Slickrock and Shadow

  Bonsai Tree of East Zion The slightly famous Bonsai Tree of Zion National Park stands atop a sandstone formation right off the road.  This is a "Oh-that's-so-cute!" location for those who know where to park their car.  Speaking of which, this is between the tunnel and East Entrance, about midway.  There's no sign or parking lot and the roadside pullouts are small.  Nevertheless, it's worth a stop.  If you drive slowly and look for it on the south side, you'll see it easily.  Pullover and walk back to explore some more.   The first picture is what it looks like from the road.  That bend tree trunk points up, then sideways and then down.  Framed against a blue sky, it leaps out.  This looks great from all directions.  Below is a photo taken from the lower front and then an old photo taken from the far side back in 2008.  You'll notice the  tree has grown slowly over 13 years between photos.   The twiste...

Dust Devil in Area 51 Exploring Nevada's AREA 51 can be fun.  Be prepared for some driving and open roads.  My 2 journeys through this gave me time to appreciate empty space, open land and imagine the possibility of alien life.  With the recent government accounts of UFOs going public, the fun of Area 51 just increased.  Are they real?  Are they alien?  Are they just something manmade that the observer cannot recognize?   While I do not have the answers to these questions, I did try to discover some by mailing my letter at the Black Box and also driving up to the Back Gate only to be turned away by guard towers, cameras and lots of intimidating fence.  Whatever is in Area 51 is not easy to discover and it's clear that the government doesn't want you to visit.  :(   The closest we came to seeing alien life or a UFO was driving just north of the Back Gate and seeing this dust devil.  Perhaps it was really a gust from a UFO t...