3000 Feet Down to the Colorado River

Sometimes, you can't pick your lighting and time of day. Some professional photographers camp out for days or weeks waiting for the "perfect" shot. Almost always, I have to take what I can get on any given day. But by carrying a camera with me almost constantly, I can catch a few remarkable shots. This is Toroweap on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You are looking straight down 3000 feet or so to the Colorado River. It is an utterly remote location and usually costs at least one flat tire. We replaced two. I would have liked a little more sun and fewer clouds but I am not likely to make the more than 60-mile dirt road drive again anytime soon. Who knows.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon

I guess this is the time of year for reflection and I have been going back through photos I took in years past. Since I have many more than 30.000 images, it takes me a long time to look through them. this photo has some lens reflection but I love the colors and the fact that the Canyon is almost invisible. Always interesting to remember when and where a photo was taken.

Assembly Hall, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

Since it is still close to Christmas, there is still time to remember the beauty and the Spirit of the season. Now that we find ourselves in inches of snow, we remember the wonderful weather we had to see Temple Square during the season of lights. Here is a scripture about the importance of what we commemorate at this time of year.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7 NIV

Sandstone

Most of the really scenic portions of the American Southwest are closely associated with sandstone rock formations. From Monument Valley to the Grand Canyon and from Bryce Canyon to Zion, sandstone formations are ubiquitous. One reason for the allure of sandstone cliffs is the way light affects its color and texture. Sometimes sandstone seems to glow with its own internal light. Because the rock usually has no defined pattern of cracking or splitting, the rocks can take almost any shape imaginable. If you look closely at the image above, you will see the face of a cat in the large rock near the right side of the photo.

Christmas Cactus

For most of my life, Christmas has been associated with wonderfully warm weather and trips out to the desert to see the cactus in bloom. This photo was actually taken during Christmas week, just before the New Year. Regardless of the weather, the season is the same, one of light and happiness. Now that we are much older, Christmas is very much about families and service to others. We hope you have an enjoyable Christmas season and remember to Light the World this season and throughout the year. 

Nativity at Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

Reflections of Christmas

As we get older, our understanding of the importance of Christmas should mature into an appreciation for the life and ministry of our Savior Jesus Christ. To quote Isaiah Chapter 9 Verse 6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Light the World 

Assembly Hall on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

A visit to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah the lights on Temple Square remind us to Light the World in remembrance of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. See Light the World, Give as He Gave

Reflecting Pool Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Walking Arizona. During the next few days, I will be uploading photos from the annual light display on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. You might want to click on the photo to get a larger view of the image.

Male Blue Dasher Dragon Fly

These are amazingly efficient flying insects. This particular one is a Male Blue Dasher or Pachydiplax longipennis. Here is the whole long list of classifications from the Kingdom down to the Species.

• Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
• Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
• Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
• Class Insecta (Insects)
• Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
• Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies)
• Family Libellulidae (Skimmers)
• Genus Pachydiplax
• Species longipennis (Blue Dasher)

This is a particularly fine specimen. 

Protection

When you live in the desert, you get used to the idea that most of the plants have an elaborate protection system. But despite this apparent fierceness, you learn to live with these plants and, in my case, admire them for their independence and ability to survive. When I arrived in the East to live for a while, I was immediately advised of the danger of ticks in the forest. In the desert, that is not something I need to worry about. People who do not know the desert associate it with scorpions and poisonous snakes. Yes, they are there, but you are much more likely to end up being stuck with a cactus thorn than ever seeing a scorpion or a snake. I will take snakes and scorpions over ticks any day.

Arizona Sonora Desert

I spent most of my life living in the Arizona Sonora Desert. Here is a short description of the desert from Wikipedia: Sonoran Desert.

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona and California and of Northwestern Mexico in Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is the hottest desert in Mexico. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi). The western portion of the United States–Mexico border passes through the Sonoran Desert.

The desert contains a variety of unique and endemic plants and animals, such as the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi). 

Now that we have moved to the mountains of Utah, I think the two places are a toss-up.  Snow in the Winter is nice. Heat in the Summer is also nice. I like both.

General Electric Home Blender Four Button

When I see a vintage home appliance such as this old General Electric Blender, I can immediately relate. Blenders are now complex, multi-featured devices that will do everything from making ice cream to soup. When I saw this old blender, I immediately remembered that we had one almost identical when I was a teenager. Interestingly, I don't remember ever using it. I did go through the blender stage a few years ago, but we have apparently now moved on to InstaPots and other gadgets.

