Southwest Scenics
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Flowers for the Queen of Little Egypt
Flowers for the Queen of Little Egypt: Little Egypt geologic area of interest as seen on a pleasant but cloudy day. This high hoodoo is known as the queen.
September 2018: Dusk Clouds Over Padre Bay
Tower of Death Hollow. I discovered this amazing narrow steer sandstone tower in the middle of our hike. It's beautiful and the trail runs below. Grasses and blue skies made the scene unforgettable.
May 2018: East of Warner Valley is a place called "Rattlesnake Ridge" by this photographer because I found a large rattlesnake a few minutes after taking this photograph. I lived to tell the tale.
White Barrel Wave Detail shows how fine and colorful the intricate patterns.
March 2017: Hell Hole Canyon Beauty with blooming Spring trees and Cottonwoods in their greenery. This ominously named canyon is quite sublime in the cooler months.
West Rim Canyon Walls glow with beautiful reds, oranges and are highlighted by a few towering pine trees here and there. The highest point are more than 1000 above the canyon floor.
Golden Towers of Kanab Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Queen of Little Egypt in Utah, landscape photography by Gordon Smith of St. George, Utah.
Henrieville Cemetery and Cliffs
Henrieville Cemetery and Cliffs in the distance.
Death Hollow Grassy Trail is typical going for hiker in this remote central Utah destination.
April 2018: Joe Blake's Wildflowers are found on Joe Blake Hill (of course) in the rustic and remote northern Arizona Strip. Yellow wildflowers, lava rock and the painted sandstone colors intensify at dusk.
North and South Teepee Sunrise
North and South Teepee Sunrise: Nearby twin teepees of Coyote Buttes South catch the amber light of sunrise while the distant North Teepees glow in orange and red.
Hobgoblin Mushroom at sunset.
Dead Tree over West Rim Trail, with Behunin Canyon far below. The vast view goes on forever.
September 2016: Kanab Point Sunrise! The first bright sun rays lighten the huge towers of stone at Kanab Point. The deep Grand Canyon and Kanab Creek are far below this high perch. This is a fantastic landscape photography location.
Hoodoo of Egypt: Utah's Little Egypt is a gem to visit. Wonderful stripes of color run through these goblins.
January 2019: Hell's Backbone is the name of the road that skirts high above Death Hollow drainage. It's an incredible thing to see. This photo was taken during a storm. Look carefully to see the falling raindrops.
Cactus in Canyon: Pink-red fruit atop this prickly pear cactus.
Joe Blake Hill Sunset: hard to find a prettier view than this one.
January 2018: Colorful Candy Rocks of Coyote Buttes South at the overlook at dawn.
Hobgoblin Pincer. This large stone shape is so weird and irregular. Here I captured the whole thing at sunset.
Ridge Over Zion with Behunin Canyon on the far side and Heaps Canyon on the near side.
Kanab Creek Landscape, a major tributary to the Grand Canyon. This panorama is taken from Kanab Point, high above these deep labyrinthine canyons.
White Rock and Jailhouse Rock in Capitol Reef
Escalante Twisted Trees: 3 cottonwood trees grew out from one another like three misshapen brothers. I found them quite beautiful.
Trees Akimbo to one another in the Death Hollow wilderness.
February 2018: Half and Half is famous among stones for the split personality with half being yellow and half being purple. The lines and stripes run through the stone and along in surrounding grounds. This amazing little stone is gorgeous!
Lines and Towers (Version 2) of Coyote Buttes South alternate yellow, orange, pink, red, salmon. The sunrise clouds are pink and the whole world is color and more color. It's a sensory overload and wonderful to witness.
West Rim Trail Ascending towards the high cliffs in the distance. The ascent is the most amazing trail I've ever traveled.
Tree Skeleton over West Rim Trail
Tree Skeleton over West Rim Trail: one of many burnt remains from a fire 10 years earlier. The twisted and complicated tree reaches roughly in all directions.
Stone Towers at Kanab Point stand hundreds of feet high. The massiveness of the Grand Canyon makes them seem just a small part of the whole. Just before sunrise, these tower glow with gold and purple light. Boulders perch on ledges awaiting the new day.
October 2018: Cathedral Valley Spires: these three amazing spires in cathedral valley catch beams of sunshine across a valley in cloudy shadows. The 3 spires remind me of Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Dolomites. They are similar in size, acute angles and stand togther.
Slanted Tree Death Hollow: Along the trail through a stunning slot canyon, a slanted pine tree grows tall. Giant sandstone buttes and blue skies are overhead.
Twisted Dead Tree Purple Dawn in the Box Death Hollow wilderness. This sunrise greeted us on our first day of backpacking.
Beaked Stone Monster hangs over the hills and teepees of Coyote Buttes South.
High Country in Zion: some higher views of the West Temple cliffs are seen from teh Watchman trail on the east side of Zion Canyon. This is a great gem hike!
West Rim Trail Trees and Cliffs
West Rim Trail Trees and Cliffs: The trees are one hundred feet high and almost match the serene heights of the cliffs.
Inclined Temple and Dead Tree at dawn.
Rainbow Red in southern Utah's Forbidden Canyon