RHH's photos

These are from the archives, some spring color. It is not, however, very spring-like today, but cold and rainy.

Spring is coming, albeit somewhat slowly. I had hoped to work in the garden today, but it is raining and rather cold, so my plans may come to nothing. Thought I'd post some spring flowers, however, these from the archives.

Natural Bridge is in one of the many canyons in Death Valley National Park. The bridge is an arch in the canyon, a short hike from the parking area. It is possible to hike beyond the arch which we did, but there are several dry falls that require some climbing and we were stopped by one of those, the ladies unwilling to do the climb.

Natural Bridge is an arch in a canyon in Death Valley National Park. Seeing it requires a short hike up the canyon, and it is possible to hike beyond the arch to the end of the canyon, which we did.

Taken at Shafer Canyon Overlook in Canyonlands National Park where we stopped to take photos on our way to Mesa Arch for the sunrise. We had car-camped just outside the park the night before and had an early start next morning. Shafer Canyon is in the north part of Canyonlands, the Island in the Sky District.

Aztec Butte is in Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky District. We spent only one morning in Canyonlands on our recent trip, watching the sunrise at Shafer Canyon Overlook and Mesa Arch and hiking at Grandview Point. The photo was taken in the morning after hiking the short trail to Mesa Arch.

While in Death Valley National Park we rented a four-wheel-drive Jeep for two days in order to explore some of the backcountry. One area we explored took us through Warm Spring Canyon, to Butte Valley where we saw several old prospector's cabins and Striped Butte, one of the striking features of this beautiful valley.

This cabin is in Butte Valley in the backcountry of Death Valley National Park. It is called the Geologist's Cabin but was built by a a prospector. It is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and is a rather comfortable and attractive accommodation. We had hoped to stay there but it had already been occupied. In the end that proved a good thing for us since we had rented a Jeep to exp;lore the backcountry and were able to see a lot more than we would have seen if we had spent the rest of the day in the area of the cabin.

This is Desolation Canyon in Death Valley National Park. We hiked there the last day of our stay in the park at the advice of a park ranger, and thoroughly enjoyed the hike. Because Death Valley is so often without vegetation the amazing colors of the rocks show and I trust the photos I've posted give some idea not only of what the canyons are like but of the colors of the rocks.