Sunset in Castle Valley...

last night with the Milky Way rising above Round Mountain early this morning.

Core of the Milky Way galaxy arcing above silhouetted Round Mountain. (Click image to enlarge.)

Vivid yellow dominates the desert...

landscape right now, with a number of plants at their peak. Put on your sunglasses. Here’s a sample captured during my morning ride.

Rough mule’s ears (Wyethia scabra) and my awesome RadRover 5 (sporting brand new tires).

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) and the Priest and Nuns, the Rectory and Castleton Tower (L to R).

Prince’s plume (Stanleya pinnata).

A spectacularly nice ride...

was accomplished today with my neighbor on our eMTBs in nearby Onion Creek, a collapsed salt-cored anticline in its early stage of development.

The Narrows in Onion Creek. Note my friend in the highlighted orange circle in the center of the image.

The contact between the gypsum caprock of the Pennsylvanian-age Paradox Formation (left) and overlying red sandstones and conglomerates of the Early Permian age Cutler Formation (right). Note the orientation of the dipping red beds relative to the Paradox diapir.

Exposure of the highly deformed Paradox Formation at the heart of the Onion Creek diapir. Odiferous Stinking Spring, containing sulfur-reducing bacteria, occurs at this location.

Thank goodness for screen protectors...

on outdoor gear that is used in rough and rugged environments. Here’s the screen of my Garmin Fenix 6X Pro watch after a tumble several days ago. Gulp. Then I realized I had put a screen protector on the three year old device when first purchased. The Gorilla Glass used in the watch screen is entirely unscratched. Brilliant.

RadRover round up...

today in Castle Valley as a friend and neighbors visit. Warning: Don’t ride one unless you want to buy one.

Two RadRover 5 ebikes on the left with two RadRover 6 ebikes on the right (rightmost is step-through frame).

Mount Saint Helens erupted...

42 years ago, around 8:30 am PDT on Sunday, 18 May 1980, decapitating the mountain in an enormous landslide. Large emissions of ash, pyroclastic flows and debris flows flattened surrounding forests, destroyed roads and bridges, and killed 57 people.

USGS file photo.

Personally, I was in graduate school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, and grateful that I wasn’t in the Pacific Northwest at the time, or for many months afterwards.

Relocation project underway...

for this increasingly annoying rock squirrel that regularly vacuums up the seed for my feathered friends. I’ve supported this somewhat entertaining rodent through the winter months, but now it’s time for it to fend for itself elsewhere.

Rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus) caught in a live trap and about to go for a ride.

Chillin' in the bush...

after performing his warbling U-shaped diving courtship display for an unseen mate.

Adult male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri), the size of your little finger.

Refueling after its vigorous aerial acrobatics.

Hummers have returned...

to my feeder in greater numbers this year than last, a good sign.

Adult male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri).

Shot at 1/2000th of a second, the wings are still in motion in these images.