Going down... Part 2

Middle part of hike down South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon. Jan 17, 2011

(Click here for full Flickr set.)

Very dry and sun exposed for most stretches. Was expecting Moses to wander out from behind a rock at any moment.

Lots of olive & acidic colors, plus the orange-red and some grey-greens, too.





Different worlds in each direction, including up & down.



Final plateau before heading down into the innermost canyon. (Next set, to come)

Going down... Part 1

(Click here to be brought to main Flickr set.)

Jan 17, 2011: Down the South Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch at the base of the Grand Canyon. Both of us with our crampons (pull-on spikes for ice) - Galina's strapped onto her platform shoes.

First stretch of trail was sloppy, wet, snowy and icy, with green manure from the mule trains mixed in.

Temps went up as we went down - trail is very sun exposed, and it is simply warmer farther down the canyon.

Colors, textures and shape of the rocks and formations change too, as you go down through layers.

Breaking photos from this hike out into a few sets, loosely grouped based on differences between a few levels of the canyon. The next set will pick up in an area where everything seems very olive yellow/green for a bit.

Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole, Sedona AZ

More pics from the January trip to Arizona - Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole in Sedona. All pics click through to photo set on Flickr.



May be hard to tell scale from pics - it's pretty large. Very tall tree growing down in there.



Article about the sinkhole.



Got a little dizzy walking around this thing... but couldn't resist looking over to see all that could be seen.

Aurora Borealis

The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

(May need to click through to Vimeo to play)

When I was little, I thought that there must be tremendous sound to go along with the light show - because the light must be sparks from friction. Probably all the more eery that it is silent. One of the things I'd like to witness some day.

Arizona Dreaming - Grand Canyon

Wait - why is it don't I live there, again?

Airborne Rotating Plastic Ribbon Sculpture

...or a tornado in an agricultural field.

(Click the red speech bubble to disable the random comment pop ups.)

Sedona Sunset

Some photos from last year's trip to Sedona - Airport Loop trail. I realized I hadn't posted them here or unrestricted them on Flickr.

Enjoy! Slideshow at end of post - all photos lead to the full set of pics from the trail on Flickr.

Wintry wonderland

It can seem as though winter will never end in the Northeast.



But it does have its beauty.



Photos and some short videos on Flickr - taken at Taughannock Falls & Park here in upstate New York in December. You can also view a smaller scale slideshow, at the end of this blog post.











Small scale slideshow:

Taughannock Falls

I recently realized that I've never walked along the base of Taughannock Falls in all the years I've been in the Ithaca area. I've been to the overlook and up in the creek farther up from the falls. I took advantage of the warm weather over the past week to walk the lower trail. Definitely a place to return to as things get more green.

You can view the slideshow, below, or click here to be brought to the larger view in Flickr (photos are pretty high in detail).

More info on Taughannock: www.taughannock.com/

Watkins Glen Gorge

Click on any of the photos to see more on Flickr.

Last weekend we went to Watkins Glen (it is at the base of Seneca Lake, the next lake to the west of Cayuga Lake) and walked through the gorge with Loden's family.

I've only ever walked through this gorge once before - last year. I need to remember to make it a more regular event. It is an incredible gorge, with waterfall after waterfall. I kept finding myself wondering "Wait, where am I... which state or country?"

So many variations of light, temperature, color and sound. A wonderful way to spend a day.