La Sal Mountains Springtime Sunset

La Sal Mountains at sunset from near the Bears Ears National Monument boundary, San Juan County.

Late April in southeast Utah and the Four Corners country, and the weather was moody. I like the variety that it provides.

Driving west out of Monticello toward the Abajo Mountains, the road veers northward toward Utah 211, the highway into the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. But before you get anywhere near that portion of the park, you cross the invisible boundary (since it's so new) of part of the eastern boundary of Bears Ears National Monument.

That evening, my eye was not on going into the Needles, but on staying high to watch how the sunset light would play out onto the La Sal Mountains to the northeast, near Moab.

As the sun slid below the western horizon, the low angle of its light lit up the still snowy peaks of the La Sals. Warmer, then a bit pink, too.

La Sal Mountains peaks at sunset color.

Zooming in with a longer lens, I made a series of overlapping shots from which to make a super high resolution panoramic image in Adobe Lightroom.

Soon the colors had faded, and it was time to drive home in the twilight. 

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

© Copyright 2017 Stephen J. Krieg

Moonset Over the Abajos

Moonset at sunrise, near Monticello, Utah.

I had been intending to take off in the other direction, until I exited my front door and saw the just past full moon setting over the Abajo Mountains. Hmm. Did I have time to do something about it? I did.

So I drove out to Loyds Lake on the edge of town. A favored vantage point. I quickly parked, grabbed my camera bag and tripod, and all but trotted down the gravel path. Because I could see there was no time to waste.

Loyds Lake at sunrise, with the moon setting over the Abajos.

 Whenever the moon is rising above the horizon, or setting in the other direction, it's amazing to see how quickly our Earth rotates compared to how we think of it (if at all) while we are caught up in the day. The frame of reference that the horizon brings is telling.

The moon was creeping down toward the still snowy Abajo Mountains west of town. The sun was rising as well, giving the landscape a warming glow while the moon was cool and blue. After all, it was still way out there in space.

Photo location: Monticello, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2017 Stephen J. Krieg

March: Out Like a Lion

Downtown Monticello, Utah, March 30. 

It's a rather early spring in southeast Utah. But plenty of unsettled weather has been rolling through. Last evening the latest one was arriving, with rain and snow showers.

Loyd's Lake, March 31.

In the morning it was snowing hard, then much harder. I drove out to the lake to get cell reception, and the snow was flying by.

Snowy Gambel Oak trees.

Surrounding the lake are stands of large (for them) Gambel Oak trees. Besides being fantastic cover for wildlife, they look great when they're coated with fresh snow. 

Photo location: Monticello, Utah.

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

© Copyright 2017 Stephen J. Krieg

Bears Ears National Monument: The Bears Ears Buttes

Rainbow and Bears Ears Buttes, from Natural Bridges National Monument.

Bears Ears National Monument was declared by President Barack Obama on December 28, 2016. The new National Monument is comprised of 1.35 million acres in San Juan County in southeast Utah.

Bears Ears Buttes from Natural Bridges loop drive along White and Armstrong Canyons.

 In the very center of the National Monument are its namesake, the Bears Ears Buttes, up on South Elk Ridge overlooking the northern edge of Cedar Mesa and Natural Bridges National Monument.

This post will introduce those not familiar with this area to the Bears Ears Buttes themselves. Subsequent posts will show the other areas of the Monument.

Moonrise over the Bears Ears in winter, from Natural Bridges.

The designation of Bears Ears National Monument by presidential Executive Order, invoking the Antiquities Act, is contentious, as are all public land management issues. However, it is pertinent to note that Utah's "Mighty 5" National Parks -- Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon -- all started out as National Monuments declared by presidential Executive Order, as well. All five were later upgraded to National Park status by Acts of Congress, which has the sole power to declare National Parks. The "Mighty 5" are tremendous tourist draws for visitors from around the world.

Panorama of Bears Ears after a late spring snow, from Highway 261 on Cedar Mesa.

Bears Ears is of a vast size, with greatly varied life zones. They range from high desert to subalpine forest. In this area you can drive from the desert of the lower San Juan River valley to the Ponderosa pine, aspen and spruce-fir forests above 8,500 feet elevation in an hour or less.

East Bears Ears Butte from mountain meadow on Forest Road 88.

There are three main areas of Bears Ears National Monument. From north to south are the Indian Creek area bordering the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, the Elk Ridge area of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, and Cedar Mesa, home to countless Ancestral Puebloan sites.

Utah Juniper snag and Bears Ears Buttes in winter, from Bridge View Drive loop in Natural Bridges National Monument.

Both West Bears Ear (elevation 8,929 feet at its summit) and East Bears Ear (8,908 feet) are at the south end of South Elk Ridge, on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. From Utah Highway 275 (the Natural Bridges entrance road) you can drive north on Forest Road 88 (when the road is not muddy) and go right between the two Bears Ears Buttes on your way to accessing the rest of the Elk Ridge area.

