Experience Southern
Utah
Southern Utah is a truly amazing place. Wherever I wander I am overwhelmed by the spirit of place. Never, in all of my travels, have I experienced such an ethereal landscape. I emphasize the word "experience" because there is more to this land than meets the eye. It must be felt from within.
During my first visit to this area, in the summer of 1986, I became enchanted with the magical spell this land casts upon those sensitive to its natural beauty. On one special evening, as I watched the sun set over a landscape of unimaginable beauty, my life was transformed forever.
In the years that followed my wife Rhonda and I made our way 2000 miles west, from our previous home in western New York to our current home in Moab, Utah, in the heart of the land that we both love. Join us on our journey, as we continue to explore and learn about the natural wonders that surround us in southern Utah.
What's
New - February 10, 2008
It has been a long time since I've updated this site. Since it has been an unusually long and cold winter here in Moab, Rhonda and I have not had the motivation to get out and do any photography for a long time. As a matter of fact, the last time that my camera left the house was in September of 2007. That's right - I have gone 1/3 of a year without taking a single outdoor photograph! Man, I think that's a record for me.
The problem is not just the cold, the problem is that it has been cold and there has been no substantial snow. Sure, we've had a few "storms" that dumped an inch or two of the white stuff, but it was gone in a few hours except for the shaded areas. Without snow, winter isn't exactly the best time for photography in southern Utah - the sky is often hazy or just plain white. Dare I say that many of the views are, well, just plain ugly? Maybe that's too strong of a word - many of the views are not as good as they could be, by a long shot.
This weekend we had our first warmer temps in Moab, along with some crystal clear blue skies. For the first time in 4 months, Rhonda and I grabbed our cameras and headed out. We went into Arches National Park and were surprised to find some snow in the Windows Section. At 5,000 feet in elevation the Windows Section is the highest point in Arches, and often contains the most snow. The combination of clear skies and pristine snow yielded some nice views. I've added a few of the photos that we took to my gallery.
Click on the following panorama to take a closer look...
Visit my Arches National Park Gallery to view a few of the photos that I took. (The newest photos are right at the beginning.)
What's New - September 25, 2007
For the first time in several years
I am taking the time to reorganize the website. I have been adding
new pages and photographs regularly for the past few years; however
the website was starting to become rather confusing and disjointed.
Most importantly, I am putting all of my online photographs in one
place and organizing them by location. I currently have nearly 300 photographs
in there, and I will be adding quite a few more. If you notice
that some photos are missing from the previous version of my website,
fear not - I am just rearranging things and everything will soon
be back online and easier to find than ever.
Rhonda and I have been busier than ever this summer. We spent some time earlier in the year visiting our neighboring states of Colorado and Nevada, however we have recently been camping back in Utah and exploring some of the most remote locations we have ever visited. It's been a lot of fun! We are anxious to share some of our new photos so look for them soon. (I have already added a few photos to my Anasazi Ruins section.)
The
Black Canyon - July 25, 2007
Rhonda and I just returned from a camping trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. Trust me folks, in my humble opinion this canyon tops the Grand Canyon for sheer visual impact. No other canyon that I have seen has such an impressive combination of narrowness, depth, and precipitous walls. You can look straight down for almost half a mile at many of the viewpoints, yet in some places the width of the gorge is barely over 1000 feet.
This trip included a visit to the North Rim of the Black Canyon. What a treat! Although it takes about an hour and a half to drive to the North Rim from the South Rim, it is time VERY WELL spent. The North Rim is accessed via a gravel road, has no visitor center (just a small ranger station), but provides better views into the narrowest part of the canyon. Couple all of that with some awesome afternoon thunderstorms and you've got a great photography trip!
I have added a gallery of photos from this trip. You can check them out here.
Ward Roylance
I am indebted to one person in particular who opened my eyes to the natural
stone artistry of southern Utah, the late Ward J. Roylance. Author of
numerous books and videos about Utah’s "Art in Stone",
Ward had a gift for sharing his love of Utah with everyone he came in
contact with. During the short two years that I knew him, prior to his
death in 1993, he was my inspiration for continued exploration of the
wonders of southern Utah.
It is with great honor that I dedicate this web site to my dear friend and mentor, Ward J. Roylance.
Ward once told me that he and his wife Gloria thought of themselves as seed sowers, planting seeds of inspiration in the souls of those they came in contact with. I know that my roots now lie deep in the heart of red rock country and I know of many others, too numerous to mention, who also carry on Ward and Gloria's passion for the land.
Living With No Regrets
2002 was one of the most challenging years Rhonda and I have ever experienced. Although it's good to have it behind us, I have decided to add a permanent section about our experience to this website because there is much that I don't ever want to forget. I have done this not to emphasize the bad times, but to encourage others who may be considering a major life change.
Utah's National Parks
Utah has 5 national parks, all of them located in the southern part of the state. Although there are thousands of square miles of additional wild and scenic lands, the national parks showcase some of the very best scenery that Utah has to offer...
- Arches National Park contains the world’s largest concentration of sandstone arches. You won’t see this many arches anywhere else in the world. Colossal sandstone fins, massive balanced rocks, soaring pinnacles and spires dwarf visitors as they explore the park's viewpoints and hiking trails.
- Bryce Canyon National Park is filled with massive sandstone spires, called hoodoos, located deep in a natural sandstone amphitheater. The trails to the bottom of the amphitheater transport you into a city of stone.
- Canyonlands National Park is the largest national park in Utah. Views from the Island in the Sky District encompass thousands of square miles of canyon country. The Needles and Maze Districts are backcountry paradise.
- Capitol Reef National Park is an oasis in the desert. The Fremont River traverses the center of this park, resulting in a lush oasis complete with beautiful fruit orchards and abundant mule deer. The west section of the park contains beautiful red sandstone formations, and the eastern section consists of beautiful rounded white sandstone domes.
- Zion National Park has the Virgin River at its heart which has created a picturesque canyon full of lush riverside habitat. The eastern side of Zion consists of beautifully eroded white Navajo Sandstone formations.
