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2011 FEATURED IMAGES Featured Image Number 10 for 2011 “Sunset at Tsegi” Canyon de Chelly National Monument is one of the scenic wonders of northern Arizona. It is unique in the national park system in being jointly administered by the Park Service and the Navajo (Diné) Nation. The Monument was established in 1931 to preserve the important archeological resources that span more than 4,000 years of human habitation in the Canyon. The Monument covers 84,000 acres, and is comprised entirely of Diné tribal trust land; about 40 families live and farm inside the park boundaries. The Canyon is actually two legs arranged in a “V”: Canyon del Muerto to the north and Canyon de Chelly to the south. The South Rim Drive follows Canyon de Chelly and climbs higher and higher above the canyon floor as you head east. The second turnout is at Tsegi Overlook, where you stand about 600 feet above the Chinle Wash at the canyon floor. The two arms of the Canyon are still unseparated here, and the wash is broad and even lush, with active farming on the level bottom of the canyon. Tsegi is a Diné word meaning "rock canyon," and that accurately describes the rocky sandstone walls that frame the wash. I had enjoyed a great day of shooting all along the south arm of the canyon, and decided to see if anything interesting would happen towards sunset. The temperature dropped and the wind picked up as the sun drooped in the west, but it was worth waiting for the glow on the far wall of the canyon in the very last light of the day! Featured Image Number 9 for 2011 “Boise River Turns” The 2,612,000 acre Boise National Forest is located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. Elevations in the Forest range from 2,600 to 9,800 feet, and the Boise and Payette Rivers run through the Forest. It’s a short drive up into the Forest from downtown Boise, and the city gives way quickly to the forest and river environment. The South Fork of the Boise River twists and winds through Elmore County. At the eastern end of the River in the Forest, you’re traveling through a wide desert canyon. There, the River is a short walk from a turnout along the two-land access road, with excellent trout fishing. But as you head west, the River has cut a canyon through basalt cliffs, and the views - as in this Featured Image - are of the turns and goosenecks of the River flowing down below. This section is full of rapids, and the micro-climate in the canyon adds color to the high desert on the top of the cliffs. I was drawn to the Fall colors and the sinuous course of the River, and I think this image captures the quiet power of the South Fork. Featured Image Number 8 for 2011 “Wolf Creek Falls” 2011 was one of the best Falls in several years for outdoor colors, and I went searching in October for a palette full of reds, yellows, and oranges at Banning State Park. Banning spans over 6,000 acres in east-central Minnesota, running north-south along the Kettle River. The park is known for its sandstone outcroppings and the potholes formed by the Kettle. A 10-mile stretch of the Kettle has been designated as a state Wild and Scenic River. It narrows to a gorge worn through the sandstone to a depth of 100 feet, and presents some of the best rapids in Minnesota - Hell's Gate being the most extreme! The area covered by the park was originally developed as a sandstone quarry, and sent building materials across the Upper Great Lakes through the turn of the 20th Century. Wolf Creek flows into the Kettle at the south end of the park, and drops about 16 feet at its terminal falls. While the Spring run turns the falls into a broad curtain of water, the quieter volume of this October afternoon made for a great contrast with the spectrum of colors in the surrounding woods. It was definitely a successful day! Featured Image Number 7 for 2011 “Sugarloaf Cedar” I was back to one of my favorite spots on the North Shore of Lake Superior for a short class in August - the Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, located near Schroeder, Minnesota. Ownership of the 35-acre site is shared by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Sugarloaf Interpretive Center Association. About 10 acres of the site are dedicated as a Minnesota State Scientific and Natural Area. From the 1940s through the 1970s, Sugarloaf Cove was used by Consolidated Papers, Inc. as a place to collect logs before rafting them across Lake Superior to Ashland, Wisconsin. When the paper company stopped using the site in the 1970s, they removed most of the buildings and planted pine and spruce trees in some areas to cover the bare soil that was left behind. Much of the recent work of the Association has been devoted to restoring native flora in the Cove. I’ve written about the Cove before, and a forest/creek image from the Cove was a Featured Image in 2010. This trip, the weather and my schedule cooperated to let me go all the way around to the tip of the peninsula that frames the Cove and see the Lake Superior side for the first time. This Summer’s resident naturalist, Margie, gave me a guided tour of the geology (including the multiple types of lava) of the peninsula, and we gathered some photos for use in the teaching exhibits at the Nature Center. In addition to shooting the rock and water scenes on that end of the Cove, I was struck by this tenacious cedar tree perched near the point, clinging to the rocky spit and defying the power of Lake Superior. With the deep blue skies and high clouds, it summed up the spirit and power of the North Shore. Featured Image Number 6 for 2011 “Amnicon Bridge” Amnicon Falls State Park is a little gen of a park in northwestern Wisconsin, about 12 miles east of Superior. The compact park has four waterfalls (so you can understand why I was attracted...) and a very photogenic 55-foot long bridge that spans the Amnicon River at the Lower Falls. The bridge is historically significant in part due to its unusual construction. It is called a Horton or bowstring bridge. Local inventor Charles Horton patented bridge designs with arched beams secured by hooks and clips, rather than rivets and bolts. You can see the external arch support in the picture; I thought it was a great compliment to the curve in the River below. Only five Horton bridges other