I returned from Mexico wednesday night to temperatures in the 30s. It was in the upper 90s and humid in Puerto Vallarta. Needless to say, it’s not been an easy transition.

I flew down on Sunday the 4th in three legs: Kansas City to Dallas, Dallas to Mexico City, Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta. With layovers of several hours at each airport I didn’t arrive in Puerto Vallarta until long after dark. The photo above is my third frame of the trip – a 30 second exposure made from my balcony just before sunrise, as I was getting my first glimpse of the Pacific and the beautiful Barcelo La Jolla de Mismaloya resort that was hosting the Society of American Travel Writers Board meeting for the next three days.

The Board meeting preceded the SATW Annual Convention in Guadalajara. I attended the Board meeting as an observer since I would be joining the Board at the close of the Guadalajara meeting as the new Chair of the SATW Freelance Council. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other Board members and incoming Board members – I’ll be serving with a great group of people for the next two years.

With all the meetings, shooting time was limited but I made the most of free moments and some incredible outings that were arranged for our dinners. I’ll share more over the coming days as I begin post-processing.

This is a four foot by eight foot plywood box, four feet high, that is sitting on the bank of a river in Nebraska. It was late February or early March and it was cold. Very cold. My wife and I were there to photograph the Sand Hill Crane migration and had to be closed up inside this box a couple of hours before sunset so that we wouldn’t disturb the birds as they returned to the river for the night (Cranes “sleep” standing in the water). We couldn’t get out of the box until after the birds all left which is usually a couple of hours after sunrise.

I don’t think we were alone in that box, though. We could hear something in the straw at night but couldn’t turn on a flashlight to investigate (again — mustn’t disturb the birds) and some of our snacks were missing in the morning.

I’m not sure how many cranes were in that stretch of the river that night but I think it could have been in the tens of thousands. About half a million migrate through in a very short period of time. It was quite an experience hearing them all chattering in the night but I think once was enough for me. I’ve never had a greater appreciation for nature photographers than I did that night.

All during dinner I was watching the weather outside the windows of the dining room of the Mount Magazine Lodge as the clouds descended. Storms are moving past to the north and tornados have been spotted in the area of Ozark, Arkansas. It looks like the most severe weather will miss us but it’s still a bit rough out there. I’d just about given up on getting any twilight shots tonight when the mist cleared just enough to show the trees across the road from the lodge. I grabbed the camera and ran outside for a few last shots of the day. Some of my favorites as it turns out. The low clouds were blowing through very fast and the visibility would rapidly come and go. I thought about going back inside for the tripod but noticed the trees were rocking back and forth so it really wouldn’t have helped. I cranked up the ISO as far as I dared and did the best I could hand-held.

There was talk at the time among the locals of a new hotel that was to be built on the island’s south side. It was causing some concern and I could understand why. Few places have escaped the plastification of tourism and it would be sad to see this remote outpost fall as well. I was picturing in my mind a rude concrete tower with a neon-lit casino and shuttles buzzing to and fro hauling tourists to the various archeological sites.

Today, I find this on the internet:

I guess I feel a little better. The newly opened Explora En Rapa Nui appears to be a very nice hotel. The architecture fits in nicely with the landscape and bears some resemblance to the ruins of Orongo that perch on the cliffs of Easter Island’s southwest coast. Still, you wonder what the impact of this hotel will be on the island. Is it just the first in a long line of “improvements”? Is a Starbucks soon to follow? I hope the island can retain its charm. And I hope that whatever further changes come are good for the local people.