Postcard from The Arches

The Journey Continues

The end of my journey around the Western United States was fast approaching. It was very late November…the weather is getting colder and snow was in the immediate forecast. It was about to the time I would have to head south to southern Arizona, and, more importantly, find a place to live and put down roots. And, Thanksgiving was just ahead. But, I wanted another day or two in The Arches before I left.

The Arches National Park is right up there among my favorite National Parks. I spent days wandering around from place to place and hiking on its many trails. There are over 2,000 arches inside the park, and although I couldn’t get to them all, I photographed many of them. In a few years, I would come back here and do more photography. But that was in the future.

For now, my goal was to enjoy my final days on the road and keep my shutter clicking away. Of course, every photographer knows that the best light of the day is almost always sunrise and sunset. So I would park myself in certain places at those times and hope I would get lucky with the light and the sky. Being at a great spot at sunset doesn’t always mean one will get a great shot.

However, on this one late afternoon, I got very luck with the light and the sky and got a great picture of Balanced Rock, as you can see from above. I had been at this very spot a couple of other evenings and got less-than-spectacular results. But this night offered an incredible sunset.  

On my final night, I got a hotel room in Moab to clean up and get a good nights rest before leaving for Yuma to spend Thanksgiving with my son. It was going to snow in Moab on Thanksgiving, so it was a fortuitist time to go. This year, Thanksgiving was late, on the 28th. I almost hated to leave, but it was time to find a new place to live and put down some roots. I have always had a place to call home, at least up until these months on the road. And I was feeling the need to get going on a new part of my life.

When I first started this trip, I had Tucson as my final destination. I visited the city very early in the year and liked what I saw. It felt good to me. But, I was always wide open for any other place I might find along the way. I never found one. I really liked St. George, Utah and thought about it. But I decided I would not feel comfortable in Utah. So, in the end, I stuck with my original choice.

It was a bittersweet journey from Moab to Yuma…a long drive, to say the least. I had a great time living out of my van and seeing all these new places. I had a lot of time to think and prepare for my new life as a single man in a whole new town. Frankly, I was excited about it…no fear at all. After all, I love seeing new places and Tucson was a new place to see and discover.

After Thanksgiving, I headed east towards Tucson. On my first day here, I found the almost perfect place for me to live and have been here for 6.5 years. But in three weeks, I will be moving to a new place. I am quite excited about it. I will not miss this place as the new management has driven me out. For 5.5 years, this was a great place to live. But now, all my old friends who took care of this place are gone…and the new people are slowly letting this place go to hell. But that is another story and I will happily leave this place in just a couple of weeks.

Anyway, when I found this place I was not allowed to move in for 2 weeks as they wanted that time to prepare it for me. So my life in the van was not quite over. For those two weeks, I lived in a very nice campground just off the Mt. Lemmon Highway. It was actually one of the best campgrounds I had on the whole trip. On most days, I would have coffee at my camp table, then head down the mountain to Eastern Tucson to eat breakfast and use the Internet. I also took the time to explore Tucson.

I thought sure when I came here I would find a place on the east side…but it turns out my new place was on the far west side of Tucson, up in the hills above the town. After living here a short time, I was glad I chose this side. Far fewer people and traffic up here. Lots of open space with walking trails in the desert and some great views. In fact my new place is only a couple of miles from here and is also located in the hills above the town. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Last week, I wrote about Canyonlands and offered you a Web page that featured my best photos from that National Park. This time, I am doing the same thing. I just posted a brand new page on my Website that offers the best photos from the Arches. I would be honored if you take a look at them and let me know what you think. 

Postcard from Island in the Sky

The journey from Ephrata, WA to a new home in Tucson, AZ was coming to a close…not because I want the journey to end, but rather because Winter was closing in fast and I was high on the Colorado Plateau. I’ve been on the road for a couple of months, living out of my van (by choice) and seeing news sites on a daily basis.

While camped out at the Arches, I was very near to another National Park…the Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands National Park. If you have been following this trip, you know I spent a few days in the Needles section of the park. By road, it is quite a distance from the Needles to Island in the Sky. The entrance to the latter is just up the road from the Arches, so one fine morning, long before sunset, I headed into Island in the Sky.

First, I should explain how this part of Canyonlands fits into the whole. The park is quite large, over 527 square miles. Most of it sits down in Canyons. However, Island in the Sky sits high above the rest of the park, and is a broad and level mesa to the in the north part of the park. It sits between Colorado and Green rivers. It could easily be described as a peninsula that sticks out into the main body of the park. It is the smallest section of the park, yet receives the highest number of visitors to Canyonlands…about 60%. Probably because of its close proximity to Moab, UT and The Arches.

While it is very nice, it is not as interesting as the rest of the park, although the views can be magnificent. From the southern end of the peninsula, one can see much of the park, including The Needles. Earlier, when I was in the Needles, I could easily see the peninsula that is Island in the Sky.

The reason I left so early in the morning on this day was to visit one of the park’s most famous sites, Mesa Arch, as seen in the photo above. Seasoned travelers and photographers know that when the sun rises, it lights up the inside of the arch and it positively glows a bright orange…but only for a very short time. There are no photographic tricks in this photo, this is how it looks on many a morning.

Now, I have a confession to make. This photo was not taken on the morning I first visited the park. I took it a couple of years later on another trip. The reason…on my first visit, the rising sun was behind clouds and there was no glow. Although I took some pictures, I could not bring myself to show them here. I wanted you to see Mesa Arch in all its glory.

To get to Mesa Arch, one has to park and hike about 1/3 of a mile from the parking lot to the arch. You should arrive before the sun comes up to set up your cameras. If you do this, you will no doubt find other photo fiends already there and set up, ready for sunrise. On this first visit, there were some Japanese photographers there. One of them told me they were headed back to Japan the very next day. I felt bad for them when the sun came up behind clouds. Like me,they did not get the photo they wanted.

I spent the rest of this day wandering around the Island checking out the views. There is very little to get excited about on top of the peninsula, but the views are great. The best view of them all, besides Mesa Arch, is the Green River Overlook, not far from where the Green River runs into the Colorado River. Sadly, the light this whole day was not very good and my photos did not turn out well. On my second visit, I not only captured Mesa Arch at sunrise, but also the Green River Overlook at sunset.

