Canyons Sunset Color Palette, Yavapai County

Cruising the back roads of northern Yavapai County, north of Prescott, Arizona. It’s early spring in the mile-high desert, that time of year between intermittent winter snows and the first plant growth of the season. 

East from Chino Valley on Perkinsville Road. A stop at the Verde River near the ghost town of Perkinsville (inaccessible to the public except by riding the Verde Canyon Railroad), then more wandering on the public National Forest roads. Lots of open country. Dry and dusty, but high and wide, too.
 
The photographers’ Golden Hour has arrived. I find a turnout on a ridge along the Perkinsville-Jerome Road. Clear views all around, but especially to the northeast, where the red rock cliffs west of Sedona are prominent. In the far distance the snow-capped San Francisco Peaks, about 80 miles away up at Flagstaff.

As the sun nears the horizon behind me, the color temperature warms the light on the scenery. The reds and pinks of the various rock layers, the dark greens of the juniper and pinon pine trees, the hazy blues and purples of the distant hills and mountains.

All is well. Sun below the horizon, warm colors extinguished. Cool dusk.

A bit more lingering, then the return drive home.

[Click on the photo to see a much larger, more detailed version]

Ocotillo, Sedona Spring

The incredible Ocotillo shrub is one of my very favorite plants of the North American desert. 

Tall, spindly, tough, with slender whip-like stems festooned with thorns that feature needle sharp points. Nothing to be trifled with.

They also have a fantastic adaptation: to only sprout leaves when there is enough rain. They can do it as many times a year as there is enough water, dropping their tiny leaves in between rains to conserve their internal moisture. 

In this springtime photo near Sedona, Arizona, this plant is popping its leaves for the first time since the winter. The morning sun highlighted the plant agains its red rock cliff background in shadow. 

Location: Sedona, Arizona

You might also be interested in my Grand Canyon Photography blog.

Summer On Schnebly Hill Overlook, Arizona

I had been looking for a new, closer sunset photo viewpoint relatively near my home a bit south of Flagstaff. With so much Ponderosa pine forest around it wasn't easy. Wandering down this forest road and that, it was time consuming, but somebody had to do it.

I was enjoying the exploration, to be sure. Like sighting of the Ghost Railway through the forest, many miles of hand build railroad grade extending through the forest. And I mean rock upon rock, making gentle railroad grades where the ties were later removed. But not the rocks. Like a gray snaking pyramid, low and long, with pine trees grown up around and above them.

This weekend, though, I got back to exploring more of Schnebly Hill Road. It heads pretty much beeline west through the Coconino National Forest toward the Mogollon Rim, the tip-off point from the cool Ponderosa pine highlands of the Flagstaff area down to the red rock desert canyons of Sedona.

The somewhat rocky but sedan-negotiable forest road leads to Schnebly Hill Overlook. The cusp of the Rim. It's all downhill from there, like it or not. Spectacular. The dirt road descends so steeply and windingly that you have to decide. Stay up here, or drive down a very winding, steep road with death just off the edge.

It's a good dirt road, most of the time, if that helps. Take it easy and you'll be fine.

I choose to stay up top. After all, it is Sunday evening, I live up here, and I have to go to work int the morning. Makes sense to me.

Thanks to the cumulus clouds, sunset colors seem to validate my choice. People are gently finding their positions for camera shots. It's not that crowded given how spectacular it is. Rocky, sometimes steep dirt roads far off the beaten path deserve much of the credit.

With the sunset colors quickly fading, I turn my vehicle away, back toward home. A slow, gently bumpy ride back out toward the Interstate highway, then north in the dark to a satisfying bedtime. All seems well.

You might also be interested in my Grand Canyon Photography blog.

See more of my photography at www.NaturalMoment.com.