Zion is made up of endless vistas of stand stone mountains. But on closer inspection, these mountains consist of nothing more than tiny grains of sand, compressed together.
Day 338: August 29, 2005 - Roadside Flowers
by Karen Williams
One of my favorite things is to drive along the old country roads in and around Zion, and admire the fields of sunflowers.
Day 337: August 28, 2005 - Beautiful Day
by Christian Williams
Today was a beautiful day. There were perfect blue skies, bright sunlight, just a few wispy clouds in the sky. I enjoyed walking around the park and stopped to photograph some of the backcountry, with contrasting shadows that bring out the interesting features of the beautiful red rock.
Day 336: August 27, 2005 - Observation Point Trail
by Christian Williams
The Observation Point Trail is about three miles up, through some spectacular red rock cliffs. A great trail to see the mountains up close like in this photo. And if you make it to the top, there are spectacular views of the main canyon in Zion.
Day 335: August 26, 2005 - East Temple
by Christian Williams
The East Temple is a spectacular mountain found in east Zion. Its steep slopes climb high into the deep blue sky.
Day 334: August 25, 2005 - Layers
I love the layers of rock that lead the eye on a windy path back toward the mountain.
Day 333: August 24, 2005 - Bark
by Karen Williams
The multiple layers and interesting texture of this tree bark caught my eye. I am fascinated by the variety of plantlife that can be found in Zion, and enjoy observing and photographing the details of plants that are often overlooked.
Day 332: August 23, 2005 - West Temple at Dusk
by Christian Williams
West Temple in the main canyon of Zion is always awe-inspiring. When driving from east Zion I often stop after the tunnel to enjoy the view of the mountains on this side of the park.
Day 331: August 22, 2005 - Return of the Hoodoo
by Karen Williams
A few days ago Chris had a photo of this strange little hoodoo that looks small and stubby compared to the mammoth peaks beyond it. I didn't realize he had been using this hoodoo as a subject, and I took photos of it from an entirely different angle. Funny how such a small landmark captured the attention of both of us, but the resulting photos are entirely unique.
Day 330: August 21, 2005 - Hoodoo
by Christian Williams
This is an interesting spot in Zion. There are huge mountains all around, and then right in the middle is this little hoodoo rock formation. It is fascinating to think of how the elements over time have carved away at the sand and rock, leaving behind such a variety of rock formations to see.
Day 328: August 19, 2005 - Horn Beetle
by Karen Williams
This awesome gold beetle is the only one like it I have ever seen. I love finding new little critters around Zion to watch and photograph.
Day 329: August 20, 2005 - The Narrows
by Christian Williams
The Narrows is an amazing slot canyon to hike up. It is a 16 mile hike through one of the most beautiful canyons in Zion. For those who don't want to hike 16 miles, just hike up to the entrance of the canyon, go as far as you can and then turn around! We sometimes hike up to the canyon just to enjoy the beautiful views of the river and steep canyon walls even when we don't have much time to hike up river.
by Christian Williams
Day 327: August 18, 2005 - Fading Reflection
by Karen Williams
As the sun was starting to go down, I came across a still pool with a reflection of the trees and sky in it. This isn't my favorite picture I have ever taken of reflections, but I like the way the bright sky at the top of the picture fades into a dark sky in the reflection.
Day 326: August 17, 2005 - Indian Paintbrush
by Karen Williams
This is one of my favorite flowers in Zion, called Indian Paintbrush. It usually grows in bunches, and I find it difficult to photograph. Today I stumbled upon a solitary flower blooming in the shadows, with just a touch of sunlight illuminating it. The shadows help emphasize the individual petals of this unique flower.
Day 325: August 16, 2005 - Jagged Peaks
by Karen Williams
In this area of Zion I was struck by the jagged rock peaks, which are quite different from the plateaus and mesas of much of east Zion where I spend most of my time. There is so much variety in the formations and colors of rock in Zion, it makes every new place to explore interesting and new.
Day 324: August, 15, 2005 - Jug Handle Arch
by Karen Williams
I have always loved the arch you can see in the background on the left of the photograph. It is appropriately named Jug Handle Arch, and it definately looks like the handle on a big souvenir mug. I have photographed it many times, but I like the way this particular scene captures the contrast between the red rock that forms the majority of the rock in this area and the glowing white rock of the mountain where the arch is found. We have hiked back in this area many times, trying to get a closer view of the arch, but have not found a good trail to that part of the park yet.