To see more photos from Canyonlands, please check out my brand new Web page on the park. I have just started working on a new Web site and this is actually the first page I created that is up on line. Many more to come…and if you find a few errors here or there or something that seems out of place on the links, just ignore it. All it means is that I have not completed the new pages for that section.

This first day on Island in the Sky was enjoyable, but soon I headed down to the main highway, then up into the Arches were I was camped. The weather forecast was not looking good…the first snow of the season was not far off. So I had to make the most of my time here before heading south to lower elevations an my new life. But I was not quite ready to leave yet.

More to come…

Postcard from the Arches

The Journey Continues…

After three great days at the Needles in Canyonlands National Park, I took the 34 mile drive out of the canyons to connect with Utah Highway 191…then north towards Moab. My goal was to visit The Arches National Park, a park of immense natural beauty that I had only seen in pictures. I had looked forward to this visit for a long time…and I was not disappointed.

The entrance to the Park lies just beyond Moab. I stopped first at the visitor’s center just beyond the entrance to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Just beyond the entrance, the road into the park takes you up and up and up, over 1,000 feet, into the main park. Immediately, one starts seeing magnificent vistas with towering walls, soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. And of course, there are arches...well over 2,000 of them if you can believe that. It is truly a red rock wonderland.

On my first day, I drove the length of the park road, all the way to the end. There lies the entrance to Devil’s Garden, and, the park’s one and only campground. I staked my claim to a great campsite, then headed back down the road to see what I could see this first day. What I saw took my breath away. I saw many arches visible from the road. There were also many side roads that took me to other sites like the one pictured here. This is one of the parks most famous sites, Double Arch. All around me were massive rock formations and more arches. One of the most amazing places on the planet!

Without getting into great detail, arches are formed by a combination of forces, mostly water, ice and gravity. Wind plays little or no part. Water erodes the sandstone slowly, breaking down the molecular structure of the sandstone...ice expands and contracts inside the rock, weakening it even further, and gravity brings down portions of the rock where the molecular bonds have been weakened beyond the ability of the rock to hold it together. As the park only gets 8"-10" of rain per year, this is obviously a very slow process.

Arches take a long, long time to form…thousands of years at the least. They are born, then form, then, eventually die. For the process of arch creation is relentless. Eventually the arch is weakened enough by the process that parts start falling off. Then, one day, it just collapses and is no more. A couple of months before I took this photo, the famous Wall Arch collapsed. One day it was there, the next day it was gone. Since 1977, 43 arches have collapsed. Parts of the very famous Landscape Arch fell off and were captured on a video camera by a tourist who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Everywhere in the park you can see remnants of great giant arches that are gone.

I spent a number of days in the park visiting all the sites that I could get to by car. One day I took a ranger-led hike through the Fiery Furnace, a labyrinth of canyons that one can easily get lost in, which is why I went with a ranger. The place is badly named as it is one of the coolest spot in the park on hot summer days. I also took a long walk by myself through the Devil’s Garden, all the way to Landscape Arch and other interesting arches and rock formations. Well worth the hike.

As for photography, you can imagine I took a ton of photos. My photographic guide book told me where the best places were to photograph some of the sites and whether it was best at sunrise or sunset. You just can’t beat the wonderful light these two times of day yield. If you would like to see more of my best photos of the Arches, just head to my Web Site.

I have to admit after many months on the road, one can get tired of sleeping in the back of the van and taking sponge baths to maintain some modicum of cleanliness. So, on one Sunday, craving football, a hot shower, and a soft bed, I headed into Moab to a hotel. It was wonderful. I actually stayed a couple of days so I could catch the Monday Night game. Eventually I headed back to the park’s campground…but God, those days in a hotel were wonderful! I did that occasionally while on this journey, but sometimes there were no hotels anywhere nearby, like in the Needles.

But beside The Arches, there was another nearby National Park that needed a visit. So one morning, before the sun came up, I headed there to try and capture a photo of sunlight reflecting off the inside of an arch.

Stay tuned for more…

Postcard from the Needles

 

The Journey Continues...

I've never been in a National Park that was almost completely devoid of people. But, here I was in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park and I only saw 3 other cars here (besides park employees, of course). You could say that I had the whole park pretty much to myself, and I made the most of it.

Of course, it was November and Canyonlands is not one of the most visited parks in the system. 

It is so large that it is divided into three sections: The Needles, Island in the Sky, and The Maze. Each is quite distinct from the other. Island in the Sky is approached from the north and is very close to Moab, UT. It sits up high on a plateau overlooking all of the park and is the most visited section of Canyonlands, probably because of the views and the fact that it is the most accessible for automobiles. The Maze is approached from the west and is strictly for serious 4-wheel drive vehicles with high clearances. Ordinary autos and vans need not apply.

As for the Needles, it sits down in Canyonlands and is named for very large rock formations that stick up into the sky like needles. It has some auto accessible sites, but it also has a large number of hiking trails and 4-wheel drive roads. The best way I know to describe it is canyons within canyons within a large canyon. It also has a comparatively smaller number of visitors, probably because there is only one way in and out...a 34 mile long road off of the main highway coming in from the southeast. But, it is a beautiful drive.

My guidebook and bible for photographing Utah said the best time to photograph the Needles was at sunrise and the trail left from the main parking area in the campground, which was a little ways back from my site. So, just before dawn, I got into my van to look for the trail. It was not to be found. I went back to my campsite and, lo and behold it was right across the road from my new home. Duh!

I headed out along the trail, and after about 1/2 mile, the trail ended at a large rock formation. As I have discovered since, this is quite common in this area. As I looked up, I saw stacked rocks that obviously marked the trail high up the rock (these are called "cairns" and are also very common). So I started climbing, praying my foot would not slip and that I could get back down safely. The cairns led me along more vertical rock and through a cave formed by falling rocks, then more climbing. Finally, I came to the top and could see all the Needles in full array from the early morning light. I just started taking photos as it was a beautiful sunrise with some luscious clouds in the sky.

I was able to make it safely down and back to my campsite (good hiking shoes are a must here)...and after breakfast headed out for more adventures in this wonderful park. I loved the 3-mile long ride on a gravel road to Elephant Hill where I discovered another great view of the Needles and other amazing red rock formations. The Scenic Drive is also very nice and provided even more photographic opportunities. Much later, I was able to get some great sunset shot of the Needles. But, what I loved most was having this beautiful place all to myself. 

