Thursday, January 27, 2011

Nature's Abstract Winter Art

Spent a couple days at Yosemite this week. There were plenty of people at the Lodge, but very few in the park otherwise, so overall it was quiet and uncrowded. The park received substantial snowfall in December, but there has been virtually no precipitation for over three weeks. The snowpack thaws a little every day, freezes every night, and is trampled by the tourons. Thus, it has evolved into quintessential Sierra Cement...almost solid ice. Beautiful to view, treacherous to walk upon. Winter seems to be conducive to a lot of abstract nature photos. You have to put up with the cold, and walk carefully on the ice...the Fargo walk, kind of a waddle putting your feet straight down and lifting them straight up...works well. But it's worth the beauty trip.
This pond in a valley meadow has been long frozen, with some broken ice added. Late in the afternoon, the light becomes wondrous.

Yosemite Falls, reflected in the Merced River during a calm morning.

When the river gets a few ripples, an impressionist effect is achieved.
A boulder draped with old snow. This was the first time I had visited Yosemite in midwinter. It was peaceful and gorgeous, unspoilt; perhaps like the park was all the time a century ago. I saw a bear, a coyote, and a bobcat during my stay. I'll make more winter visits!




Friday, January 07, 2011

When I wander around the desert southwest, I realize that it presents unlimited opportunities for immersing myself into landscapes that are absolutely fascinating, spiritual, and beautiful. And the beauty takes many forms. Basically, this is a harsh land, with little precipitation, extreme temperatures, and rugged terrain. But within this framework is endless diversity of scene and atmosphere. It's mystical here. Even in simple pictures, magic appears. These snow crystals have been created by several days of afternoon thaws and nighttime hard freezes...daytime temperatures are in the 40s, and at night the mercury drops to zero or below. When you toss a handful of crystals into the air, they sparkle in the sunlight. And at some point, a critter passed through. The air is crisp and clean. It's totally refreshing. It's no wonder that countless artists have made their home in this part of the country.
Here's the work of one of them, who grew up here. This is a mural by Fred Kabotie, a Hopi painter and silversmith. It's inside the Desert View Watchtower, a 70 foot high structure built by Mary Colter in 1932. Colter was the chief architect for the Fred Harvey Company, the national parks' main concessioner in the first half of the 20th century. She build many notable structures in the desert southwest.

Back in Sedona, I hiked the Courthouse Butte Loop today. Though the temperature was in the 50s, snow does not melt much in shady spots in the calm, dry air. There was a storm last week, with wet snow and possibly some rain. Probably, some melting did occur during and right after the storm, but as soon as the skies cleared, temperatures plunged, and the water froze that night as it ran over the red rock on the north side of the butte. A week later, status quo.

In sunnier areas, a trickle of snowmelt runs down a rocky wash. This almost looks like a satellite photo of a large river running through a desert. But, the stream here is only a few inches wide, the picture taken from eye level above it.

A little farther down the wash, altocumulus clouds are reflected in a pool. Water in the desert is always noteworthy; mix it with clouds, and you have really good photo ops.

Desert View Tower

Yesterday I visited the Desert View Watchtower, at the eastern entrance of Grand Canyon NP. I had neglected this spot far too much, usually zooming past on my way out of the park. Recognizing this, and being retired and thus not really in a hurry, this time I stopped to investigate. It turns out that this structure is on the US register of historic places. It was built by Mary Colter, a renowned architect of the first half of the twentieth century, who conceived the design and supervised the laying of every stone. The building was completed in 1932; it's more modern than it appears as it has a steel framework hidden underneath the rock and adobe. There is a gift shop on the ground floor, and the upper floors serve as an observatory with nice views of the eastern Grand Canyon. The tower is 70 feet high.
The interior of the tower is filled with cool murals that were painted by Fred Kabotie, a notable Hopi painter, silversmith, and educator.

There are four floors within the tower; murals dominate the second and third levels. Spiral staircases lead upward.

Cedar Mountain, an old volcanic cone, is prominent to the east, just above the rim of the canyon.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

I'm hangin' at the Grand Canyon, at least in the vicinity. Actually I'm staying at the Best Western a few miles south of the South Rim. I stay at BWs so often that I occasionally get upgraded to suites. For 80 bucks, I'm currently residing in a huge place almost as large as my townhouse. The bathroom is vast and has a jacuzzi tub and even a bidet! As for the canyon, well, look at it! A foot of snow fell last week and is still mostly in place. I've never been here with more than a dusting of snow on the ground...until now.
This tree is growing on a ledge without any visible means of support for its roots. But somehow, it manages.

