City of Rocks, Part II (History)
I marked my first City of Rocks post “fun,” but I have to admit that history falls neatly into the “fun” category for me as well.
The City of Rocks was a huge landmark for those traveling on the California Trail. They named it the “City of Rocks” because it truly looks like a rock city rising from the plains. Remnants of the traveling emigrants can be seen all over the park, from campfire remains at Camp Rock to the names written on rock with axle grease (below). Emigrants passed this way in the mid to late 1800′s.
After a period of dryland farming, the City of Rocks was designated as a national reserve in 1988. Parts of the reserve are still actively ranched.
Apart from being scenically beautiful, the City of Rocks is one of the best rock climbing areas in the west. The granite spires were created in two orogenies – the Almo pluton of 28 million years ago (that’s the young one!) and the Green River complex of 2.5 billion years ago. The rock is known to climbers as “sticky rock.” It is beautiful and varied climbing.
The City of Rocks is also home to my favorite tree, the curl-leaf mountain mahogany.
City of Rocks, Part I (Fun)
This weekend’s adventure was mountain biking in the City of Rocks. Years ago I worked trail crew in the City of Rocks, but I haven’t been back to visit since we returned to Idaho. The trails here in the Wood River Valley are still snow covered, but at the City they are clear and dry. The weather on Saturday went from sunny and windy to rainy and windy pretty fast. The evening cleared up for a beautiful dusk and perfect campfire night. This morning we awoke to 30 mph winds and 30 degrees…so I only got one day of photographing in!
Stay tuned for Part II, coming up tomorrow.
Darkroom Class
I am currently taking a darkroom class taught by the lovely and talented Dev Khalsa. I’d like to use this class as an excuse for why I haven’t been shooting much digitally, but the real reason is a mix of being completely overwhelmed by life at the moment and simply dragging my feet.
In class last week we made photograms, an exercise to demonstrate the process of making a print. This week we developed film, and next week we begin printing. I haven’t been in a darkroom for years, long before I realized my own passion for photography.
<photogram>
Carbonate, Graffiti
On Carbonate there is an old, deep foundation perched in the mountainside. I don’t know it’s history, but imagine my surprise to be hiking in a sea of sagebrush and gravel to come across such a brightly graffiti-ed structure. I am a big fan of graffiti – usually slightly more artistic than you’ll see here – but it was refreshing to find it in Hailey. It’s the first graffiti I’ve seen in my year and a half in the valley.
Signs of Spring
Spring is slowly showing it’s face here in Idaho. While the east coast has been pretty flashy, our sings of spring are a bit more subtle.
Spring is easily the least attractive season in Idaho. The entire landscape is a mix of snow, dead grass, ragged sage and mud. On a hike up Carbonate this afternoon, however, I saw some early buds peeping out to the world (I later learned they are phlox). Also, crocuses are starting to bloom in our freshly snow-free yard.
Happy Spring!
Dinner, Easter Leftovers
Tonight we made shepherd’s pies with the leftovers from Easter dinner. Before you worry that I’m turning this into a food blog, I take a higher-than-normal amount of food images because Mike works for Lava Lake Lamb. Some of the images I take of lamb meals are used as content on their blog.
For Easter we cooked a top round of lamb, homemade mint sauce, red mashed potatoes, peas, biscuits, and a cookies and creme pie for dessert. The leftovers naturally lead to this recipe from the blog No Recipes.
Spring Waters, Archives
This is the second in a series of shots from The Nature Conservancy’s Silver Creek Preserve, taken just over a year ago.
The colors in this image are what amaze me – they are all so pure and natural. No over saturation, no bold statements, just pure beauty.
(c) Sara Sheehy, 2009
Spring Birds, Archives
Just about a year ago I did some shooting at The Nature Conservancy’s Silver Creek Preserve in Picabo, ID. I ran across these images recently and they are too lovely not to share. The blue sky reflected off the water, the patches of spring snow, it’s all heavenly.
To kick off this little sharing party, here’s a bird. A hawk, I believe. (Can you tell, I’m obviously not a birder?).
