The good, the bad and the ugly.
Fair warning – this is a long read. So pour yourself a cuppa, or grab a beer or a stiff drink if it’s later in the day and have at it. Or just ignore the post if you’re unwilling to invest the time.
Due to incoming inclement weather and my own unfortunate choices, my recent camping trip to southwest Montana near the Idaho border was shorter than I intended. One of those choices will affect what you see and don’t see on Feathered Photography in the coming days so I figured a trip report was in order, in part to explain why.
I spent 2 1/2 days in and near Montana’s Centennial Valley before I tucked my tail between my legs and headed for home. Following are some of the highlights and all of the lowlights of those days.
Day 1: Really only half a day because I didn’t arrive at my destination until early afternoon. After setting up camp I spent the rest of the day and evening reacquainting myself with some of my favorite places in the universe, after nearly three years of not seeing them. Much of the time it was mostly cloudy and a little windy so photo ops with birds and wildlife were few and far between but I was finally in my element again so it was great fun anyway.
Day 2: My second day was pretty much a bust photographically because I chose to spend most of the day in the Centennial Valley and when I arrived there the entire valley was socked in with fog.
Typically when there’s fog in the valley it’s mostly found in the lowest areas and it clears early in the morning but this time it filled almost the entire valley and much of it stuck around until midday. By the time it cleared the light was too harsh for decent photos so I just made the long drive back to my trailer for lunch and a much-anticipated long nap. But I’m a light sleeper and far-away mooing cows meant that I never did drop off.
Late that afternoon and evening I toured some other favorite old haunts but didn’t have a lot of luck with birds.
Day 3: My third day was just about perfect for weather and light and birds were abundant.
I chose to take a chance with fog in the Centennial Valley again and this time I got lucky. The high mountain valley is huge, 15 miles wide and 45 miles long, and about the only fog I encountered was at the far west end over Lima Reservoir. This was my view right at sunrise from the top of Monida Hill (a small mountain, really). I’d estimate that the lake fog we see was about 5 miles away from where I took the photo.
Twelve minutes later I found my first bird of the day, a handsome and cooperative Swainson’s Hawk. Day 3 was one of my best days in the valley for birds in all the years I’ve been going there.
But during those three days there was other ‘stuff’ going on in the background, just to make life more interesting I guess.
On day two, during my midday break while I was in my trailer trying to process photos on my old laptop computer, my generator just quit. When I investigated, the control panel said there had been a “ground fault” and at first I couldn’t get it started again. When I tried again later it started immediately and I never had a problem with it again. But it was in the back of my mind for the rest of the trip. I’d be in big trouble without a functioning generator.
One of the first things I noticed when I set up camp on Day 1 had the potential to ruin my entire trip.
This is what was left of the vent cap on the roof of my trailer. At home I park my trailer on my driveway beneath some trees and in the nearly three years since I’d used the trailer those trees had grown, with some of the branches hanging down lower over the top of the trailer than they’d been previously. So when I pulled my trailer out of the driveway to head for Montana, my vent cap was destroyed. I didn’t realize it until I arrived in Montana.
Water damage in the trailer from rain is the last thing I need so Friday morning, with a big storm on the way, I headed for home. I patched it temporarily with the only sheet plastic I had (plastic garbage bags) but by the time I got home, driving at freeway speeds, my patch had been shredded.
And all the way home, nearly 300 miles, I worried. Would I make it home without getting rained on and how was I going to patch my roof vent again and do tree surgery so I could get my trailer parked, all with a bad back?
But I managed to do both. Here my trailer’s back on the driveway and these are the catalpa and elm branches I had to remove to get it there without doing any more damage. I’ve got my work cut out for me to get this mess cleaned up.
This photo, taken from one of my bedroom windows, shows that I now have plenty of room beneath the trees to park my trailer safely. The vent cap on the front of the roof is now covered with (heavier) plastic again. I have an appointment tomorrow with my trailer dealer to have a new vent cap installed.
I had one last nasty surprise when I got home.
As I mentioned in a previous post, my old laptop won’t process RAW files from my R5 so I had it set to save RAW files of my photos to one memory card and jpegs to another. That way I could use the jpegs to post to my blog during the trip and still have the RAW files when I got home.
But somehow I screwed up the settings and ended up with jpegs saved to both cards and no RAW files! For many reasons, I absolutely despise processing jpegs.
Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I loaded the photos that were supposed to be RAW files into my photo organizer and they all turned out to be jpegs (notice the JPG extension after each file #). And to make matters worse, many of the photos I took on this trip were softer than they should be. I see no reason why that would be related to them being jpegs rather than RAW files, so I’m stumped. Just before I left on this trip my photos were sharp as sharp could be.
