photography and musings from a Midwesterner
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Arches National Park, Utah
While the snow flies here in Wisconsin, instantly turning my world into whites and grays, I am bringing to mind the warmth of the desert – the oranges, yellows, and pinks – and the cooling breezes that wash over the earth when the sun sets. I give thanks for the memories.
This scape was taken in mid-October at Arches National Park, Utah – a high desert region.
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Many people, other than the authors, contribute to the making of a book, from the first person who had the bright idea of alphabetic writing through the invention of the movable type to the lumberjack who felled the trees that were pulped for printing. It is not customary to acknowledge the trees themselves, though their commitment is total. – Rada and Forsyth, Machine Learning
When I examine my bookshelves for the perfect book to read, I am always thankful for my books. I’ve never thought to be thankful for the trees, too.
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Devil’s Garden Trail explores some of the Utah back country in Arches National Park. Your reward for scrambling over rocky surfaces, navigating the narrow tops of exposed sandstone fins, and then climbing up and down short, steep crevices is a view not many people see – eight spectacular arches, and back-country worthy of many oohs and aahs, and a few comments, such as “I can’t walk on that #%*& ledge!”
Creative Cairn
Though most cairns (markers that let you know – really – you are still on the trail) are rocks stacked up in a pile, a previous hiker took the time to re-arrange this cairn into replicas of two hikers. So by looking at this photo, you can see we are precisely where we are supposed to be, even though we are vaguely lost.
This is the Trail? Are you Sure?
At this spot, our choices were to scramble over the dome in front of us, or deal with the tangle of dead wood around the side. We scrambled up the rock, which thankfully was not slippery, and then slid down the other side. No sweat! (Yeah, right!)
The WORN Part is the Trail
As was most evident to us, the trail was the worn path on the rocks. I kept my sights on the spectacular stand of fins ahead, and kept taking deep breaths. The trail marker at the beginning said the hike was not appropriate for people who suffer from extreme agoraphobia (fear of heights) – what about those of us who only have a minor case?
But I exaggerate! I loved this hike. We started at dawn and returned to the trailhead about 2 in the afternoon. I’ve seldom seen such magnificence. Worth all the bits of anxiety and lack of oxygen. (We were at a high elevation for Wisconsin folk!)
Then we went out for beer and pizza. It seemed the only reasonable thing to do.
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Last Hurrah
When you can see each leaf as a separate thing, you can see the tree, you can feel the spirit of the tree, you can talk to it, and maybe you can begin to learn something.
William J Bausch
I guess if I’m going to learn anything, I’d better be quick about it. I think perhaps these are the only two leaves left in my neck of the woods. Wonder if I can study the snowflakes that are falling today instead. Not much accumulation though.
Does anyone remember catching snowflakes on black construction paper and looking at them with a magnifying glass. I think my Grandpa took me out snowflake spying when I was about six years old.
Do kids do still do that kind of thing?
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Petrified Wood
My way of thinking, this is a lot of money for an old (thought, granted, very old) piece of tree. Someone must buy the stuff, or they wouldn’t have such big piles of it. The ranger at the entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park did say that the people from Jim Gray’s Petrified Wood Company in Holbrook, Arizona ran a reputable shop–unlike some nearby store keepers who illegally remove the rocks from the park to sell.
Petrified Logs in Petrified Forest National Park
So how much would one of these logs cost if they were for sale? Well, we’ll never know, because they aren’t available for purchase. They are located in the National Park.
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In response to a Marcie’s question in the comments below, here are some facts about petrified wood that you might not know:
Petrified wood is permineralized wood (as in permanently mineralized) and it is a fossil from a family of trees now extinct in the Northern Hemisphere. The trees are still found in a very few places in the Southern Hemisphere. During the Late Triassic Period – 248 to 206 million years ago – this Arizona desert region was tropical. During seasonal flooding, trees were swept into sandy river channels, and then periodically buried by layers of gravelly sand and volcanic ash. The ash, which is a source of silica, permineralized the buried wood, replacing the wood with silica. Red iron oxide and pink manganese deposits added coloring in the fossil. Voila! Petrified wood, of course, didn’t occur overnight. The ocean receded over 60 million years ago, and the wood gradually turned into mineral fossils. Awesome stuff, this geology.
