Lichen Ring

Lichen is a composite organism made up of algae or cynobacteria (or both) living within the filaments of a fungus. The relationship between the two or three organisms is symbiotic or mutually beneficial. They live and thrive in the harshest of environments where the temperature extremes are severe and they receive very little moisture. Geologists and botanists believe that lichens have lived for thousands of years. I like them for their color and their patterns. When you are looking for plants in a desert,  you sometimes have to be content with what you find.

Framing Mountain and Sky

This juniper tree shows the difficulty of its long life as it clings to the rock and shallow soil of this exposed hill top. The Colorado Plateau is noticeably arid and we could expect that this tree only added a few millimeters of growth every year. I saw a side path off of the main trail and took it an impulse and after a climb up the ridge, I found this lovely tree as the reward for my brief effort.

Differential Erosion

Erosion can form some of the most remarkable formations. Utah and Arizona both have a complex geologic history. In the more humid areas of the world, much of structure of the rocks and hills is covered with thick vegetation. In the Southwestern part of the United States and on the Colorado Plateau particularly, all of the results of erosion are remarkably evident. These rocks are considered to be part of the Entrada Sandstone of the San Rafael Group and were formed during the Middle Jurassic Epoch, 166 to 174 million years ago. See Wikipedia: Devil's Garden (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument). The process of differential erosion is described by the Wikipedia article as follows:

Daily extreme temperature variations create fractures by repeated expansion and contraction of the rock in a process called thermal stress weathering. The thermal stresses can cause deep cracks that split the rock into separate pieces in an erosional process called thermal exfoliation. Precipitation causes dissolution of the fine crystalline grains that bind the larger particles together, which is known as chemical weathering. Freezing water expands in fractures making them wider and deeper in a process called frost weathering. Gravity exerts a constant downward force that creates new fractures and separates the formations along existing fractures in a process called stress relief exfoliation. High speed winds remove any loose grains from the formations and wind-borne particulates sandblast the surfaces making them smoother.

That is why there is a rounded rock sitting in a space between two larger and overhanging rocks.

A Different Perspective of Zion

When you visit a National Park or Monument, there are always some very iconic photos for sale. In the case of Zion National Park, the icons are the Great White Throne and the Narrows. In this and other views of Zion, I find that the Canyon itself is a great enough attraction. There is no need to resort to standard views. In fact, it is likely that some of the people who have been to Zion over many years may not remember seeing this view.

The Blooming of the Lilies

We are being constantly surprised at what is growing around our house in Provo, Utah. The house is surrounded by a nearly solid mass of plants and as the seasons progress, we are finding out that many of the plants have beautiful flowers. We have noticed the lilies blooming around the neighborhood and finally those next to our house began to bloom. We live very close to the side of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville Shoreline, commonly referred to as a "bench." That and the fact that we are right next to the mountains, puts us in the shade until mid-morning, even in the Summer. The snow takes its time melting and the flowers take their time blooming. These red lilies are spectacular. For quite a few years now, I have used three different cameras; my iPhone, a lower cost point-and-shoot and my Canon DSLR. You would have quite a time telling which one I used for which photos since at the resolution of the photos online, it is very difficult to tell the difference. Which camera took this shot? You guess. The iPhone? The Canon? or the new Sony HX400V?

The Roses of Summer

I first read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Spanish. I don't think that I got the essential message of the book until many years later when I read it again in English. The author wrote, "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." I used to grow roses in Mesa, Arizona and some of them were beautiful. But none of them approached the importance of the Rose in The Little Prince. Over the years, roses became less important to me due mainly to competition from other flowers. I still love roses, but I also love cactus flowers and other Spring flowers. From time to time, I take a photograph of a rose. 

Ready to Fly

In Life, the Universe and Everything, Douglas Adams wrote, "The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Birds have learned to throw themselves at the ground and miss. I have not yet learned this valuable skill. When I throw myself at the ground, the ground always wins. However, Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth." I do not share his sentiment. Little did  he realize that men would someday fly and miss the entire earth and go into space.

The Promise of Spring

Although Spring is now gone for this year, we can still retain its promise in our hearts. It may be hard to remember Spring when the temperatures soar and the air loses its clarity. But as is quoted from Lilly Pulitzer the fashion designer, "Despite the forecast, live like it's spring." I just thought it would be nice to remember the flowers. This year with the rain and cool weather, the flowers were exceptionally beautiful. We are making up for the good weather with a warm summer, but we are finding that living in the mountains has its advantages when it comes to hot weather since it always cools off in the evening.

The Transformation of Water

Water seeping through the permeable sandstone rocks will sometimes reach a hard, impermeable layer. As the the water flows along the barrier of the harder rock, it may reach the edge of the rock and flow out in a spring or seep. The softer sandstone under the harder rock ledge erodes away and creates an alcove. The presence of the water creates a strong pattern of minerals and algae. In the protected alcoves, miniature jungles of water-loving plants grow in hanging gardens. These hanging gardens are common along the canyon walls in Zion National Park and other concentrated sandstone areas of the Southwest and particularly, the Colorado Plateau. This image dramatically illustrates the effect of the movement of the water along the harder cap of rock and the effect when the water reaches the surface.

