OT - pretty pics
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OT - pretty pics
The world's biggest pothole.
It's called Bryce Canyon National Park, in southern Utah.
http://www.nps.gov/brca/
Utah is known for weird and fascinating rock formations. Bryce is no exception. It's way out in the middle of nowhere. There's one junky motel inside the park, three right on the entrance and not much else for another 30 miles out. There's tons of tourist shops, helicopter and horse rides and all the usual attractions of a theme park.
Unlike the other National Parks, Bryce has two distinct personalities. One is the "rim" and the other is the "bowls". The rim being the flatlands above and around the huge depressions filled with rock structures, which are named the "bowl". Here's a view from Bryce point, on the rim, into one of the bowls below.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Overlook01.jpg
and this is a closeup of one of the rock structures, which are called "hoodoos"
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...stleHoodoo.jpg
There's a number of well maintained trails that lead down and through the bowls. There's about a thousand foot descent into the bowls, which is not too bad going down. The catch is that there is no air circulation in the bowls, and the sandstone rock reflects heat like a microwave. So while it's a cool 80 deg on the rim, it hovers around 100 down in the bowl. That's not much fun when you're trying to get _out_. Since my Marine side-kick was otherwise engaged in Alaska I figured I would keep my faltering pump out of the steep hills and temperatures of the bowl.
The challenge then was to find places where the tourists were not.
There's a road that runs the length of the rim, from the northern entrance to the park where all the shops are all the way down to the southern end some 15 miles away. I guessed that would be a good place to start, as the satelite pics showed some trails that were not on the map. I checked my gear, hopped in my truck and headed for the far end.
There were a number of viewpoints with ample parking lots along the way. Each one presenting deep vistas and fascinating rocks. The further south I went the more interesting the landscape became. Eventually the road ended in a paved loop, a few benches and some pit toilets. Some of the hardier tourists and a few bike-hikers made it that far, but no busses or hordes of foreigners were to be found. I began to get that eeire feeling, that distant echo left behind by ghosts in the dark. There was something out here, out beyond the paved road and human throngs.
I set off along the "rim trail", which extends all along the edge of the various bowls and to places beyond. At first the forest was thick with conifers, bluejays and chipmunks. As the trail rollercoasted along small hills the trees thinned out to brush and evening primrose. In a sheltered valley, tucked in between two hills, I met my new assistant. Billy.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Billy.jpg
Now Billy's family is not known for being sociable. You're lucky if you can get within 100 yards of them when they're tame and familiar with people. I had lots of time so I made like a sheep and managed to get him to accept me. I didn't pet him as I didn't want him to get too familiar with the smell of humans, so I stopped at about 6 feet from him. He was a curious little fellow, and since he had never seen a sheep with a backpack, three cameras and a tripod he decided to follow me around.
The trail ran out of bushes, and then out of scrub and then became rock. The winds picked up, the trail turned into a track, and the track reached up into a place called "Hurricane Ridge"
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...eousCliffs.jpg
Even Billy wouldn't go beyond that sign, but I knew better. Beyond the sign is where the ghosts were calling from. Out along the razorback, where the wind whipped around 40mph and the drop to either side was a few hundred feet. Out there is where God keeps his secrets, his private mysteries and gentle treasures. There I went.
The first of these mysteries is the Evening Primrose
http://altnature.com/gallery/Evening_Primrose.htm
This charming little flower grows happily all over the Utah badlands. It's a hardy thing, and finds a home in most any rocky or sandy soil. It closes up tight during the heat of the day, opening up only after sunset to enjoy the cool of the evening. Not so out beyond the razorback. Here I found the most fascinating flower, fully open and basking in the light of the noon sun.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Flower01.jpg
Even the rangers didn't believe me when I told them I found Primroses open at midday. This was clearly the spirits leading me to greater beauties.
Further along I came upon this vista
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...owerGuards.jpg
I took several pictures and stuck them together in the computer to be able to show the fascinating structure on the left, the great view of the bowl below, and the edge of the cliff just a few feet in front of me.
I could hear the ghosts clearly now. I pressed on, disdaining the poor footing, the loose rock and blistering heat. I was up at 8 thousand feet, and the UV has no trouble reaching down and reminding you who is boss. I would later find that a small crease in my clothing allowed the sun to touch my skin that afternoon. That one crease for one day is all it took to leave a nasty, blistering sunburn on a tiny strip of flesh.