I never ran into anyone else other than the occasional park ranger, either driving or hiking. While I would not want to spend the majority of my life alone, sometimes it is the best thing going.

I would have stayed longer than three days and two nights to enjoy the solitude but the winter clock was running and I wanted to see more of southern Utah before winter arrived. I would love to come back here someday just for the solitude and the beauty that is the Needles.

Postcard from Canyonlands

The journey continues...

I left the Farmington Wal-Mart parking lot in the early morning hours, got a cup of coffee and headed west. I didn't really have a specific destination in mind, but had a general idea where I was going. Sadly, I had no travel guides for New Mexico with me or I might have headed south a few miles to the Bitsy Badlands. I found out about them a few years after my trip. I would love to have spent a few days there with my camera as it is an amazing place. But perhaps sometime in the future. 

Anyway I headed west on 160 back into Arizona. Then just past the border, I took a short detour north to visit the Four Corners...the one spot in the US where 4 states (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado) all converge in one spot. I am not sure why I did it as I had no one to photograph me with my arms and legs all in different states. 

When I got to the entrance, I found I was back on sacred Navajo Tribal land and a young lady in a shabbily build wooden shack wanted $7 for me to go in. Although a little  angry about this, I politely declined and turned around. Many months later I found out that a new survey showed that the Four Corners were actually in a different location. Now that made me laugh. 

Somewhere along the way, I stopped at a small Navajo town to get something to eat at the local McDonald's. It took 40 minutes to place my order and get my food, and the place was not very crowded. I was pretty exasperated and I am sure it showed. A nicely dressed Navajo gentlemen told me that bad service was normal at this place. Yet another point against the Navajo Nation.  

So I continued on...this time further west on 160. I wanted to see Monument Valley, where John Ford filmed all those fantastic westerns, some with John Wayne. It is quite a site to behold. But again, like Four Corners, it is on Sacred Navajo land. I had to pay $10 to get in, only to discover that I had to pay a whole lot more money to see anything else. All I got for my $10 was to visit the museum and gift store. Now I am really fuming.

Its an extra $25 to drive your car down into the valley...and you can not get out of your car to take photos. You know...sacred land and all that. So I decided to save my money and head out of the site along a 3 mile stretch of road to get back to the main highway. However, being still pissed off, I decided I needed some measure of revenge. So I stopped the car, got out, and took a piss on Sacred Navajo Land. I felt better in more than one way.

I headed north into Utah with no ultimate destination in mind. It was starting to get late and I was worried about where I would spend the night. I decided to skip Natural Bridges National Monument, much to my sadness, and continue north on Utah Highway 191. 

Eventually I came to Highway 211, the only road in and out of the The Needles Section of Canyonlands National Park. It was quite a long drive down into the canyons, but still quite spectacular. The photo here is just outside the park on the highway. 

Once in the park, I went directly to the Ranger Station and paid for a campsite. Being a senior citizen and having one of those Golden Pass cards, I don't ever have to pay entrance fees again and I camp for 1/2 of the regular price. When you reach 55, be sure and get one of those cards...one of the best bargains in America.  

I headed for a campsite and had little trouble getting a very nice one. There were hardly any people around. I set up camp, then took a short drive to see the canyons bathed in sunset light. I didn't get to see a whole lot... that came later. So I settled into my new home and looked forward to exploring this place tomorrow. The visitors guide gave me some good ideas where I would head in the morning.

To be continued...

Postcard from the Navajo Nation

The Journey Continues:

When last we spoke, I needed to leave Canyon de Chelly and get to Farmington, NM before the bank closed. A park ranger  showed me a route through the Navajo Nation on back roads. I struck out early in the morning as I knew it was a long drive.

To say the least, it was an interesting trip through small Navajo communities in the high desert…first north along Indian Route 12. Then east along Indian Route 13 through some beautiful red rock country, and eventually up into the high mountains where it had recently snowed.

From there I eventually descended down into New Mexico, still on Indian Route 13, passing the famous Ship Rock and eventually connecting up to New Mexico Highway 491, then on to Highway 64 and into Farmington.

The Indian Route roads were all just fine. If you want to see my route on Google Maps, you will have to really drill down as they are not on the big map. While I was in a bit of a hurry, I did stop here and there to take photos like the one you see above.

This country is little explored by tourists as it is way, way off the beaten path. But I am so glad I did it. I loved the views all along the way. On this day, I felt more like an explorer than a tourist…although I did feel like any moment I would be pulled over by Tribal Police and told I was trespassing on sacred ground.

When I finally got into Farmington, I found the bank easily as it was right on the main road. I conducted my business, then had to figure out what I would do the rest of the day. As it was late in the afternoon, my options for travel were limited as I really had no idea what was here.

Eventually I found a coffee shop with Internet and did some business and wrote a few e-mails…you know, all the things you do with a laptop while traveling. I also learned a little more about the city and tried to figure out what I might do in the evening to pass the time.

Farmington, while not big, has a population of over 45,000 people. It sits on the Colorado Plateau at an elevation of 5,400 feet. Its principle industries are the mining of petroleum, natural gas, and coal. I also learned that it has some movie theaters, so my plan that evening was to go to one of them and see a James Bond movie…which is precisely what I did.

As for sleeping accommodations, besides hotels, motels, or campgrounds, there is one other choice for weary travelers like myself…and that is a Wal-Mart parking lot. I learned before I even started this trip that Wal-Mart welcomes overnight RV parking for free. Now while my van is not exactly a full fledged RV, I spent several nights along my journey in a Wal-Mart lot with never a problem. 

Of course, I couldn’t use my camp stove for cooking, but I did not have to. Farmington has fine restaurants for dinner and breakfast as well as Starbucks for morning coffee. So I spent a peaceful night in Farmington and slept like a baby.

The next morning I had to decide where to go next. I got out my maps, guide books and computer to chose the direction…then took off.

