Photo Adventure – Merced National Wildlife Reserve
Randy and I have been off on several photo adventures lately and I thought it would be nice to start a regular series of posts about one-day and overnight photo adventures that are close to the San Francisco Bay Area. My post about New Idria Mine and Ghost Town was a good start to that series.
Our second 2012 photo adventure was a trip to Merced National Wildlife Reserve (MNWR). The reserve is between Los Banos and Merced on Sandy Mush Road. I had seen the sign for Sandy Mush Road in the past, while driving up Hwy 59 to go to Yosemite, and had always wondered what was down the road. I mean, Sandy Mush, sounds interesting doesn’t it? If you go plan on staying overnight either in Los Banos or Merced and visit the reserve in the afternoon (including sunset) and early morning. Both towns are approximately 30 to 45 minutes away and have plenty of motels and restaurants. Take water and snacks to the reserve, there are no facilities there to buy food or drink.
Welcome to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge
The Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtegal
This isn’t a post about diving or photography so to speak; however, if you plan on diving in Bali or Komodo or any of the other wonderful dive sites that take you through Bali you probably will make a detour to Ubud (if not you should) and will get the opportunity to go to the Monkey Forest.
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Komodo Above Water; Dragons, Eagles and More
This is a beautiful area. The sunrises and sunsets are great. Huge cumulous clouds turn pink and orange. The ocean varies in color from deep blue to a brilliant aqua in the shallows. I did do some snorkeling (when I forgot my dive belt and again when I attempted some over-under shots) and really enjoyed cruising over the reef with brightly colored fish and healthy coral. I would have liked to do more but there was the danger of komodo dragons coming into the water. And the currents could be dangerous to snorkelers also.
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