Chasing the Sunrise

It has been a particularly busy fall semester. I’m teaching a new class in an area I only have a minimal background. I haven’t felt this far out of my depth since I taught an introduction to natural resources class my first semester at Kansas State University in 1974. I was younger, more full of myself, and at the same time unsure. I have few of those feelings now. At age 66 I find teaching a new course invigorating, challenging, and just a little daunting. But it has been far more rewarding than I anticipated and just as challenging. I’ve put other projects on the back burner to try to stay what I call “15 minutes ahead of my class!” And I think I’ve been successful.

That all leads up to Veteran’s Day Weekend when I got to Friday I sensed I had a full Saturday where I didn’t have anything to do. Saturday morning came and I was still thinking teaching and writing. In fact, as I have found so often this semester, I was up early and today was no exception. At 4 AM my mind was whirling and so I was up and anticipating several hours of quiet with just me and the cat writing. Whisper, the cat, really enjoys laying across the top of my desk in front of the computer either relaxing or watching the cursor on the computer with great interest. I’m anticipating some day she will attack that poor cursor.

By 6:30 am I was busy writing and I knew we were having some cool (cold for Las Vegas) weather so I turned to my iPad and checked the weather. Of course the kids think my favorite TV channel is the weather channel - but not so much since we moved to Las Vegas. Anyway, I noted on my weather app that it had snowed out at Red Rock Conservation Area overnight. There is nothing more beautiful than watching the sunrise at Red Rock as the sun marches down the western Spring Mountains. And to have the potential for snow in the peaks was a bonus! I was a smidgen late getting out of the house and could see the sun rising over the east side of the Las Vegas valley and knew I had probably missed the march, but not the intensity of the new sun on the western mountains. Off I drove out towards Red Rock and was greatly rewarded for my efforts.

Watching the new sunrise, or in this case, the full effect of the early morning sun on the mountains is like watching a rebirth of beauty and brings great joy to my soul. If I watched it every day I might tire of it, but I only go out a few times a year - which always makes it spectacular. I’ve shared a few of my photos below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This is a beautiful home out in Calico Basin and I love its colors and especially the Red Rocks directly behind it.

The Red Rocks along with the desert brush and more traditionally colored hills in the background are a favorite

I really thought the sun reflections and the break up with the texture of the rocks made this an interesting shot.
And then I played with it and added a little grunge.

Hiking in Red Rock

A couple of weeks ago Tim was in town for the weekend. We went to Death Valley on Friday and on Monday before he left we got up early and went for a walk in Red Rock. It was Martin Luther King Weekend and we stopped by on Saturday afternoon and that was a bad idea. It felt like half of Las Vegas was present. Tim went on a short hike, but wanted to do more, so on Monday morning we took off. It was a cool and windy morning and we decided to take a moderate trail. I hate to think what a difficult hike would be like. I don't climb quite like I used to, but we took off on the short hike. It was a beautiful hike. For January the weather had been unusually warm.

We started off up the trail, which is a stream when it rains, and the trees were green and there was sand to walk on. As we went up the trail we began to get to the rocks. In some instances there were stairs that were obviously created by moving rocks around. They fit nicely into the environment.

Tim and I, however, sometimes had to find the trail when it wasn't so obvious. We got sidetracked by rock formations, beautiful scenery, and just plain curiosity. We took lots of photos so we didn't make good time, but it wasn't about making good time it was about enjoying the place and each other.

When we finally go to where the trail took us it was a deep bowl that obviously filled with water when there was rain. It wasn't real impressive from a beauty perspective, but from a geological perspective it was pretty. However, Tim and I thought there must be something better to see so we hiked a little bit further and all of a sudden we had a 270 degree ranging from Las Vegas around to all of Red Rock Conservation Area. It was the real frosting on the cake for a great morning.

We found our way back, although we got side tracked a couple of times and then got Tim to an airplane. It was a great morning.

Looking South East towards Calico Basin and Las Vegas
in the distance

I'm just overwhelmed by the beauty of this area. It is just awesome.

Wordless Wednesday

Morning Walks

I've always enjoyed morning walks, but since last fall it has once again become a habit that I can really enjoy. Also, living in Las Vegas means that I can walk outside except on those really cold mornings (which are like spring mornings elsewhere). Some morning I start and finish before the sun comes up, but as we blend into spring and get closer to summer and the days grow longer the mornings change. If I really sleep in (past 5 am) then I may need my sun glasses or pull my hat down low. In 6 to 8 weeks I'll be wishing for those cool and dark mornings and a walking temperature under 80.

