Slickrock and Shadow

Nankoweap Granaries and Grand Canyon: iconic landscape photo of the Grand Canyon Nankoweap Granaries are a classic, iconic image of the Grand Canyon.  I knew we'd stop there on our 12-day river trip because it's a great hike and I signed up for the hiking trip.  Lots of camps dot the river at this location and this is the first place we found neighbors:  two other groups were camped here.  A fourth group came in late in the day. We hiked here in the afternoon.  We set up camp, ate lunch, got lots of water and took off.  Ascending steep steps, I was thankful it was April and 70 degrees instead of July at 112 degrees.  Our group came across a beautiful but very threatening rattlesnake. Rattlesnake on the trail. Do not disturb. As we ascended further, the ruins came in sight.  These are beautiful in such a spectacular setting.  I will let the photographs do the talking. The group enjoying the scenery. Wildflowers and Nankoweap...

Mud Cracks and a Glowing Canyon Wall in Rider Canyon Rider Canyon is a short but lovely narrow canyon.  Most river trips pass by this gem but our group stopped for a quick exploration.  We hiked through a little mud and along a ledge before coming to the natural ending point.  I found the mud, water and glowing canyon walls to be the most photogenic elements.  Inverting my tripod allowed me an extra low angle to get this shot.  

Icicles hang at Emerald Pools during winter in Zion Two weeks ago a heavy snow was forecast for southern Utah.  I trekked over to Zion where several roads were closed but I could drive up to Emerald Pools parking lot.  A walk up the snow-covered trail led me to this magical spot.  Too cold for flowing water, the dripping springs had turned to icicles.  They hung 80 feet above my head and a few of these cold daggers broke off and fell onto the trail while I was there.  To spotlight these really cool (pun intended) features, I followed the trail all the way around until I got a view behind the ice looking back onto the grotto.  I wanted to show these clear cold wonders in detail and context.  Technical aspects of this shot:  this is a focus blended shot.  I took photos focused on three different icicles (far left, middle and right) to get these all sharp.  I took a photo focused on the canyon wall in the background.  These we...

Grapevine Springs, Zion is a wall of seeping water coming out of sandstone. Grapevine Springs is the namesake for the "Grapevine" trail in Zion National Park.  Thinking this must be a big deal because it has it's own trailhead, I wondered why nobody ever writes about it, hikes to it nor are there any pictures of it on record that I can discover via Google Search. So I went on a hike to discover this spring and assess its' merits and beauties myself.  Hiking upstream from the Grapevine trail, one must keep a lookout for water coming from the left.  Follow this water up a nonexistent trail through and over many branches and you will arrive at a wall.  This is a magic wall with water dripping and ferns clinging.  I can't say it's a big deal but the subtle attraction and the sense of discovery and privacy is rewarding. Grapevine Spring:  Shot in the Water -- Camera got plenty wet for this photo. Closeup of Ferns and dripping water.  This has ...

A small human figure sits near the edge of Toroweap looking down into the deep canyon. A sitting woman in the distance caught my attention as sunset approached.  She was backlit and the sun was far enough north in the sky to be out of frame.  The sun sent some amazing orange rays of light on the far canyon cliffs which then bounced off the redwall where I stood.  The dark greens of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon separate the two dramatic sides.  Rock with a View

Toroweap:  That's a 3,000 foot drop, sonny! Toroweap scares the *#%@ out of me!  It's straight down 3,000 feet and there's no rail to protect anybody.  You can walk all along the ledge and everywhere the danger is just right there to the south.  I worry about wind tipping someone off balance and then it's too late.  Some guys were throwing a football to each other by the edge when I was there.  Another couple were sipping some beer while sitting 6 feet from the edge. That's not me:  I am a bonafide chicken when it comes to edges that lead to certain death.  I may peer over but I keep my center of balance over my back foot and don't dwell very long.  I think this shot shows why I'm so scared of Toroweap.  There's the edge and what's that just over the edge?  Yeah, it's the giant Colorado River.  It looks small because it's 3,000 feet straight down!  I go because it's a beautiful landscape but I leave because of a gut...