Gilbert Ray and the Sonoran Desert Museum
©Bert Gildart: We’re Camped now at Gilbert Ray, a county park located just outside of Tucson, Arizona. More significantly we’re now located just four miles from the Sonoran Desert Museum, and that creates a real plus.
Gilbert Ray Campground, a Tucson County Park
We’re here to take advantage of the photographic opportunities the museum offers. In years past park herpetologists have helped me with several stories, most significantly, one for National Wildlife about Gila monsters.
Evenings are a delight, and we typically punctuate evening with a glass of wine. Observe, however, the huge cuts in the pads of the cacti. That’s from packrat activity, who typically feed on the pads. But they don’t stop there and will also munch on the wiring under the hood of your vehicle.
Great Horned Owl, Harris’s Hawk, Gray Hawk. All images made yesterday.
To avoid rodent damage simply prop open the hood of your car. Starlight and moonlight are adequate to discourage the nocturnal peregrinations of packrats.
Baring these foot long rodents, Gilbert Ray is an outstanding campground, one of the best in the desert Southwest. It’s a wonderful setting to sip that glass of wine, admire the surrounding beauty of a mountain desert, and plot out your photographic agenda for upcoming days at the Sonoran Desert Museum.
————-
THIS TIME LAST YEAR:
4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Often the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
Big Sky Country is beautiful
Montana Icons: 50 Classic Symbols of the Treasure State
Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
What makes Glacier, Glacier?
Glacier Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Crown of the Continent
Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
