December 1, 2014

Paria Milky Way

Ever since I came back to Ohio after my unforgettable summer at Bryce Canyon, I've been itching to draw impressions of my experience. I've had a bunch of images floating around in my head, but for various reasons have been totally unable to get them down onto paper. Finally, today, I finished my first. I'm calling it "Paria Milky Way" for now, until I either come up with a better title, or forget about it for long enough that this name sticks.

Paria viewpoint is a little less visited than the main amphitheater, but it's a superb spot for stargazing. I went there many times. The formation I've roughly pictured is actually one you see looking out from Paria overlook. There's no trail leading onto it, so the figure I've placed there comes out of imagination. And though I may have fudged a bit as to the placement of the Milky Way (this is more of an eastern view than a southern one, so the Milky Way would actually appear off the right side of the page), I included stylized depictions of real constellations (Sagittarius, Scorpius, and Corona Australis) and a few "faint fuzzies" (curly-cues that represent Ptolemy's cluster, the Butterfly Cluster, and the Lagoon Nebula).

This scene could've taken place on a night when a waxing crescent moon illuminated the rock face, casting deep black shadows against subtly shaded limestone walls. On such a night the bright Milky Way would still have arched across the sky with barely a hint of dimming. The absence of warm hues is intentional. One thing that's always bothered me about popular photos of the Milky Way over landscapes is that there's just too much color. Though these photos are, of course, gorgeous, I always feel that they aren't nearly as rich as what I see with my eyes--even though they show more texture and detail in the starscape than eyes could ever perceive. Even on the brightest of full moon nights, the brilliant oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows of Bryce Canyon are paled to bluish grays. This transformation of landscape under moonlight and starlight is magical. Though I can't claim to have perfectly captured that here, I've made my best effort.

*please forgive the bad photos. I have an aging mediocre camera, and terrible home lighting. 



A few weeks ago, I came across a beautiful prose poem by composer John Luther Adams entitled "The Place Where You Go to Listen." His words, which so poignantly describe a deep experience of and connection to the natural soundscape, inspired me to write my own variation on the poem. My intent was not to plagiarize, but simply to elaborate upon his poetic framework, just as a musician might improvise a tune over chord changes. And now it seems an appropriate text to accompany this new drawing.

It strikes me that natural soundscapes, and natural darkness (along with the skyscape it reveals) are both resources that are commonly overlooked, easily disrupted, and vitally important to the ecosystem. Having the luxury of spending a long period of time at Bryce provided me with the time and space I needed to learn to look and listen more closely. I can only hope that some of the work I did this summer also enabled at least a small taste of that experience in others.


Bryce Canyon: A Place Where You Go to See

I remember how I could see there.

I stood at the Rim, a place where you go to see. Rising darkness on the horizon and long shadows between the hoodoos held their stories. The first stars glinting overhead smiled in mystery.

I looked.

And I saw.

I spent many days and nights alone—and in company—poised with the deep reverence of an observer, my eyes and my body attuned to everything around me. Before the witness of stone and the great desert, I hoped for myself this blessing: always to see.

I looked at the Earth beneath me, for its story arrayed like the pages of an open book. I looked up toward the light of the Milky Way, caught within its ancient dance like frozen flame. I looked around at midnight for the echoed presence of others who’d also come to see. In time I could understand the movement of the sky. I traced the silent march of planets through the stars. I watched distant shadows move over the face of the moon, and measured the passage of time from lunar morning…to midday…and into nightfall. The light awakened in me an ancient longing for the wonder and wisdom to be found within the great vastness that lives between Earth and Sky.

As I watched, I read the story of the land; rocks and sand and soil telling the origins of place—recording the history of life here and now, and preserving remnants of life gone before.  As I looked, I came to discern a landscape of time—how limestone emerged from beneath a cloak of sediment, how water scoured and waxed its faces, and how ice broke it away into a forest of pinnacles. How if you were to look long enough, the land would change before your eyes—Earth calmly spinning away beneath an endless universe of stars, and dust, and unseen gravity. The edges of my vision clouded at the scope of it all—a particular confluence of sight and sensation that can be found in but few other places.

