Close to Home

 

Looking west at the setting full moon, Yarnell

Life can be a lot sometimes, especially because I have some challenges (as they say) with saying “no.”  I can get frustrated when there’s not enough time to do the epic road trip for photography.

But there is, in fact, plenty of beauty and interest right here at home in Southern Yavapai County, Arizona. I write this blog as much to remind myself of this fact as anything else.

The incident Site, the turn-around point on the Memorial Trail

Spring sunrise on the Memorial Trail

After the tragic Yarnell Hill Fire in June 2013, the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Trail was built, through some of the burned area.  The trail ends in what’s come to be called the incident site, where the 19 hotshot firefighters lost their lives. In addition to the emotional content on this hike, there are striking views.

The old stairs at the overlook, Yarnell Hill

Aerial sunset image looking north along  Highway 89 at Yarnell Hill

Yarnell Hill used to be the main road north from Phoenix, and before the new northbound lanes went in in the 1970s it was apparently a rather harrowing drive.  Points of interest on the road include a historic overlook, the trailhead for the Memorial Trail, and the Elephant Curve (come on up and see that one for yourself.) I have a project in mind which would entail “then and now” photos using ADOT’s archives on Yarnell Hill.

 

Old bridge over the Hassayampa River on Wagoner Road

Just north of is a fascinating drive up Wagoner Road.  If you’re patient and have a sturdy vehicle, it’ll get you to Crown King or, eventually, to the Senator Highway in Prescott.  One of the highlights of that drive is the 1920s era bridge over the Hassayampa River.  The cottonwoods in the riverbed are especially impressive in Spring and Fall.

 

Alamo Peak and Stanton from "Cell Phone Hill"

Layers to the south of "Cell Phone Hill"

There’s a small hill on the East side of Yarnell which is accesses by a bumpy two-track.  It offers breathtaking views of nearby Antelope Peak above and Stanton and Congress below.  Mostly this is one of my favorite short dog hikes, but occasionally I also make it up there with my camera.

Clearing storm over Rocky Boy mountain, Peeples Valley Arizona

Peeples Valley is the next town up the road from Yarnell.  The two communities are one in many ways, but it has more of a agricultural feel, with larger lots and large tracts of land owned and grazed by Maughan Ranches.  

 

Sunrise aerial of Hidden Springs Ranch, Peeples Valley

Autumn color at the tree tunnel, Hidden Springs Ranch, Peeples Valley

The 225 acre Hidden Springs Ranch raises and trains racehorses.  It is strikingly photogenic, especially at the cottonwood tree tunnel that frames the entrance to the property.

Skull Valley Gas Station in selective color

Nearby Skull Valley is particularly green, having a shallow water table.  A landmark on the road is the old gas station.  It look s a little different now, so I'm glad to have grabbed this shot while I could, in 2012.

Turkey Vulture, Yarnell Arizona

Great Horned Owl guarding its nest, Peeples Valley Arizona

We’re famous for Turkey vultures, though here in the country we’re more likely to call them buzzards. There is much more wildlife, though, including mule deer, bobcats, mountain lions, foxes, javalina, Skunk, racoon, and an annoying assortment of rodents, which supports an array of raptors. One day I’ll get serious about camera trapping photography for wildlife in town.

Arizona Poppies in monsoon season along Highway 89

Claret Cup Cactus, Yarnell Arizona

And, of course there are flowers.

 

Clearing winter storm, Yarnell Arizona

Abstract snowy scene, Yarnell Arizona

It snows up here, and I love rolling out of bed, pulling on the muck boots, and shooting the odd, lovely morning light after a storm.

Thanks for hanging out at home with me today. There’s more in the Yavapai County Gallery on the website.

It’s Her World…

 

Gypsy being vigilant in the Fish Lake National Forest, Utah

…We’re just living in it.

My husband and I are just back from another dog-centered vacation.  We are certainly not complaining, nor is she.  Park City Utah is as dog-friendly a place as I’ve ever been, with a dog park (more on that later) with no fence and, though there is a leash law for most trails, I’ve never seen a dog hiking on a leash.  Everyone seems to be well-behaved.

