It’s still the rainy season but this is silly. The amount of rain that has fallen in Bellemont, Arizona, in August is quickly approaching eight inches. Meanwhile, a few miles away at the Flagstaff airport, a more reasonable two and one-half inches has fallen this month. Most of that rain in Bellemont has fallen in the past few days. As a result, the ground is fairly saturated and there is plenty of standing water. This produces good conditions for nighttime fog in the area.
Fog during the pre-dawn morning hours.
The first image was taken well before sunrise with plenty of stars visible. More striking, however, is the patch of fog and low clouds on the right — nicely illuminated by the lights.
Early morning fog creeping down the hillside.
The next image was taken shortly after sunrise and shows the fog lurking on the hills above the flats of Bellemont. The trees poke out through the top and the light poles add some foreground texture to the image.
It’s the beginning of the month and another Flagstaff First Friday Art Walk is here. This is a year-round event that occurs every month, rain or shine (or snow) and is well attended.
Circus Bacchus performer.Sambatuque performing on Heritage Square, Flagstaff, Arizona.Circus Bacchus playing with fire at Heritage Square, Flagstaff, Arizona.Circus Bacchus at Heritage Square, Flagstaff, Arizona.
This month there were performances at Heritage Square by Sambatuque on their percussion instruments and theatre performance by Circus Bacchus.
A late afternoon storm lingers into the evening producing lightning over the Cathedral Rocks and the Cockscomb.
Late afternoon light and distant lightning at Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona.Twilight lightning over west Sedona and the Cockscomb.Twilight lightning over west Sedona and the Cockscomb.
The North American Monsoon (NAM) got off to a slow start across northern Arizona this year despite a few predictions that it would start early and strong. It did in some locations but northern Arizona was not one of them. But after a few false starts, the rainy season is in full swing here. We’ve had a couple of days with substantial rainfall and that has — finally — put an end to the extreme fire danger.
Cloud-to-ground lightning from a distant thunderstorm at twilight.
And, with all the thunderstorms, comes another chance to photograph lightning. Yesterday (15 July 2012) turned out to be a very good day for lightning. By late afternoon, storms were weakening across northern Arizona but there remained a chance that there would be another round in the evening. And there was. At one point in time, I was observing lightning in all directions — none of it close however.
Thunderstorm lit from within by lightning during twilight hours.
I found myself in Wupatki National Monument during the evening. I stopped at one of the many pullouts along the road that afforded me a view in multiple directions and set up to photograph. Initially, the best storms were to my north but since they were moving to the north they eventually were too far away. At the same time, a cluster of storms was moving northward across central Arizona. I could see only the tops of these storms but they still managed to light up the sky. Because they did not fill the sky yet there were plenty of stars visible as well. I was happy with the results: bright stars overhead, distant thunderstorms lit from the inside by lightning, and wonderful colors and light reflecting off the clouds in all directions.
Stars shine overhead as a cluster of distant thunderstorms light up the far horizon.
It was amazingly quiet in the Monument. Only a few cars drove by at that time of the evening and the storms were distant so that the thunder was inaudible. It was so quiet I could hear the bats flitting around.
Three of us recently did a day hike in Buckskin Gulch. This is a well-known slot canyon on the Utah side of the Utah/Arizona border. The canyon is about 13 miles long making it one of the longest slot canyons in the southwest — and possibly the world.
A climbing move is required to bypass this boulder in Wire Pass — a tributary of Buckskin Gulch. The pile of boulders at the bottom helps.
In normal years rainfall during the summer, fall, and winter leaves ankle- to knee-deep pools of cold water in the canyon. Hiking through here under these conditions is tricky since the pools are often scoured by the rushing water which may result in one side being deep and the other shallow as the sand or rocks build up. With muddy water it is impossible to see under the surface of the water and a walking pole is used to probe carefully before placing each step. A mis-step can result in going from knee-deep water to chest-deep water in one quick step!
Dry and sandy narrows through Buckskin Gulch.
Some years, however, the fall and winter months are dry and the canyon floor is dry in the spring. That was the case this year. After a wet fall, a dry winter and spring followed and this allowed the canyon floor to be water free — at least in the first few miles that we traveled.
Reflected light illuminates a far wall deep within Buckskin Gulch.
The first time we did this hike (2004) it was dry and we mistakenly assumed this was normal. Returning to hike in 2005, 2006, and 2007, we were greeted each time with water. So it was a pleasant surprise to return after a few years absence and find it dry.
A narrow beam of light penetrates deep into the narrows of Buckskin Gulch and gently illuminates the side walls of the canyon.
What was less pleasant was seeing how visitors to this amazing place have left graffiti along the canyon walls. There was no graffiti the first three times we visited and only one defacement the last time. This time there was graffiti in many locations in the first few miles of the canyon. It is truly saddening that people would do such a thing in a beautiful place.
Exquisitely textured walls found within Buckskin Gulch.
Still, we had a great time walking a few miles down canyon, eating our lunch in the cool and quiet narrows of the slot, and enjoying our brief visit to this remarkable place.