I especially have enjoyed my walks this spring as I've watched the trees bloom and drop, the pansies bloom and stay (it doesn't get cold enough for crocuses and tulips unfortunately) and just recently the bushes have all come out in color. Sunday morning I took my longest walk since coming back to walking and was rewarded with some beautiful bushes. I slept in, got up about 6 and was walking along the beltway and towards the northern end of our neighborhood. I stopped and took a couple of photos with my phone tos share and remind me of the beauty that is all around us.

My walks are enjoyable. It's a time to relax before the day begins and be mindful about what the day will bring and what I will contribute. I do look forward to these morning walks with family, but that doesn't happen often. I'm wondering if walking is becoming a lost art or are we just too busy to enjoy the beauty this is all around us.

Some Reflection on My New Book

On Wednesday, this week, I received an advance copy of my newest book. It is really an update - new edition - of one I've worked on 2 times before, but it takes almost as much time as writing a full book. The joy of seeing your work in print is almost indescribable. It's a surge of pride, of a job well done, of knowing that someone else will read what you have written - even if it is by assignment from an instructor. It makes up a little for the hours and hours of really hard work of finding, writing, editing, looking for photos, case studies, sidebars and the like. But the real joy is in the writing, no matter how hard it is and whether anyone reads it or not.

I am just starting on another book and I've been a little slow getting going, but receiving this book in the mail has really encouraged me. I'm ready to start writing, organizing, outlining, talking, writing memos (a format I use to get to thoughts). However, the book I just received is special. It was written by a friend and colleague who died about 8 years ago and I was asked to take over the book by the publisher. I selected two great colleagues to work with me, one of which has moved on to other projects, and now we are in our 3rd edition. It was a lot of work moving it from a very traditional format to a newer and more current and contemporary format and content.

Beginning with the last edition I began to include photos and material from our family. For instance my sister, she and her husband are big NASCAR fans, wrote me a first person experience of attending a NASCAR race. In this edition it was moved to be the very first piece anyone reads - it sets the stage for the recreation experience. I also asked our newest daughter-in-law to write a piece on Why I like to write and I turned it into a case study.

In the last edition I had photos of family and of trips I have taken. For example, I asked Jeni to take photos of her children at the water playground near their old home in Aurora, CO and included it. It also included the 2 oldest children of Donna. Some of the photos are shown here. The one to the right not only was used in the book, but also in our large wall mural at Indiana State University as a recruitment for the program.

I've tried to mix it up a little, but not always able to use just family photos. They need to look good and they need to fit the topic. In this edition I had a chance to work on the history chapters and knew I had just the perfect photo as I wrote about families, recreation, and children. This photo of my mother reading "Child's Life" is of a girl I never knew and yet I wish I had. I will talk more about that later. The photo has evoked such strong feelings in me that I struggle to understand them and at the same time feel like I'm seeing my mother in a different way for the very first time. Writing does cause introspection and reflection. I enjoy doing both.

Finally, I've been able to include a couple of my favorite photos, one of which I took below at a convent at a mountain side castle near Sparta, Greece. I was entranced by the scene, serenity, and beauty.

Thanks for allowing me to share some of my experiences in writing. I need to do more of this.

November Reflections

I was reading some Robert Frost poetry this morning and "My November Guest" reminded me of our falls in Indiana. The poem is from his 1915 book, "A Boy's Will." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My November Guest

MY Sorrow, when she's here with me,
  Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
  She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
  She talks and I am fain to list:
She's glad the birds are gone away,
She's glad her simple worsted gray
  Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
  The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
  And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
  The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
  And they are better for her praise.

A Sunday Morning Walk

      I was going to title this "Desert Beauty," but as I thought about it I realized there is very little beautiful abut the desert in September. That is probably inaccurate, so suffie it to say, that as long as I'm restricted to walking in my neighborhood I am enjoying its man-made beauty. I try to get out for my first walk about 6 to 6:30 am, before the sun peaks over the eastern mountains. Usually I make it. Then I go out again about 8:30 am or 9 with JoAnn, again between 11:30 and 1:00, then about 4:30 and finally around 7 pm. I don't go far, but I'm increasing my distance a little every day.

I've come to appreciate the beauty of our neighborhood. For example, I didn't know we had Monarch butterflies. Nor did I know we had caterpillars. I've seen just a few butterflies and only one scrawny caterpillar, but still, those were new to me. We have desert finches which we enjoy, mourning doves, and a variety of desert birds, but we don't have near the variety of song birds we had in Iowa and Indiana.

What we do have are plants that bloom year round and a park near our home that is green 12 months out of the year. I don't want to know how much water they put on the grass, but it has to be a lot. I was struck by their beauty this morning as I walked and thought I would share that beauty.

