EARTH: Weekly Photo Challenge

“It is wholesome and necessary things for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility.”  Rachel Carson

Earth is such a glorious paradox. It is everywhere, so common and typical but—at the same time—so unique, showing beauty and variety specific to each place.  Earth can run alongside a road or stretch across an open field; it can reach the heights of a mountain or stay close to the ground, supporting blossoms.  No matter where Earth is, it is worthy of celebration.  Over the last several years, I have enjoyed Earth across several states as pictured below.

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

NEVADA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

WYOMING

This post is my response to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth.

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SOME QUOTES ABOUT THE BEAUTY AND WONDER OF EARTH

“I’m fascinated by beautiful scenery and what we have here on this Earth.”  Matt Lanter

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and winds long to play with your hair.”   Kahlil Gibran

“Earth’s crammed with heaven. . .  but only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”   Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”  Henry David Thoreau

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

I have visited Canyon de Chelly or Tseyi (The Rock Canyon) many times—and each time is always a great adventure.  Visitors can more intimately explore ruins at Chaco Culture National Historic Park or wander on their own a bit across the landscape at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  But Canyon de Chelly is special. Its mark of distinction is its link to the past.  Native peoples have lived in the area continuously for 4,000 years, and Navajo families still reside there today.  It is only through Navajo-led tours that visitors can wander the canyons themselves for a close look at the ruins and pictographs of the past.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in Arizona within the Navajo Nation.  The area is actually comprised of the floors and rims of three major canyons:  de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument.  Its 84,000 acres of land were authorized as a National Monument in 1931 by President Herbert Hoover.  In 1970, the park was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.  The park is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation. Free access is provided via the scenic rim drives and a moderate hike to one of the ruins.  Navajo guides conduct private tours (hikes, horseback or tour bus), providing access to the canyon floor.

The area surrounding Canyon de Chelly offers gorgeous vistas that showcase the area flora as well as wonderful clouds.  From the road, the vistas can even belie the existence of the steep canyons that are not far off.

This ram was hurrying to catch up with his little harem that was taking off without him alongside the road.  (I think his actions must be an example of leading from behind!)  Some horses were wandering around as well along the road and near the visitor center.

Two scenic rim drives—The North Rim Drive (seven overlooks) and The South Rim Drive (three overlooks)—offer some dramatic views.

The first time I visited Canyon de Chelly, I took a bus tour through the canyon.  I especially enjoyed meeting the Navajo tour guides and ease-dropping on our senior guide talking to the guide-in-training in native Navajo.  It is a beautiful language.  I also just loved the canyon walls, the cottonwoods and the occasional wildflower evident throughout the day.

DRIVING IN

Speaking Rock

Window Rock

DRIVING THROUGH THE NORTH CANYON

Tour Guide’s Family Hogan

A Coyote Wandered By

FIRST RUINS

JUNCTURE RUINS

Pictographs Near Juncture Ruins

SOME MORE PICTOGRAPHS

Hopi Hands

Spanish Mural

WHITE HOUSE RUINS is accessible via a moderate hike from the surface as well as via the ground tours.  Although visitors cannot enter the ruins, the area does offer some picnic tables and bathrooms.

Trail Head

Mesa Near Spider Rock

SPIDER ROCK is probably the best known geologic feature of Canyon de Chelly.  It is two sandstone spires, rising nearly 800 feet about the canyon floor.  Spider Woman is prominent in creation myths for several Native American peoples.  Accounts vary, but the core of the story is that Spider Woman is responsible for the stars in the sky.  She spun a web, laced it with dew and threw it into the sky, creating the stars.  Navajo stories explain that Spider Woman lives on the taller of the two spires.  Spider Woman is said to have given the rug loom and the artistry of weaving to Navajos.

Base of Spider Rock Looks Like a Hogan

View from the Rim

I encourage you to visit this wondrous place.  

Its links to the past always captivate me.

PETRIFIED FOREST & PAINTED DESERT

If you are ever traveling through Arizona near Flagstaff, take a detour off I-40 through the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.  The main park road stretches for 28 miles with spurs and viewpoints along the way and a visitor center at each end.  The drive itself is gorgeous.  You can stop and hike a bit or just keep driving, but my advice is to take your time to enjoy the beauty and solitude.

The Petrified Forest National Park was initially designated a National Monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, finally being upgraded to a National Park in 1962.  Although its official area almost doubled in 2004, the fee-access area still covers about 110,000 acres or 170 square miles.  The park draws its name from the fossilized trees prevalent in the area.  The trees—nine different species now extinct—lived in the Late Triassic Period about 225 million years ago. It is amazing to see these ancient logs strewn along the hillsides while driving through the park.

