Zion (and wherever else)

West Texas

2012-01-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Pecos, Tx--a town that is being slowly forgotten. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

You can keep couches outside when there's only about 10 inches of rain per year.

I think this dog only has a couch to take out his frustrations on.

From here it's about 60 miles to the closest town. Unless you count Queen, NM and Queen is about as close to ghost town as you can get.

See the Oriole?

Vultures about to head off to their difficult job of circling lazily in the sky looking for prey that doesn't move.

Do some trees shed their bark?

Chemtrails, man.

Mil-surp packs can do murder to back and shoulders.

The color pallet can be amazingly limited out here at the end of summer.

What cat is big enough to swallow a young deer's hoof?

Back to Pecos. I hope some of these places are haunted.

Obligatory foot shot in the sadly subdued Rio Grande.

Hunting.

Attempting to rain.

An other-worldly sunset begins.

None of the plants can afford to be tender or easily consumed here. Its prick, sting, poke, or be eaten.

Unfortunately, the camera can't capture brutal West Texas wind gusts.

At the center bottom of the rock are some indigenous petroglyphs. I'm guessing this rock symbolized to them something of what wild nature symbolizes to "modern" peoples--a sacred kind of stability and solace in an empty land. We are spiritually emptying the earth with our buildings, roads, and populations. I wonder if we could only leave our mark in such a way that's sacred and not destructive?

Back Again

2010-01-22T17:28:00.023-07:00

Places we return to, whether imaginative, geographical, in books, or anything else we find drawing us again, act like mirrors. Many of these places are familiar to me, but each time I return, I find my sense of self is different. I am essentially the same, but my own abstractions have shifted and lessened.

Heading Back or... Just Heading

2009-09-20T20:51:00.000-06:00

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Driving is a lot more meaningful if you're not too driven. In travel, I think we're looking for more than just scenery and a new place.

There's such a need to capture these fleeting moments, almost as if we are afraid we will forget or not quite absorb the experience.

Friends can make the trip complete, bringing you places you never thought you would go.

And sometimes being alone is all you need.

In looking at art, we are looking inside too.

In re-imagining the things that grasp for our attention we can see through to the other side.

I think it's good to feel lost and anonymous at times.

It's odd that we want to feel close to nature without letting it get close to us.

We find ourselves reflected in everything.

Everywhere we go, we leave our mark.

And nature is its own mark.

Things always carry on and our dams begin to leak.

The water holds us for hours.

Some things are better undisturbed.

As evening is drawn out, subtleties show their substance.

There's something about rebuilding dwellings that reminds us of why we are alive and what can be done in the world. And yet ruins allow our ghosts to have a home.

Nothing is wasted, everything is redeemed.

All Over

2009-07-22T14:09:00.009-06:00

Boothbay Harbor, Me. A little bit touristy for my tastes, but like pretty much any town in Maine, there are some lovely homes.

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A cemetery in southern Maine, on the way to Bethel.

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Screw Auger Falls, Grafton Notch State Park in Maine.

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Dixville Notch State Park in New Hampshire. Chacos with Diamon Stealth soles are a must.

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I found these hanging on a tree a little ways off the trail. Though the optics are a little off, I carried them with me down the falls and to my car.

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Ft. Williams Park

2009-07-07T14:41:00.008-06:00

Ft. Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Me. You can see more pictures on my Picasa album.

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Portland Head may be the most photographed lighthouse in America. It was commissioned by George Washington in 1791.

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Winter Road Trip

2009-01-15T11:35:00.011-07:00

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This is, roughly, my route. Many, many more photos can be found by clicking here or by clicking on any image thumbnail. Many photos will be roughly tagged for location within the Picasa album.

2009-01-15T11:34:00.007-07:00

West Texas, in between Ft. Stockton and Pecos.

2009-01-15T11:34:00.006-07:00

Many west Texas towns seem to be dying an eternal death.

2009-01-15T11:33:00.005-07:00

Somewhere in southern New Mexico, Highway 137.

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2009-01-15T11:31:00.010-07:00

Near Dog Canyon, also near Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

2009-01-15T11:31:00.009-07:00

Guadalupe Mountains National Park; where I spent the night.

2009-01-15T11:31:00.007-07:00

Somewhere in New Mexico. All I know is that snowy mountains were beginning to appear.

2009-01-15T11:29:00.002-07:00

2009-01-15T11:28:00.004-07:00

Sunset somewhere along I-25 in Colorado.

2009-01-15T11:28:00.001-07:00

2009-01-15T11:26:00.001-07:00

Cheyenne Canon State Park, near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2009-01-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

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Walsenburg, Colorado.

2009-01-15T11:20:00.006-07:00

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Co. It's unreal to see this huge pile of sand surrounded by typical Colorado mountains, snow, and trees.

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Shortly outside Great Sand Dunes. I wonder if I trespassed by petting the horse? As soon as he saw me get out of my car he sauntered (can horses saunter?) over to say hi.

2009-01-15T11:14:00.005-07:00

The winter light in the Southwest is unbelievable.

2009-01-15T11:14:00.004-07:00

Butler Wash Ruins built by the Anasazi around 1200 AD.

2009-01-15T11:13:00.001-07:00

If you look closely you can see hand prints on the left.

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Glen Canyon area.

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Factory Butte, a little ways from Capitol Reef NP.

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And here we enter Zion National Park (the norther Kolob region).

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First photo was in the summer of 2005.

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Again, first photo is from summer 2005. This is definitely one of the best places to swim in Zion. No, I won't tell you where it is.

2009-01-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

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Canyon Overlook

2009-01-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

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Canyon Junction

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Sunset, a little ways west of Zion NP.

2009-01-15T10:51:00.002-07:00

Somewhere along I-15 on the way to Las Vegas. I didn't stop the car for this one.

2009-01-15T10:49:00.007-07:00

Death Valley. Death Valley is not a misnomer.

2009-01-15T10:49:00.006-07:00

This area is known as Devil's Golf Course.

2009-01-15T10:48:00.003-07:00

Badwater Basin- 282 feet below sea level. Life clings on, even in these pools.

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Sunset somewhere towards the edge of Death Valley.

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2009-01-15T10:45:00.014-07:00

Circus Circus Hotel on the Las Vegas strip for $27!

2009-01-15T10:45:00.013-07:00

Nope, that's not just a phallic symbol; it's a a beehive- the symbol of Mormon industriousness. You see this symbol all over Utah.

2009-01-15T10:44:00.001-07:00

The St. George Utah Temple in St. George. It has a total of 18 sealing rooms.

2009-01-15T10:43:00.002-07:00

Along the Kolob Scenic Road in Zion NP. Imagine all this snow melting over millions and millions of years and carving out canyons.

2009-01-15T10:41:00.005-07:00

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Along Coal Pits Wash.

2009-01-15T10:40:00.003-07:00

On La Verkin Overlook Road, looking at Zion. Probably the best sunset I have ever witnessed.

2009-01-15T10:39:00.001-07:00

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