I’m participating in the online adventure travel and photography magazine LetsBeWild.com’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for bloggersThis week’s Challenge is: Green!
There is an old saying: Water is Life! No where is that more applicable than in the desert. A person can go without water only 72 hours, maybe less in the desert. Especially when it’s hot and dry. However, here in this canyon where I live, there is a Riparian Woodland Climate, there are also hanging gardens, swamps, and of course, desert.
Here in the desert, you will find Prickly Pear Cactus, which is a very hardy plant that you can eat and is very high in water. In a survival situation, you can cut these up and use the center for a water source.
Of course, if you want to get a good source of water, the best thing to do is find a spring like this one.
This is The Grotto in Zion National Park. It’s also an excellent source for water. You would still need a water purification system, because all water sources in North America are considered contaminated with bacteria and viruses.
Another great source for water is water falls, as seen here.
This is the world famous Menu Falls, in Zion National Park. It’s called Menu Falls because it was featured on the menu at Zion Lodge during the 1950’s. It’s also a great place for weddings (there is a wooden platform here so you can look at the waterfall). A friend of mine was married here a few years ago (you know who you are!).
Moving into Pine Creek Canyon, there are wonderful spots to just simply relax, of course getting there you have to climb over boulders and walk in the water, which in some places are absolutely breathtaking and relaxing.
I could sit here for hours just listening to the water fall and watch the pollywogs in the water, (the little black dots on the right).
Along the way, you will find ferns and other water loving plants. Water just seeps out of the sandstone and creates wonderful micro climates.
Of course, it’s amazing where you can find ponds and streams, this pond is located at 11,000 feet at Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Eventually, though, water does come from the sky in form of rain and snow. Since the theme for this contest is Green, I’ll stick to rain. This is from the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park looking south, one of my all time favorite hikes. I was always told you don’t see Zion until you see it from the top.
Of course, I do like to go camping in places other than Zion. This is at Oak Grove Campground just above Silver Reef, Utah.
You can see the oak leaves on the left surrounded by Ponderosa Pine trees. This was a wonderful sight to wake up to.
Of course water comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. This was at a water sculpture in the Aria in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Without water, there can be no life, and therefore, no green at all. Hope you enjoyed this post and even learned a little about the importance of water.
Kelly
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What’s more fun than taking a 9 hour flight from New York to Paris? Taking a flight that’s delayed two hours (sitting on the plane) for a major storm that stopped all flights until it passed. Once the storm passed, we taxied out to the runway, and after sitting there for a half hour, the captain announced we’re waiting to clearance to take off and that we were number 20 in queue. Then the plane drove around JFK for about a half hour before takeoff to get to the right runway. Finally we took off two hours after we were scheduled to leave New York.
Kelly Guymon Photography 