Only a couple of miles from the Phoenix airport can you be transported to the wild west in just a matter of minutes. In the Tonto National Forest, located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, you can discover the Salt River wild horses.

The horses roam freely between the Tonto National Forest and the Indian communities of Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. But neither the Indian communities, nor the U.S. Forest Service claim the horses.

They are horses without a home and without controversy.

Are they feral pests that destroy natural resources or are they wild horses to be treasured and worthy of federal protection?

That controversy was finally resolved after many years when on December 31, 2017 the Arizona Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service finalized an agreement to protect the herd of horses.

When in Arizona be sure to make your way out to the Salt River to capture (with memories and photographs) these magnificent creatures and a bit of the old wild west!

Thanks guys for all your views, comments and favs!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography 2018

Contact me to license my images:

sam@samantonio.com

Purchase my prints:

www.SamAntonioPhotography.com

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Tags:   wild nature wildlife wild horses mammal horse equine arizona salt river outdoors salt river wild horses arizona wild horses river outside mesa natural phoenix animals band of wild horses scenic outdoor horses standing serene background salt river herd wild horse arizona landscape salt river horses arizona wild horse grazing horses grazing horses Sam Antonio Photography

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I am home here in sunny San Diego, California!

I have been posting photos from my Southeast Asia trip from last year, but somehow people have the notion that I am currently overseas.

So why I am now posting photos from a trip over a year ago?

1) I have two skills: photography and procrastination.

2) I was still traveling after I came back from Southeast Asia and I did not have a proper work station to work off my desktop computer or connect my external monitor to my laptop. The few photos I posted last year here on Flickr from Southeast Asia were done on my laptop computer in either my guesthouse or in an air-conditioned cafe while on the road.

3) I was refining my workflow to define my voice and vision.

I am glad I waited because it gave me quality time to reflect on my trip and improve on my post-processing skills.

This photo is from my visit to the Batu Caves which makes a great day trip from Kuala Lumpur. Read about my smelly adventure to the Batu Caves Here

I got up close and personal with this monkey by photographing him with my Canon wide angle 17-40 lens. He showed his displeasure of my presence by sticking his tongue out at me! Maybe he was pissed off because I asked him to sign a model release?

Speaking of throwing the monkey off your back, July 4, 2013, will mark the 237th anniversary of American Independence. Back in 1776 we Americans basically told Great Britain to take a hike! So happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans and to my Flickr contacts in Great Britain, thank you for granting us lowly colonists “permission” to leave the British empire.

Check back for more of my Malaysian adventures!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Tags:   Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Batu Caves Gombak district Selangor Hindu Shrine Murugan Hindu Thaipusam Monkey Animal Wildlife Horizontal Indoors Sitting Holding Day Cave Alertness Color Image One Animal Selangor State Animal Themes Photography Distant Looking Away Capital Cities Focus On Foreground Mouth Open No People animal portrait animal photography Wildlife Photography Outdoors Close-up Animals In The Wild Curiosity Tongue ape hairy mammal fur male ferocious funny angry primate macaque hair wild nature 4th of July lumpur kuala tourism shiva kavadi destination travel climbing statue culture Sticking Tongue Out Sam Antonio Photography Canon EOS 5D Mark II Southeast Asia Photography rock kneeling hinduism Eating Day Trips from Kuala Lumpur

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A wildflower “super bloom” has taken hold of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park here in Southern California. The heavy rains we had in San Diego this past winter has paid dividends in the form of the eruption of colors in a normally barren desert landscape.

"This is probably the first big bloom in at least 12 years and maybe more like 20 years," stated Sally Theriault, an Anza-Borrego Desert State Park interpreter.

As a result, I spent the last couple of days photographing around Anza-Borrego. One morning I decided to hike the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail in search of wildflowers and the elusive bighorn sheep. The park is home to about 600 bighorn sheep who also happen to be on the endangered species list. I have hiked this trail many times, but have only spotted the sheep at a distance.

The trail is a three mile round-trip hike along a rocky canyon. I photographed many colorful wildflowers along the trail, but no bighorn sheep. As I was returning to the trailhead I came across this solitary bighorn sheep feasting on the vegetation.

The first super bloom in a decade combined with a rare close-up sighting of a bighorn sheep, put my shutter finger through a workout and a smile on my face.

Thanks guys for all your views, comments and favs!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography 2017

Contact me to license my images:

sam@samantonio.com

Purchase my prints:

www.SamAntonioPhotography.com

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A re-post from a photograph early on in my Flickr career! This bald eagle shot was from my incredible trip to Alaska. If you haven't been to "The Last Frontier" you must put it on your list of places to experience before you depart this earth.

Bald Eagle in Homer, Alaska.

If you have ever seen a photograph of a Bald Eagle in flight more than likely it was photographed in Homer, Alaska. The reason why so many "National Geographic" eagle shots have been taken in Homer is because of the winter feeding provided by Jean Keene "The Eagle Lady." For many years she would feed the eagles from her trailer providing photographers an unsurpassed opportunity to capture these birds up close. She passed away this year and the city of Homer is not allowing any more feedings:

www.baldeagleinfo.com/eagle/JeanKeene.html

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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