Blog 248

Distant hills adjacent to Interstate 17, Arizona, USA, on 25th May 2012

Recession

Eagle Soaring

Blog 247

Wild Cactus adjacent to Interstate 17, Arizona, USA, taken during the journey from Jerome to Phoenix on 25th May 2012. More images here.

Blog 246

Jerome - Gold King Mine and Ghost Town - URBEX - Visited on 25th May 2012

Sitting a mile north of Jerome, the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town is one of the most fascinating attractions in the region. Visitors will find a rustic assortment of ramshackle buildings, the gash of an old mine shaft and a sprawling array of rusted machinery that forever teeters between ruin and redemption. At first glance, the casual ease of the place might be mistaken for neglect but nothing could be further from the truth. This living museum is lovingly tended by a man who looks like he was sent from Central Casting to play the part: Don Robertson ably assisted by Mike. With bushy beard and slouched hat, Robertson is the very picture of a grizzled prospector. But there’s no play-acting going on here. Some people just seem to find their place in the world, where their skills and passion mesh perfectly with their surroundings. Robertson is one of the fortunate few, even if he was born a century late. “This was what I was meant to do,” says Robertson. “I was put on this earth to save this beautiful old machinery. This is the stuff that America was built with there’s no reason for it to be tossed aside or forgotten.” More images here.

Don Robertson - Proprietor Gold King Mine

Mike - Don's assistant

Blog 238

Visited and photographed these features on 16th May 2012

Horseshoe Bend is the name for a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona. Accessible via a ½-mile hike from U.S. Route 89, it can be viewed from the steep cliff above. According to Google terrain maps, the overlook is 4,200 feet above sea level and the Colorado River is at 3,200 feet above sea level making it a 1,000 foot drop.

Rock strata adjacent to the Horseshoe Bend

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park encompasses 3,730 acres of south-western Utah. Established in 1963 with land acquired from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to serve as access to the dunes for recreation, and to protect the dune resources.
At an elevation of 6,000 feet, and 12 paved miles off U.S. Highway 89 near Kanab, Utah, this park provides a fantastic setting for camping, hiking, off-highway vehicle riding, taking photographs or just playing in the sand.

Rippling arcs of rust-coloured sand welcome you as you enter Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Contrasted by blue skies, juniper and pinion pines, and steep red cliffs

Details from the far from benign desert 

Blog 237

Two photographic expeditioners left the UK on 11th May 2012 for a two week Photographic tour of parts of Arizona and Utah

Ford Explorer - Our Chariot for the expedition

La Quinta Inn ,Phoenix, AZ- Our first hotel

Rock Formation Nr Sedona, AZ

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, AZ

Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 43 miles (69 km) east of Flagstaff, near Winslow in the northern Arizona desert of the United States. Nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep

Little Colorado River Gorge  - providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. The Gorge is located just north of the Cameron Trading Post about 52 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona on Arizona Highway 89

Arizona - Highway 89

Upper Antelope Canyon Entrance - The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means "the place where water runs through rocks". Nr Page, AZ.

Within Upper Antelope Canyon, Nr Page, AZ

Within Upper Antelope Canyon, Nr Page, AZ 

Dusk in Grand Canyon, AZ. The canyon has unique combinations of geologic colour and erosional forms decorating a canyon that is 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep

Dusk - Grand Canyon, AZ