Back From Paradise

Pardon my absence from the blogosphere, but I've got good reason.  Mrs. Scampwalker and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary recently in Belize.  And what a terrific place it is.  The people are friendly, the weather is sunny, and the scenery is exceedingly beautiful.

We based out of the Xanadu Resort on Ambergris Caye.  They were excellent accommodations, and Ambergris was developed, yet still had a rustic charm.  The tallest building on the island was two stories, so it's definitely less glitzy and obnoxious than many Caribbean destinations.

We ate fresh seafood nonstop -- including spiny lobster, which had just come into season.

We also swam with the seafood, including these rather sizeable (yet ostensibly harmless) nurse sharks.  The Belize Barrier Reef is about a mile off the coast of Ambergris Caye, and at 185 miles long, it's the second largest reef in the world.  And that makes for some truly breathtaking snorkeling.

The fishing ain't bad either.  Not being much of a fly fisherman, I opted to take Mrs. S on an evening fishing excursion among the mangroves.  We tore up the snapper, grouper, and jack crevalle.  I swear our guide Armando was the prototype for Hemingway's Santiago in Old Man and the Sea.

And while we didn't do battle with a marlin, I won't soon forget the brief after-sundown battle my wife waged against a 60-pound tarpon. The beast tail-danced just like I've always read about, and it was an amazing sight reflecting off the full moon's glow.

Not a bad way to celebrate with a woman who's put up with the likes of me for 20 years!

The 2010 Prairie Chicken Opener - A Photo Essay

I haven't had a lot of time lately to write -- hunting (and packing for hunting trips) has happily cramped my style.  Here's a pictoral update on my exploits afield.



I'm the chosen one, bitches!



By popular vote, Dottie got the call for the first upland hunt of the 2010 season, a Kansas prairie chicken quest.  Thankfully, the girl didn't skip a beat.  She covered ground nicely and didn't appear to be as out of shape as I had feared.  In fact, she pointed the first bird killed on the trip.  You can even see the zippered scar on her belly.  It blows my mind at how quickly the canine body can recover.

Learned: a sealed bag of Art & Mary's Jalapeno Kettle Chips, placed in close proximity to a dog crate on a long road trip, can be opened and eaten remotely.  I'm not sure who the thief was, and the suspects aren't talking.

Speaking of suspects, the only shots I can get of LuLu are when she's chained to a tie-out stake:

Or when she's taking a break from making 400 yard casts.  The pup shows great promise as a big-running dog -- she covers ground with purpose and is exceptionally good about coming in when called.  She even had her first point -- surprisingly staunch, in fact -- on a hen pheasant.

Vegas was solid too.  And when it got too hot in the afternoons to walk the hills in search of chickens, she pulled double duty as a dove retriever.  She didn't seem to mind.

It was the maiden prairie chicken hunting trip for Terry, a Minnesota native who was more accustomed to tight grouse woods than open, hilly prairies. 

But the eight or so miles of walking each day was usually rewarded.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Montana for two weeks in even bigger country.  And to think -- today is only the first day of fall.

Urban Photo Safari: Life in the Viewfinder

Every year, a buddy of mine from work goes to great lengths to host Urban Photo Safari. The idea is a simple one, but supremely cool. Grab your digital camera, and go out and take cool pictures for four hours. Bring them back, upload them all to a central location, and then be "peer reviewed" by other participants. The winner gets... I dunno, I think some sort of gift certificate... but most importantly, they receive adulation (and envy) of his/her peers. (The winning photo is featured in this post.)

In all honesty, the competition is really ancillary. What's fun is getting up, grabbing a nice espresso from Homer's, and finding interesting places to go to take pictures. We hit the Overland Park farmer's market, Whole Foods, Bichelmeyer Meats, Dressler's Dog Supply, a random swap-n-shop, and Merriam Feed Lawn & Garden Center. (Do you detect a trend here? Food and dogs dominate my life.)

Anyhow, all locations were target-rich photo environments (like, um, a meat locker with 40 head of pigs and cattle hanging from meathooks??). And this year, we gave each kid a digital camera and THEY took the pictures. It was cool too see the world through the eyes of the kids (I'm assuming their real eyesight isn't as blurred as their photosight). And it was even cooler to see the eyes through 40-some friends, co-workers, and total strangers that took part in UPS.

If you live in the KC area, I strongly encourage you to participate next year. If you don't live around here, check out the gallery anyhow. It's proof there's some mighty talented shutterbugs in our midst. You might be one, too.