The Adobe World Wide Design Achievment Awards.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post but I have been busy with many things at home and at work. One of which is the Adobe Design Awards. The results are in and I did not win the big prize! No surprise there, but I was surprised to become an award recipient.

Here is what I won...

 I an very please to have been acknowledged by Adobe in such a grand competition, and am thankful for the opportunity to show what I can do with their products.

Here is my work you can decide if it is worthy or not If you like it let me know with a comment below.

I call it the Fabulous Face of Nature.  Thanks for tuning in.

Yellowstone the Jewel of the National Parks - part 3

The next morning brings clearing skies but it is still cold and a little windy in the morning. Today I further explore the thermal areas drawn by the bright colors and elaborate patterns I am reminded of how nature is the master of abstraction. Unique forms of algi with the capability to survive in extreme temperatures form crusty patterns in the shallows.

This eye shaped pool seemed to be looking at me. Could this be the eye of Yellowstone?

Boiling water, steam and red mud.

Pools of azure blue and white ash.

Algi forms abstract patterns in rust colors and unique textures.

Terraces of mineral deposits created over hundreds of years of time untouched by humans. I am taken back in time to a world before humans. I can understand the need to preserve these places for future generations. They are pure.

Long into the day I shoot and travel the roads that are open. It is still early here so many roads are closed and snow covered.  I will need some special permission if I am going to go into the closed part of the parks. I will look into that tomorrow.

Yellowstone the Jewel of the National Parks - part 2

The journey into the park beacons me ever deeper with the raw power and beauty of a vast natural wilderness. I am now clearly entering the path less traveled. They say you should not come to Yellowstone until you are old, because once you have seen it you will no longer need to seek out any other beauty for Yellowstone will fill you to overflowing with it's many fabulous environments and it's grand wild animals.

STEAMING POOLS, OF HOT WATER BOILING MUD AND MORE!

 Soon I am confronted by the great volcanic environment as I come upon this sign. There are elevated walking paths designed to protect visitors from falling through the thin crusted thermal layer into boiling pits that are scattered throughout the park. I for one am grateful for the work done here by the park services.  Clearly it has taken decades to do all that has been done to make the park an enjoyable experience for all who come to bask in it's wonder.

The pools of hot water look inviting on this cold Spring day but I am told that there are no bathing areas because they are more acidic then battery acid. So I won't be jumping in to any of the clear blue pools no matter how inviting they look. This becomes clear as soon as the wind changed and blew the steam in my face. The acrid smell made me realize that I should not breathe it and from that moment on I am careful to avoid the clouds of gas that are blown about by the changing winds.

It is spring, but no one told Yellowstone as I am caught in a fast moving sleet storm, thankful for my rain poncho, I keep my camera dry but I am soaked from the waist to my feet. The rest of the day was marked by strong wind and rain with temperatures in the low 30's. Tomorrow I am hoping the skies will clear. I pack it in for the day and head to the camp ground.

Yellowstone the Jewel of the National Parks - part 1

When you enter the gate you feel something different about this park, something about it is grander and more magnificent then most other parks. As I drive the road in from the south wast entrance it all seems normal then the river appears to my left and there are buffalo grazing on the far shore, an eagle soars overhead letting out a cry as it lands in a nest atop a tall tree. An elk darts across the road a hundred yards ahead, I sit up in my seat now straining to see the next great spectacle.

I don't have long to wait though as I round a turn a group of bison are on the road, I break and slow to a crawl. There are 4 or 5 of them just walking along without a care in the world, I slowly pass and I am given a glance by a large bull with big horns. I drive up to the next pullout and get out my camera gear to set up for the approaching herd.  I feel like a kid again, my hart races with excitement and a touch of apprehension as I will be out of the car as these 400lb plus beasts pass by me.  I have now been in the park less then a half hour and I am thrown back in time when wild animals roamed free upon the land.

The drive into the park opens to wide vistas of unspoiled landscapes, herds of Bison and elk range free in the fields. I begin to relax into a feeling that I have arrived at a pinnacle of my long journey through the National Parks. Yellowstone was the first and it is easy to see why. From the vistas to the thermal activity to the animals there is so much to take in. I will spend the next three week in the park and camp in my car a good part of the time.

Yellowstone is so big that I will present it in several parts over the next weeks and months. More to come!

Grand Tetons National Park

Even though Spring is in full bloom the weather is much colder now that I have left Utah and traveled north through Idaho into Wyoming. Snow is still on the ground, and the wind bits with a cold chill. I am thinking that, I will need a new pair of boots to keep my feet warm while hiking. Jackson is a western town that has grown into a small city. It is a perfect staging point for exploring the Tetons. There are sport shops here so no problem finding those warm boots and a tasty steak is also close by at it's many good restaurants. I found a small motel with an indoor hot tub and clean rooms at a fair rate, so I now have my base to go into the Tetons National Park. Tomorrow I will enter the park.

Today I awoke rested, ate a good breakfast and drive north out of Jackson into the Tetons. The day starts out sunny but with some large clouds. I think I will have some great light for shooting. Soon I am deep in the park and see a herd of Elk by the side of the road.

The Tetons  are a vast and wide. It is clear that people would want to settle in the valley so many ways to take this in. I feel like I have found a jewel in the rough.

Heading North

Arches marked the boundary between the warm and cool climate zones. Now, as I head north the air grows cooler the clouds seem to be more numerous and threatening.

