Waterpocket Fold
The 100 mile long wrinkle in the earth’s crust is called Waterpocket Fold. Early explorers called it an impassable reef which led to it’s current name: Capitol Reef National Park. It was created 65 million years ago by the same forces that uplifted the Colorado Plateau. It is a vast collection of cliffs, domes, spires, [...]
Twin Rocks at Capitol Reef
I was treated to a lovely sunset at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. I really liked how the direct light shone onto the red twin rocks and made them glow. Please click the images to view larger versions. It’s hard to tell from this angle why they are called twin rocks. One of the [...]
The Castle at Capitol Reef
Of all the national parks in Utah, Capitol Reef National Park is the one that seems to get overlooked by many tourists, yet it was one of my favourites. Perhaps that’s exactly what I liked about it: fewer people. Please click the image to view a larger version. It is just as rugged and magnificent [...]
Supermoon at Bryce Canyon
I was so delighted to discover that I would be at Bryce Canyon National Park during the rise of the supermoon. On a trip like this I was bound to be somewhere great but Bryce Canyon with its hoodoos was ideal. This was my second attempt at photographing a supermoon. When it happened last year [...]
Hoodoo Chaos
When I visited Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah I had to find a way to make sense of the hoodoo chaos. It is quite amazing to behold such a vast landscape with so much detail. I asked myself what the main attractions were in the grand scene. I like to give myself some time [...]
Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park
My second National Park visit in Utah was Bryce Canyon where dense hoodoos, or tall rock formations, are jammed into the horseshoe shaped canyon. Called Bryce Amphitheater, I couldn’t help but think of a rock concert gone wrong. What was going on here that caused everyone to turn to stone? Please click the images to [...]
Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park
One of my favourite sections of Zion National Park was the first part I saw: Checkerboard Mesa. It has layers upon layers of slickrock as seen in the foreground of this image I made of a lone pine tree growing mysteriously out of the rock. The Mesa is the great mountain in the background with [...]
The Virgin River, Zion National Park
There are two things that make Zion National Park as unique as it is: the great red sandstone cliffs and the Virgin River. Please click the images to view larger versions. I made a few images using a low angle perspective that would allow me to capture both the river and the red walls, and [...]
Lizard in Zion National Park
Do you ever dream of basking in the sun with towering sandstone cliffs on one side of you and a rushing river on the other? If you do, you might find this lizard is your neighbour: Please click the image to view a larger version. I’m not sure what kind of lizard he is. But [...]
Iconic Zion
I can’t help myself. When I go to a place like Zion National Park in Utah I just have to make that iconic image even though it has been photographed a gazillion times before. We, the tripod nerds (as my husband likes to call us), were lined up shoulder to shoulder on the bridge above [...]
When Will I Stop Making Rookie Mistakes?
It was my first day in Zion National Park in Utah. I was overwhelmed with the majesty and scale of the great cliffs and tried not to let my jaw drop too far while extending my neck back to see the top. For our first exploration Ray and I decided that we would take the [...]
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the painted desert, millions of years ago this land was covered in a lush thick forest. Over 200 million years ago actually. Today, as the painted desert erodes, it exposes the fossilized artifacts of the ancient forest. It is the world’s largest concentration of petrified wood. 200 million [...]
The Painted Desert, Arizona
The painted desert covers a huge expanse of Arizona from the Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest. It is vast landscape of rainbow coloured badland hills and buttes that resembles an abstract painting on earth’s canvas. Please click the images to view larger versions. This particular section of the painted desert is inside the bounds [...]
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Travelling through the Guadalupe Mountain Range one has no idea of the wonder that lies beneath: over 100 limestone caves formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone. Please click the images to view larger versions. Carlsbad is the largest of the caves and you can visit without any fear of claustrophobia. It’s big room [...]
The Silence and the Stars
I’ve been thinking of recording the sounds of some of the places I visit and Texas had some really unique sounds. First there was the nasty javalinas, which are 60 pound hairy pig-like creatures (but they are not pigs). I wish I had a photo but they were too elusive and I only saw one [...]
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
We drove north too fast! After enjoying 80-85 degree and dry weather conditions in Big Bend National Park, we headed up to Guadalupe where we were shocked to see snow for the first time on our trip. It was just a light dusting of snow that was perfect for photography and I had to pull [...]
Luna’s Jacal
At the edge of Alamo Creek in Big Bend National Park, Texas, Gilberto Luna built this jacal which is made of rock, earth and plant fiber. It was a scorching hot day the afternoon we were here and I was surprised to find how cool it was inside the jacal. It must have been somewhat [...]
Mule Ears, Big Bend National Park
One of the more distinctive mountain formations in Big Bend National Park is known as “Mule Ears”. My husband insisted on calling them “Rabbit Ears” since there were so many jackrabbits in the park and we only saw a few mules. Please click the image to view a larger version. As we hiked along the [...]
Boquillas Canyon, Texas
In Big Bend National Park in Texas, Boquillas Canyon lies just a short drive from the campground at Rio Grande Village where we were staying. I love it when such majestic places are so close to the campground. We found an overlook where we stopped and cooked hotdogs on the barbeque before heading down to [...]
Chisos Mountains, Texas
I think the term “go big or go home” must have been coined in Big Bend National Park. This land of extremes is made of massive canyons, vast desert plains and rugged mountain ranges rising from the desert floor. It can be intensely hot during the day and freezing cold at night and during our [...]
Tequila Agave, Texas
Another plant common in southern Texas is the agave, known as tequila or blue agave. Technically it is an “agave tequilana” although in Texas it may be better known as a blue agave since Mexico has claimed exclusive international rights to the word “tequila” and even stipulates which regions of the country the liquor may [...]
The Prickly Pear, Texas
If there is one reason to wear long pants when you hike in the desert, it’s the prickly pear. They are everywhere and their spikes are very long and sharp. I cannot count the number of times I have been concentrating on making an image and I go to move my tripod just a little [...]
Ocotillo in Texas
This week I want to show you some of the interesting cacti I came across while in Big Bend National Park in Texas. This first one is an Octillo (although technically it isn’t a cactus but we’re not being that picky, right?). It looks like a cactus and it has those similar sharp spines – [...]
Grapevine Hills, Texas
This is Grapevine Hills in Big Bend National Park, Texas. You have to drive 7.5 miles on an extremely bumpy road that requires a high clearance vehicle or 4 wheel drive. It took a lot longer than expected because you have to drive so slowly. That’s why I always like to leave early for the [...]
