Western vacation

Bill and I have begun to plan our summer vacation camping trip, out west, this summer and, as always, the question of how much equipment to bring rears its ugly head. I would love to bring binoculars, cameras, telescopes, tripods, bicycles, a canoe, fishing gear, my computer and who knows what else, but we only have a Toyota Camry, not a semi-truck. It's not that we are gearheads, mind you; it's just that we have so many outdoor interests and I think that's a good problem to have.

The first things to pass the “must take” test are the cameras, of course. Bill will be taking and handling the digital cameras and the video, I will be taking and handling the film cameras. That decision was easy. My compact binoculars were also an easy choice. Compact binoculars take up little room, of course and I always have a compact binocular hanging around my neck when outdoors.

In the not so sure and definitely not as small category are my giant astronomy binoculars and one of my telescopes. I would hate to get up into the high country under a pristine dark sky and not have a binocular or telescope to do some astronomy. Is their room for both? The astronomy binocular does not require a tripod, but the telescope does. On the other hand, my telescope also makes a dandy long telephoto lens.

Maybe we should be shopping for a truck, after all

Enjoy the pic of the White-throated Sparrow. My yard is full of them and thought I would share