idiotic, annoying sound I’ve ever heard an animal make” and I agree with her.
The Bad:
In all the years I’ve been going to the Centennial Valley and the surrounding mountains I’ve never seen so few birds as I did on this trip. And those I did find were mostly uncooperative. In the 3 1/2 days I was there I put 550 miles on my pickup, largely on dirt and gravel roads, looking for birds and mostly failed. I haven’t reviewed my photos on the big screen yet but to be honest I’ll be pleasantly surprised if I got any images to be proud of other than those of the Western Tanagers in my camp.
I’ve always said that camping trailers are a lot like photo gear because compromise is a big part of both. All camping trailers have strengths and weaknesses but on this trip I found more of the latter than I wanted to. Or expected.
On one day I had a generator problem that took me a while to figure out so without any power other than my trailer batteries I couldn’t recharge my laptop. That put me behind so I almost wasn’t able to publish that day’s blog post.
The Good:
It takes more than a lack of birds to keep me from enjoying a camping trip to this area. As I always do I loved the solitude, the wide open spaces, the beautiful scenery and the incredible display of stars at night.
The trailer furnace actually worked as it should this trip! If it had failed again I’d have been in deep doodoo.
I met a few nice, friendly and interesting folks on this trip but one of them stands out. Early one morning while looking for birds I visited the dam at Lower Red Rock Lake. There was a single bird photographer standing in front of his tripod and dressed in camo about 100 yards from where I turned around so I scoped him through my big lens to see if I might know him. I didn’t.
But when I returned to the area later in the morning and visited the nearby campground in my quest for birds I noticed the same photographer sitting in his pickup at one of the campsites. On a whim I decided to walk over and ask him if he’d found any interesting birds down at the dam.
As I approached him he walked toward me with a big grin on his face and asked “Is it the famous Ron Dudley?”. I’ll admit my jaw probably dropped because we were both over 300 miles from home and out in the middle of nowhere so I had no idea how he knew who I was. Turns out he’s been following Feathered Photography for years (which I was unaware of) and he knew it was me because he noticed my HARRIER license plate.
What a nice guy James Stevens turned out to be! He said he was in the Centennial because of all the things I’ve said about the valley over the years on my blog. We jawboned for quite a while. My pickup was about out of gas and he even helped me lift my 13 gallon tank of spare gas (about 90 lbs.) to the top of my storage box so I could fill the pickup tank using gravity feed. His willingness to do so may have spared me from reinjuring my back. Or having to walk 40 miles to the nearest gas station…
But the avian high point of my trip was the Western Tanagers in my campsite.
There were three of them on the day I arrived, two males and a more reclusive female, and at least one of the males stuck around for most of the time I was there. They spent most of their time in the trees in the background but occasionally one, sometimes two, would land on this hugely convenient stump to look for insects in the grass below.
As you can see I had it made. I just sat in my chair with my tripod in front of me and waited for one of them to appear. If I needed to go into the trailer for anything it was only a few steps away.
I know this looks like a setup but believe me it isn’t.
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
The male tanagers were unusually tame and sometimes while looking for insects they plopped down into the grass so close in front of me that I couldn’t even come close to fitting the entire bird in the frame so I took a few head shots. This one is on the process of macerating a beetle before swallowing it. At this close range while shooting at f/5.6 my depth of field is so shallow only his bill and the beetle are truly sharp.
Ok, I’ve blathered on for much too long. Congrats (or condolences) if you had the sticktoitiveness to wade through this entire post.
Ron
Love the close-up of the male tanager and the honesty of your report. So refreshing to hear a report of any trip that tells of all its ups and downs. Your post makes me appreciate the tanager all the more. Thank you. Elizabeth
Ron:
Sorry about the lack of birds and your trailer jack, but the story about meeting the photographer and the photo of the Western Tanager crunching down on that beetle were very nice. Thanks again.
Jack Cowan
St. Louis
Late on this post to you, but I did enjoy your story. Nothing like some excitement on a trip. You don’t want to be bored! Glad you are back home.