More to come…  

Postcard from Canyon de Chelly

The Journey Continues:

After leaving Windows Rock, I went west, then North on Highway 191. My destination was Canyon de Chelly (pronounced “de Shay”) National Monument in Northeastern Arizona. It is a very unusual National Monument in that it lies within the Navajo Nation lands and is administered by both the National Park Service and the Navajo Tribal Trust.

It is a deep canyon (actually 3 distinct canyons surrounded on all sides by high cliffs). But when you approach the canyon from the west, there are no cliffs as the entrance to the main canyon and the mountains are at the same level. Then, at the entrance, there are two roads that follow the mountain’s rise and parallel the canyon walls on the north and south sides.

Tourists are not allowed into the canyon unless accompanied by a member of the tribe or a ranger. To take a tour of the canyon requires payment of a hefty fee to the Navajo Nation and a ride on flatbed truck with seats on it. I didn’t do the tour. While it would have been interesting to see the canyon from the bottom up, it didn’t go all the way to Spider Rock, the most famous landmark in the park.

Instead, I drove the roads up into the mountains and stopped at the many pullouts along the way, photographing down into the canyon. There is a great deal to see, even from above including Indian ruins, cliff dwellings, and fabulous rock formations. Spider Rock sits at the very end of the canyon and can be seen from above. If you would like to see it, check out the old 1960’s western, “McKenna’s Gold.”

Canyon de Chelly is actually one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America. For over 5,000 years, the canyon has been inhabited first by the Anasazi, then the Navajos. The ancient cliff dwellings were built by the Anasazi. Today, about 40 Navajo families live in the canyon.

The photograph above shows the remains of an old cliff dwelling that has long since disappeared. The black stuff you see on the canyon walls is called rock varnish or desert varnish, if you prefer.  The varnish is primarily composed of particles of clay along with iron and manganese oxides. To give you a better feeling of it’s size, if a man was standing among the ruins, you would barely be able to make him out.

For two days, I roamed the high cliffs of the park, taking pictures and enjoying the landscapes. For the most part, I had terrible light, so the few good photos I have of the park I did in black and white. Actually there isn’t that much color in the park and because of the lighting, the colored images were all too harsh. Thank God for black and white.

I camped for two nights in the park. And one of the things I noticed were how many dogs roamed the campground all unattended. One day, while out touring, the dogs attacked my campsite and tore up all my dry goods. The food was locked up in the van, but I guess that didn’t stop them. A neighbor told me they attacked in a pack. They left quite a mess behind. These dogs were all standard variety of breeds that you see in homes all across America. I guess their owners didn’t feed them or just let them roam free.

On the third day, I realized I needed to find a city with a Bank of America so I could pay a credit card bill on the due date. A park ranger informed me that the nearest bank was in Farmington, New Mexico…quite a distance away. But she showed me shortcuts through the Navajo Nation that would get me there much faster. So off I went through the heart of the Navajo Nation where few white men travel.

To be Continued…

 

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Window Rock

The Journey Continues:

As I left the Petrified Forest National Park, I continued east on I-40. But before I got to the New Mexico border, I took a left on Highway 191…my goal being the Canyon de Chelly National Monument, deep in the Navajo Nation Reservation. 

But before I got there, I decided to take a detour to a small community called Window Rock (In Navajo: Tségháhoodzání). This small city of 3,000 people serves as the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest territory of a sovereign Native American nation in North America.

Window Rock hosts the Navajo Nation governmental campus which contains the Navajo Nation Council, Navajo Nation Supreme Court, the offices of the Navajo Nation President and Vice President, and many Navajo government buildings.

Just north of the governmental buildings sits a beautiful city park at the base of the actual Window Rocks, as seen in the above photo. It is also known as the rock-with-a-hole-though-it, if you translate the Navajo name literally.

In the park you will also find World War 2 memorial dedicated to all the Navajo men who served in the US Military during the war. There is also a statue of a Navajo Code Talker, commemorating  the brave men who served in the marines in the Pacific war against the Japanese.

Briefly, these men facilitated battlefield communications by speaking in their own language (with some modifications since the Navajo language had no words for military terms). 420 Navajo men served as Code Talkers during the war…and the Japanese never broke the code. Their work was critical in the battle for the Pacific.

I took several photos of Windows Rock, hoping to catch a bird flying through it…and I did. I was very glad I took the detour to see this beautiful place and learn more about the Navajo Nation. But now it was time to get back on the road to my next destination…Canyon de Chelly.

To be continued…

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from the Painted Desert

The Journey Continues…

When we last visited, I had just photographed the Little Painted Desert and purchased warmer clothing at the Wal-Mart in Winslow, AZ. Now fully prepared for the weather, I got back in the van…the next destination…the big Painted Desert in the Petrified Forest National Park.

Now, realize that for the next few weeks, I am in all new territory, at least for me. Every mile is a new experience. What a great way to start a new life! It wasn’t a long drive along I-40 to the park. So, I still had good light when I got there.

The Painted Desert is the very north section of the park. I-40 divides the Painted Desert from the Petrified Forest. There is a very convenient circular road that takes you through the Painted Desert and affords some beautiful views of this magnificent country.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that the Painted Desert covers much more than what can be seen from the park road. In fact, it covers an area of 7,500 square miles and runs from the very northern part of Arizona down to where I took the above photo.

As mentioned, this part of the Painted Desert is in a national park. But most of it is on Navajo land. Other than the national park section of the desert, it is only accessible by dirt roads or by hiking…and to explore the desert requires a permit from the Navajo Nation.

You should know the Navajo Nation is quite large. In this part of Arizona, it begins just east of Flagstaff. I noticed when I was in Winslow that the majority of the people I encountered were of the Navajo Tribe. Further ahead in this journey I would have many more experiences in the Navajo Nation.  But that was yet to come.

Now, back to the Painted Desert. As I mentioned above, the road into the Painted Desert is circular, although it is not a complete circle. It begins at the National Park entrance station, then circles gently north and west, eventually winding up back on I-40, but this time to the west of the park entrance. In other words, when I finished my photo shoot, I was back on I-40 driving where I had already been. No matter.

As you can see from the photo above the colors are spectacular! I have a few more you can see by visiting my Web site. It’s a place of great beauty. It reminded me of the Painted Hills in Oregon. If you recall, I visited the hills on the first part of my journey.

