Pictured above is an aerial view of “The Wave.” It is centered on the two puddles which can be seen in the image. Look even closer and you will find a couple of photographers (of the twenty permitted per day). I suspect they may not be all that happy because of those puddles. They aren’t big enough to use for a reflection pool but they are large enough that they will detract from an otherwise uniform image. When I was last there on foot, I had to deal with fresh snow. The upper puddle in the image above is the same one that can be seen in my photo below.

Here is a reverse angle taken on an earlier sortie. Notice the shadow that is no longer present in the image at the top.

I am always hesitant to post panoramas on this blog as they can only be appreciated at full resolution. Click on the image for a better view. This was taken just off the highway as I was approaching Page, AZ.

While hiking off trail just outside of Canyonlands NP I came across a bleached white skeleton of what I assume was a cow. The contents of its stomach remained undisturbed between its ribs. The scene left me wondering how this bovine met its demise.

This week will feature a number of photos from my recent visit to the South West. It is a busy time at work and I have a lot to catch up on and little time for additional photography. In total I took more than 2000 photographs and drove 1398 miles over the course of three days. Today I find myself thoroughly exhausted and very happy.

I slept in this morning and spent a few hours backing up and culling photos before heading south to Las Vegas for my mid-afternoon return flight to Boston. On the way I took a slight detour through the Valley of Fire State Park which is a must visit destination for anyone with kids who like to climb on things. Despite the loss of my drone, this has been a most enjoyable and photographically satisfying vacation. It is amazing what a few days in the beauty of nature does to restore my soul.

Despite the fact that Arches NP was overrun with tourists for the Memorial Day weekend, I had Landscape Arch all to myself as the sun rose. I had plenty of time to get exactly the composition and lighting I wanted. I was surprised by how many cars I encountered when entering the park at 5AM and relieved when every single one of them took the early turn for Delicate Arch. I suspect none knew that it would be in deep shadow all morning. I slowly worked my way out of the park as thousands flocked in.

It was about 10am before I made my way to Canyonlands NP only to find a two hour wait at the entrance gate. I immediately turned around and set out for Capitol Reef NP where I stopped briefly while en route to St. George.

I slept like a rock but had no trouble rising well before dawn. I was intent on taking the perfect aerial sunrise photo of the entire Monument Valley. The light was perfect and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As I was flying my drone to the optimal vantage point, about two miles out, I lost radio contact. This is not uncommon during a distant sortie and the drone is programmed to return to home in this circumstance. Communications are generally restored after a minute or two and I generally climb to a higher altitude to increase range. On this flight, however, with every passing minute, it became apparent that my drone was not going to return. I will never know if it crashed, was attacked by a raptor, or experienced some kind of malfunction. At the time I lost signal, it was positioned over terrain that would have made recovery impossible. Adding insult to financial injury ($1,500), I had planned my entire weekend around interesting destinations for aerial photography, forcing me to change plans in real time. I decided to head to Moab by way of Mexican Hat, Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks State Park, and Natural Bridges National Monument arriving at Arches National Park in time for evening golden light.

I rose at the crack of dawn and drove to the Coyote Buttes which span the Utah – Arizona border. Pictured above are the South Buttes and below the North Buttes. I spent the morning exploring both areas with my drone and if not for my ambitious plans could have spent my entire weekend here.

At midday, I hiked the Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch. There are two lovely slot canyons along the trail.

After completing the round trip hike, I set out for Monument Valley but not before a brief stop just outside of Page, AZ to revisit my old friend, the Horseshoe Bend.

I arrived at Monument Valley just in time for sunset and put the light to good work. As soon as the sun was down, I made a beeline for the nearest campground, pitched my tent and immediately fell asleep.

I arrived in Las Vegas late this afternoon where I promptly rented a Jeep and headed off to Kanab, UT. Along the way I stopped for a canister of butane for my camping stove and a supply of water.

This lovely scene courtesy of Jeanine who is riding through the French countryside with my cousin, her husband, and his brother and wife. I can picture them all having coffee and croissants under that umbrella. Jeanine is part French and speaks the language fluently (she will claim she is rusty). I have no doubt she is chatting up all the locals at every turn and will return with her proficiency restored.

Meanwhile, I have decided to take a long holiday weekend and will leave for Utah and Arizona tomorrow. I plan to revisit some of my favorite places and also to explore some new ones (see my recent Geo Detective post for one example). This weekend being the only one of the spring without a scheduled soccer match and weather forecasts showing three dry days at my destination, I decided not to squander the opportunity.

I had lunch today at the CambridgeSide Galleria. A few more blocks of walking took me to the banks of the Charles where I launched my drone and flew down to the Hatch Memorial Shell for a nice cityscape. From the back, the shell looks like a full dome and I must remember to photograph it again from an angle which reveals its true nature.

Kyle requested some update portraits this weekend and I was happy to oblige him. If I can find some time (not likely) I would love to add a voting option to this post to see which picture people prefer. For family members, feel free to register your opinion directly with Kyle by e-mail.

The only soccer match my team has failed to win this season was against Wayland. We played them to a tie in our first contest. This morning we sent them home with a 6-0 defeat to make up for our initial lackluster showing. After the match I took a team photo which I will need to retake because a few guys couldn’t manage to stand still and smile for 10 seconds. I also made this image of the team surrounding our hard core fans. Pictured to the right of our goalie (in red) are his parents who come out to every match, rain or shine, to cheer us on. Also joining us today was the wife and daughter of one of our field players, sitting to the right of them.

Kyle, Maya and I joined my sister Alissa and her husband John to witness the graduation of my niece, Rachel, from Babson College. She graduated cum laude and already has a job at Vision Government Solutions in Hudson, MA. Founder and CEO of AOL, Steve Case, gave the commencement address which was essentially an appeal to reinvent capitalism. He compared America to a startup and talked about the importance of continuing to lead the world in innovation. All speakers spoke about the importance of being an inclusive society and how we are moving further away from that ideal.

Nicolai left early for NYC where he has organized an amputee soccer practice for an East coast team he is trying to put together.