Zion Cliffs

Zion National Park is a wonderland of cliffs and canyons. It was first designated as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909 and later, designated as Zion National Park in 1919. Additional areas were added to the original park in 1937 and 1956. The Park consists of 146,597 acres and ranges in elevation from 3666 feet to 8726 feet above sea level (1117 to 2660 meters). The main rock formations in the Canyon include the predominant Navajo Sandstone formation (most of what you can see in the photo above) and the two foundation layers of Kayenta and Moenave formations. Some of the strata at the very top of the formations belongs to the Sinawava member of the Temple Cap Formation. Lowers portions of the Canyon, such as at the west entrance, extend downward into the Chinle and Moenkopi formations. This image was taken from the pathway up to Weeping Rock.

The Virgin River in Zion National Park

This is a view looking south down the Virgin River in Zion National Park. Later in the day, the clouds rolled in and it looked like rain, but except for a few sprinkles here in the Canyon, we escaped rain and ended up with nothing but wind. The vast scale of the Park belies its over-crowded nature. Nearly all of the tourists to the National Park end up along one main road. Some time ago, the Park instituted a shuttle system and closed most of the Park to private vehicles. This has probably saved the Park from gridlock. The one major highway that crosses the park is one huge traffic jam during the busy summer season. Interestingly, all of these visitors may detract from the "wilderness" aspect of the Canyon, but all you have to do is step off the main trails into the back country and you are instantly transported away from the hustle and bustle of civilization.

Looking Down Zion Canyon

A nice warm, sunny day in Zion National Park, we hiked up a side canyon for a ways to the Emerald Pools. It was a good day to hike the Narrows but the other trails were hot. It is good we had a lot of water and the trails weren't too long. There were huge crowds of people in the Canyon. The shuttle busses were full with standing room only and we had to wait in line, on occasion, to get up and down the trails.

Anthropomorphic Forms

One common phenomena is the ability of the human mind to see forms in inanimate objects. When we see faces in rocks, clouds or other patterns is it called pareidolia. If you see an animal figure or a fact in this sandstone slab, you are experiencing pareidolia. Don't worry it is entirely normal.

A Short Slot

Slot canyons get a lot of publicity here in the Desert Southwest due to the tendency they have to have flash floods. I love the color and light in the slot canyons. This one is really short but still has all the characteristics of a full-blown slot canyon.

Contrast: Blue, Green and Red

Southern Utah has very elemental colors: blue sky, green juniper trees and red rocks. For me, the sky and the rocks and especially the juniper trees are like coming home. I grew up with junipers. We called them cedar trees because of the strong smelling wood. I was quite old before I realized that all the cedar trees were varieties of junipers. Fortunately, I did not have such a crisis of nomenclature with the sky and rocks.

Withstanding the Flow

Like this rock, sometimes you might feel as if you were standing in the middle of the stream. This past week we were able to hike into the Zion Narrows in Zion National Park. Much of the hike was spent feeling our way in knee-deep or deeper water from one precarious footing to another. I felt as if this was symbolic of life. We spend a lot of time fighting against various pressures, usually from unsure footing. I can relate to the experience of this midstream rock.

Pointing at the Moon

There is always a reason to get up early in the morning. I get a lot more done than if I start an hour or more later than usual. This image was made at the Kodachrome Basin State Park in Southern Utah along the Arizona border. The rock pipes or columns are a unique formation. This one looks a little like a pointing finger. I used a long, 500 mm lens to take the image and I resisted the impulse to Photoshop in a larger version of the moon. It was a beautiful clear day with almost perfect weather.

Wilderness of Sandstone

Much what you can see in this image is what is called "slickrock." The rock is smooth and wind-polished with very little vegetation. One reason flash floods are so prevalent is that any substantial rain just runs off and is not sink into the hard rock surfaces. This view of the sandstone wilderness is just east of Escalante, Utah off of Highway 12, one of the most scenic routes in the United States. The road passes over or near to, at least, seven national, state and local parks. It is steep and winding, but worth the drive, except, watch out for bad weather.

Contrasting Forms

These formations in the sandstone of the Colorado Plateau are located along the Hole-in-the-rock Road south of Escalante, Utah. There are different colored layers of sandstone, but in this image the layers are only visible in the one rock hoodoo with the Entrada Sandstone base (the red colored rock). All of this particular area's sandstone is soft and has eroded into sand dunes in between the rock formations.

An Unnamed Arch

There are so many rock features on the Colorado Plateau that many of them go unnoticed and unnamed. This can happen because of inaccessibility but also because of the sheer numbers of unusual features. It is interesting to walk around and see these interesting formations. Some of the features that are unnamed on maps or guides have local names that are only used by those who frequent the area. Many of those names turn out to be similarly applied throughout the Plateau, so you will often encounter features with the same or very similar names.