I long to show others where and how to look for these things; to invite them to read the stories of the sky and the land—stories not told through ordinary words, but through light and shadow; color, texture, and shape; the movement of clouds; the changing of seasons; and the observations made by life and of life on this tiny blue speck of a planet.

Darkness falls—heavy, luminous with stars. The Aquarius plateau, in silhouette, stands sentry. There are no clouds. The dry air is transparent, thin, and brittle. It breaks open the sky like a hammer on dirty glass. The motions of visitors awaiting their turn at a telescope are like the chaotic sway of ants over bread.

We stand, each a bit apart, gazing up into the pale star-speckled arc of light overhead. A meteor gasps across the wings of Cygnus. Mirrored eyes penetrate the darkness as new stories reverberate through the crowd, feeding curiosity with insight and memory.

Now, together, on this land, and under this sky, we learn to see.

July 29, 2014

Grand Canyon Thunderstorm

I visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for my birthday. Thunderstorms prevented any extended hiking...or viewing at the rim for that matter, but I did manage to squeeze in a quick peek at Cape Royal on the Walhalla Plateau between storms. This quote from geologist Clarence Dutton (who explored the region in the late 1800s) pretty much sums it up:
In all the vast space beneath and around us there is very little upon which the mind can linger restfully. It is completely filled with objects of gigantic size and amazing form ... everything is superlative, transcending the power of the intelligence to comprehend it. Dimension means nothing to the senses and all we are left with is a troubled sense of immensity. 

June 29, 2014

Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival


Sunday June 29

Hummingbird and Crescent Moon from Cedar Breaks
It's the morning after the final night of the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival. I didn't get home till about 1:30 am, got to sleep about an hour later, and STILL I'm up at 7:30! Being a morning person has afforded me some wonderful sunrise experiences, but once in a while, I would love to just be able to sleep some extra hours. I shouldn't complain though, as I'm certain the Rangers got even less sleep last night than I.

The Festival was a crazy, hectic, and exhilarating experience. On Friday, our busiest night, we had well over 800 guests visit the observing field. I gave the first laser-guided constellation tour that night and had about 85 people listening in as I pointed out bright stars, traced prominent constellations, and told stories about the characters from Greek mythology. The night was phenomenally gorgeous as well. I don't think I'd ever seen the milky way as bright and defined. The deep-sky detail visible toward the galactic core in Sagittarius was mesmerizing. The Lagoon Nebula, Butterfly Cluster, Ptolemy's Cluster, Sagittarius Star Cloud, Pipe Nebula, and a whole fuzzy mess of Messier numbers were easily discernible within the glow of the Milky Way. The skies around our home galaxy were black and steady, and every so often I almost believed I could even see color in those billowing clouds.

I was given a fair bit of responsibility during the festival, leading two planisphere classes, several star-lab planetarium programs, guiding a 1 ½ hour “planet walk,” and providing two laser constellation tours. The rest of my time was spent at the VC desk, helping with odds and ends of set up, a few hours of solar astronomy, and ushering throngs of star gazers onto the observing field at night.

SLAS members set up scopes on the observing field
The funny thing is that other than gaping for hours at the rising Milky Way, I hardly did any observing myself. The telescope field was mostly manned by members of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society while all of us Bryce people helped more with crowd control. On Thursday I did get one TRULY spectacular view of Saturn in one of the SLAS scopes. Through a member's large refractor I saw the rings as big and crisp and clear as I've ever seen from ANY land-based-telescopic photograph. The Cassini division was obvious of course, but several other loops and shades were also distinctly apparent in the ring plane. The shadows and colors visible on the planet itself made what usually appears as a flat yellow disc pop into 3-D...it REALLY looked like a sphere! I was so distracted by the sight of the planet that I forgot to count how many little moons I could make out...definitely more than the 4 I typically see through my own scope.

It's been wonderful to catch up with some of my old friends from SLAS. It is truly because of their influence and support that I find myself here at Bryce today. When I first joined SLAS I could identify the Big Dipper, sometimes the Little Dipper, Orion, and the Pleiades....though I couldn't tell you when they'd be up in the sky. I loved the Pleiades and was always pleasantly surprised when I looked up and happened to see it, but its whereabouts during the rest of the year were a mystery. I think I assumed that I was just bad at finding things. I had no idea you could see planets with the unaided eye, and I supposed telescopes were only available to wealthy people who were also really good at math. In other words, I knew...nothing.

