BEST PHOTO STORAGE SITES

At the end of the ledge of Upper Road Canyon, were these two circular shaped mud and wattle cliff dwellngs. A couple hundred yards away, on the same cliff terrace, all other buildings are masonry, as are the large majority of other cliff dwellings throughout Cedar Mesa. So why were these to build this way? Just one of the many points to ponder when exploring these interesting sites. Also the shapes of doors and windows seem to have no "building code" and are of all sizes and shapes. Interesting.

NOTE: During my visit to these ruins I did not enter or touch any of them. You can get fine photographs without doing either. PLEASE respect these fine cliff dwelling ruins by doing the same (Don't touch. Don't enter). Thanks.

After leaving the crowds behind at Arches National Park, I drove to Kane Ranger Station on Cedar Mesa. I had all my maps and waypoints that I had created, with me, but I thought it best to ask for advice, and I'm glad I did.

A BIG thank you to King and Eppie (volunteers at Kane), who were very experienced hikers; familiar with the ruins I wanted to visit; and were professional, helpful, and most kind. Without their information I would not have made it to either of my intended destinations; waypoints or no waypoints.

I camped between Road and Lime Canyons, right on the lip edge of Road Canyon. High clearance important and 4WD most helpful. One other couple came in and camped at the same spot. Outdoors people from Idaho, who were perfect camp neighbors.

I slept well under a high desert black night sky filled with white diamond stars. The air was cool. I got up before dawn to take my first hike. It was an easy hike but required a little route finding and some cautious travel on a section or two of steep slick rock. The leather gloves I brought along helped.

Once back at my truck, I had a bite to eat, drank lots of water, and then prepared to drive to the next hike in Road Canyon. The ruins I wanted to visit there, would be much more difficult to find, and I only felt confident armed with the GPS coordinates of the ruins AND the invaluable route information, that King and Eppie were willing to share with me.

To keep the two hikes and the ruins separated, I will call the first hike the Citadel Ruins hike and the second hike the Upper Road Canyon Ruins hike.

Upper Road Canyon Ruins:

I parked my truck just off the dirt road; I had come in on the evening before. Where I started my hike was very close to the Lime Canyon dirt road. I had already loaded in the GPS waypoint for the Upper Road Canyon ruins, that I hoped to find - - into my hand held GPS unit (Garmin etrex). Next I took a reading on where my truck was parked and entered that waypoint as well.

I started hiking north through a dense grove of juniper trees. I followed the drainage system ever downward until I entered a fairly deep canyon. I was pretty sure I was in the “correct” canyon based on what I saw on my topo map and the information that King and Eppie had given me.

As I entered the rock bottom canyon sections, the hiking was easy and a pleasure. Then I came to a ten foot pour over in a restricted part of the canyon. I found a narrow but handy “ledge crack” to place my hiking boots on the right bank of the canyon, and made my way past the pour over.

Here I ran into thick brush in the canyon bottom. I thought I remembered King and Eppie talking about both the pour over and the brush, but the brush seemed so thick and hard to travel through, that I decided to retrace my path up the canyon, past the pour over again, then climb the left bank canyon ridge for a good look at the terrain. That turned out to be a good decision.

From on top the left bank canyon rim, I could see clearly the confluence of the two canyons I was looking for. I had indeed been hiking in the correct canyon. Next I took a GPS reading on my etrex, which made three waypoints entered (my truck, the ruins, and where I was standing). By going to the map page of the GPS and scaling it properly I could determine just where the ruins should be in relation to where I was standing.

I pulled the binoculars out of my day pack and soon spotted them. Now I knew exactly where to go (down to the confluence then up the other main canyon branch), and where I could climb out of the canyon to reach the ruin’s ledge.

I backtracked back down into the canyon I had just come from and passed the pour over for the third time. I found I could bypass most of the brushy section and soon arrived at the confluence of the two canyons. From here it was a straightforward trip up canyon, then up to the proper ledge.