The first year we did this, we left the dog at home and drove the 10 hours from home straight through.  Now we get a dog-friendly walkable rental and take three days in the van to get there together. I confess to enjoying laundry, A/C, toilets, Wi-Fi, and trash cans for a few days.

Sunrise glow, Kaibab National Forest, Arizona

The first and last nights we were in the North Kaibab Forest, north of the Grand Canyon.  I’ve been exploring this place for decades, spending hundreds of nights tucked in the forest.  There was a bit of a detour involved for this trip, but time spent here is well worth the effort.

Camp (bottom, center) in Fish Lake National Forest, Utah

The other two nights we were in the Fish Lake National Forest, Between Beaver and Junction Utah.  We just discovered this area a couple of years ago, and though it’s rather ATV and cow heavy, there are lovely places worth spending a night.  Lots of spots are above 9,000 ft elevation (nice in July) as well as aspen groves and lakes.

Sunrise on the Lupines, Fish Lake National Forest, Utah

This spot we stumbled on for the first night had fields of lupines and the rugged mountains as compelling background.

You never know when a cattle drive will break out.  Highway 153, Utah

On the way home we tucked into the forest near that first spot.  We were delayed an hour or so by a cattle drive running up the road, but in vacation mindset, this is just an opportunity to pull over and have a beer and some snacks.

First light behind the sentinels, Fish Lake National Forest, Utah

The morning light was inspiring as Gypsy and I hiked around and discovered new things.  Unfortunately, one of us managed to decorate herself with cow poop. C’est la vie.

Classic Park City; down the stairs to Main Street

Five-star review for the Park City Library Lawn Dog Park

During our five days in town, we established a routine.  Every morning we hiked, then scooted back to the house for some food, shopped, napped, ate at a restaurant with a dog-friendly patio, hit the dog park, and rested up to do it again.  Though some photography was involved, my readers will recognize that this pace is quite a bit slower than photography trips.

Lofty Lake Selfie, Uinta National Forest

Flowers and a small stream along the Lofty Lake Loop Trail

The loveliest hike was the Lofty Lake Loop in the Uinta Mountains, with 1000 ft vertical all above 10,000 ft elevation. It was a little tough on the oldsters, but well worth the effort. Gypsy did just fine, though. We enjoyed flower-filled meadows and alpine lakes. 

Rest and a view, Round Valley Utah

The network of trails around Round Valley, near Park City, is a perennial favorite, with lovely views while resting.

Gypsy says we’re welcome to join her again next July.

More images are in the Summer 2024 Gallery on the website.

The Greens of Summers

Aerial of sunrise over Marble Canyon, Arizona

I do make an effort, in general, to be a bit thoughtful in these posts but I’m not so much in that headspace today.

That being said, my first trip to the North Kaibab Forest this season and first solo there (not counting Gypsy the wonder dog) in three was delightful and rather photogenic.  So, rather than wax philosophical, I’ll show some pretty pictures, comment a bit, and leave it at that.

 

Young neon ferns and aspens, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Early June is bright green, mostly, with just a smattering of early flowers. The aspens are day-glow and the ferns are just toddlers. Once the monsoon rains set in, I’ll be back for flowers and sky drama. 

Aerial of camp

It turns out that there was enough moisture, oddly, for a plague of mosquitos.  Thank goodness for the bug screens on the van door and for DEET.

 

Gypsy basks in sunrise, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

My traveling companion’s needs are few; basic life support and the chance to run.  In large circles.  Very fast. I think the crazy running dreams that I love so much happen when she’s reliving her day.  As she gets older, she requires less supervision and so makes a better photography companion.  My husband says she’s learning to do the same when he fishes. 

My Favorite Meadow, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

I have a favorite meadow (doesn’t everyone?).  Two of the four nights we camped nearby and made the hike in the mornings and afternoons. 

Lichen on an aspen trunk

Dandelion

Dew on the phlox flowers

In between,  I indulged in the meditation I call a macro walk.  I carry just the camera with my close focus lens.  No bag, no tripod.  I find the streamlined process is more creative and less structured.  Don’t let me fool you, though, these camping trips are not all work.  There are naps, and lots of reading.  I actually ran out of books. 

