Chuck, I've been swimming in the condo pool in the mornings to avoid the heat. It's a great way to start the day plus I met a few new friends. The green foliage was very vibrant. I wish I had a wide-angle lens on my Nikon Coolpix 4500 camera to get the full panoramic view. I was surrounded by tall red sandstone walls that echoed when I yelled. I wish I would have stayed longer there but I wanted to get back before it got too hot. I think I'm ready to invest in a hydration pack. I didn't feel I brought enough water with me on the hike. By the way, the Kolob Canyons road dead-ends into a beautiful viewpoint that would be great for observing or astrophotography. There is no curfew up there so I can stay up as late as I want. I'm going to do the Narrows hike in about a month when the weather is more stable. Debbie ---- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:

Don't feel too bad, Debbie. It's terribly hot and overcast up here, too. Also a lot of smoke in the air. The crescent moon was distinctly red last evening.

The best thing I've done lately was installing an above-ground pool in the backyard yesterday. Had to bring in 3100 lbs. of sand to level-off the ground for it. I lounged in that sucker today until I resembled a giant white prune. Now I'm debating whether or not to test the "waterproof" claim on my Brunton 70mm binos... ;)

Great shots of the hike. Was the green foliage as vibrant to the eye as it appears in the images?

I sure wish I could find a way to earn a living in red-rock country.

Thanks for posting those!

--- astrodeb@charter.net wrote:

...

Hi,

Due to the hot weather, clouds, fires, and wind, I haven't been able to do much astronomy lately. So I decided to create a sub-album called Nature. It is on page 5 of my album.

http://www.utahastronomy.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=astrodeb&page=5

...

The first shot is a picture of a Pronhorn antelope I saw while up at Bryce Canyon in June. Also in the album are pictures from a hike I did yesterday up in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park. The 5.4 mile hike went to Double Arch Alcove on the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek. My legs are still recovering but it was well worth the effort. Enjoy the pictures.

Debbie

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