Thursday, April 27, 2017

On the Road Again ... Picture of the Day


We got outta Dodge just before the snow started to fly!
We'll be in the warm Mojave sunshine later today.

Along I-70, passing through bands of rain and flurries,
we stopped at one of my favorite spots on the San Rafael Swell:
The Black Dragon Canyon.


Black Dragon Canyon
Near Green River, Utah, USA
April 26, 2017
Photo by M. Louise Barbour
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



No time to be fancy as Big T is pacing the floor ready to hit the road.

So quoting from Wikipedia:
"The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah about 30 miles (48 km) west of Green River, Utah. The San Rafael Swell, approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 60-40 million years ago. Since that time, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into numerous valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas and buttes. The swell is part of the Colorado Plateau physiographic region."

I studied this in Geology 100!!!  
Been over it many times on foot, by car, and by air.

Okay, gotta go ~ Terry just dragged my suitcase out the door!

19 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful scene, dear Louise! Take good care of yourself, my cherished friend, and enjoy your time! Hugs and love to you. :)

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    1. Thank you, Linda! I appreciate your good wishes! We're in Laughlin, Nevada right now. We met up with friends we made in Bullhead City last winter and have been having lots of fun. I had some computer issues, but the great tech support from Apple helped me sore them out yesterday. So I'm back in posting business. I hope that you have enjoyed a lovely weekend. Sending you love and hugs! Take care my special Montreal friend!

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  2. Such a great shot indeed. At least he didn't drag you out lol Oh and technically the car is on the road while you are in the car, the cat just wanted to add that haha enjoy!

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    1. That cat doesn't miss a trick, Pat! LOL I've been trying to learn to take photos with my phone instead of my camera. I've come to the decision that I'm still going to want both. I hope that you've been enjoying a restful weekend. Take care, my friend!

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  3. Enjoy your trip. I lived in Cedar City Utah for 10 years and still miss that open country. My photo at the top of my blog is from Capital Reef NP, SW of where you are at. If you have a lot of extra time, get off of 70 and take the road down through Hanksville and over to Torrey, where you can pick up 12 and take it across the Boulder Mountains, through Boulder, across the "Razor Back" with incredible views of Canyonland, to Bryce, then pick up US 89 and take it down to UT 9 and ride through Zion... it's an incredible trip. If you got time, head over to Goblin State Park. Or if in a high clearance vehicle, there's lots more to explore!

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    1. How many people in the world do you think have seen the Albany River, found Draco in the night sky, ridden over the Razor Back, and spent a lot of time in Cedar City, Sage? I'm sure there are some out there, but definitely that includes you and me!

      I've been all over the routes you kindly suggested to me, for these areas have to be some of the most spectacular in the world. I wondered where your header photo was taken. I love Capital Reef, and Zion was the first great National Park in America that I saw ~ by full moonlight the very first time. I've been back many times.

      I made numerous trips to Cedar City in the 1970s and in 1980 and stayed with friends in Enoch. But when my first marriage ended, I lost touch with them because they were more my first husband's friends than mine. Such is life.

      I've spent time in and around Bluff, Utah and Monument Valley which is also very special to me. And Arches and Moab (pre-ecotourism), and Hovenweep (OMG). Have you been to Moon House back on Cedar Mesa? I was so pleased when Obama preserved the Bears Ears, and now I have to worry about what the president will do to it and other national treasures.

      I hope that you have had a great weekend, my friend!

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  4. Enjoy your travel, and I am so glad Terry didn't abandon you there, with just the laptop!!!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! My husband is a really good sport, and he is largely beyond patient with me and my computer. I do test the limits sometimes; usually because I am absorbed in what I'm doing and don't notice the passing of time.

      Terry's very good at talking me down when I get upset with technology ~ most recently Friday night and Saturday until an on-line Apple Support tech helped me sort out my latest problems. Very patiently, I might add because I was on-line via a very slow hotel connection.

      I hope that your mobility is getting less painful, and that you and Hugh had a great weekend. Sending you l love and hugs!

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    1. Thanks, Debra! I didn't think we'd be back visiting Laughlin and Bullhead City so soon. It's been great fun. There is a huge motorcycle Laughlin River Run here this weekend, and I've been talking to all kinds of interesting bikers. Great Blues music, great (bad) food, and fascinating apparel and tattoos. I've heard the rumble of motorcycles for 24 hours straight since Thursday afternoon. Most bikers here are regular people, even if they're wearing black leather with a lot of skulls. I hope that you and your Rare One have had a great weekend! Sending you a big hug.

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  6. Oh, how exciting. Have fun! And what a spectacular photo.

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    1. Thanks, Martha! It's not hard to take a spectacular photo in spectacular scenery. The America West is fabulous. i never tire of it. I hope that your house is coming along well ~ I'll be catching up, again, shortly but first I have to write my Congressman. Argh! Have a great week, my friend!

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  7. Look at that landscape!!
    have fun kids!!

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    1. Thanks, Jim! We are! I love road trips, and I love taking photos with my iPhone because it tags every photo with a location (from a car or a plane). Now if I just had more time ~ LOL Sending you, Ron, and SD love and hugs!

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  8. I find the formations we see as we travel to be fascinating. The powers to move massive sections of earth are unimaginable. Happy travels. Enjoy the warmth. The snow has been amazing, good thing you escaped! Luckily I can see blue sky on the horizon and the sun will be out later. (We are so spoiled here in CO.... we can't tolerate even 24 hours of grey skies !)

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    1. We are spoiled in Colorado, aren't we, Dreaming? We've been following the weather in Aurora/Parker. Terry is especially glad to have escaped the snow. Understanding the geology behind the landscapes we travel through is one of the great pleasures in my life ~ endlessly fascinating. Have a good week, my friend!

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  9. Wow!! Stunning!!! Have lots of fun! Big Hugs!

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  10. It's a beautiful area, eh? I grew up not too far from there...well, a hundred miles or so, but that's pretty close. ;)

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  11. I would love to spend more time in the west. On my bucket list. I've never heard of Black Dragon Canyon and love the name...

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Thank you for your comments! I appreciate them very much.