Happenings in the First Half of 2016

It has been quite some time since I have posted anything on my blog.  Part of the problem has been that I get sucked into Facebook.  But here a few images from this year's events.

In January, Ann & I did our annual photo workshop at the 

Elkhorn Ranch southwest of Tucson.

Cowboy & Cowgirl

The girls - Tsegi & Simone

In March, we did a wonderful backpack with friends into

a very remote part of the Grand Canyon.

For several years, we have been trying to reach and then find

Archaic pictographs that might be 7,000 years old.

We found the paintings and lots of lithics, too.

In June, we attended Kate's graduation from the

Rhode Island School of Design.

Her masterpiece was a five-panel monoprint of 

Glen Canyon Dam

Proud Parents

Another of Kate's magnificent monoprints.

In June & July, I got to naturalize on two 

Grand Canyon river trips.

Guess who I ran into in the bottom of the Grand Canyon

on Father's Day?

Kate was rowing for the USGS & Grand Canyon Youth.

Redwall Cavern

Young Chuckwalla

Part of the 1500 folks who showed up in Bluff, Utah

to give their pros and cons to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell 

regarding the proposed Bears Ears National Monument.

A real toad strangler of a storm hit Bluff on August 5.

The San Juan River went from 

500 cfs to an incredible, terrifying 22,000 cfs. 

Are You Balanced?

One of the latest fads is to balance rocks.  Near Bluff, Utah, nature has done a pretty good job.

Grand Canyon Field Institute's Clear Creek Backpack

Each spring the Grand Canyon Field Institute offers a naturalist-led (usually me) to Clear Creek to view Cheyava Falls and explore some of the remarkable side canyons.

Here is the link to a short video I did about our hike in 2013:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufL9YsZcW8&feature=youtu.be

Grand Canyon Semester

Check out what Prescott College's Grand Canyon Semester is up to:  http://youtu.be/Dot_Pi9PxSM

To the Rainbow with Animals and Friends: An Adventure with Llamas, Weather, and Sex

This April I had the good fortune to hike one of my favorite trails in the Southwest - The 1909 Rainbow Bridge Discovery Trail.  Although it has been re-routed through the years, primarily by the CCC in the thirties, much of the way follows John Wetherill's original trail.  Without a doubt, this is spectacular country.  Llamas helped carry the camp supplies so that us old folks could enjoy the scenery.  And just by coincidence, as we were parking the truck, who should show up but Harvey Leake, John Wetherill's great grandson.  He, too, had been out exploring John's route.

A hardy group.  We may not be fast but we made it.

Gus the llama was a little goosie before being saddled, but he was good packer.  That's Gus on the left.  That's a geezer on the right.

Llama Wrangler Ann - I couldn't have done the trek without her.  Afterwards, she did mention that she doesn't want to be an outfitter/wrangler/camp cook ever again.  It's  a lot of work for sure.  Thank you dear! 

Gus checking out the sunrise on Navajo Mountain.

The redbuds were magnificent.

The weather was typical spring, varying from hot and windy to a little snow in Surprise Valley.

People have lived in this area for over 11,000 years.  By the way, archaeologists dislike it when folks put artifacts on a rock (a.k.a. Museum Rock) for a photo.  These were already here.  Always replace an artifact where it is found.  Thanks.

Bluff archaeologist Joe Pachak explains an artifact.

Always fun to locate historic inscriptions.  This one was along Nasja  Creek.

Then a little farther down Nasja was this one.

The fishhook cacti were in full glory.

This is a photo I took of an unusual two-story granary in Surprise Valley in 1974.

Here is the same granary in 2013.  Total collapse!

This is the largest cave I have ever seen carved into Navajo Sandstone.  It is in a side branch of Oak Canyon.  There were faint Basketmaker pictographs on the walls.

It was a real treat to finally locate this 1909 inscription near Rainbow Bridge.  It is in a shallow cave near where Wetherill would camp with his clients including Teddy Roosevelt and Zane Grey.

The bridge from the 1909 inscription.

Most folks are so busy admiring Rainbow Bridge that they don't notice the dinosaur tracks in the Kayenta Formation near the foot of the bridge..

I did promise sex in the title so here it is.  You might say that this little male canyon treefrog has his hands full.  Notice that his eyes are closed.  Is he having a good time or working too hard?  Good luck fella!

Lake Powell is so low now that the marina is nearly a mile away from the bridge.  Glen Canyon may live again.

Elkhorn Ranch, AZ

The 2013 Photography Workshop at the Elkhorn Ranch, southeast of Tucson, AZ is now history.  But come join us in January 2014 for some horsing around with cameras and cowboys.

Here is a short video about the ranch:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqsFdvynKT8&feature=youtu.be

For more information, visit: www.elkhornranch.com

Several images of the confluence of the Little Colorado River with the Colorado River taken from the location for a proposed hotel and resort complex including a tram down into the canyon on the Navajo Reservation.  The view is stunning but is a big development appropriate for this special place?  Visit www.savetheconfluence.com for details.  Thanks.