Yep, but they're few in number and I had to go full size and peer a while to find them - hardly distracting. And did you try pixel mapping?

Good on you for grabbing the shot. You should have got one at his head level, eyeballing him so to speak. What an inconsiderate goose.

Well this was a very worthwhile hike - what a fabulous scene! Captures the starkness of the landscape in spades.

Dramatic capture and presentation of the rock outcrops - such a contrast between the two, and a nice implied link between the RH one and the just-out-of-frame Sun. Grand sky to complete the framing and make the urban features seemingly at the mercy of the natural world. That's my story anyway ...

Sorry for not being clear. I didnt post the shot with the specks. I will later though and it will make it clear.

Beautiful evening scene but I'm not distracted by any specks. Where are these beasts of which you speak? There are stars (I think) in the sky and a few bright points in the lowermost dark layer - could the latter be dead pixels or just point reflections from some small leaves? Maybe just run Pixel Mapping? Thanks for the extra.

The reflections on the side of the van are great as are the main lights.

Is this facing North? If so, aren't the "specs" short star trails? They get longer further away from the centre dots, which makes sense if that's looking towards the NCP. Or am I missing something?
Lovely image btw!

Side note: that trail on the hillside is the return trail from the one that takes you along the top, where I took these shots last month..
http://www.tmphillips.com/pg/picture.php?/27035/category/395

It's a neighbors yard down the way by the mailboxes.