I left the park and once again headed east on I-40, deeper into the Navajo Nation. Stay tuned…

Postcard from the Little Painted Desert

You probably thought I had stopped writing this blog. Actually I did…but only because I was a sick puppy. I had a nasty head and chest cold that turned into a serious sinus infection. It lasted several weeks before the prescription drugs kicked in. The worst part was how it affected my brain. Long story, short: I could barely look at a computer, much less write anything. But all is well now…well mostly. So I will pick up where I left off on my 2008 journey between divorce and a new life…

The Journey Continues…

When last we were together, I was photographing the wonders of a Yosemite Autumn. After a couple of days and any number of photos, I knew it was time to leave as the clock was ticking towards winter and I had much more to see.

I left Yosemite heading west towards San Francisco to spent a couple of days with dear friends and to sleep in a real bed. I had spent enough time on the ground in a sleeping bag and just wanted a real bed and a shower before continuing on my journey.

Leaving Yosemite Valley, I decided to stop briefly at Hetch Hetchy, that once-magnificent replica of Yosemite Valley that now is the site of a large dam and a huge lake. I knew it would be my last chance to see the place that provides the city of San Francisco with its water. I won’t recount the sad tale of this valley as I already did so a few years ago here (Click here to read about it and see the photos…before and after).

I won’t describe my short time in the Bay Area (it was great) and long trip from there down to Yuma. Suffice it to say I moved quickly to get to my son’s home in Yuma as quickly as possible. For those who don’t know, Yuma sits on the border of Arizona, California, and Mexico. My son is a Border Patrol Agent there.

Besides seeing my son, my goal was to drop off all my belongings that I brought from Washington for future use at my new residence (where ever it may be). Then, convert my van from a moving van to a bedroom. No more camping in tents and sleeping on the ground. Needless to say, the tent was put in storage at my son’s place.

Everything went according to plan. The rear of the van held the camping supplies such as propane stove, eating utensils, ice chest, clothes and other supplies. further up and behind the driver and passenger seats was my air mattress and sleeping bag. Everything fit perfectly, just as I planned it before the trip. I could now sleep in comfort. There was also a camping chair so I could sit outside comfortably while camping. I had everything worked out, or so I thought.

I left Yuma early in the morning, heading Northeast towards Flagstaff. After picking up I-40, I continued heading east to Winslow. Not far from Winslow is a road that heads north to an little known area known as the Little Painted Desert. I got there towards sunset, there perfect time for photography, and took a several shots. Afterwards, I found a public campground a few miles south of the site and after eating dinner and reading for a while by lantern light, l settled in for my first night in a van.

Here is where I made my first miscalculation. Most people thing that Arizona is hot and dry and at a low elevation. In fact, Winslow sits at 5,000 feet, and in late October and Early November it gets very cold. That night, the temperature dropped into the low 20’s…and I froze. I thought I had enough warm clothes for cold temperatures, but I was very wrong!

Before sunrise, I was up and after a cup of coffee, I headed back to Winslow and found their Wal-Mart. I purchased warmer clothes, an extra thick blanket, a ski mask for my head and face and other items to keep me warm. I also found a propane heater that was safe to use in an enclosed space. I vowed to be warm for the rest of my journey…and I was.

I continued my trip east along Highway 40. My first stop that day was to be the big Painted Desert, part of the Petrified Forest National Park.

More to come.   

Postcard from Yosemite Valley

The Journey Continues:

I should explain what journey means here. This was indeed a journey all over the western US to see many places for the first time (Yosemite being the exception here). In truth, it was a journey where I transitioned from my old life as a married man living in Central Washington…to a new life as a single man living someplace new in Arizona. And this trip was the long, slow road to that new life.

As I mentioned last time, as I drove down the Big Oak Flat Road into Yosemite Valley, I discovered it was the height of the Autumn season in that beautiful valley. The lower the elevation, the more color appeared. And while Yosemite Valley (at 4,000 ft.) has many evergreen trees, it also has a great many deciduous trees that turn all different colors this time of year.

The picture above is just one example of the beautiful Autumn colors here. You can see more on my Flickr Yosemite album by clicking on this link. This album shows Yosemite photos from Spring, Summer and Autumn. I bet you will be able to guess which are which (hint: if you see lots of water, its Spring).

I didn’t think a great deal about my life or the meaning of it, or my new life ahead. All I did was think about photography and how to capture all the beauty this valley has to offer. I shot from sunrise to sunset, loving every minute of it. Luckily, I was very familiar with all valley locations and was able to find some of the best locations for Fall color.

The most exciting thing that happened on the second day was crossing a meadow, heading for a select spot on the Merced River. There, I ran into a very large brown bear foraging for food. He saw me and began loping off in a different direction. These Yosemite bears are not very aggressive unless they are very hungry and smell food on your person.

A friend of mine tells the story of how he was once fishing up in the high country and had caught several fish. He was hiking along a trail across a meadow and spotted a large bear heading to intercept him. He knew what the bear wanted, so he dropped his fishing creole and took off in a different direction. True to form, the bear went right for the fish and had a snack. Fortunately, I had no food with me in that meadow by the river.

The other thing I remember about this time was seeing no Yosemite Falls. I told you last time that there was no water in Yosemite Creek, so this was not a surprise. But it was the first time ever in my life to see no Yosemite Falls. Very strange.

It was a great two days in Yosemite Valley and I took many more photos than you see in my Flickr album. Now that I have a big 27” iMac Retina computer, I look forward to processing and showing you more beautiful photos of Yosemite in Autumn.

But after two days camping out in the valley, it was time to head west to visit friends for a couple of days and sleep in a real bed. PS: just in case you wondered about hygiene, I was able to shower every day at Camp Curry.

Stay Tuned…

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Yosemite’s High Country

The Journey Continues:

After leaving the beautiful Autumn-colored Inyo National Forest, I climbed higher and higher on Highway 120… and into the high country of Yosemite.  I entered at the Tioga Pass Entrance at the east end of the park. I was very nervous when I started this journey that this road would be closed by the time I got here. Fortunately, the first snow had not fallen.

When the first snowflakes hit the road, the Park Service shuts it down completely. At an elevation of 7,000 to 10,000 feet, you just know the high country gets buried in the snow. Depending on the quantity of snow, the road doesn’t usually open again until May or June. That is why I breathed a little easier when I got here…there was not a cloud in the sky.