than the one now at the Park are known, all owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This bridge was moved into the Park in 1930, and takes visitors onto a small island that the River flows around. All four waterfalls were running well during my visit, and I enjoyed getting close to the River from several vantage points. This was my favorite shot from the visit, combining natural and man-made artistic elements. Featured Image Number 5 for 2011 “Yosemite Falls” I finally got to Yosemite National Park this year - after several false starts and missed chances! Winter was still in the air; several mountain passes in and around the Park had not yet opened, and I found myself in fresh snow on Sunday. But there was some great, soft light before the snow moved in, and I was quire pleased with several shots. Yosemite Falls are the tallest falls in the US, and probably the seventh tallest in the world. The three sections of the Falls total 2,425 feet: a 1,430-foot drop from Yosemite Creek, a 675 feet cascade in a narrow gorge, and a 320-foot to the base of the Falls and into the Merced River. Every creek, river, and waterfall in Yosemite was running hard and fast while I was there, and the noise of the main Falls echoed across the valley where I was shooting. I had not expected to find the pool near Swinging Bridge to be so still as late in the morning as when I arrived - but it was as smooth as glass and let me compose this wonderful reflecting image. Featured Image Number 4 for 2011 “Against the Wall” As you may know—if you’ve explored the “Life” section of my Galleries—I have a great love for Japanese Gardens. The ability to capture the essence of nature in miniature, and the serene feeling that can be generated in a small, abstracted space - these are qualities that speak to me. I’ve selected this Spring image for its contrasts: the natural with the manmade, the soft with the hard, the colorful with the plain...all appeal to my artistic senses. The simplicity of the plaster-and-shake wall, now softened by the accumulated moss, demonstrates the classic values of wabi-sabi: rustic simplicity, understated elegance, and the beauty and serenity that comes with age. The soft colors of Spring also contribute to the beauty of this scene. To me, this composition speaks of potential: the start of a new season, just coming into its own, supported by the enduring physicality of the long-standing wall. I also envy gardens with a climate that allows the delicate Japanese threadleaf maples (Acer palmatum var. dissectum) to flourish. Minnesota is one temperate zone too cold for those members of the maple family to grow well. I have one specimen in my back yard garden, and while it has survived a dozen Minnesota winters, it has only grown a bit larger than when I first planted it! Featured Image Number 3 for 2011 “Tettegouche Stack” There has long been a natural lake arch in a cove at Tettegouche State Park, which runs along the North Shore of Lake Superior about a hour north of Duluth. I’ve taken pictures of the arch many times, in every season. Featured Image Number 4 for 2010, “Tettegouche Fog”, was an image of the arch from last June.  On August 23, 2010, the arch collapsed overnight, leaving just a lake stack! I had not been back to Tettegouche until this winter, and was finally able to get down the lakeshore to see the new landscape feature. I made this image on a very cold — think -22˚ F — February morning, as the sun was just beginning to illuminate the shoreline cliffs. All of the shore was coated with thick ice, and steam was rising off Lake Superior. All those elements combined for an evocative scene that I captured with numb fingertips. I miss the arch, but this new scene has its own appeal. I look forward to shooting it again as the seasons work their magic on the North Shore. Featured Image Number 2 for 2011 “Never Frozen” The Willow River runs through western Wisconsin, and flows into the St. Croix River near Hudson, Wisconsin. Just a few miles upstream from the St. Croix is the Willow River State Park. The park covers almost 3000 acres, and is one of the most visited state parks in Wisconsin. In addition to 13 miles of hiking trails, the park features Willow Falls. The triple falls sit in 200-foot deep gorge, carved through the local limestone and dolomite. The falls are lovely in Summer and Fall, but the park - so close to the Twin Cities - is usually quite busy and photography of the natural aspects can be challenging. According to the park’s Web site, the falls never freeze over. I decided to pay the falls a visit during some of the coldest weather we’ve had this Winter, and was hoping for just a bit of water-flow over or through an icy tableau. I was pleasantly surprised to find a heavy flow across all three drops of hte falls, and had a great time adding Winter shots to my earlier images of the falls. This image captures the scope of the falls in their snowy/icy frosting, with the Willow resisting the the cold! Featured Image Number 1 for 2011 “Petrified Abstract” Theodore Roosevelt National Park in far-western North Dakota is made up of three distinct area: a northern detached unit, the main southern unit, and a small area to the west known as the Elkhorn Ranch Unit,which holds an amazing petrified forest. After exploring the two main units of the Park, I decided to make the drive to the western section, which is reached by an increasingly rugged two-lane road that winds through and around private land holdings to get back to Park property (or, if you want to try some serious backpacking, you can hike there along the 97 mile Maah Daah Hey Trail.) The petrified forest is the third largest petrified wood area in the U.S. (only Petrified Forest and Yellowstone National Parks are larger.) The forest remains here are mostly stumps, and their amazing shapes and forms are well worth the drive and moderate hike in. Besides the stumps, there are fragments and shards of the cypress, magnolias, palm trees, and other water-loving trees that thrived in the swampy area that was here millions of years ago. I started with one of the swaths of rock chips from those trees, and used that image as the starting point for this abstracted view of the ancient forest floor. Previous_Featured_Images_files/Stone%20Arch-River%20Pano-crpooed%20%28II417X%29.jpg