When I was 17, I journeyed with my dad to Abert Rim in southern Oregon. One of our main goals that day was to find some California bighorn sheep that I could videotape and photograph.  No more viable populations of California bighorns remain in California and Oregon is one of the best places to find them. California bighorns are basically a high desert subspecies of bighorn sheep and even though they’re classified uniquely, they’re virtually genetically the same as Rocky Mountain bighorns. First, my dad and I reached Abert Rim and glassed its slopes with binoculars.

Soon, we discovered a group of bighorn sheep.  It appeared to be a family unit of mostly ewes and lambs.

Like rams, female bighorns also have horns but they’re smaller.

Eventually, I discovered a young ram lying on a rock. He had his leg in some weird positions but seemed comfortable.

After checking out the bighorns, I photographed some amazing storm activity that started occurring over the alkaline body of Lake Abert (located just below Abert Rim).

On the way home, I saw a bald eagle in a field.

There was a nice sunset over Goose Lake near the California-Oregon border. The sunset marked a colorful closure to my successful March 24, 2005 photography expedition.