Getting to know Little Finland better...

This is one of those places which takes several, perhaps many, visits to understand and fully digest. A local hiking-club president told me that 'Little Finland isn't secretive about its treasures,' and he was certainly right about that. Still, it doesn't show them all on a first visit or to the unobservant, either.

The sculptures are everywhere, but you have to find the smaller parts which 'have personality.' Like, for example, The Dragon:

 

Or the Far-seeing Man. What is it that he sees in the distance? Is that an anxious look on his face?

 

 

Little Finland is a big place, with many crevices and ledges among which to wander:

 

 

At the very beginning and end of the next clip we can see tiny hikers dwarfed by the immensity of the plateau:

 

 

While the drone is superb for understanding the larger context, to see the unique personalities among the sandstone sculptures, you have to be down among them. Only the largest, free-standing figures reveal themselves to the airborne. The best are shy; one needs to search them out. For example, here are two of the Three Bears:

 

 

Of course, there are the occasional parades of Creepy Critters right out in the open:

 

 

I know, I know. They've reserved the rubber room for my overheated imagination...

 

A final view of the sculptures along the North end of the cliff where the entry road allows us up onto the plateau. Visitors are drifting back to their ATVs and Little Finland will soon be deserted.

 

 

Little Finland has indeed generously shared many of its treasures with us, but I hope to return with some local hikers who know the place far better than I do.

 

Meanwhile, our recent spell of superb weather (as global 'warming' blizzards covered the northeast) will soon end.

 

Ah, but my out-of-state trips begin in May.  Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming will offer new adventures for the Phantom drone and its pilot. Woo-woo!

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the adventure!!...

After contracting a nasty flu bug on the flight back from Florida, I spent a horrid week sniffling and wheezing. Meanwhile, the weather was fabulous for drone flying--except that I couldn't do anything about it.

 

Yesterday I felt better, so I went to Little Finland to see more of its formations;

 

 

Coming to this deserted place on Sundays has advantages, as I discovered when I had a flat tire recently. I was to find that a life-saver again today.

 

 

There were occasional gusts of wind, but I picked locations which gave me some shelter. Meanwhile, you could see in that first video the ATV drivers racing around below.

 

Between drone flights, I explored for more stone figures among the hundreds up here.  While large areas of the plateau are barren, there are huge clusters of figures such as The Gargoyle:

 

 

And The Kissing Snails:

 

 

If the Cayman Islands Pirate Week folks will forgive me, here is a thoughtful cow in a pirate costume:

 

 

This one is a stretch, but how about Mother Moray Eel with offspring?

 

 

Won't buy that one, eh? Oh, well. I thought it might be a step too far...

 

 

I shot several satisfying videos up on the plateau, but retreated when the wind started to become more persistent.

 

I went back to the car, and made the fatal decision to take just one more short flight to shoot some interesting figures. Surely that couldn't be a problem, right?

 

Wrong.

 

 

I climbed up on the plateau, confident that I knew about where it landed. After all, how could you lose a big drone in an area like this?

 

 

 

It's easy.

 

I searched and searched but couldn't find it until a couple of kindly families on their ATVs joined me in the search. Soon, one of the moms called out, "I've got it! I saw the flashing lights down in a crevice!"

 

These nice people gave of their time to help. I'm very grateful. As a souvenir and life lesson, I now have a 55-minute video of that drone staring at that wall while the search went on.

 

 

Fifty-five minutes of that.

 

But I got the Phantom back and tested it in the air this morning. A-OK

 

Bonita Springs is a riot of color...

Another enjoyable morning walk yielded some beautiful colors:

 

An eagle grew curious, but I couldn't hold my hands steady enough to get a sharp shot:

 

 

Each corner was an explosion of brilliant hues:

 

 

And this was a gem of Nature's creation:

 

 

Finally, yesterday's highlight. Wandering through  a gift shop, I happened to spy some nice mugs with a shark theme:

 

 

 

Isn't it great? How creative!  My agent Phil was, um, intrigued. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Meanwhile, the search for the source is on...

Roughing it in Bonita Springs...

I do go to all the really rough places. This time, it was Florida for my brother's 75th birthday.

This is the neighborhood:

 

Oh, did I mention that it is a golfing community and he's the only resident who doesn't play?

