I discovered an additional video featuring Nicolai from last weekend’s US National Amputee Soccer Team training camp. This one produced by the team’s host, MSL Soccer League team FC Dallas.

I took advantage of delightful weather for a lunch hour walk to the Boston Museum of Science. I didn’t have time to go in but did pause to photograph the 5-story Foucault Pendulum in the lobby. Originally  conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, the device is mesmerizing to watch.

Nicolai spent the weekend in Texas at a US National Amputee Soccer Team training camp. Local TV covered the story.

With my new Audi e-tron set to arrive shortly (I placed my reservation last September) it is time to put my BMW i3 up for sale. I cleaned it from top to bottom and photographed it for listings on Cars.com, eBay Motors, and Craig’s List. Earlier in the day my soccer team was in action against the top team in the other flight in our age division. Our over-56 league has two divisions (1 and 2). Each has a North and South section. We are in the D1 South section which has two 4-team flights. We play teams in our flight twice and the other flight once. Winners of each flight go to through to the playoffs with the North section to determine the best of the 28 team league. We went up 1-0. They scored two in a row. I was credited with the equalizer when a teammate headed the ball off a corner kick into the top of my back from there into the net. Hardly a goal to be proud of but it gave us the tie and preserved our undefeated season.

The field behind our house is hayed a couple of times each year. The farmers who do the work charge us nothing and in return get to keep all the hay. It is really something to watch the expertly choreographed operation. Another tractor proceeds this pair to leave the grass piled in straight rows. While these guys were at work, I relocated the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment) used to charge my electric car. It is essentially a box with fuses, a big contactor, a 25 foot cable, charge port connector and a little logic. My BMW i3 has its charge port at the back right whereas my soon to arrive Audi e-tron has its charge port at the front left. The whole project took less than 2 hours and will allow me to easily connect the cable to my new car rather than draping it over the roof. I went on to completely clean and organize the garage with Maya’s assistance.

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.