The Visitor Center at the Petrified Forest National Park’s south entrance showcases the geological, historical and cultural past of this area.  Displays share everything from dinosaur skeletons to native pictographs.  A stroll through its garden shows some of the area fauna as well as examples of petrified wood.  The wood’s many colors come from three minerals:  pure quartz is white; manganese oxides form blue, purple, black and brown; and iron oxides provide hues from yellow to red to brown.

If you visit the park in the spring, you will probably see extensive wildflowers as well.  They pop up along the route, adding color to the landscape.  Three of my favorites are Indian Paint Brush, Apache Plume, and Poppies. Clouds always add dramatic impact to the vistas too.   I love cloud shadows.

A typical drive through the Petrified Forest, entering at the south entrance and traveling northeast through the park, offers many spectacular views.

At the Petrified Forest National Park’s north entrance is the Painted Desert Visitor Center.  The Painted Desert itself covers 93,500 acres, stretching east from the Grand Canyon. While most of the Painted Desert lies within the Navajo Nation, a portion is accessible within the Petrified Forest National Park. The colorful badland hills, flat-topped mesas, and sculpted buttes of the Painted Desert are primarily made up of the Chinle Formation, deposited over 200 million years ago.  The area was given its name—El Disierto Pintado—by Spaniards who invaded the area.

The Arizona Leisure Vacation Guide posted this little video providing a big picture overview of the geological processes that created the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. The music that accompanies the photographic montage has been called irritating by several, so you might want to turn the volume down or off.  Otherwise, its display is informative and offers some good photos.

I have visited this area several times—and each time is a bit different depending on time of year, general weather and time of day.  Once—over 15 years ago—I enjoyed an afternoon visit there with Mom and Dad.  I was picking them up in Flagstaff to bring them home to California after they were in an accident while on vacation—long story.  They were fine.  It was a nice afternoon. My memories of that day always come to mind when I visit the area—one of the reasons it is a favorite spot for me.

Do you have a favorite spot in Nature you like to visit often?

MONUMENT VALLEY NAVAJO TRIBAL PARK

Even before I visited Monument Valley, I knew of its iconic vistas and buttes from many of the old westerns like Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Cheyenne Autumn. Its use as a location, however, is not limited to westerns; the area was also featured in such productions as Easy Rider and two recent episodes of Dr. Who.

Of course, seeing the place in a movie is nothing like being there.  As filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich explains, “It’s breathtaking. You can’t believe it. It’s very photogenic; it has a kind of mythic feeling of age, of legend. . . You’ve seen it in the movies, but when you see it in life, it’s so epic in its proportions that it almost stands for the whole of the West.”

I felt the various contrasts inherent in Monument Valley when I first visited years ago:  grandeur and simplicity, immediacy and timelessness, and vibrant beauty and engaging solitude cannot be overlooked.  Even though there are many visitors and tour groups sharing the road, I was patient.  The crowds eventually moved on and I discovered a few treasured moments of solitude.

The geology of the area helps add to its grandeur.  Monument Valley is part of the Colorado Plateau, which covers 130,000 square miles. More than 50 million years ago the area was a lowland basin that over lots and lots of time and extensive layers of sedimentation, ceaseless pressures from below the surface and eventual geological uplifts was transformed into a plateau.  Then wind and water took over the task of creating the dramatic vistas and formations evident today.

The current elevation of the valley floor ranges from 5,000 to 6,000 feet.  The floor is basically siltstone from the Cutler Group.  Iron oxide gives the area its red color.  The blue gray rocks get their color from manganese oxide.  The buttes are clearly stratified in several distinct layers:  Organ Rock Shale, de Chelly Sandstone, and Shinarump Conglomerate.  These buttes rise high above the valley floor with many reaching 400 to 1,000 feet in elevation.

In 1884 President Chester Arthur added the region that comprises Monument Valley to the Navajo Nation.  The park itself rests mainly in Arizona but spreads into Utah and New Mexico as well. It covers close to 92,000 acres, equal to about 45 square miles.  The tribal name for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is Tse Bii Ndzisgaii, meaning Valley of the Rocks. Tourists can view many of the iconic buttes and mesas by driving the 17-mile scenic loop.  Navajo-led tours give access to other areas of the park as well.

On my most recent visit (April 2015), I traveled to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, heading north on Highway 163 through Kayenta, Arizona.  The landscape is vast and open, and eventually rock formations start rising along the route, suggesting what is to come.

