In early May 2017, we visited the national parks in Utah. With temperatures in the 90s, we didn’t exactly avoid the desert’s heat, but we were happy to see Arches National Park in bloom.
These plants grow well under the hot, sunny conditions. Here are a few of the plants we saw in bloom. Some are big and bold; others are small and subtle.
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is the long and winding road. Wandering the roads of Utah a few years ago, we saw many picturesque roads.
The Mt. Carmel Tunnel in Zion National Park.
Winding dirt roads bordering the canyons in Canyonlands National Park.
Utah State Route 95 curves down towards the Hite Bridge in Lake Powell.
Arches Scenic Drive Road near Park Avenue in Arches National Park.
Winding dirt roads seen in Bryce Canyon National Park from Bryce Point.
Highway 28 runs along the Colorado River near Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab.
Scenic Drive Road in Capitol Reef National Park.
Be sure to have your camera ready when you are out wandering the roads of Utah. Lots of opportunities for pictures! 😀
Wordless Wednesday
Wolfe Ranch root cellar at Arches National Park, Utah. This ranch was settled in 1888 by John Wolfe and his oldest son.
Monochrome Monday
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is cropping the shot. I’m sharing before and after images taken at Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey, Utah. These pictures show examples of making the cut to highlight the subject matter.
Sometimes you want to cut a road out of the picture so you can focus on the scenery. I loved the layered land forms at this park.
Other times there’s a sign you overlooked. How did I not see that?
But there are other times when you want to emphasize a sign.
I was interested in that sign because a thunderstorm was about to break. Needless to say, we did not drive down the narrow canyon.
Note: I also used a perspective correction tool in my photo editing program to straighten the sign.
Sometimes a place deserves a more panoramic view so you give it a little trim. You have to decide where the best place is when you’re making the cut. Hope I didn’t cut it too short.
And then there are times when you add a little hidden Easter egg and wonder if anyone will notice it when you share the final cropped photo.
Do you see the tiny tan smudge in the lower left corner on one of the flat rocks? That’s a white-tailed antelope squirrel traveling at Rocky J. Squirrel speed. Not a great picture of it, but good enough that I could identify it later. 😀
If you decide to walk the short Cave Spring Trail in Canyonlands National Park, you will be rewarded with unique encounters with history and nature.
The 0.6 mile loop trail takes you past a narrow cowboy camp tucked under a rock ledge. Camps like these were in use from the late 1800s to 1975. The Scorup-Sommerville Cattle Company managed as many as 10,000 cattle in this region. Cowboys lived a life on the range and artifacts from their outdoor camp remain at this site.
This site was prized due to the fact that a spring existed here. Rainwater percolated through the sandstone over this site and carved out alcoves.
Sites such as these hosted cowboys in the recent past, but Native Americans lived here thousands of years before them. Their rock art can be seen in parts of the cave. The spring is considered a sacred place to descendants of these people.
If you follow the trail farther, you’ll come to two narrow ladders that take you up to a slickrock sandstone plateau.
Follow the rock cairns marking the trail…
to get stunning 360-degree views of the Canyonlands.
The trail drops down into another narrow alcove and continues to the parking area. Cave Spring Trail isn’t long, but it packs a lot into a short distance.
I was especially impressed by the many interesting formations in the rock along this trail. Cave Spring Trail, and the nearby AMAZING petroglyphs of Newspaper Rock, made this one of our favorite stops on our trip to Utah’s National Parks.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Narrow
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
These petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument near Monticello, Utah look otherworldly in infrared. To see the whole amazing rock in color, see Newspaper Rock – Ancient Messages in Stone.
You live in the image you have of the world. Every one of us lives in a different world, with different space and different time.
Alejandro Jodorowsky
The geology of Utah is so unique and interesting. I imagined many details of alternate worlds while visiting there.
The formations at Capitol Reef form thrones ready for giant-sized royalty.
The mountains of Zion National Park look as though they have been compressed, kneaded, and scratched by the claws of big cats
At Canyonlands National Park, an army of stone soldiers is forever frozen in time.
A city of towers pushes out the forest at Bryce Canyon National Park.
At Arches National Park, layers of earth tilt and reach towards the sky, hoping they may someday form archways of stone.
