Joshua Tree National Park: YAY!!! Finally Went Someplace.

The opportunity has finally arrived allowing the Road Toad to go on its first expedition of sorts. The moon and the stars literally aligned up for this momentous occasion. Let me elucidate:


With all prior commitments fulfilled, I was free to plan the first trip. Attending a camera seminar recently, the speaker touched upon shooting the Milky Way and that the next optimal window to photograph it will take place:

• the night of September 12th; the best local place being Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP)
• September for its position in the northern hemisphere's sky
• the 12th for the new moon (absence of lunar light intrusion)
• Joshua Tree because of minimal man made light pollution in the SoCal area

I've wanted to do this for some time now, but never got around to it. The speaker piqued my interest. Back home, I hunkered down for some serious face time with a computer, gleaning as much information as possible as to how to go about it. Two different reputable weather sites forcasted clear skies for the 12th. I commandeered my youngest daughter Anna to be my photographer's assistant, loaded up the Road Toad, and we were on our way.

YAY!!!

Well, when we arrived in JT, clouds were forming. Hmmmmmm... not good. Only got thicker as the day progressed. By night, they dissipated somewhat, but still created an obstructed view towards the southern skies where the Milky Way would show up. We ended up exploring different areas of the park and did some light painting that night instead.

¿Donde esta?

The Road Toad rig parked at Hidden Valley Day Use Area, Joshua Tree.

My lovely assistant Anna, skillfully guiding the viewer's eye to the Road Toad.

"Popsquatch and The Bananagator"

Back in 2007 I took a selfie posed beneath a humongous Joshua tree. I had one foot perched on its trunk in a rakish manner. We found the same tree and attempted to mimic that pose from the original.

2007

Did some light painting!

We enjoyed a fun father/daughter adventure together, enabling us to reconnect, as Anna lives in El Paso and happened to be out visiting for a bit. When will the Road Toad be shredding pavement next? Hard to say, as mumsie just got back from visiting an orthopedic surgeon regarding knee replacement. She'll be scheduling surgery soon, so that will put a kibosh on anymore plans before the holiday season.

WEEBLY IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!

Hi. Road Toad here.

I want to like The Weebly blogging platform very much, as it has a lot going for it, but trying to incorporate and activate some of its features is a lesson in frustration and seeming futility. I've pulled my hair out in bunches (What's left of it. Believe me, those "bunches" ain't very big.) I'm going back over to Google's Blogger, as I know it well with all of its peccadilloes included.

From now on, posts will be created in Blogger. I'll have a link back to the Weebly Road Toad blog for archival purposes for those who are interested. For those not interested, you too, will get an archival link:

http://roadtoad.weebly.com/

There will be a permanent Weebly link on the sidebar to the right.

Coming up, my first excursion with the Road Toad!