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March 28
Up at 5am. Grabbed a pop tart and climbed a small hill not far from
the housing area. Breaking the silence was the wonderful warbling
of the meadowlarks, along with the squawking of Canadian geese flying
overhead. To the east, it was brightening behind the serrated, silhouetted
pinnacles of the Wall. At their base was a low blanket of fog, slowly
sweeping in from the prairie to the south.
I could see the blanket thickening as it moved north and stacked
up against the impenetrable Wall, obscuring the peaks one by one.
Blocked to the north, the fog bank hugged the Wall and moved west,
gradually consuming the rolling mounds in front of me before I,
too, was overtaken. The bank silently rose up the sides and flowed
around Angel Peak, just to my north. The valley just opposite the
VC was completely consumed. Then, just as the high clouds over the
pinnacles began to take on color, the fog bank gracefully surrendered
to a stiffening breeze, allowing me to shoot the pinnacle peaks
with fog below and the yellow/pink-colored clouds above. To cap
the moment, a group of eight mule deer climbed a small hill in the
foreground, mystical in foggy light, posing dramatically for my
shot. Wonderful. Couldn't have asked for a better setup. I took
more shots as the sun itself rose above the peaks, its brilliant
light doused by the fog, its outline still visible. Around Cedar
Pass, the fog yielded to the wind and sun, receding back into the
low-lying prairie. Part of me wanted to be everywhere at once, but
I was more than content to stay where I was and watch the show unfold
before me...
...I went back inside
to have a shower, and emerged to find dark, overcast skies. The
rain started soon after, and continued throughout the day, punctuated
by bursts of hail, and some large wet snowflakes.
March 29
Up at 6:30am. Still raining. No point in getting up for sunrise.
Turned quickly to wet snow. After lunch, when it really started
accumulating, I went out to the fields across from the VC to shoot.
It was a pretty world, every blade of grass white with snow, every
stream, every creek, every rivulet running a light chocolate brown,
like the chocolate rivers in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The
tops of the peaks were faded in snow and clouds. Found a flowing
mudfall, and took shots of that, along with the chocolate streams.
Hard to keep the camera dry in wet snow, and hard to keep the snow
off the lens. Somewhat frustrating. Came in to change film, and
tried a little more out on the Cliff Shelf. Still frustrating.
March 30
Still snowing lightly this morning. 4-6 inches on the ground. Overcast,
flat light. I went up to the grove of junipers opposite Cliff Shelf.
They were beautiful, their green bows garnished with white snow.
It was very peaceful in the midst of the grove - nature's cathedral.
While taking shots of the trees I spotted mule deer. I had a good
time stalking various groups of them around the grove. They're still
skittish, and I didn't get many shots, but had a good time anyway...
...flat light the rest of the day...
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