The high country is mostly granite mountains and domes with hundreds of lakes doting the landscape. I spent many of my summers up here as a youth…and there are no better mountains to explore in the whole wide world. In a way, this part of my journey was a pilgrimage to my past.

As much as I would have liked to stop and hike to some of the nearby lakes, there was no time to do so. I would have to be satisfied with Tenaya Lake along the highway. But I am ahead of myself.

The first stop along the highway was Tuolumne Meadows… a large sub-alpine meadows at about 8,700 feet. Through it flows the Tuolumne River. It is surrounded by the Cathedral Range and some gentle granite domes.

The photo here is of Lembert Dome. You can see a small part of the meadows leading up to the dome. Although they are green in spring and summer, they were completely brown at this late date. That is part of the reason that this photo is in black and white. It just works better.

Notice the trees in the background. There is no autumn color at this elevation. These are evergreen trees that never lose there leaves (or needles), as compared to the deciduous trees down in the lower elevations.

I had thought I might camp up at TM (that is what us seasoned veterans call it) but all campgrounds were closed for the season. So onward and westward!

A little further down Highway 120, you run into beautiful Tenaya Lake. It is a large lake, at 8,100 feet, fed by several streams and rivers, including Tenaya Creek. At the far end of the lake, Tenaya Creek continues its journey downward through Tenaya Canyon and eventually into famous Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley. Eventually it merges with the Merced River.

Continuing west, I came to the side road that leads to White Wolf, the very campground where I spent many happy summers with my family. While they fished, I took off on trails to some wonderful places in the high country…much to consternation of my parents. I sometimes forgot to mention that I was going hiking. I see a trail in the mountains and I want to know where it goes. That feeling persists to this day.

When I got to the White Wolf gate, it too was shut down for the winter. That was sad as I wanted to see it one more time and relive a few memories. Just too late for this party.

Back on 120, I continued the journey west. I passed over Yosemite Creek, which was a dry as bone. That meant there was no water flowing over Yosemite Falls. In my whole life I never saw those falls without water. I would tomorrow.

I continued on till I met up with the Big Oak Flat Road…which takes you out of the high country and down into Yosemite Valley. As I descended, I started running into trees with autumn colors. The lower I went, the more color I saw. It suddenly hit me…I had come into full blown Autumn in Yosemite Valley. WOW! Talk about luck. Me and my camera were going to be busy!

PS: The first snow in the high country fell three days after my visit and the Tioga Road was closed. Another lucky break.

To be continued…

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Mono Lake

The journey continues…

The Old Tioga Pass Road in the 1950’s was, at most, one lane wide. But one day, many summers ago when I was maybe 9 or 10, my father, mother and little brother climbed into our family Buick at our campsite in Yosemite’s High Country and headed east on that old road…destination Mono Lake.

In those day, one drove that road extremely carefully. When approaching a blind curve, and there were plenty of them, you honked your horn to warn possible oncoming cars that you were there. If you were going uphill and met another car coming down, you pulled as far to the right as you could. Downhill cars had the right of way. When you pulled off the road to make way, you were way off the road…so one had to be doubly careful.

It was always an interesting ride on that old road. We actually did that road a few times, but only once to the far off destination of Mono Lake. To get there you leave Yosemite at the Tioga Ranger Station, elevation 9,700 ft. Then you drop down to Mono Lake, elevation 6,379 ft.…in 14.5 miles.

As you can imagine, it was a steep drop on that old road. Even today, it is a steep road. But back in the 1950’s, one had to worry about brake overheating going down, and engine overheating going up. Every time I think about that drive, I have nothing but admiration for my father and his accomplishments of driving the Old Tioga Pass Road.

By the way, if you are ever hiking up in the Yosemite High Country, you will probably run into sections of the old road. A few years ago, I ran into one piece of the road near Tenaya  Lake…it was smaller than I remembered.

The Mono Lake I saw that day in the 1950’s is vastly different than the one I saw this day. Back then, the elevation of the lake was 6,417 feet. Today, the elevation is 6,379 feet, a difference of 38 feet. That doesn’t sound like much, but it made a huge difference in the way the lake appears.

The tufa's you see in this photo were underwater back in the ‘50’s. I won’t go into the process of how they form, but they are made up the minerals found in the lake (mostly limestone). Mono Lake is an alkaline lake…no fish. The only inhabitants of the lake are the tiny brine shrimp, about 4-6 trillion of them. Its not human food, but the migratory birds who stop there on their journey north and south, just love them. 

In 1941, the city of Los Angeles decided to divert the water in Owens Creek for their own use. The remaining creeks that fed the lake were not enough to keep it at its old elevation. So, gradually the lake dropped, exposing the tufa’s.

In 1994, the State of California stopped LA from its water diversions, after an in-depth study showed the devastating effects it was having on the ecology of the entire area. Since then, the lake has been slowly rising again. Eventually, the tufa’s will be back underwater.

I visited Mono Lake early in the morning, before sunrise to catch the great light that sunrise offers. Sadly, it was not a great sunrise and there were no clouds, so most of my photos of that day were not all that good.  But I must say, I found it all quite interesting and definitely worth the visit.

When you walk down the path from the parking lot to the Tufa’s, there are markers along the way showing how high the lake was in various years. Then you really see first hand how far the lake dropped.

After leaving Mono Lake, I spent the rest of the day photographing the glorious Autumn colors of the the Inyo National Forest, about halfway up the road to Yosemite.

Then I spent another uncomfortable night in my tent in the National Forest Campground.

When I set out on this journey, I mentioned on day one that this was a journey of discovery about the West and about myself and my new life as a single man. Well, here is one of the things I discovered:

I may be too old to be camping out. I cannot get from a horizontal position, such as being in a sleeping bag, to a vertical position as easily as I used to. In fact it is damn hard. An being almost a senior citizen, I cannot stay in a sleeping bag all night without having to get up at least once. I will leave it at that, other than to say it was damned difficult and I almost collapsed the tent a couple of times.

Be that as it may, I do not regret one minute of my time on this journey. The next day, my plan was to head up into Yosemite’s high country and visit some of my most favorite spots on the planet.