In a few minutes I'm going to a special pancake breakfast for festival staff where we'll all finally get our turn to see the keynote speaker from Friday night. An eminent astrophotographer, Alex Cherney will be regaling us with stories from the dark skies “down under” and talking about the unique relationship aboriginal Australians have with the Milky Way. Should be fun!

June 18, 2014

Details


Friday June 13

The skies are darker at Bryce Canyon and the full moon is brighter. In this high elevation, the thin dry desert air is conducive to sunburn and moon blindness. Last night while showing people the nearly full moon through my telescope (using a polarizing filter at its darkest setting), I looked back along the line and perhaps 80% of them had their hands or a hat held up to the side of their face to block the moonlight. As each stepped up to the eyepiece, I did my best to cast a shadow over their faces as they observed.

Though the full moon is the bane of every deep sky observer, I quite enjoyed showing it off. The prominent ray crater Tycho appeared in full bloom—its striking splatters reaching far across the surface, bisecting dark Maria and bright Highlands alike. People's eyes were very naturally drawn to Aristarchus—a brilliant white crater sharply contrasted against the Ocean of Storms—and Grimaldi—a deep gray crater set apart from the larger seas by a swath of highlands. More astute observers enjoyed the shadowy terrain approaching the moon's southernmost edge—the only place that betrayed any sense of depth and topography.

Tonight I'll be leaving the telescope at home to shadow Geoff's full moon hike. One of the most popular programs here at Bryce, these limited Ranger led excursions fill up less than an hour after the visitor center opens in the morning. I'm excited to go wandering below the rim to see how the hoodoos are transformed in the silvery moonlight. Some kind of magic is inevitable!

Saturday June 14

Met up with an old friend for breakfast yesterday morning. Chris (a violist in the Utah Symphony as well as an artist), and I had exchanged a series of art postcards years ago. It was nice to catch up and discuss a few of our recent adventures.

In the afternoon, I quietly barricaded myself in my room, put on some music, and DREW for the first time since I've been here. To a soundtrack of Terry Riley (“A Rainbow in Curved Air,” and “Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band”), John Adams (“The Wound Dresser,” Christian Zeal and Activity,” “Five Songs by Charles Ives,” and “Eros Piano”), and Sibelius (Symphony #5 and #7), I drew an imagined recollection of an old crescent moon just before sunrise above the varnished cliffs at Calf Creek. It felt FANTASTIC to draw again. I think I've been needing a creative outlet. Though it's just a sketch—done using ball point pen and a touch of pencil—I may decide to do a more polished version when I get home.


The full moon hike was every bit worth the hype. I was assigned to be the Caboose to Geoff's group of 30—bringing up the rear and making sure no one got left behind. On full moon hike nights, a couple telescopes are also set up on the rim so people can view the moon and other bright objects up close when they come back out of the amphitheater. Radar and I grabbed a couple armloads and helped Richard get all his equipment up the hill. It's hard to imagine a more stunning observing platform.


At the beginning of the hike Geoff led the crowd up to a nice spot on the rim near Sunrise Point, gave some safety information, and introduced the focus of his talk—the “superpowers” of Bryce Canyon's nighttime plants and animals. And yes, plants DO have super powers. The Bronze Evening Primrose produces a flower that blooms on only one night. In order to ensure pollination, it virtually glows in ultraviolet and lures in giant moths with a pungent odor. Bats pursue insects (including the giant moth's) using sophisticated sonar. Glow worms—females of a particular species of beetle—light up the back segments of their bodies to help attract mates. Rattlesnakes see in infrared. Great horned owls crush their prey with hundreds of pounds of force in their powerful clutches. And the list goes on. A fascinating topic. I wish I'd been taking notes to help remember more of the specifics.

But before he got in to all of that. Geoff finished his introduction with a dramatic proclamation. “Ladies and Gentlemen...on behalf of the National Park Service...I give you...the Full Moon!” At that moment a bead of crimson broke the horizon over the distant landscape. Oohs and ahhs broke out among the guests as people scrambled for their cameras and the best vantage from which to capture the rapidly rising disc. A windy day had stirred up a lot of dust, and this “Strawberry Moon” was very dark ruddy orange. A spectacular sight above the painted geometries of the high desert.