The first full panoramic view of Monument Valley in the distance is remarkable.

It was a hazy day.  When strong winds picked up, I was glad I opted to drive the 17-mile scenic loop myself rather than being part of an official tour.  The tour groups were in open-air shuttles.  I at least could roll up my windows!  Fortunately, the little dust storms were short-lived and only happened a couple times throughout the day.

It is expected that the scenic drive will take at least 2 to 3 hours to complete.  I managed to stay out all day, relishing the beauty and the solitude. The drive alternates between showcasing panoramic vistas and then closer views of the many park formations.  There are overlooks and parking areas, allowing visitors to take short hikes throughout the day.

Being there in the spring, I was able to see some wildflowers along with the ever present juniper trees.  I was even fascinated by dirt, rocks and clouds. The only animals I saw were a couple horses and a wandering dog.  My bet is they belong to the several Navajo families that live within the park.

Purple Sage

The Scenic Loop starts near the East and West Mittens and Merrick Butte.  These three formations are probably some of the most familiar within Monument Valley.

Elephant Butte

Camel Butte

Three Sisters

Totem Pole & Yei Bichei

 The Hub 

Cliffrose

The Thumb 

Rabbitbrush

Mojave Yucca

The Cube

Spearhead Mesa 

Thunderbird & Rain God Mesas

Artist’s Point Overlook

 

As the day ended, it was hard to head back to my hotel.  Next time, I hope to stay at the Inn right on the property, so it would be easier to be around for sunset and sunrise photos.  Then again, I do not really need an excuse to visit Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park again.  If you have not visited this majestic place yet, add it to your list.

Where do you visit over and over again, seeing something new each time?

 

 

MY SOUTHWEST SOLITUDE ROAD TRIP 2015

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude,” Henry David Thoreau

“Solitude never hurt anyone.  Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known. . . then went crazy as a loon.”  spoken by Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons (Matt Groening)

MY SOUTHWEST SOLITUDE ROAD TRIP 2015: An Overview

In April, I traveled a total of 3,870 miles on a two-week road trip into the Southwest.  I knew what cities I would stay in for a few days each time and had some key attractions I wanted to visit.  But most of the trip was going to be simply wandering Arizona and New Mexico, enjoying the scenery and history of the area.  I even traveled a bit on an old stretch of historic Highway 66.  I had a wonderful time.

Petrified Forest National Park

I travel alone on these trips—and typically someone will ask, “Why?”  Speculation is often that I would be lonely.  But that is never the case! Solitude is not loneliness—and I love the peace and quiet of the back roads I tend to travel. On those roads, it is easier to pull over and stop to watch some clouds drift by, appreciate some wildflowers, listen to some birds, even see some animals I wouldn’t otherwise notice.  Even without such wonders, the wide open spaces can be relaxing.  How can that be lonely?

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly

My overall game plan was to stay a few nights in Flagstaff, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Gallup, New Mexico, taking day trips from those locations.  In part, I just wanted to immerse myself in the area geography, driving the backroads and visiting the small cities that are an integral part of the Tony Hillerman novels I enjoy.  I also knew I wanted to visit Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and Four Corners.  Other trips would be decided each day, from a list of possibilities I had generated.  I was also open to just following signs and seeing what I could see.

Some Views from Monument Valley:

Merrick Butte

El Malpais National Monument

Eventually, I will share photos of some of the major stops I made on this two-week adventure.  But many of the memories are the smaller moments of each day, some that could not even be captured with a photo. For example, every morning as I left the Gallup hotel, there was a little sparrow in the tree by where I parked who sang good morning loud and clear.  But he was shy and never, ever let me capture his photo.  In fact, many birds and even some small animals kept me company along the road, but rarely let me take their pictures.  It is always a fun little game to try to catch them on film.

Some of these smaller memories I was able to preserve in photographs.

The promise of rain was a constant companion.  I was only ever really caught in a storm a couple of times, but the clouds were gorgeous almost every day.  One day, it even snowed on me in Santa Fe.  How cool is that?

Lilacs in a Back Yard in Gallup

Flowers were also plentiful.  They always brighten any day!  Some flowers were in the cities, like some gorgeous lilac bushes that made me think of my mom.  One stretch near Shiprock, Aizona, offered miles and miles of wildflowers lining the road.  Other times, wildflowers offered isolated splashes of color and beauty.