Bears Ears Buttes and South Elk Ridge with monsoon season thunderhead clouds.

The name Bears Ears came from Native American tribes in the region that consider these landmarks to be sacred, especially since they can be picked out on the horizon from as far away as Monument Valley and Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

Bears Ears Buttes from the north, in an alpine meadow on South Elk Ridge.

Except that the ears of bears are roundish, not flat! What gives? It has to do with an old Navajo legend, of which there are at least two variations. Perhaps the other area tribes have their own versions as well. The best known legend is a gruesome one, in that Changing Bear Maiden was killed by her brothers after she had turned to the "dark side" and had become an evil bear, after which they chopped off her ears. That's why the "Bear's Ears" are flat. Like many Indian legends, it is meant to teach the difference between good and evil, of choosing the right path in life.

Forest Road 88 on the Manti-La Sal National Forest goes right through the pass between the two Bears Ears Buttes.

The Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa area are beloved by locals and non-local visitors alike, for driving, hunting, hiking, and camping. The area is still used by area Native American tribes for collection of edible, medicinal, and ceremonial plants and their fruits and nuts. This will be the first National Monument to be co-managed by representative of those tribes, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service.

Bears Ears Buttes and Elk Ridge from Blanding, Utah.

Photo location: Bears Ears Buttes, Manti-La Sal National Forest and from surrounding public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service (Natural Bridges National Monument), San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Rainbow panorama, Bears Ears Buttes.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Winter Time at Arches National Partk

Visitors at Delicate Arch, December 20. 

Winter is the time to visit Arches National Park. The park has become so famous that it's almost un-visitable (if that's a word) for most of the year. Crowds, full parking lots, dumb visitors stopping their cars in the road to jump out and take pictures, blocking any traffic behind them. The National Park Service has weighed all options to relieving the overcrowding. Don't be surprised if they feel they have to go to a reservation system before long. Yes, just to drive into the park. That's how bad it's gotten.

Wintertime is much better, the only time I go there any more. The town of Moab is uncrowded, the motel rates are very reasonable if you're staying overnight, and the weather is not unbearably hot like in summer. Finally, in winter the distant La Sal Mountains are shining in the sun with a fresh coating of snow. Better photos.

From the entrance station at Arches (only one lane open, and I was the only vehicle at the time, giving me time to chat with the Ranger on duty) it was a 30 min. drive to the trailhead to Delicate Arch at Wolfe Ranch. The parking lot was only about half full. The weather was chilly but sunny, quite pleasant for a hike.

The 1.5 mile long hike took a leisurely 45 minutes to the arch. There was a small crowd of people there, but if you waited a bit you could get a closeup of Delicate Arch with nobody standing underneath it for their selfie picture. Or get one with a human posing to show the scale. Your choice.

If you use your imagination, Delicate Arch looks like a cowboy's legs, with leather chaps. Bowlegged and all. Nothing above the belt, though.

Delicate Arch and the distant La Sal Mountains.

Photo location: Arches National Park, near Moab, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Last Trout Before the Big Freeze

Waldens Lake and Abajo Mountains, December 17.

December 17 was my last day of trout fishing for the year. I caught my limit of four rainbow trout as usual, despite the cold and bitter wind. It was beautiful in the high country sunshine at 7,000 feet despite the wind.

Rainbow Trout, the last catch.

The next day a deep freeze moved into southeast Utah. A couple inches of snow, no big deal. But then low temperatures in the single digits (F.). And perhaps more importantly after the storm moved east into Colorado, the wind died. For days. Calm, no real breeze stronger than about 5 MPH. Which meant that there was no longer any strong wave action on the lake to keep busting up the thin shelf ice along the shoreline.

Abajo Mountains panorama on the last day of trout fishing.

I knew it was coming sometime. That's why I was out there fishing every day. Because each day could be the last of the season.

This day turned out to be the day.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Abajo Peaks: Sunset to Sunrise

Abajo Mountains, early sunset colors.

An early December evening at the lake. Until today, the sunsets had been devoid of colors for about a week. Why? Too clear, as in not enough clouds in the right position to create colors.

South Mountain and golden cloud bank, early sunset colors.

The recipe is pretty straightforward: Clouds over the setting sun on the western horizon, with a "slot" of clear sky below them. The clouds serve as a reflector screen for the just-set sun's rays to light up. So it's not the exact sunset time for peak colors, it's just past sunset. The afterglow.

Abajo peaks, late sunset colors.

On this particular evening, it was a double show of colors. The early colors were yellows and golds. I had thought that was the climax. But after another five minutes or so the clouds turned red. Never leave too early!

Abajo Mountains at sunrise.

