M-Photo & Travel

Amazing day in the Colorado Rockies!

Trail Ridge Road is only open in the summer and this year it didn't open until June. It was in the mid-90's in Thornton and very hazy, you couldn't even see the front range.  Good day to get out, there was a little bit of the haze at the top of the world but is was cool and refreshing.

Photo notes: I am really loving the new Nikon! I shot a .07 stop under today in hopes to bring out a bit more detail from the haze.  fun shoot!

At the Charles Darwin Research Station, you see the Giant Turtles and the Galapagos land Iguana.   Introduced aminamls to many of the islands threaten the existence of the indigenous species. Wild dogs that were brought to the island almost killed a colony of over 500 land iguanas in 1970’s. Cats, mice and goats were induced as well, the goats and dogs have been irraticated but getting all the mice and cats poses real challenges. The Research Station was able to rescue 60 iguanas and in an effort to re-build their population, they began a breeding program for iguanas in Santa Cruz. This breeding program is still active today.






Darwin Finches  We saw the Common Cactus, Small Ground, Green Warbler, Wood Pecker, and the Gray Warbler.



Darwin identified 13 species of Finches among the Galápagos Islands that were primarily differentiated by beak size. In contrast, only one species of this bird existed on the mainland South America to the east. Darwin correctly concluded that the different bea…

The Islands you visit are dependent on how many boats and visitors are in the area.  We landed on Baltra Island and visited Seymour Norte, Santiago, Bartolome, Genovese and Santa Cruz. Each island is different, from sandy beaches to lava landscapes.  We were not able to go to the Island where all the Lizards are and we didn't see the flightless cormorant - I think you would need at lest two weeks to see it all - still a trip of a lifetime!


Here are the rules for visiting the Galapagos Islands: Visitors to any protected areas within the Galapagos National Park must be accompanied by a naturalist guide authorized by the GNPD.Travel only with tour operators and/or boats authorized to work in the protected areas of Galapagos.Remain on marked trails at visitor sites and respect signs at all times for the protection of wildlife, and for your safety.Maintain a distance of at least six feet (two meters) from wildlife to avoid disturbing them, even if they approach you.Never feed wildlife,…

Ollantaytambo is the jumping off point to Machu Picchu.  It was a tambo, otherwise know as a "resting place" along the Inca trail.  This is a pretty cool site on it own.  
Around the mid-15th century, the Inca emperor Pachacuti conquered and razed Ollantaytambo; the town and the nearby region were incorporated into his personal estate.[3] The emperor rebuilt the town with sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation in the Urubamba Valley; the town provided lodging for the Inca nobility while the terraces were farmed by yanakuna, retainers of the emperor.[4] After Pachacuti's death, the estate came under the administration of his panaqa, his family clan. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollantaytambo
The existing town of Ollantaytambo was built on ancient Incan foundations.  We were lucky enough to go inside a small house.  It was a small one room dwelling where 7 people lived.  There were the characteristic niches in the the walls, m…