Ron's Log

Not My Photo Of Lake Powell - 5

Photo by Adrian Osmond.

Not My Photo Of Lake Powell - 4

Photo by Stuart Libbey.

Not My Photo Of Lake Powell - 3

Photo by janeenmedina.

Not My Photo Of Lake Powell - 2

Photo by Garren T.

Not My Photo Of Lake Powell - 1

Photo by Linda Weyers.

Horseshoe Bend

Sunset yesterday near Page, Arizona. More photos here.

Black & White Digital

We don't mean taking your color digital camera and picking the B&W setting. We mean a true black & white only digital camera. It seems that the color filter array in front of the sensor and the demosaicing process introduce noise. Get rid of them and you reduce noise, but the result is black & white.

The camera is the Leica M-Monochrom. Specs here. 18 megapixels, ISO from 160 up to 10,000, no video, rangefinder, mirrorless, SDHC, $7,950 SRP.

Sample images here.

Saline Valley

This last week I went camping in Saline Valley, which is part of Death Valley National Park. It's been a year since I was last there, and the camp hosts have been busy neatening things up (which may not be a good thing in the eyes of the NPS). They've stacked low rock walls around the source springs to keep dogs and burros from getting into them. They also trimmed up a lot of the low brush among the palm trees that stand next to the Wizard and Volcano pools. This not only allows a lot more people to sit comfortably in their shade, but also means there are fewer places for snakes to hide.

We were pretty lazy most of the time. After breakfast, we would sit, nap, chat, read under the trees by the Wizard pool until the sun got too far to the west. Then we'd move over to the shade by the Volcano pool and repeat. When the shade extended clear across the pool, we would get in the water, spending a few hours. Then it was time for dinner. A high overcast came in the first few nights, but the last night was completely clear, which meant I had to pull my cap down over my face to keep the blindingly bright moon out of my eyes as I slept.

Weather was perfect, reaching a high around 100° each day (but we never checked a thermometer), and no severe winds.

The Navy provided some flyovers, but not as many as we might have liked. I tried to get some video, but it's a challenge when you're in among shady trees. The other challenge is that the flyover itself can't last more than 2 seconds. You get sometimes as much as 5 seconds warning, if you've got a clear view and see that the jet is coming at you.

Three brief videos of low flyovers at the springs in Saline Valley: one, two, three.

On Thursday afternoon, one very obliging pilot flew north over the springs at a moderately low level, then did a turn-around in full view (often they continue over to Eureka Valley where we can't see them), and came straight back at us in the Volcano pool. It was clearly intended to a be a show for our benefit. He came across very low, doing a barrel roll as he flew away.

Some photos:

Jim and Albert.

Wizard pool.

One of the source springs.

The other source spring.

The complete set of photos is here or here, if you prefer Flickr.

The National Park Service is beginning to work on a Saline Valley Warm Spring Management Plan. The Inyo County Board of Supervisors recently discussed that.

The board also decided to join a Cooperating Agency Agreement with the National Park Service as it begins working on the Saline Valley Warm Spring Management Plan and an Environmental Impact Statement that will accompany it.

"Saline Valley has a long history and there is a tremendous amount of use out there," [Fifth District Supervisor Richard] Cervantes, who's district also includes the valley, said. "A lot of people just want to go out there and run around naked. I think we should have a dialogue about that."

Inyo County Planning Director Josh Hart also said that the state Environmental Health Department has some concerns about the way the hot springs in Saline Valley are set up, and those concerns will also be addressed in the management plan.

Hart said the hot springs are a relatively small geographic area but there is a large amount of interest, as it is a heavily used recreation site.

The board unanimously agreed to participate in the cooperating agency in an effort to steer actions toward a user-friendly, environmentally-sound solution.

Saline Valley, May 2011

Saline Valley, May 2009