So you may not be seeing many of these trip photos on Feathered Photography. I just don’t think I’ll have the heart to suffer through processing hated jpegs that turn out to be softer than they should be. Through nobody’s fault but my own.
Ron
PS – I just remembered another interesting event from this trip.
One evening I noticed that ranchers had unloaded over a hundred cows from huge trucks onto US Forest Service land very near to where I was camping. They simply backed the trucks up over a cattle guard and unloaded the cows on the spot, only a few feet from the cattle guard that was meant to keep cows away from the nearby freeway (I-15).
Very early the following morning when it was still mostly dark I was headed for the Centennial Valley when I noticed that one of the cows had attempted to cross the cattle guard during the night and got stuck on it.
When I first drove up she was laying down on the cattle guard. She immediately tried to stand up but two of her feet were stuck in the guard so she struggled to do so. By the time I got my lens on her to take a few soft photos in the near-darkness, only her left hind foot was still stuck and immediately after I took this photo she got that one out too.
So, the cow had successfully crossed the cattle guard – something I’d never seen before. I was worried that she’d make it the short distance to the freeway and cause an accident but by the time I thought of that possibility I had no cell service so I couldn’t report it.
However, when I returned a few hours later there was a representative from the Forest Service there, apparently monitoring a few of the other cows that obviously still wanted to cross the cattle guard. So I told him what I’d seen and showed him my photos, which he was very interested in. He said he was going to speak to the rancher about it.
At this point that’s all I know. But I did learn something. Cattle guards aren’t foolproof. Or dumb cow proof.
Sorry about the trailer damage cutting your trip short. I love fog and to photograph in it. The pronghorn shot is lovely. We had ground fog almost every morning in Idaho. I was thrilled with it. It burned off about 8am so morning light was not the best but workable.
Thanks, April. I’m glad you like the pronghorn photo. Actually, I do too but I tire of fog quickly.
Egads (and holy crap) about the vent cap and generator — and the mushy jpegs. (I’m imagining some more colorful language being expressed in Montana.😉) Hopefully, everything will be an easy fix and the generator was just getting some “cobwebs” out after not being on the road for a few years.
I’d be interested in seeing some of the shots — even in jpeg format. 🙂
The Swainson’s Hawk photo was lovely! Oh, my, what a trip for you. The next one will be wonderful, let’s hope you don’t have to wait 3 years. As always, thank you so much for sharing.
Yes, let’s hope. Thanks, Sandra.
Frustrating when any trip gets the “exit stage left”. The scents and aromas of fog that settles into a field are a lasting memory for me. A comfort aroma from my own days as a kid. Often we can’t photograph a scent or aroma but they are a sharp reminder when we get a whiff, reminding us of a certain time and a certain place from our past. Your pronghorns in the fog image, a Blue Ribbon! IMO. Actually, I smell the aroma of fog and fields just looking at that image. P.S., It seems Miss Creamery (the cow) has determination.
Deb, Miss Creamery had determination to spare, if not the smarts.
I am thrilled that you were able to go. And delighted in the photos (well most of them) that you were able to share. I look forward to seeing more of that Swainson’s hawk.
Sigh at the snafus, particularly the jpeg/RAW glitch. And awed that you could do that clean up of the vent after you got back. That would have been simply impossible a relatively short time ago.
“That would have been simply impossible a relatively short time ago.”
That’s for sure, EC. Not even close.
“The best laid plans…” and all that. I do hate to confess (but I must) that I chuckled at various points in my reading, thinking “OMG, what next??” in this comedy of errors. 🙄
Truly, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out quite as you had envisioned prior to departure, but every little thing that went wrong (vent, generator, weather, images, cow!) could have gone *much* wrong-er, so there is that to be grateful for. As one who hates (and rages at) the kind of snafus you endured, I really do understand your disappointment and frustration but hope you know we’re all so happy you got out to your beloved Big Sky and back again, to try another adventure another time. ♥️
And must note as John did, that Swainson’s is gorgeous, and the pronghorns shrouded in fog are really quite beautiful!
I don’t blame you for chuckling, Chris. If it hadn’t been me personally going through it all I’d have been chuckling too.
Yikes! A major downer on so many fronts! And yet your one picture of that beautiful Swainson’s Hawk makes him look like the welcome ambassador to Centennial Valley.
John, I’m glad you like the Swainson’s. My photos of that bird in flight are some of the few from this trip that I’m sure I’ll be posting sometime soon.
UV rays deteriorate those vent covers over time and by the looks of your photo it was ready for a new one. Glad you go out and home safely !! Do it again. And again !!
Were you on free BLM land Ron or in a campground ??