 

There are some pleasant walks for bird-watching:

 

 

Here's a blue heron:

 

 

And young nephew Max stalking it because he has no telephoto on his phone:

 

 

Some birds seem friendlier than others. Here's a bittern with attitude:

 

 

After a while, we find a fountain:

 

 

Very near the fountain, a local resident is sunbathing:

 

 

Not wishing to disturb it, we stay far enough away that it doesn't feel threatened.

 

 

Did you notice that he never takes his eyes off anyone who is nearby?

 

A very restful place, though there is a constant danger of Death By Golf Cart, as the locals race too and from the tees.

 

Be careful out there...

 

 

 

 

Little Finland yields to persistence and perseverance...

I was too stubborn to let Little Finland keep me out, so I kept at it until I found an easy entrance on the North end of the mesa.  The road to the left here leads up to where all the formations are found. They are cut and shaped in that darker sandstone visible on top of the lighter-colored mesa.

 

 

I'm standing on the cliff edge next to some of the 'creatures' here. My car is out there at the bottom of the road up here:

 

 

For a look at the animals, I flew the Phantom drone up from the desert floor. Some of the creatures are right on the crest of the cliff:

 

 

Here is a still image of a group of these sculptures taken from the drone:

 

 

Here are just a few of the many formations atop the mesa.  First, a 'monster' looks down on the scene:

 

 

Next, a parade of--well, whatever...

 

 

And I think of this one as 'What's chasing that dog?'

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are more of these creatures and drone videos of their home on my web site www.divexprt.com 

For the moment, click on Most Recent. Later we'll have the complete galleries in the national park section of the site.

 

Little Finland is large, most of a mile long. A good part of it is covered with the darker sandstone which has been sculpted by the wind and weather.

 

You can also hike in from the South end. The path leads up from this corral to the mesa off to the left:

 

:

 

Look forward to exploring for more sculptures on future visits!

 

 

 

Eventually, the numbers catch up to you...

I went out to price some tires last week. Figured I'd put them on in February before my warm-weather trips.

 

Unfortunately, a rock at Whitney Pockets yesterday changed the whole story.

 

 

 

 

Yep, the right front tirewent to glory outside the entrance. A kind gentleman hopped out of his truck and went to work. Wouldn't take a penny after saving me an awful afternoon. But I did go right into Mesquite and get those new tires!

 

It was fortunate for me that I didn't have that flat twenty miles sooner, in the incredibly remote Little Finland, or it might have been a very long afternoon.

 

I am determined to get to the top of the buttes where the fantastic stone statuary is, but this is the area. Some local hikers operate around here, so I know there is a climbing access. Stay tuned.:

 

 

And these are some of the formations from a closer viewpoint:

 

 

One small formation looks like a lion and two others like gargoyles. From the top you could get much better angles:

 

 

 

 

 

For the piece de resistance, I went by the Devil's Throat. My neighbor Bill noticed that I hadn't on my first trip actually flown the drone right over the hole, keeping it safely over my position on solid ground. Telling him I forgot to bring  a very long rope didn't work.Since such caution reflected on my manhood, I said to heck with it and put the Phantom up for the 'Road Runner View.'

 

 

Wheeeeeeeee!

 

 

I'll have more adventures out here! There are all kinds of other sites nearby...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gunlock Reservoir in Utah

Gunlock is located northwest of St. George, Utah, a couple of hours from home. When I drove up there, the road took me past another lake I hadn't realized was there. Since it was on the border of the Paiute Indian reservation, I thought of it as 'Paiute Lake.' Further research has shown it to be Lower Sand Cove Reservoir.

 

 In that lovely light, I launched the Phantom to get the view from above:

 

 

There was an older gentleman walking his dog while I was setting up the drone. He stood at the top of the boat ramp and threw some food on the ground. All of the ducks scrambled up the ramp for a feeding, but I was too far away to take a picture of the action before he had left.

 

 

From the small reservoir, I moved on to the larger Gunlock Reservoir up the road:

 

 

Once again, I readied the drone for the higher view. At this time of the morning the wind is often down, lessening the risk of a flyaway, that bane of drone pilots.

 

 

Hitting the video button, I luxuriated in the vicarious experience of soaring up there at bird level!

 

 

I shot another sequence to show the dam upon which I was standing, nicely placed with the Sun behind me for maximal color.

 

 

 

I went to a couple of other targets, but the wind had come up and the magical calm hours after dawn had ended. No problem, there are many more drone adventures ahead!