scott

ethanschoonover, 3 days ago to HikingPics

Added a dedicated crane-type scale to my sliding #backpacking / #hiking gear storage

scott, 19 days ago to Archaeology

#opcOnThisDay in 2018, I brought my dad and his then-girlfriend on a trip through Utah. We stopped at a number of archeology sites on BLM land, including a major petroglyph site, a kiva site, and two other ruin sites. ☀️ #archaeology #utah #ancentralpuebloans #rockart #petroglyphs

A desert landscape with a rocky hill in the background, a car parked on dirt, remnants of a wooden structure in the foreground, and a small, ancient stone wall.
Rocky cliff face with ancient cliff dwellings.
Ancient stone ruins in a desert landscape with scattered vegetation under a cloudy sky.

elaterite, 20 days ago to Astronomy

What's this boring looking thing? It's anything but boring, although its mission is like watching grass grow until it's hit by an ultrahigh energy cosmic ray! This is an element of the Telescope Array Cosmic Observatory west of Delta, Utah. It's one of 507 scintillator detectors that are spread across ~270^2 miles. Since 2008, 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic particles have been detected. Thus far, there's no explanation for their extreme energy or their origin.

#Astronomy #AstroPhysics #Desert

scott, 22 days ago to roadtrip

I'm a sucker for old bridges, so here are a couple over the Brazos River in Texas that I spotted from the highway and visited during my drive on Thursday.

🧵

#roadtrip #texas #bridge #river #travel #abandoned

An old metal truss bridge with an American flag at the top and overgrown vegetation on both sides.
A muddy river viewed from a bridge with graffiti on it reading "Ok Hear Me OUT."
A view from a bridge showing a river, parallel bridges in the distance, and graffiti on the metallic structure in the foreground that reads "Be Happy."

elaterite, 1 month ago to Battlemaps

The mighty Colorado River! (Phone photo.)

#River #Canyon #Desert

scott, 1 month ago to Arizona

One of my favorite things is the #Yellow glow of a campfire. Here’s a shot from our fav dispersed site, which sits on the edge of the Mogollon Rim a couple hours north of Phoenix—a welcomed summer retreat. #opcWeeklyTheme 📷 #arizona #camping #campfire #NationalForest

scott, 1 month ago to nationalparks

One of the best things about old skool pre-Elon twitter was its weekly twitter chats.

My fav was #ParkChat (eg #nationalparks #publiclands). A weekly host asks one question prompt every 5 mins for an hour, and participants respond with their own answers using the hashtag. Conversation ensues.

I’ve generally abandoned my account there, but have agreed to host one last time this Weds 3/27 at 6pm PDT to celebrate its 10-year anniversary.

If I posted each question here too, would you participate?

scott, 1 month ago to Arizona

Trivia time!

#opcOnThisDay in 2018, we spent the day exploring southern #Arizona, locating a bunch of these concrete foundations we had stumbled on via satellite view.

Any guesses as to what they are, and why there are so many of them scattered around?

Abandoned concrete foundations in a desert landscape with power lines and mountains in the distance.
A round concrete manhole cover next to an open manhole on a concrete surface, with surrounding desert vegetation.

scott, 2 months ago to Arizona

#opcOnThisDay in 2017, we did a daytrip drive out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. Didn’t catch many wildflowers, but recent rains had started to green things up a bit. Was just a lovely day to spend some time outside. ☀︎ #Arizona #WildlifeRefuge #Wilderness #OptOutside #ScenicDriving #PublicLands

A silver SUV parked on a gravel road with red rocky mountains and sparse desert vegetation in the background.
Desert landscape with various cacti, including tall saguaro and prickly pear, with mountainous background under a cloudy sky.
A barren landscape with concentric circular tire tracks imprinted in the ground, a cactus in the background, and a white car parked at the edge.

scott, 2 months ago to california

2019 was such a great year for wildflowers! #opcOnThisDay we enjoyed several great blooms in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park after meeting up with some nomadic friends who were passing through.

#california #statepark #desert #bloomscrolling #wildflowers #mountains

elaterite, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago) to california

Bodie (~1876-1915), California, Assay Office. Bodie is in the Bodie Hills at an elevation of 2554m (8,379ft). (10/2022 made by a human #NotAI.)

#GhostTown #California #BlackAndWhite #Geology #Mine #Mining #Photography #Darktable #NoAI

scott, 2 months ago to Arizona

Today’s #MountainMonday post comes from this sunset that set Ajo Mountain in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ablaze on Saturday night.

#arizona #sonorandesert #optoutside #camping #nationalparks

elaterite, 2 months ago to Battlemaps

Two underground metro entrance canopies rusting away in a vacant lot in the tiny desert mining town of Goldfield, Nevada. Only in Nevada... o_0 (Photo: 10/06/2021.)

#Nevada #Desert #GhostTown #Mining #Abandoned #BlackAndWhite #Photography #Darktable

scott, 2 months ago to nationalparks

In 2018, I finally made it out to the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park to see the #famous “sailing stones.” I first remember reading about the bizarre phenomenon as a kid and it immediately went on my bucket list, so it was great to finally make it there.

It seems like the mystery of these moving rocks has finally been solved, though: https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/the-racetrack.htm. Yay science!

#opcWeeklyTheme 📷 #NationalParks #DeathValley #science #California #outdoors

scott, 3 months ago to Phoenix

Got in a nice midday outing in the local desert preserve today. #phoenix #arizona #hiking

scott, 3 months ago to Battlemaps

I enjoyed this desert sunset outside of Saguaro National Park #opcOnThisDay in 2021, hanging out with the incomparable @southwestdude. Not a bad way to spend half a day away from home! ☀︎ #desert #cactus #sunset #tucson #arizona #nationalparks