Slickrock and Shadow

Buck Farm Canyon narrows and chockstone My hiking book said Buck Farm Canyon had some pretty sections near the end but I'd seen no other pictures of trail reports of this canyon.  When our guide said Buck Farm was our hike, I wondered what we'd find.  Our camp was at the base of this canyon so we took off after a nice lunch at our beach. The going is pretty easy here.  Hiking further up Buck Farm Canyon, I noticed more ferns and then a cottonwood tree.  The temperature dropped a notch and everything felt nice.  Unlike Saddle Canyon and North Canyon, Buck Farm is pretty easy, short and quick.  We reached the end and had a little geology talk before heading back to camp.  Getting my feet a little wet, I walked up the narrows and found a chockstone wedged in the muav limestone.  A pretty fern grew where the water seeped out.  I started clicking. Geology talk about Muav Limestone in the Grand Canyon's Buck Farm Canyon Photography note...

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 ...

Big Spring:  a difficult and beautiful destination in the Virgin Narrows I hiked (and swam) to Big Spring in the Zion Narrows.  I love the Virgin Narrows in Zion National Park and hoped to finally go all the way to a special spot 4 miles upstream where fresh water copiously pours out of solid rock.  I went in September.  Rain had fallen about a week earlier which muddied the river more than I expected.  I walked up in liquid that resembled chocolate milk.  At one point I even had to swim through a deep section! Big Spring is a lovely destination.  Three different flows come out of the rock with beautiful ferns and trees adjacent.  Photographing this beauty required a wide-angle lens and a polarizer.  The fast flow of water rattled my tripod when I shot in the river itself, making me keep a hand on it at all times.  I climbed up on the spring to shoot these ferns up close but it can be quite slippery (remember, this is called "slic...

Desert Spring and Small waterfall Desert Springs is a natural spring in the Arizona desert.  It is a small area surrounded by very little growth.  Despite its closeness to a major interstate, it remains mostly hidden.  As a local I heard about it from an acquaintance.  I spent my morning visiting this beautiful location.  Nobody was there when I came but it clearly gets some use in the summertime.  Several sandbanks built around the outside created a lovely pool.  That part is artificial.  However the ferns, the travertine and the beautiful greenery are natural beauties. There is limited room for maneuvering.  Water also is a problem when combined with electrical equipment such as a digital camera.  Using a wide-angle lens, I was able to try several compositions.  The one featured above is my favorite.  I tried to capture the waterfall, the hanging stalactite-like structure and the beautiful ferns and pool all in one ...