The ridge led up to a crest, the ground gave up to loose rock, shifting and sliding out from underfoot. I crawled along to the edge, like you would along thin ice on a winter lake. I peeked over the rim into the bowl below and saw the lesson the ghosts were so intent on teaching me.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...ngingRoots.jpg
A single tree had been given life upon the edge. In just a few years it had grown and flourished, but the ground beneath had eroded as quickly as the tree had grown. The tree didn't care. Life was good and the greater the hardship the grander the view. So many times I had heard how challenges and difficulties are supposed to make me stronger. So many goofy little framed poems with pearls of wisdom encouraging me to draw strength from pain and misfortune.
No goofy poems here, this tree was God's way of teaching me by example just exactly what he meant with all those lessons. I should learn from that tree.
Mike
It's called Bryce Canyon National Park, in southern Utah.
http://www.nps.gov/brca/
Utah is known for weird and fascinating rock formations. Bryce is no exception. It's way out in the middle of nowhere. There's one junky motel inside the park, three right on the entrance and not much else for another 30 miles out. There's tons of tourist shops, helicopter and horse rides and all the usual attractions of a theme park.
Unlike the other National Parks, Bryce has two distinct personalities. One is the "rim" and the other is the "bowls". The rim being the flatlands above and around the huge depressions filled with rock structures, which are named the "bowl". Here's a view from Bryce point, on the rim, into one of the bowls below.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Overlook01.jpg
and this is a closeup of one of the rock structures, which are called "hoodoos"
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...stleHoodoo.jpg
There's a number of well maintained trails that lead down and through the bowls. There's about a thousand foot descent into the bowls, which is not too bad going down. The catch is that there is no air circulation in the bowls, and the sandstone rock reflects heat like a microwave. So while it's a cool 80 deg on the rim, it hovers around 100 down in the bowl. That's not much fun when you're trying to get _out_. Since my Marine side-kick was otherwise engaged in Alaska I figured I would keep my faltering pump out of the steep hills and temperatures of the bowl.
The challenge then was to find places where the tourists were not.
There's a road that runs the length of the rim, from the northern entrance to the park where all the shops are all the way down to the southern end some 15 miles away. I guessed that would be a good place to start, as the satelite pics showed some trails that were not on the map. I checked my gear, hopped in my truck and headed for the far end.
There were a number of viewpoints with ample parking lots along the way. Each one presenting deep vistas and fascinating rocks. The further south I went the more interesting the landscape became. Eventually the road ended in a paved loop, a few benches and some pit toilets. Some of the hardier tourists and a few bike-hikers made it that far, but no busses or hordes of foreigners were to be found. I began to get that eeire feeling, that distant echo left behind by ghosts in the dark. There was something out here, out beyond the paved road and human throngs.
I set off along the "rim trail", which extends all along the edge of the various bowls and to places beyond. At first the forest was thick with conifers, bluejays and chipmunks. As the trail rollercoasted along small hills the trees thinned out to brush and evening primrose. In a sheltered valley, tucked in between two hills, I met my new assistant. Billy.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Billy.jpg
Now Billy's family is not known for being sociable. You're lucky if you can get within 100 yards of them when they're tame and familiar with people. I had lots of time so I made like a sheep and managed to get him to accept me. I didn't pet him as I didn't want him to get too familiar with the smell of humans, so I stopped at about 6 feet from him. He was a curious little fellow, and since he had never seen a sheep with a backpack, three cameras and a tripod he decided to follow me around.
The trail ran out of bushes, and then out of scrub and then became rock. The winds picked up, the trail turned into a track, and the track reached up into a place called "Hurricane Ridge"
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...eousCliffs.jpg
Even Billy wouldn't go beyond that sign, but I knew better. Beyond the sign is where the ghosts were calling from. Out along the razorback, where the wind whipped around 40mph and the drop to either side was a few hundred feet. Out there is where God keeps his secrets, his private mysteries and gentle treasures. There I went.
The first of these mysteries is the Evening Primrose
http://altnature.com/gallery/Evening_Primrose.htm
This charming little flower grows happily all over the Utah badlands. It's a hardy thing, and finds a home in most any rocky or sandy soil. It closes up tight during the heat of the day, opening up only after sunset to enjoy the cool of the evening. Not so out beyond the razorback. Here I found the most fascinating flower, fully open and basking in the light of the noon sun.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha/BCY/Flower01.jpg
Even the rangers didn't believe me when I told them I found Primroses open at midday. This was clearly the spirits leading me to greater beauties.
