Zion National Park, - Summer 2007

Mary Lou and I went to Zion NP on the same trip that we visited the Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Bryce Canyon NPs. I want to go back in the near future because I did not get to see enough of it. We saw much of the mountains from the eastern entrance and we saw the canyon area near the Zion Lodge and Virgin River, but missed most of the hiking trails and western areas of the park. What we saw was stunning and beautiful. The weather was perfect but both of us were still recovering from a little illness that limited our activities.

The road into the park was filled with great views of the surrounding mountains.

The striations and other crossed markings on these rocks are a geological marvel created over an immense period of time. These rocks are in the "checkerboard" region of the park.


More crisscross patterns in the rock.


One of the many tunnels through the mountains in the park.


One of the larger amphitheater carvings of Mother Nature into the cliffs of the park.


A pleasant green, but dry, creek ravine.


The Virgin River near the Zion Lodge in the late afternoon.


The Virgin River (not much more than a creek by anyone else's standards).


The Virgin River in the early morning light.


The Zion Lodge in the late afternoon shaded by the mountains. Our room was on the other side of the building in the foreground.


More mountain shadows in the late afternoon. Lots of people were at Zion NP this time of the year. I am glad we got our reservations months in advance.


Early morning light on a placid stretch of the Virgin River.



The bridge over the Virgin River near the lodge in the early afternoon.

Canyonlands National Park 2009

Canyonlands NP is a neighbor of Arches NP, but it is treated more like a distant stepchild by tourists. On our first trip to Arches in 2007 I had intended on visiting Canyonlands, but the intense heat of late summer afternoon (100's Fahrenheit) dissuaded us. In 2009 I made a point of visiting Canyonlands first in the morning. There weren't too many other folks at the park. On the other hand, Arches NP was jammed full of tourists that kept me from sending too much time there after visiting Canyonlands.


A scenic vista within Canyonlands including some of the desert flora. Note the rain falling in the distant background.

The overcast rainy weather prevented me from taking a lot of panoramic scenery photos, but this nearby rock cliff was interesting to me.

Since this is Canyonlands, I had to show you the namesake Green River Canyon that snakes through the park. It eventually joins the Colorado River later in the south end of the park.


More cliffs, mesas, and canyon bottom land.


A better photo of the canyon with a mesa highlighted with a little sunlight in the background.


Saw this mesa at the entrance to the park.

Bryce Canyon National Park 2007 and 2009

Mary Lou and I stopped at Bryce Canyon NP in 2007 on the way home from the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Didn't see much of it since both Mary Lou and I were feeling a little under the weather. What I did see I loved and vowed to come back ... which we did in late August of 2009. Bryce Canyon is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, but it has an ornate, other-world appearance that it's not fair to compare the two. Sunlight in the morning or afternoon seems to glow off the muli-colored rocks.

A taste of what is in Bryce Canyon from Utah route 12, one of the most scenic highways in America.

More of the same.

Some early morning light seen in 2007.


More panoramic scenery from 2007.


Shot this photo in 2009. Note the folks, or "dots," in the upper left-hand of the enlarged photo.

This is an amazing place.

Thor's Hammer is one of the scenic sights at the park.

Another panoramic view.


A needle of a spire in the midst of the canyon.


We got to see plenty of deer in the early morning of our 2009 visit. It was a joy to watch the playfulness of the young fawns.

The fawns still had their spots.

Not sure why some deer were decidedly darker, almost sooty in appearance.


Another spire with vegetation growing on top of it.


The park rangers are fond of giving the various rock features fanciful names. This outcropping of white rocks looked, to me, like a crowd of Russian women blanketed with snow.

One last view of the spires and hoodoos of Bryce Canyon NP

Capital Reef National Park, Utah, August 2009

The following pictures of Capital Reef NP were were taken in late August 2009. It was our second visit to this little known park. Our first visit was a quick drive through in 2007 and I vowed then that I would return and check out the park in more detail. Capital Reef NP is a strange name since there is no capital or reef nearby. Early settlers thought that a white sandstone mountain in the region looked like the capital and the high rock ridges caused by a geological "water pocket" rock layer fold blocked folks from traversing the area like a "reef"
would.

As we all know, the three most important rules of real estate are "location, location, location." Note the small rancher's cabin on the rim of the canyon. What a view to wake up to each morning or to view at sunset.

Here is another small cabin with a beautiful view near Capital Reef NP.

An amphitheater-like erosion of rock from a cliff near the park.

This is Utah route 24 which runs right through the park. Utah routes 24 and 12 (connected) are, without a doubt, among the most scenic highways in America.

Our trusty 2009 Honda Odyssey

More cliffs
Desert like environment

Chimney Rock

Took this, and the following three photos the following morning.


I thought the reflected light on the rock was pretty interesting as it gave it a different color from the rock in the shadows.

Outer Banks, Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

This was our second trip to Nags Head, NC on the Outer Banks. This time we spent a second day and I got to view wild life in a national wildlife refuge. We stayed in the same beach hotel and I got some great sunrise and surfing photos again.

From the NWR, here is a photo of whistle swan. I saw a pair of them.

Plenty of ibis to view at the NWR
Enjoyed watching this seemingly "ring-around-the-rosy" game with a seagull, tricolor heron, and snowy egret.

Spotted this pair of osprey in their nest on the James River near Williamsburg.

A good closeup of an osprey guarding the nest while its partner was out hunting.

Great sunrise photo from the balcony of our 6th floor hotel room.
Interesting color at sunrise
I liked this earlier dawn photo with the lone seagull flying across the scene.
The surfers who did their thing among the rainbows

The strong off shore winds blew the tops off the white caps and created a rainbow in the late afternoon sun.
Two glossy ibis and a young ibis

Another rainbow surf photo

The rainbow looked particularly vivid in this photo of a surfer

What the beach looked like during all this rainbow surfing

Great rainbow!
Another sunrise photo