We continued along the rim for a while and then headed down below on the Fairyland Loop trail toward Tower Bridge, stopping periodically to take note of a particular organism's “superpower” and enjoy Geoff's engaging storytelling. The sky got darker and darker, and the trail along with it. The moon was now behind a ridge and I found myself struggling a bit to place each step securely.

It was right around this time that Geoff started talking about Mountain Lions. They hunt by staking out a heavily used game trail, climbing high up on a nearby ridge, and then pouncing as deer amble by. But they won't go for the first deer in the group. They'll instead wait till a slower one...maybe sick or injured...comes by in the very back of the line, and then go straight for the neck. You can imagine how that made me feel as the designated caboose! When it's made a kill, a lion will drag the carcass high up into a tree. Then for several days it'll eat, guarding it's stash from other scavengers who may try to score an easy meal. A few years ago some visitors went to the rim early in the morning and were horrified to discover a deer hanging high above them in the branches of a tree. They immediately complained saying it was a most cruel and tasteless practical joke. But it was no joke. A crew of wildlife specialists and law enforcement officers armed to the hilt were immediately sent to the scene. A lion kill so near to the park's most heavily trafficked area posed a serious threat to public safety. The deer was removed to a more remote location. A near tragedy averted.

We continued down the trail and finally into the moonlight. Stars were coming out now, and the hoodoos appeared as immense black silhouettes against the bluish night sky. As we approached the “Hoodoo Graveyard,” moonlight struck the great white limestone walls like a spotlight, casting sharp cool shadows, and encouraging the imagination to conjure up a whole host fantastical creatures. Geoff told us of nights he's travelled out to this spot with starlight alone to guide his path—the grand arch of the Milky Way sweeping overhead—bright enough to cast shadows of its own. Even in the full moon light, the sky was full of stars fainter than I'd have guessed. Is that the Milky Way? Or am I just imagining it. Nah...this time it's imagination...I think.

Sunday June 15

Thanks to Dad, Carol, Mal, Ryan, Cid, Zoey, Todd, Yumi, Aaron, Ardis, Joel, Crystal, Robyn, and all the kids for visiting me at Bryce Canyon (and buying me ice cream:) It was great to see you all...even for just a few minutes. 

AND HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

Tuesday June 17

So much has happened. Too many details to be thorough. Some of the specifics meld into what has become a sort of routine—though in a place like this I hate to use such a word. It's the kind of routine where discovery is the norm. Where I increasingly admire the skill of those with whom I work, and from whom I hope I am learning a trick or two. Where the same places visited day after day never lack for enchantment. A wild Iris on the walk into work distracts my eye so that I almost fail to notice a mother and two baby pronghorns grazing in the morning shadows beneath the pines. I freeze to watch. She stamps her feet and eyes me with a resolve I pray won't lead to a defensive charge. Mother and babies: a lovely...nervous kind of sight I don't know whether to relish or cautiously avoid.


The work comes with its own set of challenges. I make mistakes. Deal with awkwardness and tension here and there. Remind myself (with mixed success) not to complain about trivialities. Take deep breaths. Call Rob for a kind word and a loving ear. Forgive myself for things I could've done better...and then try to do them better next time. Remember to let things come as they may. Take a break now and then.

Yesterday I visited “Spooky” and “Peekaboo,” two slot canyons in the Grand Staircase with Don, one of the Interpretive Rangers here. We stopped in at the Escalante Visitor Center—interesting being on the other side of the desk after weeks of playing informal tour guide—to check on road conditions, hiking maps, and trail information. The Ranger said getting up to Peekaboo would require a moderately technical scramble up about 10 feet of sandstone. The directions I'd read online that morning said it would be more like 20 feet. Sucking in my old nervousness of heights, I pressed for more details. She said we'd have to help each other through a few tough scrambles, but that no ropes would be needed. Don and I were not well acquainted, but I imagined we could muddle through well enough together.

Don is good company. On the surface it seems we both tend toward a quieter approach to interaction. Politely inquisitive. Casually interested without ulterior pressures or motivations. I appreciated being able to probe his deeper knowledge of the area. Glad a more experienced professional would allow me to tag along for a little adventure.

