The Traveling Widower

Category: hiking

  • Back to Back (to Back) Trips

    Electrocardiogram (ECG) reading displaying six leads: I, II, III, aVR, aVL, and aVF with waveforms indicating heart activity.

    March 8th, 2026

    The good news is I have been able to fog a mirror every morning since my inglorious return from Baja. My new Spanish phrase of the week when asked how I’m doing is “Estoy muy preocupado por mi corazon”. I did meet with my cardiologist this week, and it went relatively well. Sort of. There are no indications of what is causing my high blood pressure, BPM (beats per minute) and heart palpitations. But something is obviously not working the way it should. So I’ll be getting some tests and have to wear a monitor for a bit. We discussed my upcoming trips – he did not really want me to go next week, but understood my need and desire – I got nothing else going on in my life but travel – I’ll go absolutely bonkers if I have to sit at home. So, I promised to do the following (really, I actually had to say ‘I promise’):

    1 – No alcohol (that’s a hard one…they have great bars on the ships). I’ve been cutting back on wine for a while, so I’ll survive.

    2 – Stay hydrated – that was likely one of the triggers, the other being alcohol. They have hydration stations all over the ship, and I’ll be getting yet another nice water bottle. I’ll use it. 

    3 – Take a second blood pressure pill only if I have another incident. I’ll be bringing extras on this trip just in case.

    4 – Take it easy, especially on the activities. I’ll stick to easy trail hikes and zodiac rides, and avoid kayaking and snorkeling. Bummer. But I can focus on photography…not so bad.

    I’ll also bring my little Kardia device along for EKG’s, and maybe a blood pressure cuff. There’s a doctor on board, but I’d rather not advertise my little problem. They might send me home – once was enough.

    So the good news is that I will be going on the Panama/Costa Rica trip in 10 days, and have already started accumulating my stuff for the inaugural packing test. This trip will be easy to pack for, since it’s a tropical climate – no snow, temperatures in the 90’s, no heavy clothes at all. Plus, they have laundry service on the ship – I’ve started relying on that to reduce the amount of stuff I have to bring along. 

    Photography on this trip should be interesting – a mix of city shots the first two days in Panama City, landscapes all along the way, and birds and mammals (monkeys..but sadly, no Penguins!) in the nature preserves. And I’ve heard that the trip through the canal has some unique photo-ops, especially at night. I’ll be packing my usual kit for this trip – two Sony bodies, the big lens for wildlife, and the new 25-200 for everything else. Plus the magic monopod. Can’t wait.

    Hopefully, I won’t be introducing myself to the ship’s physician on this trip. OK…positive thinking, positive thinking. I’ve only got 18 days when I return from this trip, before I leave for the astrophotography trip in Moab. So I hope this one goes well.

    Peace

  • Maybe I Should Specialize in Bird Photography

    A cheerful man stands in a forest by a lake, using binoculars to observe birds. He wears a vest with a badge and holds a camera, surrounded by various bird species perched on trees and the ground. Generated with Google Gemini

    February 7th, 2026

    I really do need to stop taking pictures for a while and start prepping for my next trip, just two weeks away. But I’m a compulsive obsessive type, and it’s hard for me to stop doing something I actually enjoy. Like walking around in nature preserves and taking photographs. 

    Last week, before I had my knee procedure, I spent a wonderful 3 hours hiking and photographing birds at the Cosumnes River Preserve – I got some nice images, but that short trip was more about just being out in a beautiful spot. Fast forward to Friday – my knee was still sore, but I really wanted to get out of the house for a while. Walking was OK, and the weather was still great, so another outing to the preserve seemed like a good idea.

    The nice thing about photography close to home, is that you can try out new things, or correct mistakes you made the last time you visited the place, unlike most of my trips where every day is a new location, with totally different lighting conditions. So this time, I brought a tripod instead of the monopod for increased stability of my big, heavy camera and lens, and I shifted to shutter speed priority, since I had quite a few shots which were a bit blurred. The lighting was not too bad, but the birds all move around a lot, especially when they are feeding. I also wanted to focus on lighting this time and avoid shooting into the glare, and also stay there long enough to get that nice, warm sunset lighting. That turned into a long list. 

    Earlier in the week, there were only a few die-hard birders and hikers at the preserve. This time, on a Friday night, there were gobs of high-school age kids, all carrying binoculars and clip-boards. I’m guessing this was some type of class assignment. Birding 101? Who knew? It seems like the viewing area is also popular for couples who want to take posed selfies at sunset. Whatever. 

    Sometimes with photography, you just luck out – the lighting is perfect and the beasties are cooperative. Well, this was one of those days for me. There were a few birds which I had not seen the day before (Black Necked Stilts, Dowitchers) and a few that were within camera range (Pintail Ducks). The Coots, geese and other waterfowl were all present and active as well. And the lighting was getting better and better as the sun was setting. I wound up shooting about 400 images, with a higher percentage of keepers than I normally get. And quite a few are worth entering for competition and contests. I’ve just started curating with Adobe Lightroom, but here are a few of them.

    A common coot swimming on a calm water surface, reflecting its image in the water.
    A blackbird with vibrant red shoulder patches perched on a branch, singing against a blurred background of water and vegetation.
    A wading bird standing in shallow water with reflections visible, surrounded by green vegetation and wetland plants.
    A greater white fronted goose standing in shallow water with its reflection visible in the calm surface.
    A black-necked stilt wading in shallow water, reflecting on the surface, surrounded by sparse vegetation.
    A male teal duck swimming in calm water, featuring a distinctive green head, reddish-brown face, and gray body with black and white wing accents.
    A white fronted goose standing in water with its wings outstretched, showcasing its plumage, set against a blurred natural background.
    A pair of white fronted geese in a pond, one stretching its wings while the other is submerged, with greenery in the background.
    A female pin tail duck swimming in calm water, creating gentle ripples on the surface.
    A duck swimming in calm water, with visible ripples and reflecting its image on the surface.
    A northern pintail duck swimming in calm water, creating ripples as it moves.
    A black-necked stilt wading through shallow water, surrounded by aquatic plants and reflections.

    My personal favorites are the Pintail Ducks – pretty much everything is perfect technically, and the level of detail is awesome. Something to do with that 55 megapixel sensor. The higher shutter speed also caught drops and streams of water mid-air. One or two of these will make for nice additions to my growing gallery of acrylic prints. I’ll make room for them somewhere. 

    As for getting into serious birding….nah. I’d have to start remembering all the names, something I’m not very good at. (Fortunately, Google does a good job of identifying them). I’m more of a generalist when it comes to nature and landscape photography. No specialities, just whatever shows up in the viewfinder. 

    Thought for the day: I am spending a small fortune on these adventures, traveling around the world, taking thousands of photographs, most of which I wind up deleting. Then I go to a small nature reserve 50 minutes from my house, and get all kinds of great images. If only there were penguins in the Central Valley, I might not travel as much. But wait…there they are!  

    A water tower with a sign reading 'Welcome to Sacramento, America's Farm-to-Fork Capital,' surrounded by trees and a blue sky, with a group of penguins walking nearby. AI generated using Gemini

    No more posts until I’m back from petting the Grey Whales in Baja.

    Peace