Asides

CCC Trail: Palo Duro State Park

Olivia Discon

Palo Duro Canyon is sometimes boastfully referred to as the “Grand Canyon of Texas,” and that’s not really fair to the Grand Canyon. But taken on its own, it is in fact a grand and beautiful adventure.

LEAP Ambassadors on the
Lighthouse Trail, 2018

The LEAP Ambassadors have traveled to Palo Duro twice, once in 2018, and again in January of this year. It was my first trip to a State Park!

It was beautiful, and I enjoyed the activity, the beauty, and the idea that the State is preserving these areas for the use of all.

The best shot I was able to get was when we were returning from the CCC Trail, just before sunset. It was a beautiful short hike, one where I also learned about the Civilian Conservation Corps–part of FDR’s Works Progress Administration.

What struck me most, though, was the beauty. And as we were heading back, I saw this beautiful view, with Professor Yawn and Stephanie hiking and providing a sense of scale, and I got the image!

Snow Canyon State Park

Named for Lorenzo and Erastus Snow–not its precipitation–Snow Canyon is only ten miles from St. George, UT. Because there are three other state parks within 15 miles of St. George, we had a lot of exploring to do, and we didn’t have a lot of time. So on a cold and foggy morning, we ventured out to do some hiking.

After exploring a slot canyon…

…we found our way to some petrified sand dunes, which offered beautiful views of the park. And while I was tromping all over the State Park, crawling through ravines and such, Stephanie found a beautiful view highlighting both the foreground and background.

It is my vote for the best photograph in the exhibit.

Shiprock: A Natural Wonder

New Mexico has a surprising diversity of landscape, and it has swaths of beauty all over the state. As part of a winter (working) vacation, I was driving through northwestern New Mexico just before sunset, hoping that the backroads to Shiprock would get me to the giant rock formation before the sun actually set.

Shiprock is frequently photographed, but it’s not that easy to get to, and there aren’t a lot of nearby lodging options. As I approached, I was struck by the beauty in every direction.

But I was there to photograph Shiprock, and over the course of about 45 minutes and climbing hills that were steeper and higher than they looked, I got about 30 photographs of the formation Native Americans referred to as “rock with wings” or Tse Bit’a’i. I am not sure which was the best, but I settled on this one for the show.

San Francisco de Asis: Rancho de Taos

It was our first time in New Mexico, and among the many things that impressed us were the string of missions throughout the state. None of these is as famous as the San Francisco de Asis in Rancho de Taos.

Its unique shape, composed from myriad curved buttresses and sharp angles, has been captured by Georgia O’Keeffe…

and Ansel Adams…

So, it was a little intimidating to try to photograph the San Francisco de Asis Mission, but we made this attempt twice. When we arrived in Rancho de Taos, we ventured into the 8-degree temperatures and attempted some night-time photography. Possibly the best of these was taken by Olivia…

But the next morning we were up again early. Over about an hour of shooting, I captured an angle I was happy with–capturing six crosses, two bell towers, a wreath, some graves, and St. Francis, as well as the marvelous architecture of this impressive shrine.