PHOTO FOR THE DAY

And more trains...

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

I do believe I mentioned trains in yesterday's post...

SUNSETS, TRAINS AND BATS - THE TUCSON I KNOW

Yesterday Tucson had not only clouds, but a smattering of rain! The weather people are saying the monsoons have arrived. Though it's a month early, and we haven't had our traditional 2 weeks of pure hell as we wait for there to be enough moisture to gather so it can actually rain. I've lived here a long time and yesterday's rains actually caught me by surprise.

And along with the monsoons comes the spectacular sunsets Tucson is know for. So I grabbed the camera and decided to do a little sunset photography. I surprised myself by heading not towards the mountains, but away. I hit the very eastern edge of town and while driving over a bridge, noticed a bunch of crazy birds flying in erratic patterns. I almost came to a dead stop on the bridge when I realized they were not cracked-out birds, but bats leaving their roosts for their nightly forays. Ooooooo!

I quickly (and by that I do mean churning dirt) pulled off the to the access road leading below the bridge, but by the time I go there, the bats had finished their exodus. Devastated, I hung out for another 10 minutes before giving up and deciding to head out for the sunset shots I originally intended to get. I believe there was pouting involved, complete with lip dragging and dirt kicking. 

I realized the top of the bridge may be a good spot for photos and headed that way. And it was exceptional, except for the traffic. A lot of it. So those of you who drove by the crazy woman at the crest of the bridge yesterday, that was me, thanks for staying on the road.

I made it to the apex of the bridge just as a train was going under. Woot! Train photos! I was so engrossed with shooting the train and the sunset, it took me a minute to realize the dreaded dust spots in my viewfinder were, in truth, bats. Yay me! There were 4 more batches of bats that came out from under the bridge over the next 10 minutes. Not nearly as many as the first group I saw, but still impressive. What a sight! I even remembered to take a couple of photos. Enjoy!