Desert Flora at Sunset
While mountain biking this week near Gooseberry Mesa in Southern Utah, I captured some pics over a few evenings of the changing colors of the flora and the sunsets.
Summertime at Kolob Terrace
In the high country near Zion National Park, you can escape the sweltering heat below at Kolob Terrace. Monsoonal moisture is now starting to enter Southern Utah yielding more relief and some refreshing greenery. That’s where I went yesterday. Eighty degrees is much more bearable than 105 degrees.
Cathedral Valley In Monochrome
Storm clouds appear over Cathedral Valley at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Zion Sunrise
Sunlight from a rising sun appears on the Towers Of The Virgin at Zion National Park this week.
Dali Like Sky
Salvador Dali made an appearance at Zion National Park today and created some unusual brush strokes against the magnificent azure sky!
Back In Business
My camera took another hit a few weeks ago due to an accident but now it is better. You may remember a few years ago that this same camera accidentally fell into a creek high in the Sierras and took some time to heal after Canon said it was totaled. This time I spilled a soft drink on the camera which was sitting on my vehicle’s passenger seat but I quickly dried it off, but some damage was done. It was a coke(No more cokes) and they contain a lot of syrup which got into some of the dials and switches on the camera. After a few days, I couldn’t move a few. I gambled with some WD-40 and after a few weeks of drying out, the camera is in fine running order. For my next camera, I will purchase accidental damage insurance which is available. So I took some photos out in my backyard of Zion National Park which turned out just fine!
Dark clouds pass through Zion Canyon at Zion National Park, Utah
Leftovers From Death Valley
Leftovers can be good. Like pizza or Chinese food, leftovers may be better than the originals.
Visitors explore the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes at Death Valley National Park, California. I don’t walk on these dunes because of the extreme foot traffic it receives. Doesn’t make for good photos except from a distance.
The Furnace Creek Inn at Death Valley rents for a cool $499 per night. They also charge a $13.44 per day resort fee. Really?
The bright colors of Mustard Hills at Death Valley National Park, California
The Remote Eureka Valley
Eureka Valley is located within Death Valley National Park and was added to the park when Death Valley became a national park in 1994. Death Valley NP is now the largest national park in the lower 48 states at over 3.3 million acres, 50% more than Yellowstone. Ninety One per cent of the park is designated wilderness and Eureka Valley is definitely wilderness. It is approximately 28 miles long and up to 10 miles wide. Eureka Valley could be its own national park. The valley is known for its soaring sand dunes, the colorful Last Chance Range and views to the snow-capped White Mountains that reach some 14,000 feet into the air.
Clouds pass over Eureka Valley at Death Valley National Park, California
Eureka Valley, upper left on map, is a 2 hour drive from the center of Death Valley NP, mostly on dirt and gravel roads.
Colorful strata are the predominate feature of the aptly named Last Chance Range.
The snow-covered White Mountains as seen from Eureka Valley.
Lazy clouds pass over Eureka Valley.
A full moon lights up the landscape over Eureka Dunes.
High winds kick up sand at Eureka Valley and eventually settles at the south end where the dunes reside.
The dunes rise up to 700 feet, amongst the tallest in North America.
The dunes look rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Sunset over the valley.
It’s amazing that anything grows or survives here.
Small mammals survive here by burrowing into the sand for relief. These nests are home to the kangaroo rat.
Rain makes an occasional appearance at Death Valley, but only a few inches annually.
It Never Rains In Death Valley
Well, almost, it did a little this past Friday. Death Valley only receives 2 inches per year, mostly in the winter. In a lot of locations in this world, you can receive 2 inches of rain in less than an hour. The storm clouds gave Death Valley National Park a look I normally don’t see. The clouds and filtered sunlight produced some memorable images.
The Hills Are Alive With The Color Of Green
That drought that caused brush fires in California that I highlighted earlier this week, is now a recent memory. California gets rain in the winter and the hills get green, but this winter , they are green green. These hills are east of Paso Robles, on the way to the San Joaquin Valley.
Where there are clouds, rain and sunlight, look out for the ephemeral rainbow.
