Day 308: July 30, 2005 - Hoodoos
The mountains in Zion are always interesting to study, with their many different faces. There are sheer walls, different colors of rock, mesas, and on this particular mountain there are the small hoodoo rock formations that pop up out of the mountain face.
Day 307: July 29, 2005 - Clear Creek Narrows
During the summer there are many narrow canyons without water in them. I hiked up the Clear Creek Narrows today, which in the winter would often have water running through it. This new area to explore was filled with textured rock walls with nooks and crannies at every turn.
Day 306: July 28, 2005 - Fading Light
Day 305: July 27, 2005 - Milky Way Checkboard Mesa
This photo was a group effort, with Karen behind the camera and Chris in front of the pine trees in the foreground "painting" the Checkboard Mesa with a large spotlight. The camera was on a tripod and set to a 30 second long exposure, which gave us enough time to shine the spotlight over the surface of the Mesa. The ISO was set to 3200 to boost the light absorption of the imaging sensor and allow the detail of the stars to show through. A high ISO adds quiet a lot of grain to the photo, but was necessary because too long of a shutter speed would cause the stars to "blur" as the earth rotates. If the camera were attached to a telescope, which could compensate for the rotation of the earth, we could have used a longer shutter speed, without the high ISO.
In this photograph, you can clearly see the various stars and nebula and gas clouds which are thousands of light years away. On a clear, late night in Zion, it's possible to see this section of the Milky Way with your visible eye. Living in the city, it's easy to forget how wondrous the heavens appear in the dark of night.
Day 304: July 26, 2005 - Watchman Sunset
by Christian Williams
Watchman is a beautiful landmark in Zion, but sometimes difficult to capture in a striking photograph. I returned there many times over the summer in an attempt to photograph it at sunset. Although this picture is after the sun has mostly set, it turned out nicely with the warm colors on the river and in the sky.
Day 303: July 25, 2005 - Posing Lizard
Day 302: July 24, 2005 - Vivid Colors
Day 301: July 23, 2005 - Yellow Flowers
Day 300: July 22, 2005 - Green Pine Cones
Day 299: July 21, 2005 - White Flowers
Day 298: July 20, 2005 - Angel Trumpet Flower
It's easy to see where this beautiful, delicate desert flower gets its name Angel Trumpet. The scientific name is Datura wrightii or Sacred Datura and it is poisonous but the Native Americans sometimes used it as a hallucinogen (according to the guide on the bus in Zion).
Day 297: July 19, 2005 - Sunflowers
by Karen Williams
In the summer there are wild sunflowers growing all over southern Utah and I love them! They grow along the trails and roads of Zion which reminds me of a favorite passage I read as a kid in My Antonia by Willa Cather.
"Sometimes I followed the sunflower-bordered roads. Fuchs told me that the sunflowers were introduced into that country by the Mormons; that at the time of the persecution, when they left Missouri and struck out into the wilderness to find a place where they could worship God in their own way, the members of the first exploring party, crossing the plains to Utah, scattered sunflower seed as they went. The next summer, when the long trains of wagons came through with all the women and children, they had the sunflower trail to follow. I believe that botanists do not confirm Fuchs's story, but insist that the sunflower was native to those plains. Nevertheless, that legend has stuck in my mind, and sunflower-bordered roads always seem to me the roads to freedom."
I read this book before I had ever seen the sunflower lined roads in Utah, and it came to mind the first time I saw the roads in the summer with bright yellow flowers as far as the eye could see.
Day 296: July 18, 2005 - Afternoon Light
In the early afternoon, the sun was shinning strongly and there was a beautiful reflection on the rock. However, after spending some time in this area trying to capture the light, I was a bit disappointed when I came home and the pictures didn't look as spectacular as the real thing. The colors are still nice, but there are times in Zion where the rocks really glow, and I had hoped to capture that. It didn't work this time!
Day 295: July 17, 2005 - Moonlight Reflections in Zion
by Christian Williams
It was a marvelous night for a walk in the moonlight. This picture is interesting for a few reasons. First, the moon has such a bright aura, it looks like the afternoon sun, except it's clearly not bright enough to chase away the darkness of night. There's a nice analogy in there somewhere.
