My parents drove in from Schenectady to join us for the weekend. It was warm enough to dine on the sun porch for the first time this season.

One of the class projects was to design a windmill using a milk carton for a base and to experiment with different style vanes. Maya’s windmill produced the highest torque (measured by lifting weights in a cup supported by a string wrapped around the shaft) of any in the class.

 
Maya hand carved this stamp which she used to sign her brush painting with.

 
This morning Jeanine and I attend Maya’s school open house where we see some of the projects she has been working on recently. This poem and Chinese brush painting will certainly resonae with her grandmother who is coming to visit this weekend.

This evening Nico found Kyle and Chloe asleep in front of the TV and grabbed my camera. Either the show was really boring or these guys need to get to bed earlier.

 
Jeanine has been longing for a powerful blender to make quick work of her various smoothie concoctions. She received this one for her birthday after much research revealed it to be ridiculously capable. At this website you can watch as this unit is used to blend an iPhone, snow ski, and golf balls. What chance do frozen blueberries have against this brute of a machine?

 
I am met at the airport by the entire family and we have just enough time to make dinner reservations at Henrietta’s Table at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge. Here we celebrate Jeanine’s birthday joined by her sister Susan who drove down from Vermont for the weekend. Chalk it up to healthy living but I think Jeanine gets prettier every year.

My return flight to the east coast takes me over Niagra Falls. Not the best angle but I always hesitate to ask the pilot to turn the plane around for the benefit of my photography. One day I will coerce my brother to fly me around in a small plane with the door open so I can really take some nice aerial shots.

After a heavy photographic diet of intense reds and oranges I thought it would be nice to conclude with an image containing a more muted palette. Tonight I treat myself to a nice Mexican dinner in St. George, a piping hot shower, and a comfortable bed. This week long adventure has been both exhilarating and exhausting. Although I did not reach all of my planned destinations, I found many unexpected and wonderful opportunities along the way. There is little doubt in my mind that I will one day return to this place of natural beauty for continued exploration and image making.

 
The forecast today is for snow and rain. I opt to head for Zion National Park which due to the lower altitude will be limited to rain. I remember shooting this exact same scene when I was here several years ago with Jeanine. The positive side of bad weather is that you often get really dramatic lighting and I am sure when I compare this to my prior images of this location I will find this one the more pleasing.

I spent the night in Bryce again and woke up at 5am to discover my car covered in snow. I drove cautiously to Bryce Point where I positioned myself for the sunrise. The sun was largely blocked by the clouds unfortunately, but I did get some nice diffuse lighting and great contrast of the snow surrounding the trees and hoodoos.

I would have liked to stay here until sunset, but having had nothing more than a banana and orange for lunch, I decided it was time to head back to civilization for a proper dinner.

 
After parting ways with Steffen and Alexandra, I head south to a place called the Devil’s Garden. I think a better name would have been the Devil’s Playground. Within the space of a few acres there are countless rock formations which simply invite you to climb on and around them. Many of them look like carve sculptures of human forms.

Shooting at a low angle really accentuates the rock patterns, and every time we got ready to leave, one of us would spot another irresistible wave. Only the onset of threatening weather motivated us to continue on back towards the trailhead.