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December 31, 2010

Jumbo Rocks

On Monday the weather cleared so I headed for Joshua Tree National Park, but then it started raining again. Of course, Joshua Tree National Park has gazillions of joshua trees. But the two sites I was able to hike before the weather turned was Jumbo Rocks and Barker Dam, and neither had any joshua trees!



























May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.
May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

~ Edward Abbey




15 comments:

  1. These shots kick some serious butt! I know you will go back there for more of this kind of enchantment. Mother Nature has been messing with you, but glad you got a window of opportunity. Get well, Sarge! 2011 is coming, and there is no way to stop it! Happy New Year!

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  2. These rock photos are just amazing. That second image is, for me, heart-stoppingly breath-takingly magical!!! You've captured the essence of a mystical power there, I think...or feel. You've captured those rock spirits assembling to brew up something very special for the new year.

    Would it be too clichéed of me to say that the work of Ansel Adams comes to mind when I look at these black and white rockscapes? The rock formations embody some sort of fearsome geometry and you've exposed it for we mere mortals to decipher, or simply gaze at in awe.

    I wish you many many happy trails in 2011!

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  3. "Well shut my mouf!"

    ...louciao...has already uttered my "Ansel Adams-channeling" thought and "geometry" What's a mortal to say?

    Monster shots.

    Give up your day job.

    Love the reflection shot to ripples.

    Love the moon of granite.

    Check out the book "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner, 1986.

    Hope you got some good scuffs on your new hiking boots.

    Hey, those are my boulders!

    Here's to 2011's untaken shots, just waiting for you to show up,

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  4. These are amazing photos. The huge rocks remind of life; just keep stacking up the hard stuff and hope it stays where you put it. Thank you so very much for sharing your most gorgeous photos in your blog. I look forward to seeing more this next year and getting to know and appreciate you as well.

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  5. With all you have had to endure recently – meteorologically speaking, I was beginning to worry about you . . . I am so glad you are alive and well. I hope Sgt. T will soon be above rather than under the weather.

    The images you have captured in these photos are, as usual, magnificent. I look forward to another year of seeing your world through your eyes.

    Thank you for sharing your gifts with us all.

    Love, Dee

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  6. Now I'm in awe! These are outstanding shots of nature at its best. It's been fantastic being a follower of your blog and I'm looking forward to seeing what you will show us this year. Wish you a very happy 2011.

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  7. Hello Stickup..
    Thanks for these first wonderful visions of this new year..
    Blue sky,mountains,stones and rocks,trees, mirrors ,colors and textures,lines and the geometries,transparent moon,magic water..wow..
    i'm in an other world..purity and the greatness..
    you give me a strong energy with your photos..:o)
    i'm really happy to follow your blog , and it's nice to have met you,it's a chance..
    I wish you all the best for this new year..for you and your family..:o)
    see you..

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  8. Such amazing shots for this first day of the year.
    I can only imagine how colorful the desert is going to be with all the rain we got (and still coming).
    Happy new year!

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  9. Oh my, 'Ansel Adams" was my first thought, fabulous black and white images...love them!!
    Happy New Year BTW, and I'm hoping to keep visiting here to be 'wowed' by your artistry.

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  10. Oh how I like the way that you took these photos and have given life and warmth to these images.

    I loved the sepia touch to the geometrical shapes how beautiful.

    No one will know or understand how terribly freezing the nights and mornings were that trip, not from viewing your wonderful shots.

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  11. You really know how to grap my attention with your photos. Time after time you post the most amazing shots. This is fine art!

    Happy New Year!

    I can't wait to see more of your great photos.

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  12. oh la laa...
    I love all these!
    Pure art by nature and you!
    Happy this year!
    ps. I hope Sgt. T is feeling better...

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  13. oh you take my breath away, i don't know what else i could say... i cannot even choose my favourite, i am overwhelmed. the sacred silence, taking its seat within me, in my heart, most hidden of hearts...

    then, i came across these words of another landscape photographer:

    "Landscapes are collections of stories, only fragments of which are visible at any one time. In linking the fragments, unearthing the connections among them, we create the landscape anew. A landscape whose story is known is harder to dismiss, harder to treat like a neutral matrix of interchangeable parts. For all the obvious, vast differences between ourselves and the aboriginal walker, singing the world into existence at every moment, there is still some sense of kinship. At its best, telling the landscape’s story can still feel like a sacred task." (Frank Gohlke)

    from here, the entire text is worth reading:
    http://artiststatements.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/frank-gohlke-thoughts-on-landscape/

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  14. Dear Stickup,
    What a beautiful, beautiful post to close the year up with...

    Am so slow getting here, but better late than never. And one cannot stay away long in any case from your page once one has found it.

    Hope Sgt T is feeling better, and here is wishing you all good things in 2011.

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  15. I hope you will get back there many times, because these photos are amazing. But I do have a favourite - the second one with the moon over the rocks - it's magical!

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