The Fourth 100 nights

 

The Raven (L) with a friend, Marble Canyon AZ

I’ll have to admit that though I’ve got a new vehicle, I’m still counting from the beginning, but I hope you'll indulge me. 

I started camping this way almost nine years ago now, when I had had enough of cold nights in the back of my SUV.  As my friend Chuck Turner (who travels in a Four Wheel Camper) once said, it’s the best piece of photographic equipment I’ve ever had.

 

Fog and drama, Blue Ridge Reservoir, AZ

I recently noted the 400^th night in my journal, staging near Blue Ridge Reservoir in the Coconino National Forest here in Arizona for kayaking.  I launched from a deserted boat ramp last Monday morning at about 6:00AM and watched the fog animate morning light on a flat-calm lake.

 

The view from the campsite, Mogollon Rim Country

After three hours of paddling, I spent most of the rest of the day in a hammock at my campsite, gazing over at least 20 miles of forest.  I think I’d earned some laziness.

Of these last 100 nights, 68 of them passed outside campgrounds (mostly alone in the quiet), and 39 were in completely new locations.  Now that my husband has finished building our new home, my unaccompanied trips are less frequent.  Just 18 of the last 100 were solo. 

There were some standouts.

 

BLM land stumbled upon in southern Utah

I have fond memories of the campsites stumbled upon, like a spot near Bear’s Ears in Utah which we found when we’d been looking so long that I was wondering whether we’d be stealth camping in some parking lot.  Another notable was a camp found down a random Forest Road near Grand Junction Colorado during a fall color trip in 2020.

 

Tree Tunnel in fog, Northern California

Unforgettable stories popped up, too.  There’s the time a determined packrat rode up to Flagstaff with me and just wouldn’t get out of the vehicle.  He didn’t do well when I ended the trip with an event in Phoenix in August.  Then there was the fist big trip in the Sprinter, an epic 10-day adventure into northern California in December.  Though there are lots of memories, mostly I remember rain.  Relentless rain. The vehicle and its diesel heater did great.

 

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, near Ajo AZ

We were the recipients of lovely hospitality in what I like to call driveway camping.  We imposed on generous friends in Northern California, Santa Fe, and Ajo, Arizona. Marco did such a great job with the solar and battery storage that we don’t need to run a power cord into the house any more.

 

San Juan River, New Mexico

Marco has become an avid fly fisherman, so we’re looking for locations which serve us both.  Favorites so far are East Clear Creek in the Coconino Forest and the San Juan River in Northern New Mexico.

 

East Clear Creek AZ

There were some photographic projects which lent themselves well to camping.  The ability to conveniently shoot sunset and the following day’s sunrise while sleeping in my own bed is such a gift. There was work on Arizona Highways’ State Park issue at Alamo Lake and Deadhorse Ranch, as well as a scenic drive in Mogollon Rim Country.

 

Saddle Mountain Trailhead, Kaibab National Forest AZ

Disappointments were few, though revisiting an old favorite called Fire Point at Grand Canyon’s North Rim after a wildfire was heartbreaking.  I’ve also been gravitating more toward spots tucked in the forest there and in the nearby Kaibab National Forest because of the crowding, trash, and human waste problems at the prominent viewpoints.  Overlanding seems to have reached its peak popularity now, so I have high hopes that the situation will improve.

There’s more to look forward to, with any kind of luck.

Thanks for riding along.

Fictitious Roads

Aspens in That Special Place, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

The vehicle GPS shows a lot of forest roads.  Apparently the Forest Service has been letting many of them go back to their native state.  During last week’s trip to the North Kaibab Forest, for example, I had a plan to photograph a special spot at dusk and dawn.  I wanted a nearby dispersed campsite (informal spot in the forest) so I could walk there and so my husband could try to go back to sleep in the morning.  The fictitious roads are something of a disappointment.  I settled for a longer distance to walk.

The flipside is that these used-to-be roads make very nice hikes.  They’re a route through the forest which minimizes bushwhacking.  Lemonade.

Semi-abstract in the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona

Speaking of walking, I was recently reminded of an expression attributed to Brooks Jensen, “PBWA,” or photography by walking around.  It is, among other things, an antidote to obsessive planning.  I love it.  The idea is to put myself in a target-rich environment in good light and just see what I can find.  It’s a sort of meditation, fun, and often leads to more original compositions than planning the Grand Landscape [capitalization deliberate] shot at a famous place.