Variations in Form

One of the most fascinating things about plants is the huge variety in their form. Cactus are foremost in this variety. Some of the shapes are so bizarre that you cannot really tell how or why the plant is growing in that way. This particular plant may be a unique specimen. It seems incredible that such a plant would grow commonly out in the wild, but every time I think this, I find that there are thousands of these plants somewhere in America. It has been interesting to wander about here in Utah and say hello to some of our cactus friends. Oh, by the way, this plant is growing in Arizona and probably came from somewhere else.

A Fuzzy Top

Some cactus seem to be stuck in the 1960s. Actually, one theory is that these excessive spines act to shade the growing tip of the cactus and at the same time protect the softer portions of the plant from animals that might enjoy a snack. If you are tempted to touch these spines to see if they are soft or hard, I suggest that you try very carefully because soft or hard, they are very sharp.

A Field of Spines

I always wonder how plants with so many spines can grow so close together. When people become prickly, we usually keep our distance. These cactus seem to thrive by being jammed together like they were on a Japanese subway. Of course, this kind of crowding provides each individual plant with protection. But my question is protection from what? Would you eat a cactus? Actually, people do eat cactus all the time. Not this particular species, but there are edible cactus. I also see cactus that get eaten by all sorts of desert animals. Maybe there is protection and strength in numbers.

Radial Spines

If this were a drawing instead of a photo of a cactus, you could comment on the incredible talent of the artist in creating a tessellation pattern. Tessellation is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes called tiles, with no overlaps or gaps. You can see exactly the same type of design in the drawings of M. C. Escher. See for example, Tesselations.org. When you are looking at the world around you, do you see the patterns and the correspondence of those patterns to the deeper considerations of science, technology and religion? How much of what we see around us goes unnoticed?

White Poppies

I have been noticing the flowers more this Spring than I usually do. In the low desert, most of the flowers begin blooming as early as January and the season is spread out over several months. The final displays occur well into the hot summer months with the larger cactus blooms coming on in June. In the mountains, the flower progression starts in April and continues into June, but the flowers bloom at different times. At one point this Spring, the poppies were all blooming at once. We took a walk up the nearby Rock Canyon yesterday and all the wildflowers were blooming. 

Foam on a Pond

This circulating foam on a desert pond produces a mesmerizing pattern of light and dark. It is a metaphor for the circle of life and that all truth is really one great pool of knowledge. Everything in nature is related to everything else. There are no autonomous entities. Everything is ultimately connect to every thing else.

Karoo Boer Bean Tree

This is a Karoo Boer bean or Karoohuilboer from Africa. It is grown as an evergreen landscape plant in some parts of the deserts of North America. I was fascinated by the large red seed pods. I understand that the seed pods dry out and then explode, shooting their seeds at quite a distance from the tree. From my own standpoint, I do not see planting this type of tree in my own yard. I have no need of exploding plants.

Saguaro Silhouette

I still remember my desert roots. Not that it is so much different living next to a high mountain. It is still very close to a desert. But the weather is certainly different. This hillside of saguaros reminds me of how hot it gets in June and the rest of the summer in the low desert. When the sun goes down in the mountains, it cools off almost immediately. In the desert, the temperature only drops a few degrees all through the night.

Cathedral Valley

Cathedral Valley is at the end of a long dirt road in Capital Reef National Park. Utah has been heavily promoting all of its National Parks for some time now and the number of visitors has increased dramatically. If you like a little solitude along with your National Park experience, you will have to get off the paved roads and paths and take to the dirt roads and trails. This particular road has sections that are best accessed with a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle. But our all-wheel drive Subaru got out here to Cathedral Valley just fine. This is the kind of photo that can be best viewed at a larger size, so click on the image to see it in a larger format.

Pipes in Kodachrome Basin State Park

When geologists explain about the origin of rock layers and other natural phenomena, they assume a basic philosophy called uniformitarianism, or the assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated in the universe. There are several theories about the origin of the pipe rock formations in Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah. None of the theories seem to account for all of the observed conditions. The large free-standing pipe-like rock formations are almost unique to this one small area of the Colorado Plateau. Any of the current explanations for their existence would seem to require that these types of formations would be more common. My opinion is that we can only rely on our past experiences and observations to the extent that we understand them.

Windows on the World

Walking around in the sandstone rock formations of the Colorado Plateau is an almost surreal experience. Unless you have lived around this type of rock formation, it is difficult to comprehend what you are seeing. When I start taking photos, I am always amazed at the images once I get home and really look at them. This image shows some window formations in the mid-distance that would be an attraction any place else in the world if they were not so common as they are in Southern Utah.

Rock Arches

Naturally formed rock arches are a geologic novelty. Technically an arch is a naturally created hole completely through the surrounding rock leaving an intact frame. Natural bridges are distinguished from arches by virtue of the fact that they span a watercourse. Natural windows are a subset of arches that appear in flat slabs of rock or lack the drama of a free-standing arch. Technically, this particular arch would be classified as a bridge. Many arches and bridges have become the major natural attraction in a particular area. There are a number of national, state and local level parks and monuments dedicated to an unusual arch or collection of arches. However, we keep finding large and small arches that are unnamed and relatively unknown. This arch is off the Hole-in-the-Rock road in southern Utah in an area known as the Devil's Playground.