Timpanogos in Black and White

Utah Valley is subject to winter inversions. This produces a solid cloud cover with thick fog laced with contaminants in the lower valley. It is not something you get used to especially if you have any kind of breathing problem. Once the air clears, the clouds often remain but you can see the mountains. But the light is almost flat and the colors wash out. The scene becomes almost monochromatic. Here, I chose to edit the image into a grayscale. We often associate "black and white" images with older photography, but all photography deals with impressions and images that ultimately can be manipulated. I hardly ever see any unedited images except on social media where those posting the photos have no idea what they are posting.

Mixed Textures

When we open our eyes, we immediately see textures from what is around us. The secret to really seeing what is around us is to look at the structure and texture of the world. Everything around us has some kind of texture and we see so many different ones every day, that we stop looking at them at the risk of visual overload.

Washington Monument from the Tide Basin

We spent one Winter, a Spring, a Summer, and back to a Winter in Annapolis, Maryland. We took many opportunities to visit the museums and other attractions in the area. Given the number of people with cameras, I assume there are millions of photos of the area generated every year. In the Spring, these cherry trees have beautiful blooms, but in the Winter, you can see their beautiful form.

Long View in a Storm

US Highway 89 extends from Flagstaff, Arizona to the Canadian Border a distance of 1252 miles. Because Highway 89 has been the main connection for me between Arizona and Utah, I have driven the southern section probably hundreds of times. I have also driven the entire highway to the Canadian border and beyond. This is one of my favorite spots on this very scenic highway. It is the steep climb up the Echo Cliffs to Page, Arizona. There is a pull-out where this photo was taken that looks out over the valley to the Vermillion Cliffs. The deep canyon in the middle of the photo is the beginning of the Grand Canyon. This was an unusual day with a heavy cloud cover and a threat of snow.

Royal Portable Typewriter (2nd Model) 1930

I learned to type on a mechanical typewriter and used one for years. I moved to an electric typewriter while studying at the University of Utah and then finally to an IBM Selectric. We gave away our last Selectric while living in Mesa, Arizona. But we were still using them in our law office until the 1990s or even the early 2000s. I can't imagine going back to a manual typewriter for the simple reason that my computer word processing programs automatically corrects both my spelling and my grammar. I also save a lot of paper because I seldom print anything I write. But I understand that there is still an active business selling and supporting manual typewriters. 

Echo Cliffs in the Clouds

It was startling different to drive along the Echo Cliffs on Highway 89 in Northern Arizona than our experience back East in Maryland and Washington, D.C. There is simply no comparison between the vast distance of the Colorado Plateau and most of Maryland. We were impressed with the fantastic cloud formations along the Cliffs. Here is a description of the geology of Cliffs from Wikipedia: Echo Cliffs.

The Echo Cliffs is a prominent monocline in northern Arizona that runs for dozens of miles in a north-south direction, within the Navajo Nation and Coconino County, in northern Arizona. It is to the east of Grand Canyon National Park. 

U.S. Highway 89 runs parallel to it in the valley on its western side. The Tutuveni petroglyph site is found along the slope of the base of the cliffs.

Echo Cliffs along Highway 89, Northern Arizona

After a year of living in Annapolis, Maryland, we are finally back in Arizona. Unfortunately, I did not have much time to walk, but I did drive. We were driving into a storm and the clouds were low on the cliffs. We stopped to take some photos of the weather with dark sky light conditions.  We have a painting of the meeting of Chief Tuba meeting Jacob Hamblin next to the Echo Cliffs. I wrote about this back in 2009 before I started featuring all my own photos. See "Routes to the Little Colorado."

Festive Holiday Window

I admire people who take the time and have the talent to create beautiful floral arrangements. That is not one of my own talents. But I can take photos of beautiful things and share them with others. Windows hold a fascination with me. The view from a window is restricted to a tiny part of the world, but it is an important view because the people who lived or worked in the house or other building saw this view every day and it was a part of their lives. Most of the windows I photograph are in historic buildings. This one is from a house built in about 1825 which became the home of Pearl S. Buck. Since its original construction, the house has been extensively modified. See, Pearl S. Buck Estate.