Lens Artists Photo Challenge – Something different
Crowded columns taking in the view
Carefully crafted by hand and built to last
Curving crowns of overarching rock
Chronicles covering events from long ago
Creased cracks pressed by time
Colorful cactus thriving and persisting
Sunday Stills – Texture is all around us
Wordless Wednesday
Here’s a cabin scene in Torrey, Utah. It looks as though this old building could tell many interesting stories. Lots of drama in those walls…
Tuesday Photo Challenge at Dutch Goes the Photo! – Scene
The theme for the very last Weekly Photo Challenge was All-time Favorites. I’m late getting these up because my computer was in the shop and I was traveling. So without further ado…
North American river otter
I have a lot of photos of animals so it’s hard to choose favorites but here goes. Here’s a handful for you.
This was even harder to narrow down! Here’s another handful.
And here’s a dash of history for good measure. Hope you enjoy them!
Final Weekly Photo Challenge – All-Time Favorites
There it is. The view of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park I was waiting for. What a sight!
Now here’s “the rest of the story.” Lines of people wait to take pictures of their loved ones or themselves under the arch. That is the life of a beloved icon like Delicate Arch.
It’s great that so many people treasure our natural resources in national parks. Just be quick if you want to get that perfect shot! 😉
CFFC: Arch, Dome, or Half Circle
“Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.” Jeremy Bentham
Shooting Stars at Zion National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Here’s one more entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge of Lines. The many layered castles in Bryce Canyon National Park are an amazing sight. A single hoodoo formation is impressive, but when you see hundreds of them in lines like soldiers standing at attention, they are just plain stunning.
See my previous post Time Lines: Utah Parks for more pictures featuring a small taste of the geology in Utah’s parks.
The time lines are obvious in the many rock forms in state and national parks in Utah. Can you imagine the stories from hundreds of millions of years ago these land forms could tell us?
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Arches National Park, Utah
Zion National Park, Utah
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah
Weekly Photo Challenge – Lines
Here is a weathered old tree that is beautiful even without any leaves. Its trunk leans and twists but the tree still manages to keep standing.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Weathered
A single sego lily in the desert of Arches National Park in Utah.
Friday Flowers
The Weekly Photo Challenge this week is Favorite. I could not select just one picture so here are a few of my favorites from the past year. Enjoy!
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah in May 2017
This one is from my most liked post of the year – Utah National Parks: Trees & Rocks. There are lots of photogenic landscapes in Utah and this post contains a photo from each of the five national parks.
Pete French Round Barn near Diamond, Oregon in September 2017 (infrared)
Here is a picture of the Pete French Round Barn. This picture is in infrared and it shows off the beautiful structure of this barn. To learn more about this barn that was built in the 1880’s and to see more photos, see my post – Pete French Round Barn.
Glowing sunrise over the High Desert of Central Oregon near Bend in October 2017
We see plenty of stunning sunrises and sunsets in Bend, Oregon but this one in October was especially beautiful. It was taken from my yard.
Rorschach reflections on Three Creek Lake in Oregon in September 2017
I often notice interesting shapes and forms when out taking pictures. Here is a shot that I called Rorschach Reflections. It was taken at Three Creeks Lake near Sisters, Oregon while I was out kayaking.
The eclipse as viewed from Prineville, Oregon in August 2017
The eclipse! I drove 30 minutes away and got a perfect view of the eclipse. This was my best shot. For more on that day, see – Solar Eclipse Success.
New growth on a pine tree in Bend, Oregon in June 2017
Here is a simple shot of a pine tree’s new growth last summer.
Desert primrose in landscape, Bend, Oregon in May 2017
Here’s a desert primrose blooming in my garden. I’m trying to do water wise gardening. See my post Water wise gardening: Growing more with less.
Here are a few wildlife shots. A tiger swallowtail on a brilliant flower, a herd of pronghorn beneath a “rainbow” of foliage, and a small-but-mighty western kingbird.
Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock in Utah in May 2017
I will leave you with this shot of Newspaper Rock in Utah. Maybe this was the first place to blog? For more on that site, see Newspaper Rock – Ancient Messages in Stone.
The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs. Vance Havner
Twisting rock wall and stone steps at Zion National Park in Utah
Weekly Photo Challenge – Ascend
Tomorrow many people will be eating a delicious turkey dinner. I wanted to share some pictures of what turkeys look like in the wild before they are transformed into the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving meal. Enjoy!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Transformation
This week the word for the Weekly Photo Challenge is Layered. Here is one of the many beautiful layered formations along the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.