The “Dry Fork Slots,” are located about 27 miles south along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. It was heavily washboarded and high-clearance vehicles were strongly recommended. I was grateful Don had agreed to drive us in his pickup. A few miles in we made a brief stop at the “Devil's Garden” to wander among a different kind of hoodoo (and take a final bathroom break). Comparatively low to the ground and voluptuously smooth, these wind-carved sandstone hoodoos were an interesting contrast to the towering, brittle, and multi-faceted, rock gardens of Bryce Canyon I've been familiar with of late.


The last stretch of road leading to Dry Fork looked as though it was molded from mounds of clay. All guides state emphatically that the route is impassible after even the slightest rain. On a map, several roads lead south from highway 12 through the Grand Staircase—Hole-in-the-Rock, Cottonwood, Alvey Wash, Smokey Mountain—and look to many visitors like excellent alternative routes to highway 89 south toward Page. Seeing the conditions of these roads firsthand brought home the warnings I'd heard from other Bryce volunteers that one should ALWAYS check in at the GSENM visitor center before using them for travel. Scenic? Yes. Practical? No.

Once parked, we followed a series of large, widely-spaced cairns down a steep slick-rock outcrop. This “trail” leads down to a broad sandy wash into which Dry Fork, Peekaboo, and Spooky canyons empty. Dry Fork is a section of “narrows” (a little wider than a “slot,” but not by much), that can be followed for several miles. Maybe we would check it out on our way back. The entrance to Peekaboo was nearby to the left where a small group of people was clustered about its mouth. A young family who'd just come down its length watched excitedly as a number of twenty-somethings prepared to ascend.


 I looked up at the smooth sculptured sandstone with a bit of trepidation. A series of shallow hand and toe holds were carved into its surface. It was definitely more than 10 feet of climbing. I motioned to Don to go first, hoping to observe his technique. The first bit seemed fine enough. A stone ladder—a quick pivot over a thin vertical ledge—then a gradual chute where a little wedging between hips and feet would carry you up. Don struggled a little, but seemed relatively unfazed by the awkward motions. A knot had built up in the pit of my stomach, but, I thought, if a 67 year old man could manage it,- there's no reason I shouldn't be able to. Right?

A tall energetic German youth arrived suddenly, and virtually leapt up the whole way, stepping right over the top of Don who was just completing the last bit of his ascent. His girlfriend stopped beside me. “He's a real mountain goat!” she said. The German held out a hand to Don and helped him up the rest of the way. He then tossed a rope down to his girlfriend and offered to hoist up both our packs. “It will make it easier to balance,” he encouraged. I gulped and clipped on my pack. It was my turn.

I cautiously stepped up the pile of stones leading to the first toe hold. A little wobbly for my taste. One step. Hmm. Wrong foot. Step down. Switch feet. Start with the left this time. Umm. Still not so comfortable. It looked so easy for the others. Right foot it is then. Ok. Left. Sort of. Hold on. Pull up. Sit down. Ok! Two thirds to go. Take a breath. Now how to manage that pivot. I wish there wasn't so much sand in these toe holds. 6 feet looks a lot taller from up here. Lean into the rock. Swing my body around. Ok, sit! It's so slick! Can't seem to make the wedging work. There's nothing to hold onto. My feet just want to slide. No traction. I can feel the pull of gravity. Not sure where to hold. The smallest shift of weight could send me sliding down to the ground. The German can see my fear and throws me the rope. It's such a thin little thing. Just a string. Holding onto it gives me no assurance. Their hands are only a couple feet from my grasp, but I can't seem to push myself higher. Mom and kids are watching below. “You can do it. Just a little bit higher!” But my legs are shaking now. I can feel my broken bones below. Hear the sound. A dull crack.

“I'm going to make a decision for my own safety. I'm not sure enough on my feet. I should head down.”
“I don't accept that!” insisted the German. “You can do it.”
“I've got to be honest about my ability. If I'm struggling here, it will be worse further up.”
A wave of disappointment.
I resolve to indulge in minimum apology. I won't wallow. This is a practical safety decision. I have to understand and accept the limits of my ability.

