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.
Showing posts with label Favorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Favorites. Show all posts
Day 330: August 21, 2005 - Hoodoo
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
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 273: June 25, 2005 - Butterflies
by Karen Williams
While driving along the highway, I spotted a bright patch of orange down in the wash, and decided to explore. I found a small group of butterfly weed plants growing in the sandy soil. There are relatively few flowers that grow in this area, so I was surprised to see these bright flowers in this spot. There were beautiful butterflies dancing around the flowers.
by Karen Williams
This butterfly is a Tiger Swallowtail, which is my favorite butterfly. I had never seen them before hiking in Zion National Park. They also love butterfly weed, and anytime I find a patch of these flowers in Zion, I can wait and the expected butterflies will appear. As it turns out, this spot was an unusual place for butterfly weed. I have never seen butterfly weed grow so large in this place, if it blooms at all, in all the years since I took these photos.
Day 238: May 21, 2005 - Upper Emerald Pool
by Christian Williams
Karen and I hiked up to the Upper Emerald Pools, a beautiful hike with wonderful views of the main canyon, and with so much water this year, the waterfalls were spectacular as well. When we reached the uppermost waterfall, we noticed these hikers rappelling down the falls. I have no idea what hike ends at the top of the falls, but it is a long way down from there!
by Christian Williams
A picture of the whole waterfall to give a perspective of how large it is. If you look closely you can see the rappelling hikers.
by Karen Williams
Although I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, I also found this great lizard with a beautiful blue belly. Uncle Bill, I am sorry I can't remember the name, I know you must have taught us what this little guy is called on one of our many hiking trips! I love the varied textures and patterns in this scene, with the rough bark next to the orderly, spiny lizard scales.
Day 217: April 30, 2005 - Beautiful Zion
by Christian Williams
On days like this I'm reminded Zion is among the most beautiful places on earth. There is a special place in my heart for red and white cliffs with a partially cloudy blue sky. I love the curved lines in the rock, layer upon layer, crisscrossing in different directions marking some change in geology thousands of years ago.
Day 211: April 24, 2005 - Fragrant Sand Verbena
by Karen Williams
As the sun was setting, I decided to go walk near the river, hoping to take some interesting photographs with the reflections on the water. However, as I walked toward the river, I found this small patch of flowers. Their scent was surprisingly strong and sweet. I was surprised. I had not seen these before in Zion, and spent the next hour taking pictures of them.
It wasn't until later that I came across an entire field of Fragrant Sand Verbena in Zion's backcountry. Then I realized Sand Verbena is commonly facing up. It is only in the evening, as the light from the sun is fading, that the flowers turn over like shown in this photograph.
An interesting note on this photograph. After setting up the tripod and exploring the best angles, I took several photos of the flowers with the surrounding background visible. The sudden thought occured to me that I'd like to isolate the flowers, with nothing else visible, so I took off my jacket and placed it in the background to block out all the ambient light. The resulting photograph ended up being one of my favorites.
Day 182: March 26, 2005 - Snow Buds
As we hiked into the backcountry of Zion, I came across these beautiful little buds, peaking out of the snow. The frost didn't seem to deter them, as we found many flowers blooming in spite of the cold weather.
Day 180: March 24, 2005 - Late Spring Snow
In spite of all the snow we had this winter, we never got a really good picture of the snow covered Checkerboard Mesa. Luckily this late spring snowstorm gave us another chance to capture one of Zion's most interesting peaks with a dusting of snow.
This mountain has an interesting look to it, with the multiple layers of rock in front of it.
The entrance sign to the park is not the most interesting part of the park, but I love the view of the sign with the snow covered mountains in the background.
Day 161: March 5, 2005 - Mini World
by Karen Williams
This plant is only about an inch tall. I took out my macro lens, and as I looked around at the moss in this area, I noticed it is like a mini forest, with flowers, grass, bushes.
Day 155: February 27, 2005 - Tiny Plants
I'll admit it. I have no idea what this plant is. But I am constantly amazed by the intricate details that are often missed when we don't stop to admire the diverse plantlife in Zion, and any other natural space. This picture is taken with my macro lens and focuses on two small buds on a twig that was filled with these buds.
Day 124: January 27, 2005 - Hidden Falls
by Christian Williams
These photos are from an area I like to call, "Hidden Falls". When driving the switchbacks to Zion tunnel, just above Pine Creek, there is a waterfall that can be found only when it rains. It is not visible from the road, only when one stops at a certain pullout on the switchbacks and hikes around the corner can it be seen. On this rainy day I hiked over to the falls which is quite large, and took some photos. As I followed the stream down from the main pool, however, I found a multitude of small falls that attracted my interest, and I spent time photographing many of these mini waterfalls.
by Christian Williams
An interesting view of another waterfall. The large fallen tree is a reminder of the many storms and flash floods that have left behind much debris.
Day 107: January 10, 2005 - Gooseneck Road
For some reason, this photo is one of my favorites. Everything in Zion was soaking wet, giving a rich lively color to the landcape. Perhaps I like this photo so much because I've driven hundreds of times on this twisting switchback road. Or maybe it's the mile long rain/snow melt induced waterfall in the background, that continued down all the way from the top of Mount Spry above.