Further along I came upon this vista
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...owerGuards.jpg
I took several pictures and stuck them together in the computer to be able to show the fascinating structure on the left, the great view of the bowl below, and the edge of the cliff just a few feet in front of me.
I could hear the ghosts clearly now. I pressed on, disdaining the poor footing, the loose rock and blistering heat. I was up at 8 thousand feet, and the UV has no trouble reaching down and reminding you who is boss. I would later find that a small crease in my clothing allowed the sun to touch my skin that afternoon. That one crease for one day is all it took to leave a nasty, blistering sunburn on a tiny strip of flesh.
The ridge led up to a crest, the ground gave up to loose rock, shifting and sliding out from underfoot. I crawled along to the edge, like you would along thin ice on a winter lake. I peeked over the rim into the bowl below and saw the lesson the ghosts were so intent on teaching me.
http://www.evanayers.com/Images/Acha...ngingRoots.jpg
A single tree had been given life upon the edge. In just a few years it had grown and flourished, but the ground beneath had eroded as quickly as the tree had grown. The tree didn't care. Life was good and the greater the hardship the grander the view. So many times I had heard how challenges and difficulties are supposed to make me stronger. So many goofy little framed poems with pearls of wisdom encouraging me to draw strength from pain and misfortune.
No goofy poems here, this tree was God's way of teaching me by example just exactly what he meant with all those lessons. I should learn from that tree.
Mike
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Keepin' my side of the litterbox clean
Posts: 2,136
Gorgeous photos, Mikey. I also enjoyed the article on Evening Primrose and its medicinal qualities. That tree hanging out on the edge is remarkable. I wish more folks would post photos on this board. I really enjoy looking at the beauty of nature. It must be your photographic talents because you made Bryce look more impressive to me, personally, than the Grand Canyon!
Thanks for this wonderful post!!!
Thanks for this wonderful post!!!
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Starting over all over again
Posts: 4,426
Originally Posted by aztchr 
How do you post pics?
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...42-images.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html
Mike
Wipe your paws elsewhere!
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,672
Absolutely breathtaking. Photos captured and text written by a true master. Life upon the edge. That's how everyone on this forum has been living for a long time. Alcoholics and codies alkie. It's what draws us together. It's why our paths have crossed. We didn't end up here by happenstance. We were led here by humble guides. Drunken, confused, and hurting guides. Yet they fulfilled God's plan. They showed us the way. We followed them to the rim. Now it's time to take in the view, revel in it's beauty, and grow stronger.
We all arrived here thinking life as we knew it was ending. What we couldn't know at the time is that our lives were just beginning.
We all arrived here thinking life as we knew it was ending. What we couldn't know at the time is that our lives were just beginning.
CindeRella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Posts: 7,163
Desert you are a captivating man! Your post's have inspired me and this one is just as amazing and beautiful as you are and how you grasp on to the beauty of life in your post's just takes my breathe away!
Thank you Mikey! (((hugs))) needed this type of post this week
Thank you Mikey! (((hugs))) needed this type of post this week
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Location: The Burgh
Posts: 1,991
Wonderful Mike...both the photos and the descriptions.
Have you ever published?
I have to admit I could NOT do what you did...I have a slight fear of heights. But that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through your pictures.
Do you remember "silly sand"? The rocks remind me of that.
Thanks for sharing your adventure (((Mike))))
Have you ever published?
I have to admit I could NOT do what you did...I have a slight fear of heights. But that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through your pictures.
Do you remember "silly sand"? The rocks remind me of that.
Thanks for sharing your adventure (((Mike))))
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Starting over all over again
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Thanx for all the compliments, you guys are wonderful 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Yup, I've had various poems published over the years. Had some of my pics shown at a local gallery four consecutive seasons My webbie is in my profile, got a few more pics in there.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mike
----------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Posted by cece1960
....Have you ever published?...
My webbie is in my profile, got a few more pics in there.----------------------------------------------------------------
Mike
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Allen TX
Posts: 34
Cool Pictures
((((((((Desserteyes)))))))))))))))
My mom used to live around Bryce Canyon I also believe when she was young girl she worked in Bryce Canyon Utah!!!! How cool It is beautiful!!!!
Thanks for taking me your journey!!!
Love 123love345
My mom used to live around Bryce Canyon I also believe when she was young girl she worked in Bryce Canyon Utah!!!! How cool It is beautiful!!!!
Thanks for taking me your journey!!!
Love 123love345
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