I've been really bad about posting much but it just seems like there hasn't been much to write about or, when I do have an idea, it just never comes together for some reason. This past week has been something of an adventure at times or I have a day like last Monday when it was all shot to hell because it was time for the periodic shopping trip to the "big" city (Cedar City is 85 miles away and the nearest "major" shopping). I did take a trip out on Tuesday (my other day off) to Willis Creek Canyon and got a few new shots of it - and Roxy enjoyed romping in the creek while we hiked in to the canyon's narrows.

The last week has been an adventure in other ways, too. A friend ordered a print from me and it took several days of purging ink cartridges before I got my printer working correctly - guess I need to use it more (somebody else want to buy something!!!! ). Actually, I'll be printing things soon for the Space Coast Festival in January and it will be getting a workout for that project.

Then it has been miserably cold the past few days (it is 17 and falling as I write) and the first one caught me by surprise. You see, living in a trailer where your water supply hose is exposed to the elements means that one has to be extra careful when temps hit the teens. I thought things would be fine if I left the water running at a trickle but I was wrong: it froze. Thankfully nothing was damaged by the freeze and now the procedure is to disconnect the hose every night - at least until things warm up a little - and hook it all back up in the morning.

When I haven't been playing with the water or beating on my printer I've been prepping and uploading images to the gallery on my website. I am really far behind on that, too; most of the recent additions have been landscapes and a bunch of long overdue Prairie Dog pictures for you rodent lovers out there (the local Utah Prairie Dogs are, by the way, down for the season and hibernating - haven't seen one for about 3 weeks). I'm working on plant stuff now and then will probably attack the birds next because I'm way, way behind on them, too.

Speaking of birds, it was 2 weeks ago when I saw my first Bald Eagle in the area and now I'm up to four. It seems like I see more raptors than anything (sparrows a close second); on the way back from Willis I spotted a Kestrel sitting atop a fence post devouring some small morsel (think it was a grasshopper). And every time I leave the park I see harriers soaring around in different locations; saw two yesterday on my way to turkey dinner (as well as the fourth eagle: a 3 year old standing in a large, open field - okay, cow pasture - and hanging out with the ravens).

Oh well, enough rambling for now. It is getting late and I need to go disconnect the water. Try to stay warm!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday was a day for more exploring and I headed out first to The Cockscomb because I wanted to take this picture since the light was less favorable the last time out. The view is looking north on Cottonwood Road and the rocks on the left are Carmel Formation sandstone (deposited on the margins of a shallow sea); those on the right are Entrada Sandstone. Both formations date from middle to late Jurassic, the Endtrada Sandstones deposited in dunes atop the Carmel Sandstone as the Carmel Sea retreated. Hence, in most places where both are exposed the Carmel would be below the Entrada, but here they are adjacent to one another as a result of the folding of the Earth's crust along the East Kaibab Monocline. Cool, huh?

This is a huge wedge of sandstone barely visible in the previous photo where it is just popping up over the distant ridge near the center of the image. Not sure but I think it may be Henrieville Sandstone which lies atop the Entrada. Note the trees at the base - they are probably at least 12 - 15 feet tall and dwarfed by this huge slab of rock that was forced up by the fold. Also note the high tension power lines near the bottom of the photo. I know people need power and all but why was it necessary to run two sets of giant poles through such amazing amazing scenery? I sure it has to do with shortest distance and easiest route (and they probably pre-date the monument) but they are an eyesore.

The day wrapped up with a visit to Kodachrome Basin State Park - just 25 miles from Bryce, but a place I had yet to visit though I'd driven past several times. The big attraction here are the over 50 "sedimentary pipes" that dot the landscape. The process that forms them isn't completely understood and it is believed that liquefied sand is forced up into portions of these sediments, resulting in harder rock. When the softer rock that surrounds it erodes away, only the pipe remains. They are formed in Entrada Sandstone, a pretty common rock 'round these parts. In fact, most of that cliff in the background is Entrada; the redder portion at the bottom known as the Gunsight Butte Member and the white with red stripes portion called the Cannonville Member. You may remember that the dinosaur tracks from a couple of weeks ago were also in the Entrada (Escalante Member, though we climbed up the Cannonville to reach the print site).

I had heard there are lots of Chukars (a bird introduced to North America for hunting purposes) at Kodachrome but I didn't see any. I had also heard there were lots of jackrabbits there, too, and, while I didn't see them either, you know they were around with all the pellets on the ground . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we ventured out Cottonwood Road into the Grand Staircase to an area that we've visited before and, no doubt, will visit again: The Cockscomb. This is an area where the sedimentary layers have been thrust upward along another monoclinal fold. This fold is known as the East Kaibab Monocline and stretches from near Flagstaff, Arizona to the Table Cliffs a short distance from Bryce, a total length of some 240 km (150 miles). I need to verify but believe the rock to be Carmel Formation and Entrada Sandstone, both from the mid-Jurassic. There's a whole series of these formations jutting skyward along the road along with some other interesting things that will require a visit earlier in the day sometime soon.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 01:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Roxy and I went exploring today with the intent of seeing what ll the fuss was about regarding "Hell's Backbone Road." This road was the old route between the towns of Escalante and Boulder which was supposed to be a hair-raising ride. I can say unequivocally that I have traveled far scarier routes in the Sierra Nevada. In fact, the scariest part of this one was the washboarding; thankfully I still have all of my fillings. For the most part it was a drive through the forest with some spectacular views about halfway through. This photo is from Pine Creek Road on the way back toward the town of Escalante and is a fold in the Earth's crust that is a few hundred feet higher than the road, forced upward by an unseen fault. This exposed section of the Escalante Monocline is Jurassic age Navajo Sandstone and the fold is some 20 miles long.

