Slickrock and Shadow

Tallest Grass  In the field, looking at the bland clouds and hazy grey skies, I had to decide how to make an interesting photograph of my dear little cabin.  I wasn't satisfied with my standard shots taken from 2 to 6 feet above the ground.  The ground cover wasn't interesting enough to shoot down.  The skies weren't good enough to shoot up.   So I changed perspective radically by inverting my tripod and getting very, very low to the ground . . . so low that my subject (the cabin) was mostly obscured.  It became a complimentary subject while the grass and yellow flowers became my new star.  Even so, this is a less saturated picture than most landscapes.  It feels grey/neutral in many ways and accurately represents the colors that day.

  Orderville Canyoneering:  a memorable day in a good life! Orderville Canyon trail report and advice for anyone looking for adventure.  This is a sweet hike with some fun canyoneering daring requiring swimming, rappelling, jumping into cold pools and more.  The hike does require a PERMIT from the Zion backcountry office.  You can take as many as 12 people in a group.  Our group had 11 at the beginning . . . and 11 at the end!  Success! Start you hike first by leaving a car at the Zion visitor center early in the day.  Then travel to the trailhead in the high eastern plateau above Zion Ponderosa ranch resort.  It's an easy dirt road when it is dry.   The fun begins with a descent down a rough dirt road for 1-2 miles.  Then the trail becomes obvious and drops deeper into the canyon after 1 mile.  Here is where the beauty of a slot canyon begins:  the sandstone walls draw closer and big pine trees hang to the cracks in...

Infinite Sand Dunes with Zero Tracks  Sand dunes conjure an image of infinite rolling sand hills patterned with wind-swept ridges.  This can be your experience if you wander off in the right direction at White Sands.  The web-recommended and expert-recommended trail is the Alkali Flat Trail.  I took it.  I recommend it.  But everyone else also takes it.   So . . . unless you really want to wander a mile or two away from the parking lot, you'll never be free of human footprints.  They mark up the sand, the hills, the ridges and more.  I took that trail for my sunset pictures noted in previous posts but wandered for an hour in total darkness to get back to the car.   A MUCH EASIER way to enjoy footprint-free dunes is the go northeast from the northern tip of the road.  This is just as beautiful as the Alkali Flat trail but you'll be in virgin dunes after going over your first hill.  It's instant gratification.  Mos...