Tag Archives: Arizona

May 1, 2020 · 8:51 am

It’s Fun Fact Friday 5-1-2020!

It’s Fun Fact Friday! Did you know that the petrified logs you see in Petrified Forest National Park range in age from 211 – 218 million years? And those saturated colors come from such trace minerals as hematite, pyrite, goethite, chromium, and manganese. Pretty cool, huh? And now, you know.

I wish I would have had one more day to spend in this national park located in Arizona. It was the very first national park I visited during my 3-week road trip move from Texas to central Washington. I’d never been to this park before, and as what usually happens, even if you’ve done prior research about a park, you still are a little unprepared for what you’ll see and what you’ll do. This national park is one of those less-visited gems, so it’s very easy to practice a social distancing along the trails. This particular trail is called the Crystal Forest Trail.

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, Fun Fact Friday, National Parks, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel

Tagged as Arizona, Canon, Crystal Forest Trail, fossil, Fun Fact Friday, geology, July, National Park, Petrified Forest, photography, summer, where the trails take you

February 23, 2020 · 9:13 am

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

A view of the Colorado River and Vermilion Cliffs from the Navajo Bridge in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona

The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and runs about 1,450 miles through several states and empties out (eventually) into the Gulf of California. I saw a very tiny segment of this river during my short, 1-hour visit to Navajo Bridge in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on my way to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

As part of the National Parks Traveler’s continuing series on the health of the Colorado River, a great article has been published today about how climate change is affecting the Colorado River water in Glen Canyon NRA. Definitely worth a read.

To read this article, click on the image above.

I know, I have lots of links to the National Parks Traveler, don’t I? If you are new to my blog site (or if you just don’t look at my site that often but still follow me), I am a writer and photographer and contributing editor for the Traveler. I also believe in what the Traveler does, which is to report on our national parks and protected areas on a daily basis, providing you with travel, photography, and news articles you wouldn’t find anywhere else – at least, not on a daily basis.

In retrospect, I wish I could have stayed a little longer at Navajo Bridge then driven the 6 miles down to Lees Ferry to hike along the river. But, having departed Petrified National Park early that morning (it was a little after 10 AM when I captured the image above), I was tired from driving and ready to get to my next destination (the North Rim) with time to explore *that* area.

Next time …

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Filed under 5DSR, Arizona, Canon, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III, Canon Lens, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel

Tagged as 16-35mm, 5DSR, Arizona, Canon, climate change, Colorado River, Glen Canyon, July, National Parks Traveler, national recreation area, NRA, photography, river, summer, travel, Vermilion Cliffs, where the trails take you

November 12, 2019 · 9:28 am

Summer Afternoon Monsoons Over The North Rim

I’ve finished working on cleaning up and adding key words to all of the images in my Grand Canyon gallery on my website. Yay me! Actually, this is something I should have been doing years ago so potential customers could run decent searches on my photos. Now, it’s going to take months to give all my images keywords so potential customers can run searches. I’ve started cleaning up the Mount Rainier gallery … All 200+ photos in there. Hoo boy!

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, Canon Lens, Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks, North Rim, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel

Tagged as afternoon, Arizona, Canon, canyon, clouds, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon NP, monsoon, National Park, rain, rugged, steep, summer, travel, where the trails take you

April 23, 2019 · 7:59 am

A 1,000-Foot Difference

My latest Photography In The National Parks column has been published in the National Parks Traveler, offering tips and techniques for great photography along the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, Canon Lens, Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Seasons, summer, Travel

Tagged as Arizona, Canon, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, photography, Photography In The National Parks, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, travel

April 2, 2019 · 6:42 am

A Geologic Gem Of A Painted Park

Blue Mesa layers, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest “Photography in the National Parks” column. This article is all about a geologic gem of a painted park: Petrified Forest National Park

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Seasons, summer

Tagged as Arizona, Blue Mesa, Canon, geology, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, National Parks Traveler, painted desert, Petrified Forest, Photography In The National Parks, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, travel

January 22, 2019 · 2:09 pm

My 10 Fave Shots From 2018

Every January, for the past 6 years, my first photo column of the year for the National Parks Traveler has dealt with my favorite shots from the previous year. This year, I have 10 faves – one from each national park / recreation area I visited. To read the article, click on the photo above.