When reaching the correct ledge and starting to hike along it, I was pleased and surprised to find several other “ruin groups” along the way. I stopped to look at them and finally reached the two interesting “mud and wattle” ruins I sought. They were very different from the masonry dwellings I had visited elsewhere along the Cedar Mesa and at the Citadel ruins, ea

I have written one novel that was published. That was in 2006. In that process, the publisher chose one of my photos to be on the cover and this is that photo. Part of "Most Fortunate Son" takes place on the island of St. John, USVI. It is a beautiful place that I have been to many, many times in my life. The publisher added a nearly naked lady to my photo. My wife still insists that I tell everyone it is her and the shoot was grueling. There was a time.

After four years on Flickr I have decided that i have something to say about Flickr. So I have fashioned a graduation speech for your perusal...or not. Your choice.

Flickr Graduation Speech

Here at the end of my senior year at Flickr my penchant for reflection might come in handy for you underclassmen…or not. You can decide.

Four years of photographic education by some of the world’s most talented instructors is the best part of being part of Flickr for this long (yes, I am talking about you). Student goals have all sorts of impact on the extent of this education…hmmm..just like real life. How about that? I have friends on Flickr who have become professional photographers over a like four-year period. Much of that is attributable to their education and exposure on Flickr and to the doggedness of their own pursuit. Others have figured out how to make some money from their Flickr experiences. Good for them. My observation is that some talent is required for such goals to be achieved. Ha…just like real life.

Some, like me, have made great friends with wonderful, talented people. Our photographic knowledge has soared but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a new career or big bucks. Self satisfaction has been my goal from the beginning, so feel free to question my motivation level as well as talent. But my goals are met every day that I learn something new or see the fabulous talent out here. The key is that it is every day. It has brought me joy to be a part of the community here.

The practical application of Flickr to my own life has evolved over my four years here. The excitement of the newness doesn’t wear off of Flickr for a long time. There is so much astonishing information and knowledge (yes, those are different things) to be gained from the other photographers here.

It is now more difficult for me to take a photograph that I am proud of than it once was. I notice different things in my world, even when I am not holding a camera. The visual part of my world has been tremendously enhanced. Some of that may be attributable to the fact that I have had three eye surgeries over the years, but my heart tells me that my view has changed because of the photographers and their photos that I have seen in my time here. There is no doubt that I have seen millions of photos in that time. I still like to look.

So, as I condense my “hot sports opinions” about photography and Flickr, here are a few tips from me. Since I am a graduating senior, I am saying these things out loud. They are just my opinions. They are in the order that I thought of them. The order has no other meaning. If you don’t read them or if you read them and throw them out, you will be just fine:

1.Flickr is what it is. After you swim around in the pool for a while, you might arrive at something that sounds like a really good idea if only Flickr would do such and such. They probably won’t. Oh, there are ways to suggest things. Just don’t expect anything to happen. Go on to something else. You will have a better day.
2.Adjust your expectations about Yahoo. They own Flickr. They are in business to make money. My opinion is that the Flickr staff has the best interests of Flickr at the core of their efforts. But you should understand that they work for Yahoo. The staff are mostly really good people and they want to do a good job. I have seen the evidence often. Their ability to satisfy your specific needs will be limited by Yahoo’s desire to make a profit. Adjust your expectations…uh, I am talking about in the down direction. If you have no expectations at all, you will have a chance at achieving satisfaction here.
3.The best sources of knowledge about Flickr and photography are the photographers. I am so serious. Just ask, or just read. There is an enormous library of information already here.
4.If you want to learn, take a lot of photos. Pay attention to why one is different from another. Lens, camera, settings, light, subject…everything is important. Use “Favorites” to mark your favorites of others’ photos. It is the finest feature on Flickr, by far.
5.Pay close attention to why you think a photograph is good or not. Think of those things every time you look at photographs. Consistencies begin to have meaning after a while even if you aren’t trying very hard. You are getting smarter. Thanks, Flickr.
6.Use the “Help Forum” if you need help. It is not a healthy source of entertainment. There are people who appear to spend most of their waking hours monitoring and commenting and