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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Idyllic Desert Days

Because it's -10°F here right now with fresh snow on the ground, I'm going to reminisce about our desert trip to help me stay warm. The first few days at K's Rock were beautiful - sunshine, clear skies, and relaxation. It was cold at night but the warm sun on our faces during the daytime more than made up for it.

R relaxed in the sun at the base of K's Rock, in a spot where K herself basked.
The hardest part of each day was dragging ourselves out of the warm cocoons of our sleeping bags, where we slept cuddled with the dogs. And, yes, the dogs had sleeping bags too!

Then, we'd enjoy a quick breakfast before the boys would go for a trail run and we girls would go for a mountain bike ride. Later, we'd all relax in camp, during the all-too-short daylight hours. The long dark hours are one drawback of "winter" camping - but it does allow for lots of star photos.

One of my favorite parts of the sunny days was sunset or the "magic hour" when the sunlight is so warm and glowing.
As sunset approached, I'd take Shyla to the base of K's Rock for photos. Shyla has come to love her role as my photography model. R is not as crazy about having a camera pointed at him, which is part of why he isn't in as many photos as Shyla. R tends to start barking crazily at the camera!

Yes, I still miss K, and I always will. But, this girl, Shyla, has won my heart.
I love seeing her at home on K's Rock.
Her favorite "trick" for the camera is to rest her chin between her paws. She does this on her own with no cue from me.
Her fur turns redder and redder as the sun sinks to the horizon.

K's Rock itself also becomes a glorious honey and red color as the last rays of sunshine touch it. I wonder how long this rock has stood tall and how many sunsets it has seen. The desert landscape makes me think about the history of the Earth because its layers are exposed for me to see.
K's Rock sits on a high spot in the desert landscape. We could see the sunset line creeping to the east from the back of K's Rock. Look at that river canyon in the distance, with glowing red cliffs. The sunset line had almost reached it.
The desert is so different from the alpine world where I usually live. After a week there, I feel as if I've been gone from the mountains for a very long time. I think that's part of why I love the desert - it's so alien. I adore its landscape for the stark glowing beauty that flows from it.

24 comments:

  1. such beauty and a gorgeous glow. and i love your sweet model. :)

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  2. Such a cool model with her chin tucked between her paws!

    Do you tent camp or van camp?

    Cheers and hugs,

    Jo, Stella and Zkhat

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  3. Your photos are evocative, and enticing, and beautiful. Superb night sky colours. And Shyla, indeed a girl of the Mountains, right to her heart. K would be smiling to know you visit her rock, with memories of happy times with her there. Fond greetings, Jean. p.s. stay safe in the stormy weather.

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  4. I love the desert. For me, I always feel like I'm going home. The area that you were in is one of my favorites, it's so beautiful there. Your photos are amazing again, you do the red rocks justice.

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  5. Gorgeous! I love how Shyla models for you without any cue from you. That photo of R made me giggle seeing his mouth open like that then after reading your post I wondered if he was barking when you took the pic.

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  6. You guys are so lucky to live where you live. We don't have anything nearly as beautiful in boring old suburbia. Shyla is such a good little model and her chin on her paws trick is just so sweet. Is her nose bleeding in the close up?

    Beamer is still learning to like the camera, but he won't bark at it!

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  7. Gorgeous photographs of such a lovely place. How nice to get away from the cold and snow and enjoy a whole new world.

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  8. Spectacular photos KB, and we have a feeling that Shyla knows that special rock is K'S rock- and he looks like she has a reverence as she lays her head down-- we think honoring and thanking K for these special moments. And for the honor of sitting on K's rock.
    What a wonderful trip- we can only imagine or dream of how wonderful it must have been---
    when we think about it- to be truthful- we cannot even imagine.
    love
    tweedles

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  9. It was cold here this morning, too. Got all the way down to 44°F....BOL! Can't imagine -10°.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  10. Such a beautiful place to gets to go see. I loves how Shyla rests on her little paws.
    It is suppose to be 70 degrees heres today...last week we was in da 40s...such odd weather.

    Puddles

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  11. beautiful photos! Shyla is a great model!
    xoxo

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  12. Brrr! You're already at the point where I stop caring what the thermometer says...it's Just Too Darned Cold!
    I do the same thing with the seasonal images: rest my eyes with photos of ice storms during the hottest humid spells, and revisit the sunny summer pictures during the short days of the long winters.

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  13. I love that Shyla does that trick all on her own!!!

    That's so funny that R barks at the camera - probably telling you to put it down already! ;)

    Gorgeous photos - sunsets in the desert really are quite special. What sometimes looks brown and dull during the day - at sunset it is like a whole other world.

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  14. Very beautiful! Sam was always my model, and now Harlow - Monty isn't fond of the camera either.

    Monty and Harlow

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  15. *sigh*
    just look at all that warm, golden sunlight!

    How many more weeks of winter? Can it be just one more week?

    *grins*

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  16. Woke up this morning to 9 below temperature so yes, your photos look like paradise! Good idea on the dogs having their own sleeping bags. Java doesn't seem to ever get cold but I put a quilted dog jacket on Latte plus wrap her in a blanket when camping and that's during Spring weather. She still ends up trying to get into my sleeping bag.

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  17. I love your comment about how the desert feels alien. We visited Lake Powell at the Page, AZ end one time and went out boating. We felt like we were on another planet! It truly had an alien feel! Gorgeous certainly, but also other worldly!

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  18. Just looking at those gorgeous photos ALMOST warmed me up, although it's no where's near as cold here.

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  19. You are the perfect model, Shyla, and so beautiful. Your photos are just stunning, KB!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  20. I love when you go to Canyon Country because you always share such gorgeous and colorful photos when you return. I'm glad you captured at least a couple of days of sunshine before the storms moved in. We tried to thread the eye of the needle and beat the second storm back home but missed by a few hours and got caught in it, too.

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  21. Love the colours!! Its so Beautiful!!
    Love it!

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  22. Hi Y'all!

    You truly see the beauty in your world, wherever you are...

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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