Say Their Names

My most-loved spots in the North Kaibab Forest, AZ

This post has been tough to write. It’s is mostly for me - to help me grieve.  The little hearts on the map (a portion of the Dragon Bravo Fire Map from Watch Duty) correspond to some favorite spots, lost in the fire.

When the forest re-opens, likely next season, I’ll get out and do some “after” shots.  That’ll be yet another step in processing the loss.

Forest Road 6548

I was just there in June.  There was a carpet of lupines starting among the big ponderosa trunks and I swore I’d get back to photograph the blooms in July.  This place had the best shade among the tall trees on hot days.

Forest Road 213

One of my favorite magic forest spots, complete with an s-curve and lovely mixed forest.

Aspen Island

We made the name up, after finding this spot perusing satellite maps.  Last June we camped in a slightly different spot.  We liked it better and assumed we’d have a chance to camp there again.  The Arizona Trail snaked through a meadow below us and afforded lots of hiking options.

Dog Point

Some of the best foregrounds on the East Rim were here, and I never saw another camper.

611P

There was shade and a great view over Marble Canyon here.  I shot my favorite “bowbanger” (rainbow with lightning) image from this spot.

The Big Meadows

There were more than one, of course.  The one on the map was my favorite, stretching in several directions and harboring tiny vinca flowers, the first to bloom in the early summer.

Forest Road 6452A

This camp was close to the road and well known.  Still there was the sense of being on the edge of the canyon and in your own world.  There was great access to the Arizona trail and meadows. 

Forest Road 612

I first found this area in a rainstorm.  I was looking for a quiet, sheltered place with a friend.  I came back many times. There were great campsites and particularly lovely aspen groves, as well as Meadow access.  The road was just bad enough to scare most people away but not bad enough to deter us. I remember a hailstorm one morning with great joy.

Marble Viewpoint

There’s no secret here.  The place is sentimental, since it’s where Pete Ensenberger first introduced me to the Kaibab Forest Viewpoints.  Famously one of the windiest places on the plateau, there’s a vast expanse of wind-pruned plants, including a famous and much-photographed tree. If you could tuck into the trees for shelter, it was a great spot.

Saddle Mountain Trailhead

The home of the Saddle Mountain and Nankoweep trailheads, this spot afforded great views of incoming storms and inversions.  I always felt I had unfinished business there.

I had unfinished business throughout the East Side Forest.

I’ll try to love what this place becomes as it recovers, and to be grateful for all the time I enjoyed before the fire.

Redneck Forest and Beyond

Summer flowers, Upper Provo River Utah

The Big Summer Utah Road Trip. It was a little different this time.

Normally we make a stop in the North Kaibab National Forest, enjoying a favorite place and breaking up the first leg of the trip.  Of course, these treasured lands are ablaze.  3 ½ weeks after the fire began, the fire is listed at 9% contained and has burned over 70,000 acres.  I’ve written a bit about that lately.  I’ll just say that being in mourning for the loss of a favorite place puts an odd shroud on the trip.

Campsite in Fishlake National Forest Utah

So, we started in a part of the Fishlake National Forest in the Tushar Mountains that I’ve come to call “Redneck Forest”. The Paiute ATV trail runs through it.  There are quite a few ATVs there.  Noisy.  As we’ve come to know this area, though, we’ve learned to find quiet spots.

Aspen Circle (lower center), Fishlake National Forest Utah

We’ve taken to calling one favorite spot “Aspen Circle.”  We discovered it last year and were excited to tuck into the idyllic spot last week.  Not so fast.  There was a small, downed tree across the road, and our camping saw seemed to have disappeared.  We found another nearby spot for that night and got a saw at Walmart in Park City.  Well, nearby.  There’s no Walmart in Park City, of Course. We fixed that tree situation up on the way home.  It was a high-five moment in our little family, and we got to camp at Aspen Circle.

Lupines and baby conifer, Fishlake National Forest Utah

We had some lovely rain in Redneck Forest, to our great joy.  We haven’t had appreciable rain at home this year, so we treasured what there was on the road.  The wildflowers were resplendent in the high country.

The Park City tradition includes a rental house which is dog-friendly and has laundry facilities.  The shower felt nice, too.  We love being in Old Town, renting a ski house deeply discounted for the summer. Park City Resort has hiking trails crisscrossing it, and there was a trailhead just around the corner.  How wonderful to roll out of bed and have a nice morning hike.

Upper Provo River, Uinta Mountains Utah

East Fork Bear River, Uinta Mountains Utah

Regular readers will remember that my husband is an avid fly-angler.  There are lots of opportunities to entrap trout nearby, but none can compare to stops along the Mirror Lake Highway, on the Upper Provo and Bear Rivers.  The photo opportunities are great, too.