Stay tuned for more…

Postcard from Inyo National Forest

The Journey Continues:

After my morning in Lassen, I arrived in Reno in the late afternoon. I had booked a hotel on the Internet, using one of those discount travel Web sites. It was only going to be a one-night stopover before I started camping further south in the Sierras. My last regular bed for a few days.

Well, the Internet gods were smiling on me that day. Instead of an ordinary room in a swanky casino/resort, I had a suite of rooms high up near the top floor, looking out at Reno and the Sierra mountains. Holy Cow! This was too good to pass up. So I immediately booked the place for a second night. The tent and sleeping bag can wait!

I noodled around Reno for a day and a half, taking in the sites and restaurants. I even bought a new tripod for one of my cameras. Although I used to live only a couple hours away, I spent very little time here so it was almost like exploring a new city. Those two days and nights were just what the doctor ordered. As I don’t gamble, two days and nights were just fine.

After the last night, I headed out early, this time heading south of Highway 395 and back into California. My destination was Highway 120, aka: the Tioga Pass Road. This is the road that goes high into the Sierras and is the back entrance to Yosemite.

But Yosemite was not my destination on this day. I had other things to see and do before I headed into the high country.

When driving south on 395 from Reno, you pass through Nevada’s Capitol, Carson City. I think I was married there once. Eventually you come back into California at Topaz Lake, then continue south through some very small communities, the largest being Bridgeport. On and on and on, along the back side of the Sierras, eventually passing the west shore of Mono Lake, then Lee Vining and Highway 120.

It was time to find a campsite for night, which I did at one of the campgrounds in Inyo National Forest. I was only partway up 120, but high enough to enjoy the Autumn colors in full glory. It was absolutely stunning! After setting up camp, I had time to wander through part of the forest and enjoy.

The tree were a blaze of yellow. I ran into a few people who travelled long distances to take in these colors. Can’t blame them.  This photo was taken along Lee Vining Creek near my campsite. The leaves were not arranged by me…it is just the way I found them.

As the sun sets in the west and I was on the east side of the Sierras, it got dark early. I made my first dinner of the trip on the camp stove and read my book using light from my two lanterns. Eventually I headed into my tent and into the sleeping bag on top of the air mattress. It wasn’t that cold, so I was warm enough. Snug as a bug in a rug.

I then proceeded to have one of the worst nights of my adult life. More to come.

Postcard from Lassen

The Journey Continues…

After the disappointing visit to Crater Lake and a long day’s drive, I found myself holed up in a cheap hotel in Redding, CA. After a bad night's rest (and accidentally leaving my favorite pillow behind), I head out just before sunrise. My destination this day was Mt. Lassen Volcano National Park...due east of Redding.

A little background: I spent the vast majority of my life in Northern California. From early childhood on, I saw most of the beautiful sites this part of the world offers. I spent the majority of my youthful summers in Yosemite, along with several trips there as an adult. I had also been to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, Muir Woods, the California Coast, and much more. But, in my entire life, I had never been to Lassen…and this trip was about seeing new places.

Mt. Lassen is classified as an active volcano, having last blown its top in 1921. Its been quiet since then, but one never knows. It sits in what most people might consider to be the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. But in truth, it is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. This range stretches north into Canada and includes such spectacular volcano's as Mt. Shasta, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and, of course, Mt. St. Helens.

To be honest, I am not sure where the southern Cascades end and the Sierras begin. I do know that geologically speaking, the two mountain ranges are very different. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

There is only one paved road in Lassen with a Northern and Southern Entrance (I found out later that there are some unpaved roads into the park). I came in from the north and was immediately greeted with the site of Manzanita Lake, fresh with some beautiful morning light. After a few shots I continued on through the park. It is not a big park, but it is certainly quite beautiful and has some very unusual elements.

The north entrance brings you in at a lower altitude (around 5,500 ft.) so one is quite a bit below the mountain. But as you keep going,  the road starts climbing higher and higher. In he end, you are 1,500 feet below the summit at an altitude of 8,500 feet.

I took this photo at Upper King’s Creek Meadow, at an altitude of 7,500 feet. Obviously this is King’s Creek as it meanders down from Mt. Lassen. It is one of those photos that just works better as a black and white image…with the creek leading your eye up to Lassen Peak.

One of the most interesting features of the park is how the mountain changes as you go around it. The view from the north is so incredibly different than the south face. Of course, all of this has to do with volcanic activity.

Along the highway, I ran into hot springs and steam vents...sure signs that this is an active volcano. There were other places on the south side of the mountain that belied the volcanic nature of this place, such as the correctly named, “Bumpass Hell.” I did not hike down to it…maybe some other time.

At the southern entrance, I made a short but informative visit at the visitor’s center. By then, I had seen all I had come to see. I originally thought about camping here, but eventually decided against it.  I was happy with my photos and none of the trails on the map excited me enough to spent a second day here.

By the time I reached the southern end of the park, it was still early enough to go somewhere else.  Frankly, there were many more destinations I was more excited to see further down the road and I had a long, long way to go.

So I eventually hooked up with Highway 395 on the east side of California and headed south. Next stopping point: Reno, NV.  This was not a destination, but a waypoint for a good night's rest. I already knew my next photographic destination.

Stay Tuned!

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Crater Lake

The journey continues:

So where did I leave off last time? Oh, that’s right…I was in Mitchell OR for 3 days and two nights. I had seen and photographed what I came for, so it was time to move on.

I got up early, said goodbye to Henry the Bear, and headed west…first stop being Bend, OR. It was a nice drive through Central Oregon, but as soon as I entered cellular signal territory, my phone went crazy. Both my brother and son were calling, panicked that their calls had gone unanswered for three days.

I smoothed out their ruffled (and worried) feathers and told them all was well and that there was no service of any kind in the Twilight Zone. From that point forward, my son insisted I check in with him every day while on the road…a command that continues to this day when I travel.

In Bend, the first stop was Starbucks to get a real cup of coffee, something that was missing from my diet for the last few days. It tasted so great! For all you folks still left in Mitchell, you should try it sometime. It beats the hell out of anything brewed in your lovely little town.

From Bend, I headed south then west, up into the backside of the Cascades. My destination…Crater Lake National Park. I had not been there since my parents took me there way back in my pre-teen days. I remembered its beauty and the deep blue colors of the lake that sits in the crater of a long-extinct volcano.