Perot Natural History Museum, Dallas, Texas

The Perot Natural History Museum in Dallas, Texas is an extraordinary experience and a wonderful place to visit. Many of the exhibits are interactive and you can easily spend more than a day working your way through all the floors of exhibits. If you go to Dallas, don't miss it.

Dallas, Texas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dallas, Texas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We took a day trip to Dallas, Texas and stopped off for a short visit to the Dallas, Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Temple is tucked away in a neighborhood just north of the city in North Dallas and just south of the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway (Interstate 635). It was a beautiful day but a bit chilly. We love visiting the Temples and look forward to being near to the Provo, Utah Temple when we finish our trip across the United States. 

Christmas Lights

We saw a fantastic display of Christmas Lights in Sherman, Texas. The displays are animated and extensive. You drive through the displays that are set up on a dirt road near the town apparently in and around several ranches or farms. The lovely displays are serious and whimsical. We didn't see that many houses decorated on our trip across the United States, but then again, we were mostly on freeways and not driving after dark.

Spectacular Sundog

This is a photo of a Spectacular Sundog. The sun is on the far left-hand side of the image and shows as a bright spot in the clouds. The brighter colored spot in the middle of the photo is the sundog. A sundog is an atmospheric phenomenon essentially caused by the same refraction of the light seen in a rainbow. The sundogs appear on the left and right side of the sun at a distance depending on the cloud layers. They can appear anytime during the day but are usually seen in the morning or evening as the sun is rising or setting. They are part of a complex system of atmospheric phenomena that create moonbows, halos, and other bright spots in the clouds. The colors are hard to capture. We were driving in New Mexico just outside of Albuquerque and my wife took this through the front window of the car.

Insect Collection

When I was very young, I once tried to start an insect collection but I felt sorry for the bugs and couldn't go forward. Collecting bugs never got back on my interests or agenda but that does not stop me from admiring those collections that do exist such as this one found in the Florida Museum of Natural History on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

Frogs on a Wall

Without too much effort, you can always find something unusual or surprising to photograph. These are frog sculptures on the wall of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. I don't think the university would have chosen frogs over alligators as their mascot.

Nice place but I wouldn't want to live here

It is fortunate that we have so many opinions about where to live or not to live. If everyone wanted to live in Utah Valley, I would probably decide to move because the traffic would be worse than Washington, D.C. Florida, where this image was taken, is a lovely place, but I would soon miss the mountains and deserts. Some of us, by reason of employment, cannot really choose where we are going to live but if that is the case then Florida is a lovely place and you could make the most of where you are planted. Like the saying goes: Bloom where you are planted.

Looking at the Trees

There is a lesson here. This tree is not the usual straight and tall specimen. If you have a forest of lodgepole pines, none of the individual pine trees are noteworthy. We only notice the unusual tree that has been formed by years of hardship and has grown to match the full force of its environment. We are the same. We admire those who are different in good ways and have overcome the vicissitudes of life. The conforming lodgepole probably would not even recognize this image as a tree at all.

Walking Around Florida

We have taken some time in our cross-country trip to walk a bit in Florida. There is quite a contrast in the vegetation between Florida and Maryland where we lived for the past year and it is obviously different than anything we have in Utah Valley. Actually, it is a lot like Mesa, Arizona but with more water and minus the cactus and the mountains and the desert and the weather and about everything else. I guess when I see palm trees it reminds me of where I spent most of my life walking in Arizona.

A Rock with Character

We have always talked about having a rock with character in our front yard. Our idea is that we needed something in our yard that would lend an air of distinction but not be garish like a plastic flamingo or a troll. This has evolved into a general comment about rocks that we see that have character. Of course, we would never be able to actually have such a rock, we have enough rocks already where we live and do have a lot of rocks with character in our backyard area. But this rock certainly qualifies for the category of a rock with character.

Chalice Vine

This is a Chalice Vine flower or Solandra grandiflora. Quoting from Wikipedia: Solandra:

Solandra /soʊˈlændrə/ is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Daniel C. Solander. 

The vines it contains are commonly known as chalice vines and are native to the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. They have very large flowers and glossy foliage. Also called Cup of Gold. 