Gary, one of the main reasons I like to camp is for the solitude, peace and quiet, which you rarely find in campgrounds. So, I don’t do campgrounds. I was camped in a free Forest Service dispersed camping area, all by myself and loving it.
Thank you for sharing details of your adventure Ron. Good read this am and am sorry you had such (understandable) anxiety about tje rain! As for your yard clean-up – pls hire a teenager 😄
Too late, Kathleen.
That’s what I’ve been doing this morning – cutting all those big branches up into little tiny pieces so it’ll all fit in my trash can. I’m almost done, with room to spare. I just came in for a break and to respond to comments.
Murphy havining a field day with you it seems……. 😉 Glad you got to make the trip and refresh your soul even with all the hickups…… Weather has been wild this spring in most of the state.
Side note, young Mourning Doves ( out of the nest but spending a lot of time on the ground) poop fairly firm pellets! One spent the night on the hood of my car…. 🙂 Also KNOW how leaky my car is – a dozen or so millers trying to get out when I turned on the porch light last evening…..UGH!
Yup, Murph was with me for much of the trip Judy. At dinner I felt guilty for not setting a place at the table for him.
P.S. Whoever installed that vent should find another “calling”…… 🙁
At least you got to visit one of your favorite places. Next time, you’ll have a better vent cover (maybe even a spare), a looked-over gennie, and an answer to what was up with your R5.
Perhaps a trip in the fall is in order?
Fog was a problem for us in Iceland. Wind, too. The weather paused long enough for the two-hour tour of a Puffin colony, with nesting Skuas nearby.
Catherine, I’ve already picked out my new vent cover. And yes, it’s more durable and higher quality.
Very much enjoyed your trip report!
Sorry about the J-peg situation. I would feel the same way as you if that happened to me.
Welcome home!
Thanks, Rene’. Most any serious photographer understands why having RAW files over jpegs is preferrable.
Welcome home. I am glad to see you get out there despite the difficulties!
Thanks, Art. I’m glad I went and I’d do it again, even under the same circumstances.
All along the Pacific Coast there is June Gloom, but I was surprised to see heavy fog there where you were. With all the various problems it does not look like you had the great time you were anticipating. But when you go again you have this check off list to go over to be sure everything is 100% ready.
But you are safely home and if the back is good – all is well.
Everett, the back isn’t particularly good at this point but it’s been far worse in the past.
I’m sorry to hear that your trip didn’t turn out as well as you hoped.
1. Weather issues causing a shorter trip
2. Vent cap problem and having to cut tree branches
3. Finding out that you didn’t get the RAW photos that you wanted.
But I’m a glass half-full gal, so some positives that came out of this time.
1. You found out that you were able to go camping again. So many more happy camping trips in your future.
2. Found the problems before they became major disasters.
3. As for the lack of RAW photos and the soft jpg ones. You can tap into your Monet part of the brain and see the beauty that he envisioned that came out in his paintings. Maybe that will inspire you to do at least a blog of various birds that wouldn’t normally get a page of their own. I have enjoyed your photos over the past few months and looking forward to more in the future.
You’re definitely right about some of the positives, Yuriko. And I have the memories, many of them good ones.
I’m glad you got home w/o hitting a rainstorm! Also glad you had at least one lovely day. Gotta say I kinda like the photo of the beautiful creatures in the fog. I’ll never forget the morning at Grand Canyon with the entire canyon filled with fog. A whole tour bus of Japanese tourists unloaded and all of them walked to the rim and as there was nothing to see, they turned around and headed back to their bus. Just as we heard the bus pulling away, with our attention on the canyon, the fog began to rise and it was the most exhilarating experience to watch that gorgeous landscape appear as if by magic! I didn’t regret that the tourists had left. The magic was enhanced by the fact we were among only a handful of people.
That must have been really something to witness, Sue. I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon since I was a little kid, so young I barely remember it. That’s something I need to rectify.
Any chance you should have the generator checked? You can tell that I am “risk adverse”. 😊 Sorry this trip had so many problems but you did get a little visit after so much time.
Laurie, I’ll be asking my trailer guy about it tomorrow when I take it in to have the vent cap replaced.
Until this post, I’d almost managed to forget my trip into northwest Arkansas, to see the fall color in the Ouachita mountains. For the three days I was there, the fog was so dense I couldn’t see the trees, let alone any color. All I could do was take photos of grasses with my macro lens. So it goes. At least you arrived home intact, and the worst of the issues can be fixed!
“So it goes”
That’s exactly right, Shoreacres. There are no guarantees with trips like this.
Misery loves company! My problems with my campervan now seem less severe compared to yours 🙂
Trouble is relative…
The Swainson’s Hawk photo was lovely! So sad that the much anticipated trip did not end up so well. The next one will be awesome! I just hope you don’t have to wait three years to try again.