Desert Rain

Watching a storm roll into the desert can take anywhere from three days to an hour. But it's magical--the whole place smells different, feels different, has a different hue.

Colorado National Monument

Spent a recent weekend in Colorado National Monument, a place that went very quickly from being somewhere I had never heard of to somewhere I absolutely loved. Only a quick two hours (or so) from where I am, the monument and surrounding area seemed about five times as green. Although we didn't have enough time to do a longer hike through one of the canyons, multiple viewpoints and short overlook hikes kept us well entranced. 

Blue moon

I had a brief love affair with this tree my first day at the monumet. The next morning I found myself near the same tree when stunning red light burst forth from the sunrise and bathed the rocks and trees for about two minutes, then disappeared into the dark clouds above. I think the red seemed unusually powerful because of the dense cloud coverage that lingered a mere finger-width  away from the horizon, giving the sun mere moments to envelope the landscape before disappearing completely (see last photo).

Sun disappearing into clouds over the Book Cliffs.

White Rim Road

It's been far too long, blogspot.
Here are some photos from a recent trip I took to the White Rim. Probably the best training session I will ever have, for any job, ever.
The White Rim road stretches for over 100 miles of bumpy, switchbacky wonderfulness, outlining the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands and tracing the routes of the Colorado and Green rivers. Absolutely stunning.

Monument basin, with Totem pole visible on the left.

sunset from Whitecrack campground

Turk's head overlook