Saturday, February 14, 2015

Mittry Lake, AZ

Here we are at Mittry Lake.  I've never been here before, but some friends are already camped here, so Jeanne and I caravaned down to Mittry.  Right now we have Jeanne, Kim, Suzanne, Debbie, Gayle and Jim, Chris, Jimbo, Charlie and Marti and me.  And of course, our various dogs and cats.  CB was here, but left a couple of days ago.  So it's quite a group!

It's much prettier and nicer here than I thought it would be.  There are lots of good places to park right by the water.  I planned to stay for a few days, but it's so nice I'm going to stay longer.

The picture below is the view out my front windshield - can you see the Great Blue Heron on the hill - he's looking left.  From the center of the photo, he's about at 10:00.


Here he is up closer:

Below is right outside the windshield - we are really close to the water and have a great view of the water birds.


This afternoon I got more photos of the heron - right in the water ahead of us.  He ducked in a couple of times and got his outer feathers wet.








This structure is behind The Palms - the water winds around land areas, and right here it comes through the hill, I guess, to the canal alongside us.  It looks like something that was built a long time ago.



This was my view in my first site, the main lake, then I moved to the other side of the parking area, where I was closer to the water in a canal.  The lake view was nice, but I like my present site better, mostly because the water is much closer. 


This is the path to the main lake area where the dumpsters are.  When it's hot, and it's been hot every afternoon, we always take this way back to get a little shade.


This photo below is the main part of the lake - with the mountains in the distance, the palm trees and the other trees, bushes and reeds, it's just beautiful. 

Not a great photo in this light, but this Snowy Egret was perched on a rock by the lake.  I love these guys with their big yellow feet:


This beautiful Great Egret was hanging out in one of the canals along the road going toward Mittry Lake.  They are so regal looking.  There were two American Coots there with him.  



One of the hummers at Jim and Gayle's hummingbird feeder:




Hummingbird shadow at the feeder through my curtain in the afternoon:


My friends said a vulture comes and roosts every night in one of the trees near me.  Here he is our first evening as the sun was setting.


There are two birds in the water in front of The Palms every day fishing for food - a male and a female Lesser Scaup.  This is a new bird sighting for me.  Here is the male:


There is good Internet through my Verizon hotspot and good TV channels.  Jeanne has no AT&T phone service, and my Verizon phone calls haven't been great unless I put the phone in the Wilson Sleek.  Then the calls will go through and hold until I hang up.

Mittry Lake is a very pleasant surprise, and I'm sure I'll be coming back again.

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)

30 comments:

  1. I've come down with a cold and am a bit under the weather. Otherwise I would have made a trip out to try to find you guys today.

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    1. Judi - I wish you had come down to visit with us! That cold is going around, I think. I hope you feel better soon. :)

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  2. Wow, you are really seeing a lot of birds up where you are! I only see the little ones in the Palo Verde tree by me. Gayle and I were wondering what those "Lesser Scaups" were. Now I know. We saw a lot of them over in the canal by California on our bike ride.

    Missed you and Katie at Happy Hour tonight!

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    1. It was nice to get a "new" bird marked off in my Field Guide l- The male Lesser Scaup is very pretty, but the female isn't as pretty or photogenic. I couldn't get a good clear shot of her. And yes, the water birds from this site are really good. Right now that Great Blue Heron is perched on the rocks over the water - just sitting there looking around. I don't always make the happy hours, but have been doing pretty good this time around! :)

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  3. Yeah - we took roll call at Happy Hour tonight and two were missing! Love the bird photos - you got a great shot of that egret at the canal.

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    1. Sorry I missed last night's happy hour. That egret was just beautiful. :)

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  4. Your photos show a beautiful location. Also, you get the BEST hummingbird pictures! Don't know how you do it.

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    1. Yes, Marty - it is beautiful up here. I think my hummingbird shots are the result of a lot of patience. And also taking TONS of photos. Usually there will be a good one in the bunch. Thanks! :)

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  5. Parking near water features is great and I wish I could be out there to meet your group of RVers. Love the sunset photo of the tree.

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    1. Hi Teri - I wish you were here, too. It's been a long time since we met up. I really liked that sunset photo of the tree, too. It was pretty simple, but something about it was just right. Thanks! :)

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  6. Looks like a very pretty place. The fun part of visiting new places - new sights, new friends and new memories.

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    1. Yes, I've met a few new people here, that's always nice. This is a good group, some singles, some couples - most of them are real hikers and go out almost every day for long hikes. Not my thing, but I enjoy staying home and hanging out and this is a beautiful area to do that, too. :)

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  7. Looks like an awesome place to hang out for a few days, thats another spot that we wanted to check out this winter.

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    1. Hey George - for sure - next time you guys are here this would be a great place to spend a little time. Close to Yuma too, for shopping! :)

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  8. We drove out there once but it was so full and no place to park with all the folks there. At least o place with a good view.

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    1. It is a pretty small area - but there are places tucked in here and there. I'm like you, though - I'd like a nice view, or I might as well head on to a better area. :)

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  9. Like that silhouette Humming Bird photo with the curtain closed.

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    1. Thanks, Al! I liked that one, too. Sometimes it's the off-beat photos I like the best. :)

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  10. Mittry Lake is so beautiful. What we didn't like was the dusty road along the lake and the many idiots racing along there throwing up clouds of desert dust.

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    1. I sure hear you there! Jeanne and I were walking our dogs along that road to the dumpster and a truck hauling a boat came by so fast - we heard him coming and practically ran to the edge of the road. We were engulfed in a cloud of dust. We both started screaming at them, 'SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" I almost added a rude name (axx-xxxx!), but being a nice person, I didn't. But I was sure thinking it. We are parked above that road, so the dust the drivers kick up doesn't affect us. :)

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  11. we visited Mittry Lake and thought it would be a perfect future boondocking spot... and it is really quite scenic

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    1. Yes, the views are 360 here - from the water all around to the mountains in every direction, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The sky here in the evenings is so many sherbert colors, really pretty. And if you are walkers or hikers, the trails here are keeping the hikers in our group pretty busy. :)

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  12. You got some great bird photos. Glad you came to join us!

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    1. Thanks! I love getting shots of birds, especially water birds, and this site is perfect for that. I'm glad I'm here, too - this is a good group and I love this area! :)

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  13. Thank you so much for this post, Barbara! Your photos are stunning--I had no idea there were so many birds there. Another spot to add to our list for next year & beyond.

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    1. You're welcome, Dawn! It's a small place, but I plan to try again next year and hopefully find another good spot. :)

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  14. Don't know why I'm missing your posts - or they are being delayed showing up on my blog roll ??

    Anyway, So glad I decided to join you here - it's beautiful !!

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    1. Me, too - I'm glad you're here! :)

      Sometimes my posts don't show up on my blogroll right away, either. Don't know what's going on...

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  15. Mittry Lake is sure a popular place to gather...four more of our fellow bloggers are there now or have just left. Your pics are again quite vivid and it looks you have found a great camping spot. Is the availability of spots pretty prevalent? We may venture out there next year ourselves.

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    1. There seem to usually be spots here - but not all of them are overlooking the water. It's a pretty small place but people come and go. Certainly worth a try. :)

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