Layers, Kaibab National Forest Arizona

I checked out a new camping spot on the last night, and finding it lacking in inspiration, got packed in the dark the next morning and drove around safari style looking for vision on the dirt roads.  The plan worked out well, though adding a couple of hours to my driving time that day may not have been the best idea.

 Thanks for riding along.  As always, there’s more on the website, in the newly minted Summer 2024 Gallery.  I know it’s not officially summer, but in Arizona, even in the mountains, it’s summer.

In the Footsteps

Eroded Chinle formation and clouds, Ghost Ranch New Mexico

“Living out here has just meant happiness. Sometimes I think I'm half-mad with love for this place.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

I’m just back from an immersive experience in Northern New Mexico. The trip was a photo workshop organized by Colleen Miniuk and called In the Footsteps of Georgia O’Keeffe.” Our group stayed at Ghost Ranch, one of the artist’s New Mexico homes, and experienced landscapes inextricably intertwined with her. We toured the terrain, her other home 15 minutes away in Abiquiu, and the eponymous museum in Santa Fe. We photographed while hiking, while face-to-face with tiny things on the ground, and while enjoying happy hour together at our mesa-top accommodations.

Colleen started each day with a quote. Miss O’Keeffe (who as far as I know was never known as Mrs. Stieglitz) expressed her staunch independence well in words. We admired her while wondering whether we could have been her friends.

For fun I’ll organize this post around some of her words, pairing them with photographs.

Composite tribute to O'Keeffe with skull, moon, and Cerro Pedernal

“The bones seem to cut sharply to the center of something that is keenly alive on the desert even though it is vast and empty and untouchable-- and knows no kindness with all its beauty.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

This composite is a tribute to an originality that must have been shocking 80 years ago. The skull sits at the entry to her Abiquiu home and the mesa on the horizon is Cerro Pedernal. I’d not be exaggerating to say that she was obsessed with this diminutive landform.

Verbena Detail, Ghost Ranch New Mexico

“Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

“I hate flowers - I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

Well, in a lifetime of being quoted, I suppose you’d contradict yourself a few times. Flowers, often painted on huge canvases, are, of course, an O’Keeffe trademark. One of the large datura works recently sold for more than $44M. Had there been sacred Datura blooming last week, I would have photographed them, but this verbena will have to do.

Cottonwood detail, Box Canyon, New Mexico

“I wish people were all trees and I think I could enjoy them then.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

Yes, Georgia, I’m an antisocial naturalist as well. I enjoyed playing with texture and contrast, rendering trees in grayscale.

Glen Canyon up-view, 2015

O'Keefe's Glen Canyon up-view

“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at - not copy it.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

At the Santa Fe Museum, I saw this painting of an up-view in Glen Canyon, which was partly drowned in the 1960s by Lake Powell. I’d never seen it before but had a visceral reaction to it. Partly the piece felt emotional, and partly it took me back to the feelings of this moment in 2015, pointing my camera skyward in a side canyon called Cathedral in the Desert.

Intentional camera movement image at sunset, Ghost Ranch New Mexico

“Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

These words created a fair amount of discussion in our little group. I was once convinced that realism should be the goal of most nature photography, but experience and mentorship has shown me that there’s an essence of things that can only be shown by moving away from the literal. The quote freed many of us to experiment.

Michelle showing POV, Abiquiu New Mexico

O'Keeffe's Winter Road

This is Michelle, our terrific guide at O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu house. As an example, she’s showing a painting made from just this vantage point. The other image is the artist’s painting titled “Winter Road,” based on these shapes, but inarguably minimal.

Cactus fragment, Ghost Ranch New Mexico

“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

Reflection, Box Canyon, Ghost Ranch New Mexico.  Color and shape

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.” -Georgia O’Keeffe

Early morning in Box Canyon, part of the Carson National Forest just outside Ghost Ranch, was a wonderland of reflections in pools and drops of the creek. This little experiment took my breath away. It still does.

Impossible cloud wave, Ghost Ranch New Mexico

“There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The week was magical, and was a safe place for experimentation and creativity, which does sometimes require believing in impossible things.


“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing--and keeping the unknown always beyond you.” -Georgia O’Keeffe