National Parks of USA

[Paul T]

Ewelina,

Fabulous photography.  Some amazing scenery and plants.  The Canyonlands in particular are stupendous!!  They look like giant footprints in one of your pics.  THanks heaps for sharing your travels with us.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful shots - great memories Ewalina !

I found the views of the Canyonslands' White rim absolutely stunning !!

Didn't make it to Delicate Arch though - too long a hike and the heat was roasting us as it was.  Fortunatly I had a good telelens 

I remember seeing some good Penstemons in that area - did you see any ?

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Luc, in this area there aren't penstemons but I show a lot of species (to identyfing  ) from other parks soon.

Paul, good comparison

1. Devil's Garden in Arches NP
2. Trail to Landscape Arch
3. Landscape Arch, 95 m long, 2 m width in narrowest section
4. Sunset in Arches NP, wiew from Windows Section

[Ewelina Wajgert]

1. And close by entrance to Natural Bridges Monument we found the first Ipomopsis aggregata (identified by Lori).
2.
3.
4. Posing raven
5. Sipapu Bridge made on us the best impression
6. White Canyon

[Lori S.]

More great photos!  
From what I can make out of the scarlet flowers (starry-shaped?) in #18173, I believe it's Ipomopsis, possibly I. aggregata,  rather than Penstemon.

[Ragged Robin]

What fabulous landscapes - I love the red rock and the surprising rock sculpture put in context with you in the picture - please tell me you at least felt butterflies in your stomach sitting/standing on the edge - do you rock climb Ewelina?

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Ragged, I don't climb with rope and crampons but I'd like to hike in the mountains. If I have possibility I make very long hikes (20 - 30km). I'd like to seat on the peak and admire panorama.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

I have some new photos after longer break
1. Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja)
2.
3. Owachomo Bridge

[Lvandelft]

Just saw this thread, still trying to catch up after longer absence.

Amazing pictures Ewelina! What a landscapes.
This must have been a wonderful trip. Looking forward for more pictures.
Thanks so much for showing.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

The next photos are from Glen Canyon

1. Rock's crack
2. Steep Canyon's wall and towering over it rock castle
3. It seems to me that this red rock's wall is interesting for you too.
4. Guess, what flow under bridge?

[ranunculus]

Hi Ewelina,
You are certainly showing us some magnificent places - all beautifully photographed.

Plant No. One above is a Castilleja sp. - all notoriously difficult to separate.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

The next photos are from Glen Canyon
4. Guess, what flow under bridge?

If my memory is still intact - I guess that's the Colorado at the point where it enters Lake Powell .. 

Wonderful shots Ewalina - do not hesitate to post many more.... (even if there's no plants..  )

[Rodger Whitlock]

A word of caution for those who decide to follow in Ewelina's footprints: don't become the object of a search and rescue operation!

Getting lost in the desert is big trouble: you may lose your life from dehydration.

Avoiding the perils demands nothing more than common sense and gumption, but it's surprising how often tourists in the wild places of North America seem to go to pieces with it all and do extremely stupid things. Sometimes it seems like tourists don't understand that the Great Outdoors is not a manicured city park!

In the case of the desert, this means carrying plenty of water with you, not letting the fuel level in your vehicle drop below the halfway mark, wearing a hat (and strong hiking boots if you are investigating the terrain on foot) and not driving off down unpaved roads unless you know for sure where you are going. And don't forget that desert nights tend to be cold!

The issue about unpaved roads is perhaps more important than you think. Maps and GPS systems often indicate routes that are simply not drivable.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, a hidden hazard in the forests is that dead trees are often extremely slippery. Even an Olympic gymnast would have trouble balancing on some. If you are out hiking alone, slip, fall, and break a leg, you could be fifty feet from a major highway and no one would be the wiser about your plight

Fear not, the natives do stupid things too! We had a young couple tootling around the in winter in an old Volkswagen van (with broken fuel gauge and low fuel level) wander off up a logging road. (They were trying, iirc, to drive from to , a doable gravel road in summer, but one that gets plenty of snow at higher elevations in winter.) At some point they encountered snow. Instead of turning around, they forged ahead, got stuck in the snow, and finally ran out of fuel. Luckily someone in a 4-wheel drive vehicle chanced on them and rescued them, but had that not happened, they likely would have died of hypothermia.

As I say, avoiding trouble is mostly a matter of commonsense and gumption. I'm not trying to strike fear in anyone's heart, but just remind prospective visitors that the open country of North America has its hazards.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

If my memory is still intact - I guess that's the Colorado at the point where it enters Lake Powell .. 

Yes, Luc, you are right.

1. On stones' desert we find this phlox
2. Here begins or ends Lake Powell
3. Green surface of Colorado river, that here is squeezed in two walls
4.
5. Colorado River

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Getting lost in the desert is big trouble: you may lose your life from dehydration.

You are right, Rodger. Distances between inhabited terriotories are very long. Village is often composed of 1 or 2 households. Cell phone is without reach and on the lenght of 80 miles you meet 3 cars at the most. Sometimes you don't meet nobody. Sometimes our cell phones are 3 days without reach, even in villages.

1. Begin of Lake Powell
2. I like this photo - Lake Powell from the top. You see the same bridge, that was on the earlier photo
3. Small harbour for boats in Hite City
4. Holes in the rock by road 95