With guidance from Mom and kids below, I shakily make my way back down the stone ladder. The German girlfriend takes her turn. Struggles a little, but slowly makes it up. They send down my pack. Don descends. I'm embarrassed, but feel I've made the right decision. I make my apologies, say thank you and good luck to Mom and kids and the German couple. I'm grateful Don seems to be easy going enough to not be too put off by my backing down. “There was a real danger there,” he says reassuringly.

We walk along the sandy edges of the giant mound of rock from which Peekaboo was formed. Climbing slowly now—one step forward, half a step back in the hot slippery sand—we eventually top the sandstone bulge and begin to explore. Cairns! An alternate route around the canyon perhaps? Soon we are looking down into the narrowly winding, knife-edged slot. It's an easy descent to the bottom from here...



...and now I hear voices! Our German friends are squeezing their way through the sculpted zig-zags. “What took you so long?!” I say.

They don't have a map so we share ours, along with the directions for finding Spooky from the upper exit of Peekaboo. Now it's our turn to descend into the zig zag. It's hard to believe that an adult human body is capable of gliding through the contortions of sharp-edged sandstone that lead us deeper into the canyon. We take off our packs and bend, slide, bump, and lean through the one-way maze. 



As the walls rise around us, I imagine a flash flood sweeping through—filling the canyon to its top and rushing over its edges—the water thick with sand and broken bits of brush. We reach a point where Don judges the descent a little too steep—a hoop of rock showing a sandy bottom many feet below— and then head back up the way we came. Here and there I give him a push up from behind, and he offers a hand up in return.

Back down in Dry Fork Wash, we head toward the entrance to Spooky. Temperatures are mercifully mild, but a fierce wind whips up billows of sand that make my teeth grate like sandpaper. The gale is desiccating. I can almost feel the moisture wicked from beneath my skin. What would it be like to travel across this landscape with limited provisions? What must those early pioneers have endured along their journey south to Hole-in-the-Rock—a passage they had to carve out themselves to enable travel by wagon team? 1880. That's not all that long ago. My grandparents would have been old enough to have spoken with someone who made the trip.




 Spooky's entrance is much more inviting—sort of. There's no steep climb. The trail remains level as you enter this slot. But the high walls close in rapidly. Packs must be removed, and travel through the canyon is only possible sideways. Our chests and bellies slide over bumpy sandstone conglomerate. “This is the slottiest canyon I think I've ever been in,” quipped Don. Shadows are deep and hues of reflected light cast an eerie glow over the rock. Spooky indeed!

...and not ideal for hand-held photography as you can see from the blurry pictures...just think of them as action shots!



Voices ahead. Our German friends once again. We hurry to a slightly wider cutout in the rock and allow the couple to pass. Smiles all around. Continuing on there's a hint of...music? We meet a photographer with tripod set for a long exposure, earbuds in, no doubt preparing to take a classic shot of light cascading over elegant sandstone curves.


I honestly never thought I'd actually be able to see one of these picture-postcard desert-calendar slot canyons in person. I'd always assumed that the photos I'd seen were captured in secret corners of wilderness shared only among elite climbers, adventurers...people infinitely more well-equipped and more in-the-know than little old me. But I am actually here. Feeling the rough stone scrape my skin. Willfully trapped within a world of pale light, rich shadow, and fanciful geometry, lit by nothing more than a thin line of deep blue overhead. Looking way up we see huge boulders suspended in mid fall. Wedged between the canyon walls, piles of plant debris has collected around each point of contact—a sobering reminder of the violent floods whose currents carved out this channel just wide enough for a medium-sized adult to navigate.


Finally we reached a point where further squeezing might have caused torn shirts and uncomfortable scrapes. I can't say we turned around—there wasn't room for that—we just reversed our sideways shimmy and headed out the way we came.

The climb up was hot, sandy, sunbaked, guesswork. I downed the last of my water, happy knowing I had a third full bottle back in the truck. At one point we lost the trail of cairns, so just kept climbing till we reached the top of the hill and could see the parking lot in the distance. Stepping gingerly so as to avoid the fragile cryptobiotic soil growing all around us, we made it back. My water was hot enough to brew tea and tasted like plastic, but who's complaining? After another noisy bumpy drive up the road, we rewarded ourselves with cold drinks and pizza at Escalante Outfitters, and relaxed to an old tape recording of “The Hobbit” on our way home. In spite of my embarrassing bout of acrophobia, it turned out to be a very enjoyable and rejuvenating day. Thanks Don for the idea and the invitation!

