Eroded Rocks

This particular area is kind of like Yosemite with its rocks being volcanic in origin. I have a particular fascination with geology and find myself scrolling through GIS maps on occasion to look for interesting rock types. Each kind of rock can break apart in many different ways with many beautiful textures that I like to capture.

These rocks are a great display of Exfoliation erosion. They are rising from the growing of the mountains here and as the rise they are stretched and broken through pressure from below. They are eroded into rounded boulders by the wind and rain and slowly peel off their host rock into smaller and smaller stones

So I set out with my camera to climb these boulders to get views from the tops. Climbing high across these mounds of solid stone littered all over the landscape. The splits and cracks giving a fascinating pattern of lines. The colors of green trees, gray rocks, blue sky, and white clouds all blended together into a canvas.

Subjects on the Stones

Speaking of climbing, are many kinds of creatures who find it fun to get to the tops of these rocks. Its a popular climbing space for people to hook up and scale. I ran into a few different groups from the ground and met some very cool people. I was there for the birds soaring around these rocks though

The king of the skies in this area is the vultures that were hunting high above the mountains. I brought out my 300mm lens to get as close as I could to their majestic forms. These birds were commonly seen flying above the campsites looking for scraps or dead animals. Their black and brown forms against the cloudy sky made for great pictures.

But closer to the ground were a few other small birds hopping through the bushes. One particularly curious Mountain Blue Bird showed me where to park by jumping from post to post. The red of the wooden signs and the blue of their feathers was a great contrast against the background of the sagebrush.

And even closer to the ground I found a little creature crawling along the moss and lichen covered rocks. A small black beetle, commonly called a stinkbug around here, caught my eye as I was climbing. So I decided to grab some pictures to capture it and the texture of the stone.

Standing Tall

When I reached the top of one of the bigger stones I got a great view of the others around me that stood as monoliths among groves of trees. The sagebrush covered much of the ground while pine trees stood tall giving a good frame for these mountains.

Like with the animals looking close is just as important as looking far. The paths that I walked were detailed in their own ways with streams that wind through the canyons and rocks. These rocks are rounded by wind in ways that makes them look soft. Even forming arches carved by the sand around them.

Exploring this landscape gave me a lot of interesting views between feeling like these rocks were both crowded and isolated. Sometimes being out on their own amongst the plants and other crowded by other rocks like themselves. Their density would change the feeling of these photos and I liked playing with that feeling as I worked on these.