A Snapshot and The Scoop: Get The Shot

Time for another confession: the whole reason I went to Tucson in February was because I want to put photos of saguaro cacti in my kitchen (subtly desert-themed), and instead of buying prints from someone I'd rather just take the pictures myself. Which is why I headed south in a roundabout way after leaving Littlefield, AZ and the Grandmaster Ultras race I volunteered at, trying my best to get to Saguaro National Park and an abundance of Saguaro cacti. I didn't begin seeing saguaros until I passed a rest area called "Sunset Point" on the interstate, after which the road dropped drastically in elevation and giant cacti started to pop out of the hills. I wanted to make it to the park that night, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to begin taking photos. You should have seen me, leaving the interstate every few exits, driving around dirt roads in the middle of nowhere, Arizona, taking pictures of cacti. Even as the sun set and I was an hour or more away from my destination, I was still on the side of some dirt road somewhere southeast of Phoenix, crouching down to get a silhouette of cacti against the sunset. I now have over a hundred photos of saguaro cacti, and yes, I got the ones I wanted for my kitchen!

Leave me a comment below and tell me about a time you did whatever it took (safely!) to get a picture you wanted. I want to hear some fun stories!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Marble Canyon

No, it's not really made of marble, but the canyon carved through rust-red sandstone by the Colorado River as it makes its way toward the Grand Canyon might as well be. Or, at least the water in the river might be made of green marble for all its swirls and eddies. I stopped at an overlook as I crossed the Colorado River for the last time during my trip to the Southwest in February, and couldn't help but stare down at the absolutely green waters of the river far below. I mean, I've seen blue rivers, red rivers, brown rivers, but this green was something new. With all the silt churning in it, the waters really kind of did look like marble. I would absolutely love to get the chance to raft that river someday; someday I'll make it happen. For now, I'll content myself with admiring from above.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: California Condors

I SAW CONDORS!! Do you have any idea how excited I was (and still am!) to have the chance to see these incredible, highly endangered birds? I mean, I'm a bird nerd, alright?? I had pulled over at an overlook right on the Colorado River south of the Utah/Arizona border, meaning to get out and look at the river. There happened to be a few Native Americans selling jewelry and trinkets set up in the lot, and I took the time to browse through their goods. I got to chatting with a couple ladies when one of them suddenly points over my head and said "oh look, condors" like it was no big deal. I got way too excited and ran back to my car to get my telephoto lens, but by the time I returned they had perched on a cliff just a little too far out of my lens range. I hung around for an hour (no, I'm not kidding) waiting to see if they would fly. They did, but in the wrong direction! I'd wanted them to fly over me, or at least a little closer, but they took off down canyon and I didn't get my shot. That's okay though, I'm already planning my return trip next year. Maybe I'll be in the right place at the right time to see these amazing birds again. And I walked away this year with a few pictures and and a pretty little kokopelli necklace, so I really can't complain.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever seen a California Condor!

Desert Castles and Cat Walks

Joyous. When chasing wintertime sun and heat, you head south. This was exactly what I was doing when I decided to take a side trip to Montezuma Castle National Monument as I drove south from Zion National Park (where I had spent the night tent camping with temperatures around 10 degrees). I had been cruising along pretty well on the interstate south of Flagstaff when I noticed signs for Montezuma Castle. Being me, I couldn't pass up a visit to a national parks unit so close to my route, so Hoodoo and I got off the interstate to make a stop. We weren't disappointed! While I always enjoy seeing Pueblo ruins, especially those built into alcoves like the one above, this little national monument gets extra points because I could bring Hoodoo on the short paved loop trail to the views!

Bringing a pet on national park/monument trails is almost unheard of, due to a number of factors including resource preservation, wildlife safety, public safety, and the pet's own safety. There are a few units where pets are allowed (looking at you, Great Sand Dunes!) but for the most part pets are restricted to the roads, parking lots, and established campgrounds of most parks. When I checked in at the visitor center I asked the rangers if pets were allowed. When they confirmed, I got probably a little too excited and told them about Hoodoo. Well, who doesn't love an adventure cat? The ladies at Montezuma Castle certainly did, and they came out to meet him. He was perfect, walking on his leash even in a group of other visitors as we made our collective way along the path. He paused to sniff everything (I swear he's more like a dog than a cat!) and took his time wandering down the trail, but we weren't in a hurry. The sun felt great, it was warm enough for only a light jacket, and we were close enough to our destination near Tucson that I didn't feel the need to rush. And the ruins of Montezuma Castle? Icing on the cake of a gorgeous walk.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Vermilion Cliffs