June 6, 2014

Silent Rainbows


Monday June 1

Dad came to visit for a couple days. We hiked the hoodoos, attended Ranger talks, sampled the wares of some local eateries, and on Saturday night got to peer into the wonders of the night sky.

Yesterday we drove out of the park and east on highway 12 enjoying the scenery of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. After Escalante, the road winds like a snake over a landscape of solid rock. Glaring white sandstone crossbedded in sweeping layers hint at an immense passage of time. Shrubby vegetation clings to life here and there and erratic boulders litter the low areas between rock-solid dunes.

On the way out we'd driven through Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, and Escalante—and aside from a couple gas stations, each town was all closed up for sunday. We'd almost relegated ourselves to trail mix, pop-tarts, and V8 when we discovered the Burr Trail Grill on the outskirts of Boulder. A big neon sign blared “Open” and we pulled in to a parking lot full of cars—other travelers likely as relieved as we were to have found something other than road food to get them through the afternoon. Our meals—a sandwich and a burger with sides of coleslaw and roasted potato wedges—were fresh and extremely well prepared. Dessert—a made-from-scratch “mixed-berry, ginger” pie with fresh whipped cream—was perhaps the best pie I've ever eaten. I vowed to recommend the place to everyone I could.

Afterward we visited Anasazi State Park Museum, just a couple miles further east. On display were beautiful examples of pottery that had been recovered from a small excavation in the area. Instead of spinning pottery wheels, they used a process of coiling ropes of clay—delicately molding each finished piece and adorning surfaces with striking geometric sgraffito. I could almost imagine the hands that had made them—slight imperfections betraying the curve of a fingertip, the palm of a hand.

On our way back to Bryce, we made a brief visit to Petrified Forest State Park on the borders of the Grand Staircase. A short hike carried us around a loop along which ancient logs and stumps, painted and bejeweled like “silent rainbows,” occasionally erupted from the ground in between stands of juniper and prickly pear. 





Thin pieces were translucent when held to the sun, and looked a lot like the material used by ancestral pueblo to fashion arrow and spear tips. 


A few of the cacti were in bloom, their delicate papery flowers heavily visited by tiny flying insects of all stripes.



Thanks Dad for your visit!

Tuesday June 3

Yesterday, Radar and I hiked to Lower Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. What a beautiful hike—truly an oasis in the desert. Towering cliffs adorned with long streaks of multicolored desert varnish line a river valley dense with vegetation. I was reminded of a slightly smaller and less developed Zion National Park. 



Desert flowers were in bloom all along the trail—Globemallow, Prickly Pear, Paintbrush, Primrose, Wild Rose, and a host of others I couldn't identify.






Huge pictographs loomed majestically on a distant wall, and ancient granaries were tucked away atop high ledges.


Though I'd seen pictures of the waterfall at trails end, I wasn't prepared for its true size and beauty. Plummeting 126 feet over a lip of Navajo Sandstone, Calf Creek Falls cascades over stained and mossy walls and into a wide emerald pool at its base. Hanging gardens cling to moist sheltered alcoves of solid rock, and the thin leafy trees at the forest's edge sway gracefully away from the spray of the falls.





I snapped a few pictures just before some other hikers braved the cold water for a swim. I watched one woman as she walked into the pool. The ground fell away quickly and, unfazed by the water's icy chill she dunked her head underwater and enjoyed a brief swim. Not long after, a big chocolate lab came bounding down the trail and leapt into the pool. He gleefully retrieved a thick tree branch and was delighted when other hikers threw it back into the water for him to retrieve again and again.

Back to Bryce Canyon...

Geoff—my real boss—arrived on the first. My days are likely to be much more structured and well organized. New employees and volunteers have arrived in many departments, including astronomy. The place is beginning to feel a little crowded, but it's a crowd needed to manage the even more prolifically growing crowds of visitors. My impression has been that up until this point a majority of visitors have been from overseas. Europe, Asia, India, Russia, the Middle East, the lands “Down Under.” Now that school's out across the U.S. I wonder if that proportion will change as the numbers of vacationers rises..