Regrowth, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Since Marco has finished building our house, he’s got more time for family travel.  Last week the two humans and Gypsy the Wonder Dog packed into the van and explored.  I had a whole list of roads from Google Earth to choose from.  So cool.  I enjoy the reconnoitering, but the other two really need it – they have about the same level of ADD.  So, we settled into a routine of exploring in the morning, then making camp and hiking in the afternoon.  There is usually also time for a nap before sunset.

He's handy for the technical-mechanical stuff.  I was nervous about airing down our tires for the dirt roads, but he assured me that we wouldn’t mess up the tires, and it did tame the washboard surfaces and the abundant potholes.  I might not have installed that fancy vehicle-mounted compressor if left to my own devices.  Let’s face it, he does all the fixes and upgrades.  Lucky me.

Spotlight on a Lupine, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Summer in the forest is particularly nice for flowers and mushrooms.  We found lots of those walking around.  Things are green and wet up there; a good monsoon season is a beautiful thing.

Storm Light Over Marble Canyon, Arizona

We had five nights, and the forecast suggested that our best chances for good clouds and storm activity on the rim were the first and last nights.  The other three nights we stayed in the interior of the forest.  We did OK, but the one rip-roaring hailstorm happened outside the forecast when we were tucked into a cozy meadow.  So it goes.

The Mobile Office with beverage.  Please excuse the mess.

When you travel off-grid often, work comes up.  There are not too many places with a reliable service, even with our signal booster.  As much as we’d like to unplug completely, part or our morning routine is to go grab some phone time if we weren’t connected overnight.  There was even an afternoon when I set up to do some Rotary grants work in the van.  It felt good to get it done, and I got a chuckle out of the mobile office.

I’m looking forward to some fictitious road fall color in the Kaibab soon.

Symmetry and Grace

More images from this adventure are in the Summer 2022 Gallery on the website.

Dog Week

Summer Flowers at the Upper Provo River Utah

I’m amazed to think how many times we’ve been to Park City in the last 20 years.  We thought we had the summer trips down; hiking, dining, outdoor concerts at Deer Valley, shopping (ask me about the best thrift shop ever) and now my husband is a fly fisherman.

Focus

Then this year we decided to bring the dog.  We love her, hate to leave her home if we can help it, and its so dog-friendly they call it Bark City.

So, we had an entirely different kind of trip.  We found a rental condo that allowed our dog and reimagined the week.

Cascade, Upper Provo River Utah

Every morning we were up before sunrise to hike or to drive into the Uinta Mountains where Marco could fish the Upper Provo River, which is also photogenic and (at least early in the morning on weekdays) where solitude is available.  Gypsy could enjoy the woods without bothering anyone, even as we train her to have good fishing manners like limiting her splashing to downstream of the fishing hole and occasionally even sitting quietly on shore.

Columbine, S-Curve, and Marco.  Upper Provo River Utah

I continue to work on a portfolio of fishing images and on each of us doing our thing without driving the other nuts. And watching the dog.

We made it to just one restaurant, feeling fortunate that one of our favorites has an outside patio for the girl.  Otherwise, it was all groceries, except for the corn dog food truck, a guilty pleasure.

By early afternoon we were back at the rental, and I was processing images with HGTV (another guilty pleasure) playing in the background.  Then a nap before our daily evening walk to the dog park.  I have mixed feelings about these places, and there were a few dog bullies, but Gypsy did have a chance to run full speed and play other dog games.

Dog week, indeed.

More images are on the website, in the Summer 2022 Gallery.

Waders!

 

Dorky Selfie in the Waders

It’s not really all about the waders, but I was excited to try them out. I’ve been talking about getting them forever, but an upcoming trip to photograph in a swamp was the nudge I needed to do it. As David Kingham says, it was time to “Go all in.” The AZ Flyshop fixed me up perfectly!