Day 93: December 27, 2004 - Coal Pits Creek
by Christian Williams
I spent the previous two days camping above Coal Pits Wash alone, because Karen went to visit her family for a few days. Early in the morning, I followed the small creek that runs through Coal Pits Wash, enjoying the solitude of an icy winter's morning. Spending 93 days in Zion was amazing, but trying to find something unique to photograph everyday was proving to be difficult. Some days we spent more time in Zion than others. With several days all to myself, it was nice to simply wander around the park, without worrying about how much time I had available to shoot a good photograph. Within a few minutes of coming across this lovely scene, I knew all the hard work had been done, and I just had to setup the tripod and push a button.
Day 91: December 25, 2004 - Hanging Ice & Manzanita
by Christian Williams
This Christmas day dawned bright, clear blue skies, and beautiful mild temperatures. It was a nice day to spend at the park, so we walked down a trail near Pine Creek and found this spectacular display of icicles, still hanging despite the mild weather.
by Karen Williams
I first learned the name of Manzanita while hiking with Chris, his cousin Amy, and his Uncle Bill. Bill taught us the name of many plants and animals on that first backpacking trip, but we always remembered manzanita because of its prevalence in Zion National Park. Until this project, I had never seen it in bloom. Usually manzanita, which is an evergreen shrub, is covered in only leaves, but this winter I saw for the first time these small flowers on the plant. Although it is not a spectacular flower, I love the way this plant looks, covering the desert landscape with its unique red bark, glossy green leaves, and small red buds.
Day 47: November 11, 2004 - Zion Sunset
by Karen Williams
The sign which marks the entrance to Zion National Park in East Zion is a favorite of tourists. It's impossible to drive by it without seeing someone taking a picture of loved ones in front of this sign. In some respects, it's strange that people would prefer to take pictures of themselves in front of a sign advertising Zion, instead of the beautiful park itself. But as the sun was setting after another rainy day, I too was drawn to the Zion sign.
Day 44: November 8, 2004 - Emerald Falls
by Christian Williams
The rainy season in Zion National Park continued. Emerald Pools in the main canyon, which is often just a trickle or even completely dry in summer time was now a full-blown waterfall. As I hiked along the trail, which takes you underneath and back across the top of the lower Emerald Pools falls, I really liked the juxtaposition of this stone staircase, with the waterfall flowing in the background. The rain was still pouring down, which made keeping the lens dry for a 20 second long exposure somewhat tricky.
by Christian Williams
Here is another view of the lower Emerald Pool.
Day 33: 10/28/2004 - Brisk Beautiful Day
by Karen Williams
As I was driving toward the West entrance of Zion National Park, I was struck by how beautiful the bold blue sky looked against the reds, greens, and yellows of the landscape. The clouds were dynamic, with sweeping shapes, indicating a change in weather coming on. I pulled over to the side of the road, and enjoyed this beautiful brisk Fall day before driving into the park.
by Karen Williams
By the time I reached the East side of Zion, it was stormy, with the ground covered in snow. I was captivated by this beautiful winter scene, with so many warm Fall colors, soon to be buried by the coming winter.
Day 27: 10/22/2004 - Weeping Rock & Telephone Canyon Falls
by Christian Williams
Weeping Rock is one of the most popular trails in Zion, probably because it is so easily accessible. Water from Echo Canyon located above gradually seeps through the sandstone in a 1000 year-long process of filtration and gets pushed out through the rock face where hanging gardens of plantlife thrive in the permanent dew. However, the view at Weeping Rock is usually not as specatular as what I witnessed this day. In this photograph, rain water is pouring out from Echo Canyon above, bypassing the slow process of seeping through the sandstone.
by Christian Williams
This waterfall, located near the entrance to the Zion Narrows, is usually present during and just after rainfall in Zion. I love the effect of the towering canyon walls and magnificent waterfall as murky brown floodwater from the Virgin River rushes by in the foreground.
Day 26: 10/21/2004 - Flash Flood in Pine Creek
by Christian Williams
Pine Creek looks more like a raging river, and not a small creek that feeds into the Virgin River. After four days of constant rain, Pine Creek in Zion had reached flood levels. In just 4 days, Zion National Park was hammered with 8.1 inches of rain, which is amazing considering the park only averages 15 inches of rain for the entire year.
by Christian Williams
Notice how brown the water looks, a common sign of flash flooding. Heavy flooding in Zion can cause instantaneous rock or mudslides. I carefully moved closer, checking above and below me at all times, but no matter how careful you think you are in situations like this, all it takes is just one unlucky moment...
by Christian Williams
I stopped by this spontaneous waterfall, in East Zion on the way back home. We have an affection for Juniper trees, and eventually named our first born daughter after this scrubby, resilient, yet beautiful tree of the west.
Day 24: 10/19/2004 - Watchman Towers & Eye of the Tree Frog
by Christian Williams
The Watchman Tower is one of the most photographed scenes in Zion National Park, with photographers crowded around the Virgin river nearly every day at sunset. This put the pressure on me to capture a good photograph. I hiked away from the pack, and set-up my tripod and camera as close to the water as I could get, without getting too wet. The lighting was even, but not spectacular. Still the Watchman has a nice glow to it that occurs nearly every day for about 30 seconds as the sun sets.
by Christian Williams
On the way back, I caught a glimpse of rapid movement within a small crack of a large bolder. On closer inspection I found this canyon tree frog burrowed inside the rock. It had backed itself into a corner, and was just barely visible if I rested the 100mm macro lens on the crack. Its eye looks amazing!
by Christian Williams
Spotting the first tree frog led me to look around for more, and I found this red spotted toad. In Zion, if you stand still for 10 minutes, and slowly look around, you'll notice the land is teaming with insects and wildlife. I was sad Karen wasn't with me this day, as she is usually the one taking these kinds of pictures.
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