I admit to feeling a good bit of trepidation about the arrival of Richard—the self-titled “Star Geezer.” An astro volunteer who'd been coming to Bryce for several years, Richard's tough, extremely regimented, and occasionally abrasive reputation preceded his coming. As person after person cautioned me to put on a thick skin and remember to take everything with a grain of salt, I worked myself up into a nervous tizzy worrying over whether our system of setting up and running nighttime observing would be met with a barrage of no-holds-barred criticism.

Everyone was finally introduced at a Welcome-Richard dinner Geoff hosted on Monday evening. We each went around the room and told our stories—where did we come from and how did we make it to Bryce. Richard assured us all that he'd achieved a series of specific mile-markers on his way to becoming a genuinely nicer human being, and his care for the park and especially for its dark-sky mission was obvious. Still—EXTREME worry wart that I am—I left the gathering even more concerned that there would be some kind of explosion at our Tuesday evening observing session. I resolved to swallow as much of that worry as I possibly could, and do my best to be helpful, flexible, respectful, and accommodating.

Whether helped by my attitude or not, our Tuesday night observing session went off without a hitch. The five of us cooperated to set up, collimate, and align eight scopes, cut power to and shield all building lights, charge everyone's glow-in-the-dark tape with a UV flashlight, and create a red-light “walkway” down the center of the parking lot between the two rows of scopes. We each picked a couple initial observing objects to focus on—I chose Jupiter and the beehive cluster—and the masses entered...perhaps around 200 people. Later in the evening I moved to the Sombrero (a little washed out in the waxing moonlight, but still interesting with a little interpretive introduction), M81 and 82, Mizar and Alcor, and finally a new object for me: NGC 4565, “the Needle”—a razor thin, but fairly bright edge-on galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices.

After our last visitors left and we were tearing down the scopes, Richard remarked that it had been a successful and enjoyable night. He said it was a pleasure to work with volunteers that clearly knew what they were doing and didn't need to be coached and directed all along the way. I breathed a BIG sigh of relief! We'd done well. Hopefully we can keep it up!

Wednesday June 4

Day off. Went to Kolob Canyon—the quiet corner of Zion NP—with Radar for a hike along Taylor Creek. The moderate trail ends under an incredible grotto streaked with desert varnish and edged with lush green gardens. The land and rock here is far to big to capture in a photograph. Everything is too tall, too wide, too detailed. For me these images spark a memory of actually being there. I hope they make you want to go yourself.



Passed through Cedar Breaks on the way home. A lot like Bryce, but 2000 feet higher in elevation! Quiet and serene—it's a place I want to visit again for more than just a quick look over the rim.

Back home, I hiked the rim between Sunset and Bryce just before sunset. I'm feeling more in shape now, and find myself craving even more activity. It feels good to breathe deeply and work my legs on the trail. The colors of evening here are incredible. Swifts swoosh through the air in pursuit of insect prey, sometimes coming so close I can hear the rush of air over their wings.

May 31, 2014

Fairyland

Since my last post was all text and no pics, this one will be the reverse...pretty much just pics with captions. I took the first day's shots on the Fairyland Loop: a gorgeous 8 mile hike we usually recommend to people looking to get down below the rim, but without the crowds.

Wednesday, May 28

Morning sunshine on the hoodoos...


Limber Pine just hanging on to the rim at Sunrise Point...


Pebbly remains of fallen hoodoos...


Tower Bridge...

White limestone fins lining the "Hoodoo Graveyard"



Such a brilliant white in the midday sun...getting burned from above and below...reminded me a bit of the Bonneville Salt Flats...


Friday, May 30

Took an evening stroll from Sunset to Inspiration. Hoodoos in shadow, but distant light on clouds and plateaus is spectacular...



Bristlecone pines are a stunning silhouette...


Anticrepuscular rays and shadows converge on the eastern horizon--the other side of sunset...


A gorgeous Belt of Venus is close behind...


Crescent Moon and Jupiter (that tiny "star" above the point of the tree) set in the west as I make my way back down the trail...