Day 323: August 14. 2005 - Wet Rock
by Karen Williams
This wet rock looks more like sand with its interesting waves and curves.
by Karen Williams
This entire area is covered with interesting rock formations, that all appear to be parts of old sand dunes permanantly frozen in their windblown shape.
following a rain storm as the sun comes back out again. The wet rock
glimmers in the sun light, and is rich with textures, shadows, and
colors. These sections of sandstone wall would otherwise have been
unnoticeable to me on a dry afternoon.
Day 322: August 13, 2005 - Weeping Rock
by Christian Williams
Weeping Rock is one of the most visited trails in Zion. It is notoriously difficult to get a great photograph of, because of the strong shadows. I tried to use the shadows to my advantage here,
balancing the top shadow from the cove in the upper left corner with the dark sign in the lower right.
Day 321: August 12, 2005 - Out of the Wall
by Karen Williams
After spending hundreds of days in Zion, it's easy to lose perspective on the immense scale. However, all you have to do is look closely at one distant section of canyon wall, and you'll notice trees twice the size of house growing unimaginably through a crack in the rock.
Day 320: August 11, 2005 - West Temple Panorama
by Christian Williams
The visitor's center (lower left corner) is wonderful place to stop and take in the breath taking panorama with the West Temple and Mount Kinesava in the background.
Day 319: August 10, 2005 - Swimming Hole
by Christian Williams
Pine Creek runs all the way down from East Zion into the Virgin River in Main Canyon. However, just before it connects with the Virgin River, the Creek pools up in a nice swimming hole, where it is not uncommon to find a few people "in the know" swimming on a hot day.
Day 318: August 9, 2010 - Many Pools, Forked Tail
by Christian Williams
These large potholes are formed from rain water, racing down the canyon and swirling in these depressions, taking pieces of rock and sandstone with it. Each hole is teaming with life during the spring, but as the hot days of the summer progress, the water slowly dries up, and all the life goes with it. Until next year.
by Karen Williams
Look closely. This lizard, perhaps escaped becoming lunch meat for some predator, and lost its original tail, but was rewarded with two more.
Day 317: August 8, 2010 - Main Canyon Grove
As the sun was setting, I setup the camera on a tripod and hoped to catch some beautiful colors in the clouds and sky, but all my waiting was rewarded with a gradually dimmer night sky. Win some, lose some!
Day 316: August 7, 2005 - Little Pine Tree
by Karen Williams
In a rocky red canyon I found a small sapling growing out from between two rocks. How any sort of seed managed to get lodged there and actually grow into a tree is a mystery to me, but I love the way life in the desert flourishes in unexpected places.
Day 315: August 6, 2005 - Side Canyon in East Zion
by Christian Williams
One of the things I love about hiking in East Zion is you can pick any side canyon off of Hwy 9, walk down it and be comeplete isolated from civilization for hours. The peaceful feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, when you are only a 15 minute walk from your car.
Day 314: August 5, 2005 - Highway to the Clouds
by Christian Williams
I was walking across the top of this stretch of rock and it reminded me of a long empty highway with nothing but the clouds above me.
Day 313: August 4, 2005 - Glowing Clouds in a Brilliant Sky
by Christian Williams
As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, the clouds glowed in the brilliant blue sky over the shaded rocks of Zion.
by Christian Williams
I went to an area of the mountains where I have seen the mountain sheep before, and found this bold male sheep that I spent some time photographing.
Day 312: August 3, 2005 - Approaching Storm
by Christian Williams
The dark, threatening clouds from the approaching storm create a moody and ominous feeling in this photo of the usually sunny Zion National Park.
Day 311: August 2, 2010 - Sheep on the Wall
by Karen Williams
I came across this herd of mountain sheep while hiking in Zion today. I sat and watched them for quite some time, and followed them the best I could - which was difficult because they are walking on a rock wall that is almost vertical. It is rare to see this many sheep together at one time, and it was interesting to see the way they climb from place to place in areas that look impossible to walk.
Day 310: August 1, 2005 - Endless Rock
by Christian Williams
I love hiking up from a shadowy canyon below, turning around to look across the trail I came from, and seeing an endless expanse of rock walls and towers.
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