Trips with Gypsy are always modified for her needs.  Restaurants must have a dog-friendly patio and when shopping, one person stays in the air-conditioned vehicle with the girl.  It’s all worth it because her joy hiking and splashing in rivers is contagious. As she’s matured (6 years old now, can you believe it?) there are more hikes and fewer visits to the dog park.

As soon as the shadow of the long drive passes, we’ll plan a Park City road trip for next year.

There are more images in the Summer 2025 Gallery on the website.

Eulogy

Enjoying the Moon Room, Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge

I was planning to tack an addendum on last month’s blog about my deep love for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and surrounding forests.  I think I’ll offer a photo tribute instead.  I’m looking for a bit of peace for myself and perhaps others.

July 12-13, a lightning caused fire, managed as a controlled burn, got out of control and burned most of the developed area of Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim. The finger-pointing will come soon, but for now the Dragon Bravo Fire has left many of us grieving.

Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge, 2015

The loss of the 1930s lodge has been confirmed.  Otherwise, we know that “50-80” buildings have been torched.

Lupines along the Widforss Trail

We also mourn the thrashing of most of the spectacular forest along the Widforss Trail.

More Lupines near the Transept Trail

Looking South from the Transept Trail

The beautiful scenes along the Transept Trail are unlikely to have survived.

Otherwise, the extent of the damage is not yet clear, and the fire is still uncontained.

Here are a few other places inside the park, dear to my heart.

Near Fire Point

View from Fire Point

Fire Point, which burned a few years ago, after these images were made.

Contemplating the view from Cape Final

Cape Final

The famous view from Cape Royal at dawn

Cape Royal

Mount Hayden from Point Imperial at sunrise

Point Imperial

Storm at Point Sublime

 Point Sublime

Spectacular geology from the Uncle Jim Trail

Uncle Jim and Ken Patrick Trails

From Swamp Point

Swamp point

Loss is part of life, and wildland fires are part of the wilderness, but I don’t have to like either.

Peace be with you.

Feelings

Granite Mountain Hotshots Procession, July 7, 2013

That’s the photograph that most gets me thinking about emotion in my work.  Today is the 12^th anniversary of the day I stood roadside in the desert in July, waiting for this caravan.  It was a long, hot wait, intended to capture an image, but also to pay tribute to the 19 young men who perished trying to save our town a week before.  These were emotional days.  We knew our house was still standing but also knew that many friends were not so lucky. We would not be let back into town until the next day but were already starting to organize recovery efforts. This image brings me back to that roadside perch with all the associated emotion.

Cowboy intensity, Springerville AZ

That’s an extreme example of emotional content.  Others are more subtle, but feelings are much easier to engender with images which include a human element.  We can’t resist the direct gaze of another person, and our brains are adept at parsing the subtleties of facial expression.

Brown Bear intensity, Katmai National Park AK

Eyes are also compelling in other animals.  There’s potential for emotion in wildlife photography, too.

After prayer, Casablanca Morocco

Body language, even when there’s no visible face, can also trigger feelings.

Eagle hunter with her partner, Altai Mongolia

I enjoy photographing people, especially when I travel.  There’s a heightened sense of connection when I do, even if there’s a language barrier. 

My real passion, as regular readers will know, is landscape.  Here’s where conveying sentiment becomes a little more challenging, and messages a little subtler.

Grand Canyon AZ

Color is a useful tool toward conveying these messages. Oranges, for example, are friendly and cheerful.

Kaibab National Forest AZ

Greens feel peaceful and healthy.

Death Valley National Park CA

Line and Gesture are other subtle examples.  What do you feel in this image?

San Simeon CA

Soft focus and intentional camera movement convey gentleness and quiet.

San Clemente, CA

I’ve been teased for years for using sun stars as a compositional tool, but they also speak of optimism and add a spiritual element.

Kaibab National Forest AZ

One of the tricky aspects of trying to convey feelings to art’s audiences is that my complex network of emotions around an image might not be conveyed at all, and certainly not the same way to any two viewers.  I’ll remember the feel of the wind, smell of fallen aspen leaves, and sound of elk bugling in the distance.  You might just see pretty trees, or maybe the image reminds you of camping with your grandfather.

Conveying emotion is a big part of the purpose of art. 

Thanks for stopping by to see what you might feel.

An Old Friend

Last week, Winter into Spring, Kaibab Forest Arizona

I’ve just had my first trip of the season, which begins May 15, to the North Kaibab National Forest north of the Grand Canyon.  My husband, dog, and I had some thunderstorms with hail, which is unusual for June.  While sheltering from the downpour I got to thinking about my history in this, one of my very favorite places.

North Kaibab Trailhead.  I was 28

The first visit I can remember was about 35 years ago.  I was…a lot younger than I am now.  I was with a group and we took a shuttle from the South Rim, spent a night at the lodge, and backpacked south, camping three nights along the way.  The hike was unforgettable, including blisters, lemonade at Phantom Ranch, and the healing powers of inhaled substances, not yet legal.  My stay at the north Rim was, however, forgettable.  I hadn’t gotten the bug yet.

Z3 Road Trip ca. 2002

Next was a trip with a car club.  We drove a BMW Z3 two-seat convertible and made the stop at the North Rim as part of a meandering drive.  There were maybe 18 cars, and I remember thinking that we looked like a row of jellybeans in assorted colors.  Ours was British Racing Green, BTW. I thought the NR part of the park was cool (still do), but again zipped through the forest, missing the best part.

My soul connected to the forest during an Arizona Highways Photo workshop (later called Photoscapes and recently closed down altogether, sadly.) with Pete Ensenberger.  Pete was retired from the position of Photo Editor at Arizona Highways Magazine.  He would become a mentor and generously review my images for teaching purposes several times.  During this trip, the group stayed at the lodge and hit the road very early each morning, mostly into the forest.  It was autumn, and I was hooked.

My first night solo in Lurch, Kaibab Forest Arizona

In 2013 we bought our first overlanding vehicle, which I called “Lurch.”  I always thought Lurch would be a good Dog name, but neither of us wants a male dog, so I used it for the Tundra-Four Wheel Camper combination we would camp in for 350 nights until we replaced it with our 4WD Sprinter, “Raven.” Incidentally, we sold the Z3 when we jumped into overlanding.  Its the only vehicle I wish I still had.  When I'm too old to do overlanding, look for me in a sporty convertible again.

Marble Viewpoint Sunrise

Pete told me about a some viewpoints on the edge of the canyon, and once I’d seen Marble Viewpoint, I was hooked.

Crazy Jug Point, Kaibab Forest Arizona.  There's nothing like a stormy sunset.

I did tons of research, finding other lookouts and checking each of them out in turn. On one of the first of these trips I met Ranger Jess, who was generous with information about other vista points in the park and out.  For several years she’d invite me to spend a night in her driveway periodically, and three times I visited as her guest before the park opened. She gave me the gate codes (Jacob Lake and the entrance station) and scoot in to experience the North Rim part of the park with no one but a few rangers there. 

With Jess in the Moon Room, Grand Canyon North Rim

We’d have dinner at the lodge sometimes, and celebrated her graduation from college with champagne (at altitude) in the “Moon Room” downstairs from the “Sun Room” in the main Lodge building.  These are spectacular memories and I’m deeply grateful for her help.

Summer Forest Detail, Kaibab Forest Arizona

As the viewpoints became increasingly crowded, I had a growing interest in getting away from others in quiet places deep in the forest.  I loved being far from the throngs, as well as the opportunity to photograph smaller scenes that are much more likely to inspire original work than the viewpoint shots.

Looking onto a meadow at sunrise, Kaibab Forest Arizona

Around this time, I developed a love for meadows.  There are leas large and small scattered throughout the forest on both sides of highway 67.  They afford an opportunity to compose photographs with flowers and fall color with less visual chaos than doing so deep in the forest.  They also feel magical to me, and Gypsy the Wonder Dog loves a good unobstructed run. 

Aerial Meadow View, Kaibab Forest Arizona

I found myself pouring over satellite maps to find new meadows and nearby dispersed camping sites.  Meadows are also compelling for drone photography, as long as you’re far enough north to be outside the Grand Canyon no-fly zone. I’ll have to say I’m still in the meadow phase. There are so many more to explore.

By now I’ve spent at least 150 nights camping in the North Kaibab.  It’s a cliché, I know, but I imagine I’ll never be finished finding beautiful spots.

Ombre Spring, Kaibab Forest Arizona

Our family is just back from that first trip of the season.  We explored some but mostly hunkered down in familiar places because of the weather.  Meadows are cooler at night, so the aspens tend to leaf out later (and change color earlier in the autumn), so we saw some bright yellow-green trees and some which hadn’t started to turn green at all.  Sometimes these color variations were all on one hillside. Sometimes the bare graphic of trees without leaves was juxtaposed on the color riot behind them.

Brown on Green, Kaibab Forest Arizona

Our other stop was a coniferous forest I’d scouted a couple of seasons ago.  There we had hail and a marvelous juxtaposition of aspens and pines. There will be carpets of purple-blue lupine flowers when I get back there next month.  PT Barnum allegedly said, “always leave them wanting more.”

Hail

There’s more at the end of the “Spring 2025” Gallery on the website.