days of dream: nature

Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

turtle hospital

The Turtle Hospital on the island of Marathon in the Florida Keys is home to about fifty rescued turtles. Many are victims of boating accidents and are missing limbs or have severe damage to their shells. Most of them will recover and be released back into the wild, but there are seven or eight permanent residents that wouldn't be able to fend for themselves if released.

Drawing blood from a new patient

Oftentimes, propeller damage to shells causes gas to build up underneath the turtle's shell and makes it impossible for the turtle to dive. Most of the permanent residents suffered from this condition, accurately dubbed "bubble butt" by volunteers at the hospital.

When tourists visit, the permanent residents know they'll get treats and beeline for the crowd.

Baby turtle!

chum: robbie's marina

On our way down to Key West, we stopped at Robbie's Marina on Islamorada. For $3 you can buy a bucket of fish to feed to the tarpons, 50lbs scavenger fish that hang out around the marina waiting for any food that may fall into their reach. They're mostly harmless, but huge; most of them were at least the length of one of my legs.

road trip: cathedral rock

Cathedral Rock & Buddha Beach--outside Sedona, AZ

road trip: watson lake

While we were in Prescott, AZ, we briefly stopped at Watson Lake to check out the views. It was bitingly cold and windy; ice was even beginning to form at the edges of the lake, but the rock formations made the stop worth it.

road trip: snowbowl

road trip: cliff dwellings at walnut canyon national monument

While in Flagstaff, we briefly adventured to Walnut Canyon and the ancient cliff dwellings of the Sinagua people, ancestors to some Hopi clans. They abandoned the location some time in the 13th century for unknown reasons, perhaps drought or pressure from the newly arrived Yavapai.

road trip: the grand canyon

one of our first stops was the grand canyon. our family spent two days on the rim at the el tovar lodge hiking and exploring. we got there right at the start of a cold snap, so it was freezing, but the snow was awesome and (hopefully) provided some variation to repetitive shots of the canyon.