The Weekly Photo Challenge this week is Structure. I immediately thought of our recent trip to the five national parks in Utah. The structure of the rocks and geological features is complimented by the trees in these parks. Whether dead and twisting, or green and contrasting, the trees are a main character in an interesting landscape.
Arches National Park, Utah
The arches are amazing at Arches National Park and standing dead trees add to the scene. You can see Double Arch in the background.
A fence along the trail in Canyonlands National Park, Utah
I loved these fences made from old juniper wood in Canyonlands National Park. They helped keep people on the trail and were nice to look at too.
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
The rainbow of colors in the cliffs of this canyon in Capitol Reef National Park were complimented by the bright green of the trees. A storm was moving in in this picture.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
A windswept pine tree clings to the edge of a cliff in Bryce Canyon National Park. Puffy white clouds (like in “The Simpsons” cartoons) float gracefully in the background.
Zion National Park
Colorful and tilting structures in the rock, line a tree-filled canyon in Zion National Park. A few wispy clouds hang over the valley.
The national parks in Utah are full of interesting structures both large and small. The geology of the region tells a dramatic story. The trees and other plants living here have adapted to harsh conditions. The wildlife living here takes advantage of the local environment.
Take the time to look up but also to look down when you visit these parks. Each park is a little different from the others and each one has amazing sights worth seeing. The forces of Nature are strong here.
Being a visual person, I have always wanted to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. I was not disappointed when I visited the park in May. Here are some of the many multi-layered delicate castles of stone in the park. They are a visual treat to all that are lucky enough to see them.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Satisfaction
Do you enjoy watching the HBO series Westworld? When I first watched the show, I wondered where some of the stunning outdoor shots had been filmed. Interesting land features and sunny skies serve as a backdrop in this series. I found out that several filming locations were in Utah so we visited them on a recent trip.
This series is based on the 1973 Westworld movie, written and directed by Michael Crichton. In this sci-fi classic, wealthy tourists visit an Old West-themed amusement park where they can indulge in any of their fantasies with no consequences. The “hosts” in the park appear to be human but they are actually androids. Though the skies appear to always be sunny, there are dark plot twists involving the hosts in both the movie and the series.
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy worked on the screenplay for the new series. It debuted on HBO in October of 2016. You may have heard of Jonathan’s brother, Christopher Nolan. The two of them co-wrote the screenplays for The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and several other successful films. Jonathan worked as a writer, director, and executive producer on the Westworld series, roles he also held for the Person of Interest series.
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Land forms of the Moenkopi Formation at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
The landscape at Capitol Reef National Park tells many stories in colorful layers of rock. The darker columns in the picture above are part of the Moenkopi Formation and it is 225 million years old.
The sedimentary layers of rock in this picture consist of silt, sand, clay, and gravel. The bands of gray and burgundy are made up of volcanic ash. The 700 foot thick layer at the base of the cliffs is the Chinle Formation. That formation contains a lot of petrified wood.
I was impressed by contrasting colors and textures at this park. If you take a trip to Utah, don’t overlook this park. There are a lot of hiking trails here and a short scenic drive.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Order
Silent Sunday
Can you guess where (or wear) I was earlier this month? Yes! I was on a 2,754-mile road trip to see parks in Utah and Nevada. We visited five national parks and one state park in Utah and one national park in Nevada.
I love the artwork on these t-shirts. It’s nice to remember a place with a piece of art you can wear.
I took a few pictures while on this trip. 1,420 to be exact. Lots of material for future blog posts!
An amazing example of petroglyphs can be seen on the road into the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Wow! I have seen petroglyphs before but never so many in one spot. There are more than 650 drawings on Newspaper Rock at this state historical monument. The dark desert varnish provides a nice contrast to the messages carved into the stone.
The first carvings at this site have been determined to be 2,000 years old. People of the Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, Anglo, and Pueblo cultures have carved their messages into the rock over the years. Unfortunately, it looks like some more modern graffiti artists added to parts of the scene.
The meanings of the messages here have been difficult to figure out. Do they tell a story or are they merely scribbles? The Navajo refer to Newspaper Rock as Tse’ Hane – translated as “Rock that tells a story.” It does indeed appear to tell many stories. Only the people who made the carvings know exactly what those stories were.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Heritage
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