The next interesting thing is the reflection of the moon, complete with the shadow of the tree that appears in the lower left corner of the image. This results from the moon reflecting on the lens itself, and the reflection is picked up by the image-sensor in the camera. Notice how the details of the moon are exposed so you can see them in this reflection, but not in the moon itself. This is because some of the light gets lost as the image is reflected, which exposes the reflection properly, while the moon itself is overexposed with no details. An otherwise boring photo, made interesting to me by these two details.
by Christian Williams
The 500mm lens I used in this shot is about 2 feet long and almost gives me the illusion of being able to reach out and touch the details on the moon's surface.
Day 294: July 16, 2005 - Lonely Yucca
Day 293: July 15, 2005 - Kolob Alcove
Day 292: July 14, 2010 - Moonrise over Watchman
Day 291: July 13, 2005 - Scorching Summer
by Christian Williams
When I see pictures of these desert mountains, I can remember the dry heat of the summer, with the scorching sun in the sky reflecting off the beautiful white cliffs. It is not the most pleasant hiking conditions, but the desert's unique beauty makes the heat worth it.
Day 290: July 12, 2005 - Morning in the Park
by Christian Williams
I went to Zion early this morning. As I hiked along the striped rock, the sun began to illuminate the mountain tops in the distance, causing the rock to glow with warm light.
Day 289: July 11, 2005 - Crack in the Wall
Day 288: July 10, 2005 - Snakes and Tunnels
by Christian Williams
This little snake was fun to chase around and try to photograph. I like the way this photo turned out. I adjusted the aperature so I could capture the sharp gaze of the snake as he slithered across the sandstone.
by Christian Williams
As I hiked through the canyon, I came to this wall which looked like a vertical tunnel in the rock. The deep red rock looks beautiful on this uniquely shaped curved wall.
Day 287: July 9, 2005 - Daisy Bundle
Day 286: July 8, 2005 - Thistle
Day 285: July 7, 2005 - Main Canyon View
Day 284: July 6, 2005 - Canyon in Shadow
Day 283: July 5, 2005 - The Subway
by Christian Williams
The Subway is a very famous landmark in Zion, so named for its tunnel-like shape. Permits are required and only a few people are allowed in each day. The hike is pretty far, through a river, and very tiring, but the views are absolutely stunning. Zion is full of beautiful places, but this unique canyon is one of the most fantastic hikes I have ever been on.
by Christian Williams
The clear water was beautiful, glowing with colors of green, gold, and blue.
by Christian Williams
Yes, the water is snow melt, and it was incredibly cold. It was a hot summer day, but Karen had to go warm up in the sun after this little dip in the river.
by Christian Williams
This year had so much rainfall that the river was higher than normal, which made the hike a little tougher, with some spots where Karen actually had to swim across small pools of water. The cold water was quite refreshing on this hot summer day, but I wouldn't want to brave this hike in cold weather!
by Karen Williams
While the Subway itself was beautiful, I felt that the hike to get there was the best part. Large pools, small waterfalls, and vivid green plants made this hike seem like it belongs in a more tropical location than southern Utah.
by Christian Williams
There were waterfalls all around. It was a spectacular place to hike.
by Karen Williams
One of the reasons so few people are allowed into this hike is that there is no nice trail next to the river leading to the Subway. We had to hike in the river often, and up these delicate layered waterfalls. The impact on the landscape would be pretty severe if the trail was packed with hikers. Another benefit to the hiker limit, is that we rarely encountered anyone. This beautiful hike was enjoyed mostly in solitude - except when we luckily met a couple who told us we would have to scale a fallen tree to get to the upper part of the canyon where the Subway was located! Next time we will bring some rope to help with some minor climbing and repelling.
Day 282: July 4, 2005 - Mountains in the Warm Light
Day 281: July 3, 2005 - Muscle Tissue Rock
Day 280: July 2, 2005 - Jolley Gulch
by Karen Williams
When we were backpacking up on the East Rim Trail, we crossed over a waterfall that was in a canyon called Jolley Gulch. We decided to try and find it from down below so we could check out the waterfall. On the way up the canyon, I spotted this butterfly and loved the intricate patterns on its body and wings.
by Christian Williams
Here is the waterfall in Jolley Gulch. It required a bit of hiking, scrambling, and a whole lot of getting wet to get there, but the views in the canyon were well worth the effort.
Day 279: July 1, 2005 - Columbine
by Karen Williams
Columbine flowers look like they belong in Hawaii, not southern Utah. They are only found near springs in shady areas of Zion. I love their bright tropical colors, and unusual shape. And I love the areas where they grow - cool, wet oases in the middle of the hot, dry desert.