Finally got a chance to read this! Love the way you shared this, Ugly, Bad and Good – always good to end on a positive note.
How wonderful to meet someone that knew you, I love when that kind of thing happens. That he was able to help you out is just special. I do hope your back is feeling better and that you have a Happy Father’s Day!
Sure glad that loyal follower of the famous Ron Dudley showed up in time to keep you from injuring your back, by doing the wrong thing like my little sster did to hers after her surgery…that one bird is so spectacular, he’s worth a trip just to photograph him…even if the only other living thing you got was a bunch of cows(who could be easily out done by a donkey’s braying any time!!!).
“that one bird is so spectacular, he’s worth a trip just to photograph him”
That’s what I keep telling myself, Patty. I can only imagine how I’d feel if I hadn’t found him.
I’ve had experience with both donkeys and cows and I’m not sure which one is worse on an individual basis. Throw in a whole herd of cows and their calves and my money’s on the bovines.
A “shakeout” trip… almost like we have to pay our dues have a trip like this every now and then to balance the great trips. I am sure you balance is now skewed to good trips in the future 😉
I sure hope you’re right, Ed!
At least the cows didn’t scratch themselves on your trailer. That really rocks things when they do.
Too bad about the jack.
Not this time but they’ve done it before, Pam.
Of course I read it all.
A post from the famous Ron Dudley deserves nothing less.
I am glad that you had good to go with the bad and the ugly and hope that a) your back has settled and b) you are pleasantly surprised when you go through the myriad of photos.
I don’t think I’m going to hear the end of that famous bit, EC. 🙂 But that’s what he said so I wanted to report it accurately. He way overstated it…
He didn’t.
Your beautiful photography and your equally beautiful ethics are known world wide.
Good, Bad, Ugly, whatever – nothing stops our Feathered Photographer ……….. but it was really a nice blessing to run into James. And for him to know who you are that was special. Whatever the ups and downs Ron it sounds like you are having a good time. Best wishes for continued good times and some great photos.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. I’m home now but it was mostly fun while it lasted.
Almost tame tanagers.
What else could one hope for on a camping/bird-photographing trip? (Okay, pain-free back would be at the top of my list.)
Gini and I always figure if we don’t have equal amounts of “good, bad and ugly” on a trip, we did it wrong.
Thank you so much for continuing to share it all with us.
You’re exactly right, Wally – something almost always go wrong, especially with camping gear. I guess that’s part of the adventure of it.
Please, please. Blather away. 🙂 I love reading your posts as well as your responses to comments. REALLY sorry about the jack; even more sorry that I chortled at your cow story. Extra coolness points for meeting a fan — and one that you inspired — out in the middle of nowhere. Reminds me of the time that completely unbeknownst to either of us, my cousin’s family were staying at the same somewhat remote hotel in Hawaii that Steve and I were — and we ran into each other at the pool (OK, the pool bar, but tomayto-tomahto…).
And that’s not a “setup.” That’s a “wait for it.” 😉
Marty, years ago I had a summer job teaching biology for the Natural History Museum’s Junior Science Academy. It lasted all through June and July but the first of August my wife and I headed out for a road trip to northern Alberta.
While we were on the mountain at the top of the Banff ski lift I heard a young voice calling out my name. It was one of my JSA students that I’d last seen a few days earlier in Salt Lake City almost 1000 miles to the south. It’s a small world…
Not too far from my neck of the woods! Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to stumble upon the famous Ron Dudley 😉
Ron, do you think the scant birds sighted are part of a larger pattern of decreasing bird populations in that area, or just bad luck?
It’s neat seeing more of your setup, it had never occured to me that your big lens would have camouflage on it, but that makes sense. Are there any similar photos someone could direct me too of what it looks like when set up in the pickup?
He used that term “famous” much too loosely, Pangolin.
I’m fearful it’s part of a larger pattern.
You can see my shooting setup in my pickup here:
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2017/04/04/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-feathered-photography/
I like the blathering. And how fun to meet a Feathered fan.
