Moose lying down in brush just off short trail
between Maude Noble’s cabin and Menor’s Ferry,
Grand Teton National Park.

This bull moose, along with a cow and a calf, was laying down just off a trail we were walking on. Karen spotted it, and thinking it would be a great picture, got my attention. When I saw it, I figured that we were way too close to it, even though it was laying down, so we left the trail and looped away from it to get back to the trail at a point further down where there was an old barn. As we got back to the trail we saw a young ranger gesturing to us to where she was standing, which was in the direction we were going anyway. The moose had apparently already been reported and, since they were in an area with frequent pedeatrian traffic, rangers just arrived to keep people away from the animals. Though the moose were obviously used to the presence of people, they are still wild animals… and they are big and can move very fast. As well, according to the ranger, some boys had been throwing rocks at the moose the day before.

While we were there, the rangers strung a yellow plastic barrier tape — the kind you see at crime scenes in movies and TV shows — to keep the public at a safe distance from the moose.

This picture was taken from a window inside the old barn.

Naturally dried flowers at Canyonlands National Park

September 23, 2007 at 1.28pm MDT; Pentax K10D; Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250); Aperture: f/9.5; Focal Length: 55 mm;
ISO Speed: 100

I40 Eastbound Rest Area West of Alanreed, Texas

This charcoal grill is in a picnic shelter

September 27, 2007 at 11.20am CDT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

This is a composite of multiple images created using autostitch

Arches National Park, Utah

This is a composite image using multiple photos, assembled using autostitch

Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison Wisconsin, USA.

December 22, 2007 at 2.03pm CST
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

September 23, 2007 at 11.42pm CMT

Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 23 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Arches National Park — Trail to Delicate Arch

The day we took this hike was a relatively cool autumn day. Snow had fallen the night before on some of the peaks east of our campground. Even so, we ran short of water by the time we got back to the truck, having only taken one bottle of water each. In the summer and hot days in other seasons, it is imperitive that hikers take adequate water. Every year, several people have to be rescued on park trails simply because they didn’t take enough water.

Hiking to the Arch

Delicate Arch is located at the end of a moderately strenuous, 1.5 mile (2.4 km) hiking trail from the parking area at Wolfe Ranch. Taking more than an hour each way, the round trip is slightly more than 3 miles long and the Arch is completely hidden from view on this trail.

The first third of the hike is through rugged, brushy terrain and gains slightly in elevation. The middle third of the hike is along the face of an exposed slickrock outcrop and is strenuous due to the gain in elevation, but offers better views of the geology in the salt valley. Cairns (piles of rocks) have been placed by visitors and park staff to roughly suggest the otherwise unmarked trail to the top, yet visitors tend to wander all over the huge expanse of completely exposed sandstone. The latter third of the trail is the most rugged, as hikers have now nearly reached the “top” of the plateau. The Arch is still invisible, and the trail runs around outcrops, through washes and between stands of twisted brush and trees. The trail may be easier to follow, but meanders as parts become muddy and difficult to walk through. During the 2004 fall season, the trail clearly followed the left (northern) side of the plateau, and brought visitors along a narrow shelf nearly 150 feet above a dry wash.

The arch comes into view suddenly around a corner in the trail and frames the La Sal Mountains to the southeast. The immediate area around the Arch offers views of the southern expanse of the park, and has unguarded cliffs plunging one hundred feet or more. (from Wikipedia)

Slickrock

So-called “slickrock” sandstone, which is a significant portion of the trail, is not slick at all, but has a surface much like sandpaper. The sandpaper texture is notorious for inflicting severe abrasion injuries. The name “slickrock” was given by early settlers of the area because their horses’ metal shoes had difficulty gaining traction on the rock’s sloping surfaces. Slickrock also becomes very slick when wet. (from Wikipedia, edited for use here)

More images of the trail are at my Haw Creek Out ‘n About blog, in a post called The Trail to Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

Photo information
September 24, 2007 at 2.00pm CMT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/9.5
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 100

The harsh environment — winter cold, summer heat, year-round wind — produces interesting twisted, stunted and gnarled trees.

Canyonlands National Park

September 23, 2007 at 12.10pm CMT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/180)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 31 mm
ISO Speed: 100

my Canyonlands National Park flickr set

Another Arches National Park composite image stictched from multiple photos

August 24, 2007