The Park sits quite high in the mountains, but the van just kept chugging right along. The plan was to see and photograph the lake and camp out at one of their campgrounds.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. It was a bit chilly at those high altitudes, but that was OK as I was prepared for it. But upon arrival, I discovered the Park Service had shut down all the campgrounds the day before. Whoops! But I was not worried as I knew I would find something somewhere along the way…or so I thought.

But the big disappointment of the day was the light. It was about the worst quality of light any photographer could imagine. In that light, the lake looked absolutely horrible. The temptation was to leave the camera in the bag. But I eventually did take a few shots of the lake to prove I had been there…knowing I would never show them to anyone or use them here in the blog.

Well, I kept that promise, until I discovered the art of digital sketching. I created the sketch you see here as it does not show the horrible light that day, only the barebones black and white outline of Crater Lake and Wizard Island. It turned out quite well. Sketches can be the essence of simplicity and still be very appealing.

So back to the journey. What to do? Stay here and wait for better light…maybe the next day? That would mean a cold, miserable night in the van as there was no place to set up my tent. Sadly but inevitably, I made the decision to go south, to lower elevations and see what I could find. I am sad I could not spend more time there, but that is the way it goes sometime. Sometimes the photography gods are not very kind.

So I headed South, stopping here and there to take a few photos, eventually hooking up with Highway 97. I wasn’t sure where I would stop, so I just kept going and going and going. If you can believe this, my final stop for the day was in Redding, CA…a long drive to be sure. But I knew the town well enough to know where there is decent lodging and a good meal. Tomorrow would be a new day with a new destination, and there was already a plan floating in my head for the next stop.

Stay tuned for more…

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Painted Hills

2008 - It was a journey of discovery…of new places, of art, of photography, but mainly of myself. My wife and I had separated…she headed east. I put the majority of my belongings in storage, loaded the remainder in my van, and headed south. It was time to start a new life.

I decided not to stay any longer in my hometown of the previous 16 years. A town of 7,000 people was not a place for a newly single man. Plus, there were too many memories.

I needed see new things, new adventures, new challenges and a new place to put down roots. Washington State was not that place. My initial final destination was Tucson, AZ, having visited there a few months previous and liking it a great deal. But if I found somewhere better along the way, I was willing to make a change. But all that is for later.

For now, I was headed south with a van load of stuff. As I travelled along highway 17 through towns like Moses Lake, Warden, and Othello, I knew I no longer belonged there. This was now alien country. I could not wait to get to Oregon Border. And eventually I did.

My first stop was going to be the Painted Hills, in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I had seen photos of it and wanted to see if for myself. As the drive took up most of my day and there was no room for a bed in the back yet, I stopped at a hotel in Mitchell, a small town in Central Oregon, population 160 people.

Mitchell's history resembles many small towns in the Northwest...a thriving community (with two houses of ill repute) that suddenly died when the logging industry went away. It's only alive now thanks to the tourists who visit nearby Painted Hills. When I arrived, I found Mitchell had no cell or Internet service. (You can read all about my adventures in Mitchell in a blog I wrote back in 2008. It includes the story of Henry the Bear, a bedroom with one electric plug that did not work, and all the town’s people who told me their life stories, even though I did not ask.)

I spent two glorious days photographing the Painted Hills, as well as other parts of the John Day Monument. I traveled and hiked all day long. Mostly there was great light and the views of the painted hills were amazing, especially at sunset.

This photo of the Painted Hills is just one of several. You can see the best ones at my Painted Hills Album on Flickr.

Surprisingly, as I lay in my hotel room in Mitchell, I didn’t think much about leaving my old home town, the separation, or anything related to that. I was too focused on this new adventure, of starting life over, and all the places I was going to see for the first time. In short, I was excited for the days to come. That past was past. Only this moment and future moments were important.

More to come…

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Washington DC

A few years ago, around the Memorial Day weekend, I took a one week trip to our Nation’ Capital. I stayed with my Stepdaughter Kristen who happened to be living there at the time. It was a great visit, not only to be with her again, but to see the sights.

Besides DC, we also ventured south into Virginia to see the Civil War battlefields of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Then north into Pennsylvania to see Gettysburg. Needless to say I was deeply moved by those sites, more than I can express here. And, being a national holiday weekend, I got to see Civil War re-enactors at all the sites. Now that it something you seldom see out here in the west.

Although it was a whirlwind tour, I did take time to explore DC and see all the famous sites. Some of the photos I took there have already shown up here. I don’t believe this one has been shared here before.

It was a beautiful late afternoon on the Mall. I managed to capture this image of the Washington Monument at sunset. Thank God for some clouds to make the sky interesting.PS: It was originally a film image scanned to make it digital.

I wasn’t sure if I would like DC before I got there. It turns out I liked it very much. The parts I visited were all very beautiful and interesting to boot. My first night there, Kristen and I had dinner at an outdoor café right on the Mall. Good food, good company and a marvelous view. Can’t beat that combination.

I’ve spent most of my life living in the West, so this adventure allowed me to get greater acquainted with our heritage. As a bit of a history buff, I did enjoy seeing all the sights and capturing the feelings that go along with the history of America. I think I have spent much more time in Europe capturing my European roots and their history stretching back to the Roman Empire.

Sadly, I have not been back to DC since. Too bad for me. I would sure enjoy another trip to explore this city, its history, and its surrounds in greater depth.

Postcard from Tucson

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas

 

and a Happy New Year!

 

Postcard from the Desert

Flower in the Desert

She sowed a seed of love
in the desert with an anticipation
to see the seed sprouting from
womb of desert, blossom to her
full youth and verginiy, will cherish
the stars to enlighten each grain.
She'll ask the moon to lend her cold
to embellish her each petal with
morning dew ignited with morning star
The first ray of sun will hug her
inlaid her with jewel of fragrance
adulate the breeze to carry her fragrance
to her beloved to make him realise
her existance and her fragrance
will repel the hot wind and save
him from searing moment and inflamation.
Desert flower is a squashing vanilla
to atone all travellers of oasis
to cheer the life for a new look

 

Poem by Ramesh Rai

Photo by JR Corkrum, “Desert Flowers on LSD”

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page