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Impression of Autumn
I spend much of my photography time working to get detail-sharp photographs. But Saturday we were driving in the country when we came upon eight sandhill cranes strutting about in a just-harvested cornfield, feeding on the leftovers. I had my camera in my lap, but wasn’t planning on taking any shots, so though I clicked away, I didn’t have enough time to change the manual settings.
When I checked the photos, sure enough, all the cranes were a bit out of focus. Even though I had focused on the birds, they weren’t exactly posing still for me. They were busy fluttering, and pecking corn from the ground, and nudging each other. But I noticed the trees in the background and was drawn to their impressionist style. So I did a rather drastic crop.
Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share, even though my husband, now a Photo Sherpa with a year of experience behind him, informed me that the photo wasn’t in focus.
I know.
I still like it.
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Fern
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. ~ Rachel Carson
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Red Maple
A few days ago I spent a long part of the day watching the outside from my window. Framed, there stood my red maple, not a big tree, but not small either. We planted it a decade ago, and maybe then it was 8 feet tall. Now it’s as tall as our two story house.
It was a gloomy day and the wind was twisting the tree every which way. Hard wind, gusty. Gray skies – a taste of what’s soon to come. The darn tree just stood there, and took all nature had to blow her way. Didn’t drop a leaf. Not one. I watched as the leaves all clung tight. I watched that tree for hours – it was that kind of day.
Yesterday the sun was bright, the skies blue and there was barely a whisper of breeze. As I looked at the tree, not a leaf was even rustling. The sun glistened on the leaves, highlighting their cinnamony-red color, and it was quite the resplendent image. But not for long. The leaves began to drop like crazy, gently twirling into a big pile at the foot of the tree.
Was nature offering me a teaching moment? What to make of the fact that with it so beautiful and quiet – now it was time for the tree to start shedding her finery?
Maybe earlier I needed to see an example of strength (the tree holding tight to her leaves) versus adversity (the high winds.)
And yesterday, the time was right to watch the leaves just let go and fall.
Life’s lessons are all around us, if we only pay attention.
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Caught
Autumn is definitely upon us. Everywhere I look there is evidence of summer’s long past retreat and autumn’s complete domination. Two of the trees in my yard are totally bare. Brown, crunchy leaves are spread under their empty branches, and while I find it rather satisfying to stomp through the noisy litter, I’m not too thrilled at the prospect of the raking job that is on the agenda for this week-end – that is, if it doesn’t snow as is predicted.
My red maple is still fully dressed, and lovely. Deep reds at the very top meld into bright reds and then orange-reds towards the bottom of the tree. I’ve been waiting for the sun to shine to take a few photos, but without any luck. It’s raining now, and I haven’t the heart to even check the weather report for tomorrow.
Lots of photographers seem to be attracted to the simple leaf this week. I’ve seen a few outstanding examples. A pair of brown leaves here, and here is another favorite, with a great twist, and then one more product of autumn’s touch, and finally one with a foreign flavor.
How soon until we are all taking photos of that white fluffy stuff? Too soon, I’m thinking. Way too soon.
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Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park
No saguaro or organ pipe cacti or other familiar succulents in this desert. The Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona really isn’t a desert at all – you need to go further west and south for real desert – but is located near short grass plains or desert grasslands. The Painted Desert is barren red Chinle mudstone. Various combinations of minerals provide the different coloration – red is iron oxide and the white is gypsum.
These formations were formed 220 to 225 millions of years ago, and though the rocks are not high, they are approximately 800 feet thick. No drilling for water through this stuff.
Badlands in Painted Desert
Unfortunately, we were traveling through the area in early afternoon. I would have liked to have captured the colors nearer sunset when the reds would reflect deeper colors. It is still an amazing drive, though, through an ancient world that is well preserved. An incredible number of fossils and archeological ruins are found throughout the park.
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