The next morning the peaks were bathed in a soft golden glow for several minutes just after sunrise. From left to right: South Mountain, Abajo Peak (the tallest of the Abajos, at 11,360 feet (3,463 m), and Horsehead Mountain.

Photo location: Monticello, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

The Iceman Cometh

Partially melted and refrozen ice "berries" on weed twigs.

I was at the lake last week to do more trout fishing, before the weather gets too brutal here at 7,000 feet in elevation. It gets me into the outdoors for several hours a day in a way that I otherwise wouldn't be. So it's good.

Standing in and walking around a relatively small area outside for hours allows me to relax into the scenery, the weather, while watching the birds move around doing their thing. Their things.

For instance, the other day when I got to the lake shore at my favorite, most productive spot, I saw that the lake was starting to freeze. Only in one small protected cove, but that's how it starts. It caused me to realize that I was going to get to watch the lake freeze over, stage by stage, for the winter. Then I will watch it lie dormant, frozen and snow covered through the "dead" of winter. Then watch it start to re-emerge in several months as springtime returns. I'm looking forward to that. I have the time, the convenient proximity to the lake, and the health to be out there daily if I want.

Early ice shelf on a protected cove on the lake.

Besides the beauty of the modest ice shelf itself, I became intrigued by some somewhat spherical "blobs' of ice that were on the stalks of weeds a few inches above the surface of the ice sheet. It wasn't hard to guess how they had come to be.

They formed when the lake level was as couple inches higher. It had been cold enough to freeze around the twigs a little bit, probably with a gentle lap of the water's surface with a gently breeze. That's my guess.

The Abajo Mountains in the distance, source of the lake's water.

Then the lake level dropped with the colder weather,  because the stream that feeds it reduced in flow as its headwaters in the mountain slopes above became frozen. The lake continues to evaporate slowly while its water supply from the mountains is all but shut off by winter's freeze up higher.

Ice berries on dead weeds, sparkling in the cold sunlight.

As for the ice "berries", the sunlight partially melted them during the day, while it stayed cold enough to not melt them entirely. Pretty amazing.

The ice berries were so gorgeous that I had to suspend my fishing to photograph them.

Rainbow trout, perfect pan frying size.

Photo location: San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Snow Squall Lake Sunset

Snow showers at sunset time over the Abajo peaks.

I was at the lake, trout fishing. Yes, in late November at 7,000 feet. Pretty fortunate to have such cold (temperature near freezing) but not brutal winter weather yet. I'll take it as long as it lasts, because then it will be a long several months until spring.

Sunny most of the day, but lingering snow showers from the most recent light storm were cloaking the Abajo peaks. Like a veil dance they would cover, partially pull off, tease.

At the lake, the sun slid behind the southernmost peak, lighting the clouds from behind. A slight tinge of gold, but no strong reds this time. No matter. The spectrum of blues from light to dark to black, reflecting off the lake, was spectacular enough.

Photo location: Monticello, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Kachina Natural Bridge, Fall Colors

Kachina Natural Bridge, fall colors, from the Loop Road overlook.

It's mid October on the Colorado Plateau. Here in southeast Utah, Four Corners Country, the high country aspen fall colors are now gone. Now it's down to the lower elevations for the last of the colors. The cottonwood trees in the valley bottoms, in the canyon bottoms.

This is Kachina Bridge at Natural Bridges National Monument. The massive Cedar Mesa Sandstone walls are framed from below by the cottonwood and willow colors.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, San Juan County, Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright Stephen J. Krieg

Comb Ridge Sunset Glow

Comb Ridge and Comb Wash at sunset in July.

Comb Ridge in southeast Utah's San Juan County is a sheer wall whose western escarpment is mostly Entrada Sandstone. It's a monocline, a massive tilt in the Earth's crust at a fault line. It's here that the Monument Upwarp forms the eastern slopes of Cedar Mesa. Steep inclines. Just ask any bicyclist who's climbed the ten miles of adverse grade on Highway 95.

Fortunately you don't have know--or care--anything about geology to appreciate the beauty. The sheer red sandstone cliff faces, the vast vistas with no utility lines whatsoever.

Highway 95's cut through Comb Ridge, from the BLM campground at Comb Wash.

Comb Wash at Utah Highway 95 is a haven for campers in this portion of canyon country in the spring and fall. When daytime temperatures range from cool to warm. But in summer, rarely is a camper here. It's hot, even though the huge Cottonwood trees provide a lot of shade. Besides, now the high country mountain roads are finally dry (except when it rains), so why not go up there into the coolness?

At sunset time, though, when the low angle of the sunlight warms up the cliffs, it doesn't matter what time of year it is. It's time to photograph.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Owachomo Natural Bridge, Summertime Skies

Owachomo Natural Bridge from Armstrong Canyon, July 2016.

Late July at Natural Bridges National Monument. Time for a canyon hike in the summer heat. Fortunately, the late summer monsoon thunderstorm season is building again, after a disappearance of several weeks. Some cloud cover to blunt the searing afternoon sun.