 

The view from the end of the road, the edge of the Mogollon Rim

I practically had to use a crowbar to find time on the calendar to shoot images from the Mogollon Rim to submit to Arizona Highways Magazine.  I told Jeff Kida, the photo editor, that there was no hardship though, because I’m always thrilled to have quiet time in nature, and this road through Rim Country is a favorite.  I had a few to send from the archives, but there were a couple of good locations missing.  A good excuse.

 

Reflections in East Clear Creek

I was lucky.  There were thunderstorms, lovely clouds and reflections.  I also consider myself lucky to have dropped nothing in the creek while sloshing around in my (Herman Munster) wading boots.

 

Camp among the giants

I was lucky, too, to have quiet campsites and to see almost no one in my three days camping.

 

TEOE Guatemala Exchange exhibit

On the way home I stopped to tweak the TEOE Guatemala Exhibit, hanging now at Phoenix’s Burton Barr (main downtown) Library.  More on that later, but save the date for the reception there September 2 to coincide with Phoenix First Friday Art Walk.  It’s hot in Phoenix in July.  I’ll just say that the temperature drop between there and home that afternoon was almost 40 degrees.

I many ways, it was great to be home.

There’s more in the Summer 2022 Gallery on the website.

I suck

 

Watson Lake Arizona abstract.  Inspiration for an uninspiring sunset.

OK, not really, but sometimes it feels that way. 

I had this conversation with one of the guides on our Grand Canyon raft trip last May.  I was walking around camp looking for inspiration one evening and she was kind enough to ask how I was.  It may have been the look on my face which concerned her; maybe she thought I was at risk to go postal.  This sort of meltdown prevention is a little-appreciated part of these guides’ complex jobs. I prefer to think she was just being social.  Anyway, nothing was working and I had that feeling.  I told her that the problem was that I suck.  Sometimes.

 

A hail-mary shot at Organ Pipe Cactus NM Arizona

I went on to say that this funk is part of the creative process, at least for me.  We had a good chat.

In one of those moments of synchronicity, this quote popped up somewhere in social media land as soon as I was reunited with my phone.

"Sure, you’re supposed to enjoy the gift of creation. But if it doesn’t, on occasion, make you howl with self-deprecation, if you don’t sometimes wonder whether everything you’ve done up until now is pure crap, or whether you even have any talent, then something’s wrong. You’re supposed to feel these things. They keep you on the edge of your passions, inspiration, and drive." ~Paul Dorrell

Watson Lake sunrise when the lake was not looking interesting

I remember during Medical School and residency, learning about sleep deprivation.  It makes me paranoid and grumpy. At first it was a little frightening, out of control.  Then I noticed that, though uncomfortable, the process is predictable and self-limited.

“Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.”  ~Mark Knopfler

Grand Canyon sunset reflection detail

Oddly, some of the images that I’m unhappy with I eventually decide to be worth sharing.  I wasn’t sure how to illustrate this post (it is a photo blog, after all) but eventually settled on images that maybe didn’t suck so much after all.  You didn't think I'd post the stinkers, did you? This one is from that night at Nankoweep, in the Grand Canyon.

 Hang in there, creatives.  This too shall pass.

Explorations

 

Quiet two-track, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

The North Rim Forest.  Ahh.  The first trip of the year always feels like a homecoming.

Sunrise at Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon Arizona

This was a family trip, and we hit Desert View Campground on the South Rim first.  It’s not a bad place to camp, though crowded and it has been photographed by many and Gypsy would really rather run around in the forest off-leash.  We left a day early and no one was disappointed.

The plan was to explore some new spots.  The list is long, but we checked some of them out.

Brow Monument

There’s a survey marker from the second John Wesley Powell expedition of 1871-2.  There was a short hike culminating in lovely views from what’s called the Brow Monument, apparently named for the landform which gives views of Bryce and Zion to the north. 

Soft light on the ponderosas, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

We figured that, as long as we were WAY out in the forest, we might as well find a boondock spot nearby and we tucked into a lovely mature ponderosa grove (we were below optimal altitude for aspens). 

Flowers along the forest roads, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

I’d been looking at a pair of roads on Google Earth, and (as Marco likes to say) there was good news and bad news.  Both roads were lovely and remote, but both were blocked with multiple downed trees in various sizes.  We camped as far out as we could get and explored on foot. 

 

Fire Point, Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

When I began this obsession with the North Kaibab Forest, it was all about the viewpoints.  There are many.  I’ve gradually become more interested in subtle photography in the forest than the long views.  There’s more opportunity for original photography, and there’s no one around.  On the last night of our trip, with rain in the forecast, we decided to duck into the park and get a permit to camp at Fire Point, which has been one of my favorites.  

Spooky dead ponderosas in the burn scar, Fire Point

The Viewpoint on Western Grand Canyon just reopened after a wildfire a few years ago.  I was curious.  Though the long views are still beautiful, the conifers are charred dead soldiers.  There’s some graphic potential in that, but really the feeing there was spooky. 

Resplendent ferns and aspens, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

There were also lush carpets of ferns in some aspen groves along the long drive home on Forest Road 223.

Like any really good trip, Gypsy and the humans found solitude and the exploration list is longer now than it was before.  There’s another visit on the calendar.

 More images are in the Summer 2022 Gallery on the website.

The Challenge

 

East Clear Creek AZ Detail

I’ve gotta get a little creative sometimes with image making, an imperative which is never more true than with family travel with my husband the fly fisherman and my dog the over-cranked hurricane.

When we don’t land in the easiest-to-photograph pockets of landscape, I need to adjust.  One famous creative technique for artists is to impose limitations on ourselves.  A photographer might shoot all day with one lens, for example.  The challenge is healthy if sometimes a bit frustrating.

I’m just back from a trip to the X-Diamond Ranch near Eager Arizona.  That’s a town, not an adjective.  Some of you will remember that I’ve visited the Ranch several times, for a cowboy photography workshop, for hummingbird photography with some accomplished friends, and with my husband on a fishing trip (for him) once before.  X-Diamond is a lovely outpost.  It’s also a working cattle ranch, so the idyllic views are interrupted by man-made structures like fences and power lines.  The place is not strictly scenic.

Little Colorado River, Eager AZ

This image required (in my mind anyway) removal of power poles and wires in Photoshop.

Moon setting over the hay barn, X-Diamond Ranch AZ

Sometimes I just gave in and included some signs, and even the hay barn.

Pot Sherds, Little Bear Ruin, Eager AZ

There’s also an archaeology site on the ranch, called the Little Bear Ruin.  My favorite shots there were details like this pot sherd shot. 

Thistle Mandala, X-Diamond Ranch AZ

Details are great because they can be found about anywhere and light around them can be modified.

Casting in dramatic light, East Clear Creek AZ

Last week Marco and I made a trip to Mogollon Rim Country, east of here and in the forest.  We hung out near East Clear Creek.  There were some lovely scenes, but perhaps my favorite shot that day was Marco casting in the sun against the gorgeous, unlighted rocks.  I’m working on shooting fly-fishing and planning to contact some relevant magazines when I’m happy with it’s the portfolio.  I shot a lot of these, until I got the right light, shutter speed (that line moves fast) and a cast that he was happy with.

Speaking of the creative stimulus of a new challenge, I went to a polo match.  There’s something to be said for living in horse country.  Spoiler alert: I’m excited to check out team roping next season in Wickenburg.  Anyway, this was an outing arranged by a local photo club and took place at Van Dickson Ranch in Skull Valley.  What a lovely setting; this seemed to me a terrific opportunity.  Perhaps I was the only one; no one else showed up.

Polo, Skull Valley AZ

The challenge here was fast action and harsh light.  I suppose starting a match in gorgeous sunrise light would be unpopular with the players.  I brought out my giant wildlife lens and used a monopod for maneuverability.  The fast shutter speed shots were disappointing because light was harsh and backgrounds were busy and distracting.  I do like the panning shots like this one which shows motion and blurs the distracting background. The ponies with bright yellow leg wraps had particular impact.

Model Creek, Peeples Valley AZ (private property)

We’ve also made a few close-to-home camping trips to a friend’s property on Model Creek, here in the Weaver Mountains.  This is a tough place to shoot, too, but their labyrinth and pool area in the creek make nice subjects.

It’s been fun, but I must admit to looking forward to the first North Rim trip of the season; camping deep in the forest and making lovely traditional landscape images.

I’m looking forward to sharing those images soon.

There’s more in the Summer 2022 Gallery on the website.