I just returned from a photo session/vacation to Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead. The weather was amazing, cool in the mornings - about 50 F - until just past noon when it reached the mid 80's . It was a special trip for me for a couple reasons, including sharing this experience through the lens and making memories for a couple lifetimes.
My Mother took a trip to the west with her sisters when I was a little boy, probably 9 years old or so. She never traveled, refused to fly, so I was interested in knowing why she decided to take that trip. Before she passed, she told me about her trip west, describing in detail the rock formations, the plants, how vivid the colors were, how indescribably massive the Grand Canyon was, the crisp dryness of the air, that she was part Cherokee Indian, and most importantly how she felt being there.
She brought back a plastic cowboy playset from that trip for me. I still have the two horses and one cowboy, sans hat. I thought about my Mom a lot this trip, how she seemingly provides just what I need, when I need it. It amazed me how her stories of the west resounded in my minds eye, just like watching a scene from an epic movie. I was taken back to childhood when Loml pointed out rock formations with the question "What's that look like" as we laughed at how we came to the same conclusions at the same time. An elephant, a skull, and a few unmentionables etc...
I hope you enjoy the photos.
It was a special trip with sites beyond imagination created millions of years ago and memories made that will last a lifetime. Both that 9 year old, and now a much older man, felt we were retracing her tracks in the sand.