Solandra grandiflora was once (and likely still is) used by the Huichol of Mexico and other tribes of the region where it is known by the name "kieli" or "kieri" with some archaeological evidence supporting the theory that its use as a hallucinogen predates that of "Peyote" (Lophophora williamsii). A tea from the branches and more so from the roots and fruits is used as an inebriant in native traditions. The alkaloids present include atropine, noratropine, hyoscyamine, and tropine with about 0.15% overall content in the leaves.

This is probably why nightshades are usually referred to a "deadly."

Millstone Pavement

I have to admit, this is the first time I have seen an old millstone used as a paving stone. Of course, now almost all of the millstones left are historic artifacts and date back into antiquity. Millstones come in pairs and another interesting fact is that I have seldom seen two of them together. The pattern on the millstone is designed to cut the wheat berries, grind them into flour, and then feed the flour to the outside edge of the millstone where it can be gathered into bags. Here we see the beginning of a historical mystery: where is the other millstone and where was the mill?

Spanish Moss

We might get a few photos here in Florida for a very short visit. Usually, you see Spanish Moss hanging from tree limbs. Here is a short description from Wikipedia: Spanish Moss.

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon larger trees in tropical and subtropical climates, native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the southern United States, French Polynesia and the West Indies and is also naturalized in Queensland (Australia). It is known as "grandpas beard" in French Polynesia. In the United States from where it is most known, it is commonly found on the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) and bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the lowlands, swamps, and savannas of the southeastern United States from southeast Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas and southern Arkansas.

The key here is that it is not a moss. It is a flowering plant. It is an epiphyte and does not harm the plant like a parasite i.e. mistletoe. 

 

Fall in Georgia

As we move south, the seasons seem to go backward. We had seen most of the leaves fall off the trees in Maryland but when we arrived in Georgia, we saw that they were just turning colors and beginning to fall off the trees. As we continue south, we should see time run backward even more.

National Mall at Sunset

The center of Washington, D.C. is the National Mall. It is a lot longer and more used than you would get from movies and TV shows. There is always something going on and the crowds in November are just as large as they are in summer. One of the benefits of living in Annapolis, Maryland was the proximity to downtown Washington, D.C. and all the attractions. We enjoyed our time in the East but it is time to get back to the mountains and deserts of Utah. 

A Christmas Window Display

Window Display from the Pearl S. Buck House

I am always amazed at the talent people posess to create beautiful things. I love to take photos but it would never occur to me to decorate a window. I spent a few years helping with the Christmas light display at the Mesa, Arizona temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I did the technical and light maintenance work. The artistic placement of the lights was done by others. By the way, the Mesa Temple will not have a light display for the next couple of years while the temple and the grounds are being updated.

Window to the World

I am fascinated by windows. Photography creates its own windows. Each photographic image is a window into the world experienced by the photographer. Consequently, a photograph of a window adds another layer of experience. Most of the windows I photograph are taken in historical buildings. This one was taken in the Pearl S. Buck House, a National Historic Site. As I visit other such sites around the country, I will likely find other windows within windows.

Pearl S Buck Estate, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

This is a remarkable place that was the estate of a remarkable woman. Here is a short sketch of her accomplishments from Wikipedia: Pearl S. Buck.

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973; also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu; Chinese: 賽珍珠) was an American writer and novelist. As the daughter of missionaries, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces". She was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. 

After returning to the United States in 1935, she continued writing prolifically, became a prominent advocate of the rights of women and minority groups, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

We had an extensive tour of the property in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. 

A Round View of Pennsylvania

We start our trip across the United States with a brief trip to Pensylvania. The weather was cold and there were remnants of snow in places where it had piled up. I have a lot more photos and I will continue to share them as we travel. I would like to spend some time outside, but it is supposed to be 13 degrees above zero overnight and it is unlikely I will go outside much.

Glowing Poinsettia

Since it is Thanksgiving week, Christmas decorations are beginning to appear. I enjoy the beauty of the season and of course, its significance. I hope this lovely poinsettia can help you start to get into the Christmas spirit.

Calder

Quoting from Wikipedia: Alexander Calder:

Alexander Calder (/ˈkɔːldər/; 1898–1976) was an American sculptor who is best known for his colorful, whimsical abstract public sculptures and his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) which embraced chance in their aesthetic. Born into a family of artists, Calder's work first gained attention in Paris in the 1930s and was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, resulting in a retrospective exhibition in 1943. Major retrospectives were also held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1964) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1974). 