False Red Yucca (Hesperaloe), Las Vegas

False Red Yucca Close Up

Some views around Shiprock, Arizona, mostly Desert Mallow:

Canyon de Chelly Roadside

Along the Verde River

Small Cactus Holding On Near Sedona

Taking Root in Monument Valley

Yucca in Bloom, Monument Valley

Yucca Bloom Up Close

Growing Out of Lava, Sunset Crater National Park

Some Flowers in Petrified Forest National Park:

Desert Poppies

Indian Paintbrush Close Up

Common Name is Wild Apache Rose (I think)

Apache Rose Close Up

Shiprock National Monument in the Background

A few animals also cooperated as I traveled along, letting me catch them on film.  Horses wandered along the road at several locations.  Prairie Dogs were chittering alarms as I bounced along a gravel road traversing Valles Caldera National Preserve. Most scampered away, but eventually a few sentries came back to their posts.  I also shared shade with a little bunny on a break at the El Malpais National Conservation Area.

Prairie Dog, Valles Caldera National Preserve

Near Canyon de Chelly

At one spot some sheep were literally running along the side of the road.  A ram was trailing behind, trying desperately—it seemed to me—to get back to the front of his little flock. That’s one of the hardest things about being a good leader—you need good followers!

This little trip confirmed for me that Nature and Solitude are great traveling companions!

Canyon de Chelly Rim Drive

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THOUGHTS ABOUT NATURE & SOLITUDE

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving he can outwit nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”  E. B. White

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.”  Anne Frank

“If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature; and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature.”  John Burroughs

“What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.  This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.”  Albert Einstein

“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone.  It has created the word ‘loneliness’ to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word ‘solitude’ to express the glory of being alone.”  Paul Tillich

“We live in a very tense society.  We are pulled apart. . . . and we all need to learn how to pull ourselves together. . . . I think that at least part of the answer lies in solitude.”  Helen Hayes

“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.”  Lorraine Hansberry

“What a commentary on civilization, when being alone is being suspect; when one has to apologize for it, make excuses, hide the fact that one practices it—like a secret vice.”  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.”  John Muir

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”  Henry David Thoreau

Traveling “That Ribbon of Highway”

Traveling “That Ribbon of Highway” (Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge:  This Land Is My Land, 2 Verses)

I have always liked Woody Guthrie’s ballad “This Land Is Your Land” that he wrote in 1940.  I was aware of the song from the 1960s when Peter, Paul & Mary sang it.  It moved me in great part because of the intimacy of the lyrics.  The beauty of this great country is truly yours, mine, ours, there for all to appreciate.  Even as a kid, I was aware that not everyone took the time to admire all the beauty around us. But it is always there.

As an adult, I travel by car as often as possible because it allows me a closer connection to the myriad of landscapes across the country.  I like the sense of freedom and solitude such drives give me.  Since the roads—paved or not—stretch from coast to coast across all terrains, I can visit most anywhere.  I prefer country roads over city streets, because there I am more apt to see nature, get the feel for the open road, and glimpse the vast panoramas of land and sky.

Here—with a little creative editing—is my favorite verse from the Guthrie’s song.

“As I was [traveling] that ribbon of highway

I saw above me the endless skyway. . . .

While all around me a voice was sounding

This land was made for you and me.”

The photos are from some of my recent travels, demonstrating the freedom, beauty and diversity of American highways.  I live in California and am often drawn to the Southwest for some adventures as well.  What are your favorite places to be out on the open road, on “that ribbon of highway”?

CALIFORNIA HIGHWAYS

Yosemite National Park

Sequoia National Park

Kings Canyon National Park

Eastern Sierra

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

See Canyon, Near Avila Beach

Big Sur Hills & Coastline

SOME MIDWESTERN HIGHWAYS

BOSQUE DE APACHE, NEW MEXICO, HIGHWAYS

SAUGARO NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA, HIGHWAYS

COLORADO HIGHWAYS

UTAH HIGHWAYS

Coral Reef National Park

Canyonlands National Park, Needles

Zion & Kolob Canyons National Park

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A LITTLE SIDE NOTE

As an adult, while I truly love the great beauty and diversity of this land of ours, I am equally aware of our country’s problems.  Guthrie was aware of the discrepancies in society as well, motivating a satirical if not cynical view to “This Land Is Your Land.”  He wrote the famed lyrics, in part, as a political protest.  Bruce Springsteen performed the song live in the 1980s, acknowledging the harsh realities evident in society that some say question the validity of the lyrics.  But through all the problems, the beauty and potential of America still shine through.  As Springsteen says in his opening comments, it’s “about one of the most beautiful songs ever written about America.”