The trail from the parking lot to Owachomo Bridge is only 0.2 of a mile. Down the hill and under the bridge. Then down to the stream bottom of Armstrong Canyon, where the big pool of water at the mouth of Tuwa Canyon remains.

The cumulus clouds building over Elk Ridge and Deer Flat made for a wonderful accent to the deep blue skies.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Petroglyphs and Amphibians at Kachina Natural Bridge

Down the trail to Kachina Natural Bridge.

Natural Bridges National Monument is hot in the summertime, despite being at an elevation of 6,500 feet on the mesa top. All that bare Cedar Mesa Sandstone and little shade.

Ancient symbols and stone tool sharpening grooves high on the southeast buttress of Kachina Bridge.

 Nevertheless I hiked once again down to Kachina Bridge. I'd heard from visitors that there were what sounded like salamander nymphs swimming about in one of the residual pools near the bridge.  I wanted to check that out myself.

NPS archaeology crew at work on Kachina Bridge.

When I got down to the Bridge, the National Park Service archaeology crew -- three of which are Hopi -- was at work. They were cleaning some modern graffiti that had accumulated on the southeast bridge abutment. Some of the graffiti was quite high -- probably put there at a time when the unpredictable flash floods had left a high sand bank that allowed people to walk up to the ledge where most of the ancient petroglyphs (figures pecked into the stone) and pictographs (painted onto the stone) exist. The symbols are prehistoric, left there by the Ancestral Puebloans long ago. And over a long period of time.

Being underneath the massive natural bridge is always pleasant. Besides the ample shade, the yawning opening of the bridge usually provides a kind of breezeway effect to make it feel even more comfortable. 

After talking with the crew for a while, I went amphibian hunting. It didn't take long. The pool of water nearby the bridge -- the mouth of Armstrong Canyon where it enters White Canyon -- was still deep enough for what seem to be salamander larvae, probably Tiger Salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum. They had twin pairs of gills on each side, long tails, and legs.

Salamander larvae in canyon pool near Kachina Natural Bridge.

Tiger Salamander larva in the canyon pool.

Then it was time for the sweaty hike back out of the canyon. Good, worthwhile exercise on a warm summer day in southeast Utah.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Early Summer at Natural Bridges: Owachomo Bridge, Armstrong Canyon

Narrowleaf Yucca plants send up their flowering stalks near Owachomo Natural Bridge.

May has turned into June at Natural Bridges National Monument, and an uncommonly (though quite appreciated) cool and moist spring has shifted to some hot, dry days.

Owachomo Bridge panorama.

So it's time to get acclimated to high desert summer weather. I load my REI daypack with four liters of water instead of just two. I'll only be down in the canyon for a few hours, but more is better, and the faster I drink it the lighter my pack becomes. Plus, I like to keep one liter in case I meet someone that hasn't brought enough and is in heat distress. You never know.

Owachomo Bridge from Zeke's Bathtub, an almost perennial pool in Armstrong Canyon.

The temperature on this glorious early summer afternoon won't exceed 80 Fahrenheit, but compared to 70 and below it's a good transition toward the 90s. 

Cliffrose (Purshia mexicana) in bloom at 6,500 feet.

Cliffrose - Purshia mexicana - are at peak bloom here at 6,500 feet. Visitors from lower desert elevations are delighted to find they get to see them and inhale their fragrance a second time this year.

I walk down the short trail to Owachomo Bridge. Then underneath the thin long span, to look for new shots from below it. The sky is classic southeast Utah: deep blue, low in haze, with pearly cumulus clouds for a fantastic accent. 

Narrowleaf Yucca (Yucca angustissima) leaves and flowering stalks.

The springtime wildflowers are quickly fading with the increased temperatures and long days, while the late spring to early summer blooms are enjoying their peak. 

Narrowleaf Yucca blooms.

Once again I photograph some more Narrowleaf Yucca - Yucca angustissima - in bloom. The tall (waist high to chest high) flowering stalks that have grown fast as corn are open on many plants, while some are already done. 

Narrowleaf Yucca blossom closeup.

Representing the yellow spectrum of wildflowers at this time of the season are Stemless Woollybase, Thrifty Goldenweed, and Common Hyalineherb. 

Stemless Woollybase - Hymenoxys acaulis

Thrifty Goldenweed (Haplopappus armeroides) in typical clumps.

Uinta Groundsel (Senecio multilobatus)

Common Hyalineherb (Hymenopappus filifolious), with its long wispy flower stalks and small blossoms.

No rattlesnakes seen on this hike, as usual. I've only seen two here in a year and a half.

Armstrong Canyon, from the trail downstream from Owachomo Bridge.

Photo Location: Natural Bridges National Monument, southeast Utah.


© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg