I enjoy exploring the natural world looking for experiences and places that soothe the soul and bring joy to the heart. I love to wander in the desert, mountains, hills and wherever my four wheels will take me. When I hike, I’d rather be looking at the flowers or mountains and trees, instead of rushing to get to the end of the hike. By looking at the tiny details, I get a wonder of the beauty that is out there.
I love to photograph nature in all its forms, whether birds, landscapes, animals or flowers and everything in between. I also enjoy traveling to new places in order to see and experience new things. I caught the photography bug in the late 1970’s and have enjoyed creating art ever since.
White pocket is on the Arizona Strip near Page and Lake Powell. I went here a couple of years ago and got lost, got found and almost stuck in the sand in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise it was a fun trip. The formations here are absolutely stunning. I will be posting other images from this area soon.
Last week, I hiked along the Middle Emerald Pools Trail. This trail has been closed since the trail head was washed out in a flood in 2010. It was reopened last September after years of repairs and stabilization work in the trailhead area. It was close to sunset when I captured this image of the Virgin River looking towards The Great White Throne. This is also part of the Weekend Sky challenge .
Pegasus Bridge was originally named the Caen Canal Bridge until 1944 when it was renamed Pegasus Bridge in honor of the Ox and Buck Light Infantry captured this bridge on 6 June 1944. These troops landed mere meters from their objective in Horsa Gliders. They were the first paratroopers who landed in Normandy on D-Day and captured this bridge within 10 minutes intact. This raid was made famous in the movie The Longest Day. This bridge was decommissioned in 1994 and replaced with an exact replica. The orginal now sits in the grounds of the Pegasus Bridge Museum in Ranville-Benouville, Normandy.
The troops also captured the bridge across the River Orne, with the objective of keeping these bridges in Allied hands intact, while destroying the bridge over the River Dives to keep German troops from getting reinforcements to Sword Beach, where British troops landed on D-Day, and to destroy the gun battery at Merville. These missions were accomplished with heavy casualties. There are 2,000 soldiers buried in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, not far from the Pegasus Bridge Museum. For more information, you can visit the Pegasus Bridge Museum website.
I do realize I’m a few days past the Great Conjunction. It’s the first chance I’ve had of examining my photos of this event, so here goes…
Here is what it looked like in Southern Utah from La Verkin Overlook. There were several people there that night enjoying the sight. It looks like I caught the moons of Jupiter, and if you look close, you might see the shape of Saturn with its rings.
Today, I decided to go back a couple of years to re-visit Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, or, as my friends call it, Veridian III. It was here that the ending of Star Trek: Generations was filmed. It’s an amazing place with a lot of history and gorgeous vistas.
Life has been quite busy lately with work and dealing with the covid restrictions. I haven’t been able to get out and shoot lately, so I decided it was time to pull another photo from my archives. This time, it’s from a trip a couple of years ago to Cedar Breaks National Monument in Southwest Utah. Cedar Breaks sits at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level. This photo was taken along the Alpine Pond loop trail.
I found Hammad’s photo challenge, so I decided to participate.
It snowed in Zion for the first time this season. It’s the first measurable moisture we have had since late March. It was glorious to behold. I took this on my way to work.
Also, I just received an alert from WordPress that 10 years ago today I signed up for this blog and page. Wow! What a ride! Thanks for the support over the years, and here’s to many more years of this blog.
19 years ago today, I was living in North East Colorado. I was just getting up when I heard the news about the first tower getting struck by the airplane. The second plane struck as I was getting ready for work. The towers collapsed as I was driving to work. It was a very emotional drive that day. It was a very surreal day at work and very few calls came in that day (I worked at a call center).
Twin Towers with Lady Liberty
Last year I was able to visit the 9/11 memorial. It’s a somber place and dedicated to the memory of the 3,000 who perished that day.
9/11 Memorial
May we never forget those who perished and the heroes that lost their lives running up the towers when everyone else was running down. Also, lets not forget the sacrifice of the thousands of soldiers who fought in the War on Terror since this day 19 years ago.