Travel

Monument Valley

I went on a six-day trip to tour from Albuquerque through northeast Arizona into a bit of Utah before looping back to where we started. Mainly, I wanted to see the place, visit the best parts, and take some photos on the way, but not worry too much about waiting for perfect light. I can go back to Valley of the Gods, for example, but now I have a good idea of what it will take to spend several days there as well as where the “good” places are. Out here, in the lands of the Hiné, they’re all good.

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Artemis I liftoff. Photo: NASA

The Artemis II mission will mark humanity’s return to lunar exploration with a crewed spacecraft for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972. NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.

The launch is currently slated for April 1st and 6:47pm EDT, with a two hour window on that day. If weather or technical reasons necessitate postponement on April 1, April 2 is available.

Launch will occur from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center—the same historic pad complex that sent Apollo astronauts to the Moon aboard Apollo 10. After that, LC-39B was reconfigured for the Space Shuttle program, serving as the launch site for 53 missions. At the end of the Shuttle era, the pad was designated for Project Artemis.

Last update: March 27, 10am

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Sometimes it is good to review old photographs. The one below was almost a throw-away, that is, it was a photo that was relatively unremarkable until I cropped it correctly so the mountains in the background were more prominent.

Tenaya Lake in the Distance, 2022
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Traveling from Albuquerque to Valles Caldera and the Dark Sky areas inside it, we passed by a gorgeous little waterfall on the Jemez River as the road wound through the Jemez Reservation. We stopped and took a quick look around, and I saw a beautiful place that was inspirational all on its own. It’s actually a a grouping of fifteen hot springs which have formed a unique calcium carbonate and travertine formation creating a bridge over the Jemez River and the waterfall below it where the river continues.

The waterfall at Jemez Soda Springs in New Mexico
The waterfall at Jemez Soda Springs in New Mexico
Photo: Charles Boyer

The dam was formed by deposits from thermal spring water that accumulated over the course of 7,000 years or more. The river flows through a dome-like bridge created by the deposition of these minerals across the river. The waterfall is over 300 feet long, 50 feet high, and 50 feet wide at the base.

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Watching a rocket tear skyward from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center is a visceral thrill—one that most people will remember for the rest of their lives. If you are a photographer, the memories are amplified when you freeze the moment in sharp, vibrant photographs. Even though a still photograph won’t come with the incredible sounds of the engines of a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy as it breaks free of the bonds of gravity, a good photo will last a lifetime and keep the memories of your time here in Florida.

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I recently had a business trip to Salmon Arm, BC in Canada, and had three days in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. We worked for two days, and had one free before coming home. With that time, we drove east on the Trans-Canadian Highway to Lake Louise and Banff National Park in Alberta, where we stopped, had dinner and then turned around to return to our hotel and home the next day.

That said, I was able to take a couple of long hikes, as well as stopping by the roadside to take photos along the way. It was not a planned photo trip with set destinations, but there were opportunities to capture some beautiful landscapes from our limited perspective.

I’ll be back. Next time, with a plan.

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