Slickrock and Shadow

This summer at Lake Powell the monsoon storms coincided perfectly with a week in Navajo Canyon.  Some mild rains came at night but nothing terrible.  I'd checked out a drainage near our campsite our first day.  Then we had a HUGE afternoon storm.  Noisy, wet and amazing.  As soon as it slowed, I went with a few others to the drainage.  What I saw was incredible!  This was the real deal flash flood!  We stood beside the flow a few moments before seeing rising water erode the bank away.  We quickly departed.  30 seconds later that bank was gone!  

  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...

Leeds Waterfall  The locked gate forced me to walk up the dirt road to Oak Grove for my hiking exercise this day.  Walking allowed me to SEE things that would overwise whiz right past me in a car.  Walking allowed me to HEAR those things too. So I HEARD falling water, I looked off the roadside and I SAW this lovely gem of a waterfall.  It's certainly worth a skinny dip to cool off on a hot day.  It's also worthy of a landscape photograph too!  

  Mexican Fishermen hard at Work We hailed these industrious fishermen as we approached.  We wanted to avoid getting entangled in their nets but wanted to see if they had a fish to sell.  Alas, they were working too hard to stop and sell to us.  Some of these nets can be gigantic.  We watched for 15 minutes as they kept pulling it in non stop.  The man in the red hat would secure any fish that came over in the net.  We wished them an hearty "adios" and sailed on.  

Ocean Surface from Sea of Cortez Minimalism is defined as "a trend in sculpture and painting that arose in the 1950s and used simple, typically massive, forms."  Another definition  a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity .   A large swath of ocean with small islands in the distance qualifies as minimalist.  Many areas appear empty.  By emphasizing the uninterrupted ocean surface, those features on the surface get noticed:  the swells, and small ripples.   This is minimalism to me and resembles mindfulness in it's approach to appreciate what's there.

Yovimpa Point is the end of Bryce Plateau and looks over a vast south land Yovimpa Point and Rainbow Point are the south-most views in Bryce Canyon National Park.  The lovely drive down takes time as the road curves and wanders.  Rainbow point is right off the parking lot and looks to the north and east.  This is a wonderful and classic Bryce-type view.   Rainbow Point has the delicate spires typical of Bryce Canyon As lovely as Rainbow Point is, it's not really unique nor are the spires near enough to make you feel like you're touching the heart of Bryce.  The views are too distant.  Better viewpoints are to be had along the road and at Fairyland Point, Agua Canyon, and other spots.   Yovimpa Point is a 10 minute stroll on a paved path through the pine trees and then ends at the south-most point of this plateau.  The views here extend 70 miles to Mollie's Nipple, Coyote Buttes, Paria and many other landmarks visible to the educated eye....