Since we weren't too far away I decided it would be a good opportunity to see what Devil's Garden would be like in the afternoon. Truth be told, I knew that Metate Arch was "unshootable" in morning light, so I guess we could say that I had a goal in mind.

(One of these days, though, I need to get out and do some serious birding . . .)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was off this week in between my most recent short volunteer stint and my 6-month job which is starting tomorrow. Several months ago I scheduled a photo workshop here in the Bryce area and that is what I did during my time off. The photo at right is actually from the final morning and the clouds, as you can see, were just spectacular just before the sun peeked up over the plateaus east of the park. Bryce is a great place to shoot in the mornings as the light is often quite magical as it plays off of the hoodoos and the plateau's edge, but clouds like this in the a.m. are pretty rare (clear much of the time or socked in when a front is over the region).

Our little group also ventured out into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument a couple of times. On the first afternoon of the workshop we visited the Willis Creek Slot Canyon and, for then sunset, Grosvenor Arch. Day 2 started very early with a pretty long drive to the Canyons of the Escalante section of the monument and Devil's Garden to shoot the "goblins" sculpted from Entrada Sandstone. I am going to have to plan an afternoon trip back to Devil's Garden to get some different perspectives on the place; it really is quite interesting . . .

On the third day we drove down to Zion National Park in search of some fall color. The oaks were pretty well spent and rather drab, but the same couldn't be said for the Cottonwoods - many glowing a vibrant yellow - and the maples were on fire. We also paid a visit to a section of the park known as Kolob Canyons on Saturday but clouds (and smoke from California) spoiled that planned afternoon shoot on the last day. The Kolob area features towering red sandstone cliffs carved on the edge of the Markugaunt Plateau and is high on my list of places to revisit soon.

This last photo is obviously not one of great scenic beauty but comes from the second day of the workshop. A couple of miles down Hole-In-The-Rock Road from Devil's Garden is another road which bears off to the west that leads to another outcropping of Entrada Sandstone. "Goblins" haven't been sculpted from the rocks but, quite possibly, something more fearsome once walked here. it is the footprint of a theropod: a carnivorous dinosaur that was walking through the dunes that existed here some 160 million years ago (middle Jurassic). The print is about 10 to 12 inches wide and maybe 14 to 16 inches long and is one of several hundred prints that can be found by simply looking around. While not T-Rex it is still pretty damned cool!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I had to move from where I had been staying for the last 6 months because it was time to shut that campground down for the season. Once I had the trailer in place I it took quite a while to find a hole in the trees to aim my satellite dish so I would have access to the internet. Then when I went to reboot the system once the alignment was complete, the modem crashed. Hard. I am writing from the laundromat where I can link into the hotel's system outside the park. With luck I will have a new modem on Friday - otherwise it will be the first of next week. If you don't see a "Bird Quiz" this weekend you will know why, though I will try to get to one of the 2 sources I know of for access.

The photo was taken yesterday morning at sunrise from Inspiration Point.

One thing I do find a little humorous about having to use other sources for my internet is that, apparently, here in the reddest county in the reddest state of the country, I cannot access DailyKos. It is where I go for political chat and on this system the site does not exist. I can't help but wonder if it is being blocked by the provider. All the more humorous when we note that a just out Zogby Poll has the incumbent pretzelnut at 24% approval - about where Tricky Dick was when he resigned. Ha.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Life's been a bit hectic of late so things have been kind of quiet around here. I only had one day off last week and it was spent finishing up my "K.S.A.'s" (knowledge, skills, & abilities) - 6 pages worth of bragging about myself necessary as part of my application for the winter position I would like to have at Bryce. I should know in a week or 10 days . . .

Today I got out for a few hours and explored some of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with a drive down a portion of Cottonwood Road. A road in name only for a good portion of the year - it is impassable when wet and was, in fact, closed for much of the month of August - it leads through a section of the monument known as The Cockscomb. This feature is a monocline, a sharp fold in the Earth's crust and the image here is a rather large chunk of Navajo Sandstone jutting upward. I had hoped to find a way to a different camera angle to show its wedge shape when seen from either end - maybe when I have more time than I did today.

I found this formation near the parking area for a slot canyon called Cottonwood Narrows. I believe it is also Navajo Sandstone, but can't say for sure - I'm learning my Southern Utah geology but have a long way to go. The tree on the left is a 2-Needle Pinyon - no sign of a Pinyon Jay, though. I had hoped to trek part of the way into the narrows but my 4-legged traveling companion wasn't too keen on the 8-foot drop down the sandstone into the wash.

Last fall I paid a visit to Grosvenor Arch when I was out this way and stopped there again since I was in the neighborhood. Last time i was there it was very late in the afternoon and, while the pale yellow glow from the setting sun was nice, it was actually a little more colorful, I think, in more natural light.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)