The landscape is changing, icy cold rain falls and spots of snow spot the landscape as I drive up into the foothills toward Salt Lake City. It won't be long until I will be leaving Utah. I find myself thinking back over my experiences at all the parks located in or near the borders of this state, clearly it has many amazing and unique places and I have only scratched the surface of it's beauty. I will certainly come back to this place again.

Ahead of me are the big skies of Wyoming and the Grand Tetons National Park which hold the promise of spectacular mountains and valleys.

But there are many miles to go and much yet to see on the way.

The Subaru is performing well and I am in good spirits. 

If you are confused by the appearance that I am still traveling for over a year, I would like to clarify that I am no longer on the road.  I am now in my studio processing the over 6000 images I took over the three months I was out in the parks in 2010. I hope you are enjoying my journey as I am glad that you are with me. More to come... The Tetons and the wild animals of Yellowstone, don't miss it.

On to Arches National Park

On our way from Capitol Reef Park to Arches (Oh, "our" meaning my wife Trudi and I. She flew in to Vegas to join me for a part of the trip.) we were following the directions of the GPS unit to the letter and so far it was on the money. Anyway we were traveling on what appeared to be a new highway (70) through the desert flying alongat 70 MPH. Now we were making good time when, suddenly, the GPS said turn right in 2 miles. Not sure of why it announced this turnoff, I thought it must be a shortcut. After all the GPS wasn't ever wrong so without further question I pulled off the highway onto what seemed like an old paved desert road... Now the GPS announced... "go straight for 27 miles then turn left".

I looked at Trudi and she appeared to have some doubt with the prospect of driving off into the desert.  I said lets try it for a while maybe it is the old road and will be fun. We have lots of water and food and a full tank of gas so off we went into the unknown.

It wasn't long before the road got worse, the desert was reclaiming pieces of it as it clearly had not been driven on for some time. Now we had gone on for 30 or 40 minutes and the road was giving way at the edges to sand and tumbleweeds blew by and the cracks sprouted desert flowers. The GPS said "turn right in 5 miles".  I pushed on… I could see the 70 freeway off in the distance and thought if I can get there we can get back on the main road. So I pushed on… Then the GPS said "turn right" but there was no road at all to turn on at all! I went on… thinking about getting to the highway again, I drove over a hill and low and behold in front of me was highway 70 but there was one small problem. There was a large fence between me and the highway not to mention a deep impassable wash that had been cut by flash floods. Trudi said lets go back, I agreed so we turned around and following our tracks through the sand and drove back. All the time the GPS kept repeating "recalculating, recalculating"… I turned it off glad for the silence.

On the way back we drove through a large rock canyon. I noticed something on the side of the road that I could not see when we drove in, I stopped the car to get a closer look, It was the carcass of a cow. It was skin and bone. I noticed it had been eaten the bones were scared with teeth marks and there were large paw tracks in the sand. "Cougar" I called to Trudi who had stayed in the car. I took some pictures and a creepy feeling of being watched came over me so I quickly got back in the car and we drove on.

I guess if I had seen the cow body coming in I could have read the signs and turned around, but then there would be no story to tell. Soon we were back at the turn off where we started. Trudi breathed a sigh of relief and I could not help but laugh at what was an exciting romp through a desolate tract of forgotten desert. 

Oh by the way, the GPS was right, 30 miles down the highway I recognized the part of the fence where we stopped. If  they didn’t put up the fence and floods cut the ditch we could have saved some time and miles with that very long shortcut through nowhere. Now we were coming into Moab for the night, a place known for desert racing. We found a room at a motel, ate a nice dinner and got a restful sleep. Tomorrow we enter Arches  National Park.

The park is just of Highway 191 and was only minutes from our motel. Driving in you can not help mut look up at the massive walls that followed the road of our accent. Once at the crest I stopped to look back.

Once over the crest I entered the Park Avenue View point. This is so called because of it's resemblance to the skyline of Park Avenue in New York. Check it out and see if you agree. There is so much to see here each turn in the road revels a view more spectacular then the last.

Petrified Dunes

The Upperr Delicate Arch viewpoint.

On the trail to landscape arch.

At the base of Landscape Arch.

Part 2 Capitol Reef The Alter of the Sun and The Alter of the Moon

The sun is hot and bright as I am approaching Cathedral Valley.  I am driving slowly through rolling rounded mounds of sententious beauty... to be here and to know this feeling of deep appreciation for my experience. The road turns and then before me the valley opens to a remarkable view of rock formations that can only be called Alters to Nature.

As I drive up to the Alter of the Sun I can not help but be amazed by the scale and color of the huge towering formation.

Approaching the Alter of the Sun

Parked in front of the Alter of the Sun.

Across from the Alter of the Sun stands the smaller but no less impressive Alter of the Moon.

At the foot of the Sun

Gazing past the alter across the valley floor, I see the Alter of the Moon. Many hours are spent walking amongst the Alters as the shadows lengthen. As I write this it is difficult for me to put in words the feelings I am having. The sense that I am in a sacred place prevails and I can only imagine the spirits of lives past that have felt the same.

In the distance the snow covered peeks of the Henrys

 I am tempted to stay longer but the shadows are growing long and I know I don't want to drive out of the valley in the dark, I am not prepared to spend the night, so I reluctantly pack up and start the long drive back. I know I must return to this place someday.

The road back

Back to the main Highway and off to Moab and the Arches National Park.