This is close to our home, directly across from the park. I don't usually walk
on this side of the street, but this morning, with the sun striking the plants
it just took my breath away.

The sage blooms about every 6 weeks spring through fall and we never quit
enjoying its beauty.

The park, directly across the street is a small neighborhood park, and is also
a magnet from about 6:30 in the morning until will after dark. I've never seen
such a busy park. This is the north end.

Lantana on the corner of a neighborhood.

Midwestern Clouds

When you live in the midwest you take clouds for granted. They are almost always there. They come in many forms and colors - or at least shades of gray if it is storm weather. In the morning they can be red or yellow or even varying shades. In the evening as the sun sets and dips below the clouds you get some really wonderful colors with a red glow rippling off the bottoms of the clouds. The tall thunderheads are equally beautiful and terrifying. At night as the full moon behind the cloud cover gives a glow that sometimes seems to fulfill the sky you know that the universe is vast and beautiful, that it is full of wonder, and that nature is beauty.

The clouds are just lifting on the mountains west of our home. Of course as I write this the clouds are back and almost as beautiful.

All that doesn't disappear when you move west, but the frequency of clouds, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and especially thunderheads are rare. We have had a wet spring in Las Vegas and as a front passed through last night and today the clouds were beautiful. When I left for Church this morning there were no mountains to be seen, they were shrouded in a cloudy mist. An hour later when I came home to get JoAnn the clouds were beginning to lift, the sun was shining and yet, the clouds had that midwestern look. It was beautiful and while I miss the clouds I have yet to miss the winter.

Looking east from our home as the front moves through gives us some beautiful clouds to look at. Some mornings we can even get a beautiful sunrise.

While driving home I was int he shade, but the neighborhood and the mountains were capturing that beautiful desert sunshine. Absolutely beautiful.

Beauty, Flowers, and Our Yard

One of the things I remember growing up in Abilene, Texas in the early 1960s, as a teenager, was when my Grandpa and Grandma Merriam would come to town with their Airstream trailer and park it along side our home on Dyess Air Force Base. We had lived in lots of different places by the time we got to Texas and we were not impressed with Texas. It was the panhandle, it was dry, it was hot and the wind was always blowing. We were accustom to more plush climates like Nebraska, Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Guam. Texas, while it had its own charm, was a step down for green and beauty. We got sufficient rain we did not water our lawn. In those days there were almost no irrigation systems and Americans had not yet adopted the notion that every lawn had to be perfect.

When Grandpa would come to town he would walk out behind our home. We lived on the edge of the military housing area with an open field behind us that went on for a couple of miles. He would find beautiful small plants, collect them, arrange them, and then take photos. I was always intrigued by his photos and the effort he took to find beauty in what appeared to be a drab place. I learned from that.

Fortunately, we don't have to go far to find beauty in plants and flowers. We have added much of it to our yard with plants that flower on and off 12 months out of the year. We do miss our green grass, but we don't miss cutting it. Also, the cost of maintaining a lawn in Las Vegas is prohibitive. Some folks I have talked to suggest it costs more to keep a lawn than a swimming pool. I'm not going to try either.

The plants in our backyard along the wall are new. This does not depict our major plant area, but the butterfly bushes and center plant replaced African species with big spines that had no beauty. The plant in front is a Hesperaloe Parviflora and the flower spikes are over 6 feet tall.

Grandpa Merriam taught me to look at the small things as well as the big picture. I have previously posted on flickr some of our backyard plants. Yesterday and today I took some additional closeups and a couple of broader photos of plants in our back and front yards. I didn't pick these, since we have the opportunity to view them so many months out of the year.

Enjoy.

This closeup of the butterfly bush with a light background is really striking. We had butterfly bushes in Bloomington, Indiana, but never as big or as vibrant as these. We have no butterflies, but we have bees (big ones) and a steady stream of humming birds.

This plant is from a sage that grows fast, when you water it, and requires us to cut it back regularly. I love the mix of flower and plant center. It is a large plant in our yard, over 3 feet tall and equally wide.

This is from a sage that blooms every 3 to 4 weeks all summer and into the fall. The flowers are so delicate. You think that it is done blooming and then all of a sudden it is back again. And it does this over and over. It is like a new spring every few weeks. We really look forward to it.

Photographing Cacti is a Prickly Affair

The other morning I was out taking photos of some back yard flowers. We have no grass, but our plants blossom for 12 months, which is amazing. No, not all of them, just some. The important thing is, that we are never without some kind of color in the back yard. After 37 years of winter we are really enjoying it.