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Filed under Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, Canyonlands National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Petrified Forest National Park, Travel, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 10 favorites, arches, Arizona, Bryce Canyon, Canon, Canyonlands, favorite photos, Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, landscape, landscapes, Mount Rainier, national parks, National Parks Traveler, national recreation area, North Rim, Petrified Forest, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, Utah, Washington, Washington State, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Zion

November 4, 2018 · 9:49 am

Zazzle Storefront And 2019 Calendars

Yes, yes, more shameless self-promotion. I previously listed a calendar I made with Lulu.com. I also made calendars using other websites as well, for quality control and comparison. As such, I’ve decided I really, really like Zazzle’s products much better and have set up a storefront there, with calendars representing the national parks I’ve visited this year. I’ve got a couple more calendars to go, but if you are interested in taking a peek (they make great gifts), then click on any of the images to be taken to my storefront.

And, thanks!

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Filed under Arizona, Bryce Canyon National Park, Calendars, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Holidays, National Parks, North Rim, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Arizona, Bryce Canyon, calendar, Calendars, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, landscape, landscapes, National Park, national parks, North Rim, Petrified Forest, photography, road trip, travel, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone

September 3, 2018 · 8:57 am

Where Did The Trail Take You This Weekend?

A telephoto exploration of the canyon depths at Walhalla Point
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

It’s the last day of the Labor Day Weekend. I hope this long weekend takes, or has taken, you somewhere awesome. This is the first time in about 3 years that I have not found myself traveling to a national park over the holiday. Usually, I’d be flying somewhere on vacation out of Texas on the Friday before Labor Day, then spending the entire week photographing in a national park somewhere West of the Rio Grande. This year, I’m instead preparing for the movers to arrive at my storage unit tomorrow to deposit the sum total of my past 20 years living in Texas. I’m just fine with that. I now live in a photographically amazing state and am within 1-1/2 hours of Mount Rainier National Park. (insert Big Happy Emoji Face here)

The shot above, is a 100-400mm telephoto of canyon detail at Walhalla Point on the North Rim. I spent the day driving the road and exploring the stops leading to the end point of Cape Royal. Luckily, I’d arrived there before the forest fires in that park had gotten so large that they had to close down this particular road for a bit.

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Geology, Grand Canyon National Park, Landscape, National Parks, North Rim, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, Arizona, Canon, geology, Grand Canyon, July, landscape, National Park, North Rim, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, summer, telephoto, Walhalla Point

July 22, 2018 · 7:54 am

Looking Out Over Blue Mesa Trail

Looking over Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

I spent the day in the park, yesterday. It was a dry heat (grin). This place is pretty amazing. Oh, there are no mountains or rivers or streams, and I saw very little wildlife (a dear, a bunny, and a raven). The the geology is really cool. I mean, think about it a moment: this place, once a swampy area with tall, thick trees and dinosaurs, is now a semi-arid (felt totally arid, to me) land with the petrified (agatized) remains of fallen trees. The conditions at the time had to be just right in order to petrify the swaths of logs you can see from your car window and from the hiking trails.

This image was captured at a view area overlooking the Blue Mesa trail and surrounding scenery. The rocks really *are* blue (and purple, mauve, beige and buff), with fallen logs, many longer than I am tall with a girth of 2-4 ft.

If you ever have the chance to visit this national park, you can see it in a day, although I always advocate maybe 1-1/2 to 2 days exploring. The first thing you should do when the park opens up at 7am is to hightail it out to the Blue Mesa Trail to hike it when it’s coolest and when the sunlight is angled just right.

Now, it’s on to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

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Filed under Arizona, Geology, National Parks, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel

Tagged as Arizona, Blue Mesa, Canon, hike, hiking, landscape, National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, trail, travel