Goodbye Desert Photo Retreat

A mountain lion with two babies at the water hole last September.

A sad goodbye to the Desert Photo Retreat.

In March of 2016 while I was guiding in Antarctica we closed on a stunning, remote 10 acres in the Tortolita Mountains in Arizona. By April, Janine and I had our RV trailer on the property and began building a wonderful relationship with the land and wildlife. I made many mistakes along the way, such as building a much too fancy photo blind in a bad location, but had many successes as well including the evening blind with the stunning orange background thanks to alpenglow on the distant peaks, and the reflection blind. Seeing and meeting so many guests and seeing their images just added to the wonderful memories.

But, the memories the land provided will be with me as long as I’m alive. The stunning sunsets, rainbows, wildflowers and scenery. And the incredible wildlife. The mountain lion who brought her babies to the water hole last September, the javelina who always had to test me, but always provided a good laugh, the ringtail and gray fox who seemed more curious about us, as I was of them. The skunks – who I had know idea were so beautiful The rattle snake who was so comfortable with me I would worry about stepping on it. The list is really long, and being there day and night just exposed us to so much!

Unfortunately, due to a number of changes in life we decided to sell the property, in fact we closed a few weeks ago. This transition has been made much easier thanks to the wonderful couple who are buying the property, Jack and Elaine Uellendahl. Not only are they outstanding photographers, but they love the canyon as much as we do, and plan to operate things pretty much the same, although I’m sure they will make some great improvements. Soon, they will take over the Desert Photo Retreat social accounts.
So, as one amazing chapter closes, I’m excited for the next chapter and the opportunities the extra time will offer. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported and visited us out there over the years!