The snow, low winter sun, gnarly trees, and the canyon rocks make for unlimited photo ops. There are a lot of tourons at the official lookouts but if you go a couple hundred metres down the Rim Trail, it's quiet and peaceful.

I'm enjoying my winter holiday in northern Arizona! After the big storm last week, the days have been sunny and mild...in the 40s and lower 50s, with no wind...actually ideal hiking weather. As for the nights...well, I don't go out. At Tusayan, where I'm currently staying, today's high temperature was 51, after a morning low of ... 6 below? Yup, they have loooong thermometers here. You need a t-shirt and a parka, both of which I have. I love the contrasts of the West. The canyon is only about three hours from the palms and saguaros of Phoenix. It's a different world, within easy reach.

On south facing slopes of the canyon, snow quickly melts. But below the south rim, shade is almost perpetual during the winter and the snow stays for a long time. It creates neat patterns on the canyon walls.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Winter Magic in Oak Creek Canyon

Went out to go hiking today, and thought I'd try one of the lower trails south of town where there was almost no snow. Alas, the paucity of snow was accompanied by an abundance of mud! Signs advised against travel, and they were right...the day was sunny and mild, but the track was a crimson quagmire of sticky red goo. So, I changed direction and went north of town, up Oak Creek Canyon, and found...a winter wonderland. About ten miles north of Sedona, at the junction of Oak Creek and its west fork, at an elevation of around 5500 feet, there was nooooo mud...just a foot of snow and a totally cleansed, pristine landscape. What a treat! Here is the West Fork, mostly frozen. I had to ford the creek three times but it was no problem on the ice.
Although the snow had stopped falling five days ago, the trees were still loaded with it, creating an impressionist scene throughout the canyon.

The red rocks were coated with powder. On south facing slopes, much melting had occurred; but the northern slopes retained the dusting administered last week.

On the southern exposure slopes, daytime melting and nighttime freezing have created empires of icicles!

Though I don't live in snow country...and am happy to see greenery and flowers year round...I still love the clean, pristine aura of a countryside cloaked in white. On a day like today, with clear, dry roads and mild temperatures, it's a delight to tromp around in the snow.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Winter Ramblings in Sedona

I'm hangin' in Sedona. There was a serious winter storm last week on Dec 29/30, and the higher terrain around town still has lots of snow on the ground. I went hiking today...strictly Russian Front conditions, with snow, ice, slush, and mud... but absolutely beautiful.
There are still around 6 inches of snow just north of town, around 5000 feet, and the landscape is shrouded in soft powder.

The town is surrounded by red rock formations... there's a different great view everywhere you go. These rocks are facing south and have lost their snow cover. It's still deep winter on the north facing slopes.


Rocky panorama just north of town. The setup here is like at Zion...red rocks down low, white rocks higher up. The snow adds a neat dimension that is usually missing...Sedona gets only occasional winter dustings.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Saguaro NP

Earlier this week I roamed around the western part of Saguaro National Park, near Tucson. This has been a favorite spot for many years. I noticed that there were a lot of young saguaros there, a good sign that the desert is healthy and self sustaining. This saguaro is only a few years old, maybe 3-6. It has sprouted under a paloverde tree, a common occurrence. The tree shelters the seedlings from animals who might eat it; humans who might trample it; and the weather. Many saguaros grow to maturity from underneath a desert plant.
These are older saguaros, probably aged a century or close to it. When I first visited this park in the mid 1970s, most of the cacti were young, with few or no arms. Now, 35 years later, the cacti are that much older and the cactus forest is reaching a mature stage, but with many young plants as well, indicating a promising future.

Yeah, I've taken many pictures of saguaro spines close up, but it's always worth a shot. The gnarly plants of the desert are major factors in its surreal atmosphere.

A fishhook barrel with fruit. No cactus flowers now; but with decent rain so far this winter the coming spring could be glorious.

This winter trip has not been to the lizards' liking with all the rain and cold weather. But they did get a little saguaro time here.