A short trip down a snowy dirt road was not nearly enough to satisfy my curiosity about Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona, but it'll have to do for now. I will definitely need a 4-wheel drive vehicle the next time I want to explore this enormous monument on the Utah/Arizona border, but on this day in February I drove as far as I was comfortable along that road until the snow drifts encroached on the road, then turned around. I did get the chance to step out of the car at a couple of pull-outs, though! Did you know California Condors aren't just native to California? Some can be found in Arizona, like the ones reintroduced to the Vermilion Cliffs area. These birds are huge, eclipsing all other birds of prey found in North America. I even got the chance to see a couple, but that's for a later post!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Shooting the Moon

As I get more comfortable with my camera I spend more time taking pictures of things I'm less practiced with. Astrophotography, for example. I have very little idea what I'm doing when it comes to taking pictures of the moon and stars, but hey, no time like the present to figure it out. I spent some time during both nights in the desert while volunteering at an aid station for the Grandmaster Ultras in February, trying my hand at shooting the crescent moon. The skies were far too bright, from Saint George, from Mesquite, from Las Vegas, to shoot anything other than the moon, but that was fine with me. The moon itself wasn't bright enough to cast shadows, and paled in comparison to the light pollution in multiple directions, but that didn't stop me from hooking my camera onto my tripod and attempting a few photos. All said and done I'm happy with my attempts, though I know I need a better camera and a better lens to get the clear, close photos of Earth's lunar companion. Someday I'll get there.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever attempted photographing the moon. How'd it go?

Searching for Winter

Seeking. I went in search of Winter, and I found it waiting for me. This February right after leaving the Grandmaster Ultras in Littlefield, AZ I had initially thought I'd spend a few days chasing the sun in southern Arizona, soaking up as many rays as possible before returning to rainy East Texas. Instead of heading directly south, though, I went up to Zion National Park, right across the Arizona/Utah border and only an hour or so from the race location. I don't know quite what made me go there. Maybe it was because I had forgotten how freshly fallen snow glitters in the sun, like so many diamonds sparking in a jeweler's case. Maybe it was because I needed to feel the sting of frozen air on my cheeks to remember why I don't live in places where breathing hurts. Whatever it was, I got my fair share of freezing temperatures and snow-covered red rock canyons during my visit.

Winter is the only time of the year private vehicles are allowed to drive the scenic road into Zion Canyon. Visitation during the summer months is too high, which the park combats by utilizing a shuttle system to take visitors and hikers to various stops within the canyon. I took advantage of this allowance to drive the canyon road myself, stopping at nearly every pull-out to take in the snow-dusted canyon walls. The Virgin River, responsible for carving Zion out of sandstone, was a churning, chilly thread along the bottom of the canyon, rimmed with ice.

Zion is a whole new park in the winter. With the canyon bottom frozen, trees bare, and walls devoid of the famous hanging gardens, you can't help but be reminded that this is a desert. Sure, the canyon walls provide cool relief and abundant water during the summer months, allowing herds of mule deer and other wildlife a place to flourish, but while those animals are still around during winter the lack of greenery makes the canyon look stark in comparison.

I really, really enjoyed the lack of crowds during this visit. I had Hoodoo with me so didn't get a chance to hit the trails, but just from driving along the park roads and being able to find a parking space was a huge difference between summer and winter in Zion. And the fresh inches of snow covering the park when I woke up after spending the night? Perfection. Is there anything better than red rock covered in snow? I got my taste of winter for the year, and while I couldn't get enough of the views I could definitely do without the freezing temperatures. It was down to ten degrees overnight while I was (tent!!) camping. And once I left the canyon bottom for upper elevations it dropped to zero degrees. I made my way south as quickly as I could after that.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: A Different Type of Wave

I'm one of those people who notice, and often point out, oddly shaped clouds. My husband metaphorically rolls his eyes at me and says yes, dear and most of my friends look at me like I sprouted a second head. So what? I like to look up, and if I notice something interesting I like to share. This February while volunteering at an aid station at the Grandmaster Ultras race in Littlefield, Arizona I was the only one up and moving around just before sunrise on the second day of the race, bundled in multiple layers against the cold. I was already planning on photographing the sunrise, which was disappointingly underwhelming. I spun a slow circle not far from camp, trying to see if anything interesting was happening across the small piece of desert we were calling home, when I noticed the clouds above a distant mountain range. These clouds, called Kelvin-Helmoltz clouds, are formed by two different wind speeds in the atmosphere. Also known as billows, they are essentially the same as ocean waves breaking on a beach, where the top travels faster than the bottom, causing them to curl over themselves and crash downwards. I've seen pictures of them before, most people have, but have never seen the phenomenon in person. I was delighted, and not at all ashamed of how long I stood out there taking pictures until the clouds melded back together into a single band.