Blathering is one thing I can do, Arwen. Sometimes too much of it on my blog. Thank you.
Beautiful photo of the Tanager. I’m a sucker for colorful birds. I wonder if you found few birds than expected because spring is running late up there? Here in northern Colorado, we are about 2 weeks behind the norm in terms of what is in bloom in my garden. I hope your next camping trip has many more ups than downs and Mia will be board on board, too.
I hope the reason you mention explains it, Linda. But I’m fearful it’s something else…
I missed having Mia around. We make a great camping team.
Hi Ron, It is always great fun to read of your adventures. Loved the western tanager.
Good to know, Len. I probably ran off at the mouth too much with this post for some folks but I felt I had to tell at least this much of the story.
That was a fun read – brings back memories of ugly, bad and good experiences! What is interesting is when we’re out in the wilderness/or away from civilization as we know it, solitude, enjoying what is before you, is what is important. Nothing else at that moment is bothersome, unless one is thinking about the hassel’s with equipment.
Enjoyed the post and thanks for the picture of how you captured the shots of the tanager. I can picture that perfectly!
I know you’d love that campsite and the entire area, Dick. If I could only find an effective cow repellant… 🙂
I’ve grown accustomed to the splash of colors the Tanagers have brought every morning.
Your camping location looks wonderful (cows notwithstanding), especially if their weren’t a lot of bugs. Sorry about the jack.
OK, now you should retitle your blog to “ Feathered Photography by the Famous Ron Dudley”. No use being modest about your renown.
Lyle, there were no biting bugs to speak of where I was camping. The only thing like that to bother me was a few house flies that got into my trailer. I can probably thank those damned cows for that too. Cow poop ya know…
Glad you’re home safe and sound “Ugly, Bad, Good” and all! Solo probably wasn’t the best idea for your first run out tho perfectly understand it! 😉 Each piece of “equipment” IS a bit different and there is a learning curve – usually a not much fun one………. The “good” is GREAT! 🙂 Suspect you are more widely known that you realize. Nice that he didn’t “bug you” but was happy to visit with you and give you a hand. 🙂 Love the Tanger with his “meal” in progress…..
Thanks, Judy. Steven didn’t bug me in the least. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with him.
Will be anxious to see what hidden gems you may find when you download. For me those tanagers that you have shown so far are great. Really like this close-up (minus what appears to be an appendage of the infamous beetle on the lower beak 😏!) Nice to meet a friendly face with similar interests! Isn’t it amazing how many miles we can accumulate looking for our feathered friends! When I look at the miles on the odometer of my Forrester I bought last September I tend to say ‘those weekly trips to Mi or Milwaukee’ but deep down I know many are due to the search of the next best shot! 🙂
Don’t count on any gems, Kathy. It doesn’t look particularly promising from what I’ve seen so far but I guess you never know…
Yes, what you mention is a beetle leg.
I have over 130k miles on my nearly five year old pickup and the vast majority of them are bird miles!
Thank you for posting this “view” of the ‘crime scene’ as I’ve always wondered what it looks (or feels) like when you go on these missions. I must ask you why you were using this white solid chair and not a folding chair.
Elmer, I have a folding chair but it’s uncomfortable for my back. I need to get a better one.
Ron…I think I figured out what’s adding to your back problems…you might be sitting in a chair for long periods of time without lumbar support…for me this is the first time I’ve seen your set up…I always thought you used your truck to take photos…and thanks for this blog…it has helped greatly…
Steve, It’s HIGHLY unusual for me to use a tripod. Can’t even remember the last time I did it. Nearly always I’m shooting from my pickup.
Welcome home! Sounds like the up sides outweighed the downsides and the Tanagers made up for a lot!
You’ve summarized it well, Art. I hope you can make it up there one day.
I predict that a year from now you are only going to remember the tanagers. Pollyanna will prevail.
I sure hope you’re right, Dave. I do tend to look on the dark side…
Glad I did Ron. The last male photo was wonderful Good luck with your repairs and Happy Dads Day Diana
Thanks on all counts, Diana.