Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle
“Eilean Donan Castle” — Eilean Donan Castle, on the inland sea near Isle of Skye

We have been traveling. A week ago we returned from a six-week visit to the British Isles — a couple of weeks in Scotland, a bit more than a week in Ireland, a one-week walk in the Cotswolds, and then some time in English cities. The photograph comes from near the start of the trip, just before we arrived on the Isle of Skye. We paused at the Eilean Donan Castle along the inland sea before crossing to the island. It was a welcome break on my first day of driving on left side of the road!

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Receding Terrain

Receding Terrain
“Receding Terrain” — Layers of sandstone landscape lead toward a distant ridge, Arches National Park.

The first time I visited Arches National Park I went with virtually no prior knowledge of the place. I had read about it in Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire,” but I knew little more than that it is red rock country and a popular park. Such a lack of preparation could seem like a problem, but it also turned out to be a gift to myself. It is one thing to arrive at such a place knowing what to expect, but driving into the park and discovering its garden of towers and arches and fins was overwhelming. I had no idea!

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Mud Patterns

Mud Patterns
“Mud Patterns” — Colorful patterns formed in dry and cracked mud, Capitol Reef.

Recently I went through my archives to see just how many photographs of dried mud I have made over the years. It is a lot! There are perhaps a few dozen finished photographs of this subject that I have shared publicly. But there are scores of them sitting in my unprocessed raw file archives. This one, in fact, is one that I “discovered” during this search, and I’m now sharing it for the first time.

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Beco do Garcês

Beco do Garcês
“Beco do Garcês” — A meeting of steep, narrow lanes in Alfama, Lisbon.

My recollection is that we came to this little wide spot among narrow Alfama lanes by following an interesting-looking stairway that led off to the side from a busier way. Our general plan was to climb up through Alfama to a viewpoint, and then to traverse over to the St. George Castle. But we were not in a hurry, and when we saw the side-route we decided to investigate.

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