Leave me a comment and tell me if you've seen clouds like these before! Where did you see them?

A Snapshot and The Scoop: A Stretch, Even For Me

I am fully aware that I do some rather unconventional things, especially when it comes to traveling, and I typically don't bat an eye. In this particular instance, though, even I couldn't help but think that I was being more than a little crazy. It was snowing, as it had been off and on after I crossed central New Mexico on my way to Nevada to meet up with Torrey and volunteer at the Grandmaster Ultras race this February. I was driving down some back highway just west of the Arizona/New Mexico border, going way slower than the speed limit due to icy roads and gusty winds, when I couldn't help but notice the ground essentially fall away from both shoulders of the road. I realized I was driving on a ridge surrounded by canyonlands and badlands shrouded in mists and snow as far as the horizon, and it wasn't long before I was looking for a place to pull over. I was slammed by the wind as soon as I popped out of my car, running over to the side with the best view as I brought my camera up to my face with shivering limbs. I know I looked like an idiot, standing in below freezing temperatures on the side of the road with snow whipping around me in gusts that rose up one side of the ridge and descended the other, shivering as I tried to take pictures. One nice guy even stopped to make sure I was alright, and when I explained I was taking pictures (in the snow storm) he just slowly nodded and continued on his way, no doubt shaking his head at my antics. I have no excuse except to say what did you expect? It's me, after all.

Leave me a comment and tell me if you've ever done something like stop on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere just to take a picture in a snow storm. Anybody?

Back to the Desert

Refreshed. Why I decide to travel anywhere further north than my home in Texas during the winter months, I'll never quite understand. Sure, I grew up with winter, I know what snow and ice are, those howling winds on the plains that aren't slowed down by things like trees or hills. But I moved to Texas four years ago, and while I go back to visit I don't exactly have to deal with winter weather much anymore. Except when I decide it's a good idea to travel anywhere other than south during those chilly months. I kept reminding myself that I was fine, that the cold wouldn't be so bad, that I could handle the wind, and that's how I found myself exploring Monument Valley along the Arizona/Utah border, just having driven out of a snow storm to finally see some blue sky and a blazing sun, though not without the reminders of winter's bite. 

I've visited Monument Valley once before, many years ago on one of our first (the first? I'm no longer sure) two week family vacations we began to take when we were younger. We'd arrived in the dark and woken up surrounded by giants. This time I was returning without my family en route to Littlefield, Arizona to help with the Grandmaster Ultras run, and I was traveling in the winter. I knew as soon as I stepped out of the car I would miss the blistering summer heat I so associate with the red rock cliffs and canyons of the Colorado Plateau, but I made myself do it. I almost sat right back down and slammed the door against the wind. Instead I tucked Hoodoo into his sweater and braced myself, hurrying to the visitor center as fast as I could. 

I got a bit distracted on the way to the shelter of the building. Monument Valley is a tribal park, run by Navajo guides who cherish and protect their sacred land. The Navajo government built a park so tourists like myself could experience the awe-inspiring tablelands towering above the desert floor, and with it they created a viewing deck next to the on-site hotel and gift shop, where you can see some of the towering red rock formations unimpeded. I spent long enough on that deck that I couldn't hold my camera still any longer from shivering in the wind, and hurried inside to warm up and get my bearings. 

I brought Hoodoo onto the deck before taking our scenic drive. He was a spring baby, and while he'd met snow on mountain tops last summer he's never seen so much at once. I was sure to lead him over to the sparkly white stuff and let him sniff around to his heart's content, where he surprised me by jumping right into a pile. Apparently he doesn't mind the cold! The wind, however, is not his friend. When he was finished exploring the deck we hopped back into the car and made our way to the scenic loop, a dirt road winding into the valley among the monuments.  

Despite my protests, I do enjoy traveling during the winter. It's off-season in most places, which means there are less crowds. Indeed, while there were a few visitors in the park at the same time as I, finding solitude on the drive was not difficult. Out there, I could have been the only person on the planet. Out there, grazing the bases of towering monoliths, I could feel myself relaxing, could feel the desert welcoming me back.