Calder's work is in many permanent collections, most notably in the Whitney Museum of American Art, but also the Guggenheim Museum; the Museum of Modern Art; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Centre Georges Pompidou. He produced many large public works, including .125 (at JFK Airport, 1957), Pittsburgh (Carnegie International prize winner 1958, Pittsburgh International Airport) Spirale (UNESCO in Paris, 1958), Flamingo and Universe (both in Chicago, 1974), and Mountains and Clouds (Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 1976). 

Although primarily known for his sculpture, Calder also created paintings and prints, miniatures (such as his famous Cirque Calder), children's book illustrations, theater set design, jewelry design, tapestries and rugs, and political posters. Calder was honored by the US Postal Service with a set of five 32-cent stamps in 1998, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously in 1977, after refusing to receive it from Gerald Ford one year earlier in protest of the Vietnam War.

I had a year of art history while at the University of Utah and this introduction to the world of art has helped me appreciate my visits to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. 

Knife Edge

The East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is truly one of the largest art pieces in the country. I mean, the building itself is an artistic masterpiece. The south wall of the building comes to an edge. This photo is not manipulated except for color and contrast. The building really does look like this if you stand right at the edge of the wall.

Food Trucks on the National Mall

Some of the fixtures on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. are the food trucks. They are usually parked along one of the streets that run through the Mall such as these along 7th Street NW. They also park along Independence Avenue just west of 7th Street NW. There are a number of websites that track these food trucks around the entire D.C. area just in case you take a fancy to one or another of these mobile meals. We visited the Mall in November and the crowds of people were almost just as heavy as they were during the summer months. It is interesting that all of the movies and TV series that show scenes from Washington, D.C. seldom show even a glimpse of the food trucks.

Farewell to Annapolis

During the past year, we have been living in Annapolis, Maryland serving as Document Preservation Specialists for FamilySearch and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Maryland State Archives. We have enjoyed discovering the lovely city of Annapolis and watching the seasons change while living here. We arrived in the middle of the ice and snow of Winter and then watched the millions of trees with flowers and new leaves. We endured the humidity and rain and the Summer and now are near the end of the Fall season and the beginning of another Winter. It is now time for us to return home. The domed building in the background is the Chapel on the grounds of the Naval Academy.

Reflections on Vietnam

I seldom post a photo of myself or any identifiable people, but this is an exception. I served on active duty during the Vietnam War but I served in Panama rather than Vietnam. My feelings about the war are complicated and any commentary on my perceptions, understanding, and current knowledge about the war would run into volumes. Had I known what I know today, I am quite certain some of the perceptions I had at the time would have been entirely different.

The Ravages of War

I am quite sure that there is little more that I can say that is not said by the Korean War Memorial. I am constantly thankful for the lives of those who suffered so much in the service of their country. You only have to look at the contrast between North and South Korea today to see a small part of what they were fighting for. Whatever we think about the politics of the time and the politics today, we must still support and remember the soldiers who served on the ground in our nation's wars.

Korean War Memorial in the Fall

Every time I visit this memorable site I am overwhelmed with the memories of those of fought in the "Forgotten War." For several years, I gathered stories from Korean War Veterans and talked with some personally at length. We even helped edit a book written by a former POW in Korea. The Korean War is a story that has yet to end.

Walking the Wall: Veterans Day 2018

For Veterans Day, one of our last days in Maryland, we decided to visit the Memorials in Washington, D.C. It was an overcast day with the threat of rain and quite chilly. We walked from the Jefferson Memorial by each of the memorials ending up at the World War II Memorial. During this Memorial week, I will be posting images from each of the memorials.

Although I did not end up going to Vietnam, many of my friends did. The Vietnam War Memorial or "The Wall" is the most emotionally overpowering place in all of Washington, D.C. We stopped to look at each of the offerings that we placed by the friends, the relatives, and the families of those who names are enshrined on this wall.

Annapolis Main Street in the Rain

Main Street in Annapolis, Maryland is usually bustling with pedestrians but on a rainy day, it looks quite deserted. It is really one city where you can walk around. In Provo, Utah, we also have a walkable downtown area, but the difference here is that there are actually a lot of things to see. We have enjoyed our year living in this lovely city.