The most challenging photos was the prickly-pear cactus. I had to step over another plant to get the photo. That was still okay, but then the shot I really wanted was at the back of the cactus, so it was a stretch. I knew I would get close to one of the fruit blossoms, but that was no big deal. It was a great photo, which means I like it.

Nice looking flowers. JoAnn had a great time watering them this spring to encourage the blossoms.

I got back inside and was sitting down at my desk to do a little work and put my right elbow on the arm rest. There was a sharp prickly sensation. I looked and what I saw were a bunch (that's a technical term) of small light colored spines. It almost looked as if I hadn't shaved my elbow. You know, after you haven't shaved for a day or two.

Those little spines on the fruit, just before the flowers really jump out at you.

I went and got JoAnn and asked her to pull them out. Her, "I don't see anything" did not inspire me. Once we got more light it only took her about 15 minutes to get the spines out. It is the 2nd time this year I have picked up spines working in the back yard. I guess I still have to learn a little more about those desert plants. So, as I said at the beginning, "Photographing cacti is a prickly affair." Who knows, maybe someday I will learn.

We've Seen Snow...Again

We have had such a beautiful winter (sorry kids), it seemed almost bitter-sweet when the temperature dropped into the 30's for lows over the last 10 days. Even more so we have experienced quite a few rain days (which of course we need). We even had a real midwestern rain day, as noted in a previous blog.


A week ago today, however, we knew rain had just passed and weather was still southern Nevada cold. We had no snow, but as I drove off to the dentist for a 7 am appointment I noticed a little snow on the front mountains, but it wasn't until 90 minutes later when I drove out of the parking lot looking west and I saw the full impact. No, it is not a Wasatch snow and it's not much good for snow caves or cross-country skiing, but it is a Red Rock snow and it is beautiful.

Go to my flickr account to see this panorama as well as other photos, or click on the photo and it will give you a full-screen (width) representation.

We feel fortunate to live so close to the Red Rock Conservation Area and to be able to go out and visit it on a regular basis. We have photos from multiple seasons, but I didn't really have any good snow photos. I was tugged to go work, but also tugged to take some photos. I rationalized, since I did have writing to do, and drove home, picked up my camera and was out the door. The photos in this blog are of Red Rock shortly after the storm and before the sun got too much hold on them. I think they are gorgeous. By the way, I did get some writing done, so no guilt.

Sunrise at Red Rock Canyon

This morning I slept in, which means I was not up at 4:30 am, however, I was still up by a little after 6 am and once I got going I though, why not go out to Red Rock Canyon and shoot some sunrise photos. I've been wanting to do that for some time and since we just finished 2 days of rain, now seemed perfect.

I peeked out the back window and sure enough there were clouds, although I didn't look towards Red Rock. That waited until I got into the car. The clouds on the mountains behind our house presaged my anticipation for mountains bathed in clouds. I knew that Red Rock wouldn't disappoint me. However, it was getting late and I was afraid I might engage in a race with the sun. You cannot win a race with the sun. It can climb higher faster than you can drive horizontally.

It's only 5 miles to Red Rock Canyon from our house, but another 6 miles to where I planned to shoot. As I went by the BLM entrance to Red Rock Conservation Area I was really glad I hadn't planned to go into the area. The gate doesn't open until 7 am. All the climbers and hikers were anxiously waiting outside for the gate to open.

Of course, the pickup in front of me was a 50 mph model, or at least the driver was, and as soon as I could see the canyon I knew I had missed those first precious moments of sunrise. I still knew I would enjoy the sunrise, even if at 50 mph. I thought about passing, but that would distract from the beauty I was enjoying.

Finally we both got to where I planned to shoot and while the pickup drank coffee and watched the sun march down those beautiful mountains, I started shooting, resolving the whole time to leave just 10 minutes earlier next time.

The pickup left, somewhat slower than 50 mph, and I continued to enjoy the gorgeous view. Having such beautiful scenery just 10 minutes from home is one of the great benefits of living in Las Vegas. We could have just about picked a home anywhere in the valley and not have the opportunity to enjoy Red Rock so close.

I got home, loaded the photos on to my computer and shared them with JoAnn. I was blown away by how well they came out. It was worth the drive. I put 23 of them on my flickr site. Actually they are being uploaded as I write this post.

At 3 pm I finally had time to load the photos into Aperture and do some adjusting. One more time I relived the glory of the sunrise. It was a beautiful 50 degree morning with low hanging clouds some dark, some misty, some billowing. The bright sunshine cascading down the slopes fo the canyon or dancing off the clouds just stirred me.

What a great start to a great day.