Rural West Paso Robles

Although I am preparing new work today to hang in our photography studio at Studios on the Park in downtown Paso Robles, I wanted to post an image taken on a Sunday drive in the beautiful West Paso Robles wine country. Like many people, I appreciate the plethora of fabulous wineries this area has to offer. But as a photographer, I am most drawn to the stunning views along Paso’s backroads. If you are visiting the area, I highly recommend exploring Adelaida and Peachy Canyon Roads and Vineyard Drive on the west side. The vistas are simply spectacular.

Field of Dreams

As I was driving along I noticed a lovely stand of oak trees in an open field, so I pulled over to take some shots. This oak tree was very majestic and quite likely very old. The image is comprised of three HDR bracketed shots processed in Photomatix 4, Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5, and with Nik Software. I named it Field of Dreams. Hope you enjoy it. I will post more images as I have time and work them up.

The Granite Dells of Prescott, Arizona

As I’ve remarked in prior posts, despite the fact that I reside in California, one of my favorite photographic destinations is the gorgeous state of Arizona. During my most recent excursion I visited the Prescott, Jerome, and Sedona areas, returning with many Camera Raw files to process. It is interesting how we photographers initially cherry pick what we feel are the cream of the crop images then once again, many months later, review our images and commence further post-processing. This post focuses on a wonderful geological feature centered in Prescott, Arizona – the Granite Dells.

Sundance on the Dells

Prescott is a very charming small town located in the mountains of north-central Arizona about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix. It is nestled in a scenic valley at the northern edge of the rugged Bradshaw Mountains and centered in the pine-clad Prescott National Forest. Although the mountains above Prescott reach heights of nearly 8,000 feet, downtown Prescott sits at an elevation of 5,400 feet. The Granite Dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance. They remind me of the infamous Alabama Hills (in California’s Eastern Sierras near Lone Pine) where the old Western movies were filmed. The precambrian Dells granite has been dated at 1.4 billion years old. Picturesque Watson Lake and Willow Lake are small man-made reservoirs surrounding the Dells, adding to the natural beauty of the area.

Clearing Storm – Granite Dells

Numerous hiking & biking trails and rock climbing routes make the ‘Dells’ a popular outdoor recreation area in the Prescott region. The Prescott Peavine National Recreation Trail follows the old rail bed of the Santa Fe, Prescott, and Phoenix Railway through the Granite Dells. This winding portion of the railroad was known as the ‘Peavine’ because its twisting curves resembled that of a pea vine. It connects to the Iron King Trail, which follows the route of the old Prescott and Eastern Railroad through the eastern Granite Dells. Both are rail-to-trail conversions.

Touching the Clouds

Prescott’s climate consists of four moderate seasons with monsoon rains in the late summer and snow in the winter producing an average of 19” precipitation per year. The high percentage of sunny days each year provides ideal conditions for outdoor recreation opportunities. These sunny days are very unlike the dark, gray winters where I grew up in the Midwest. Prescott’s central downtown business district is built around an elm-shaded, traditional courthouse plaza. The historic plaza hosts activities throughout the year ranging from bustling art shows, evening music concerts, antique fairs, and family oriented community events.

Storm Over Arizona’s Verde Valley

Although I’m working today in our photography studio at Studios on Park in Paso Robles, California, I wanted to post two more images I worked up from my trip to the spectacular Prescott, Arizona, area. For more detailed information and photographs, please read my prior post Ruins of the Arizona Verde Valley. 

As mentioned before, many people are familiar with ancient Native American ruins such as Mesa Verde in Colorado; Chaco Canyon in New Mexico; and Canyon de Chelly in northeast Arizona. However, few are aware of three wonderful ancient sites near the towns of Jerome, Clarkdale, Sedona, and Camp Verde: Tuzigoot National Monument, Montezuma Castle National Monument, and Montezuma Well.

Storm Over Tuzigoot Ruins

These images were two of many taken during a thunderstorm from atop Tuzigoot National Monument, just east of the charming small town of Clarkdale, Arizona. The Tuzigoot ruins sit proudly on a hilltop overlooking the spectacular Verde Valley in the high desert not far from the historic ghost mining town of Jerome. In the image below, you can see Jerome in the distance, along with the old quarry. For more information and photographs of Jerome, please see my prior blog post The Historic Ghost Town of Jerome.

Storm Over Jerome

I was very fortunate that a huge storm rolled in while visiting Tuzigoot, as the cloud formations and lighting that afternoon were spectacular. The views from atop the hill were simply stunning. I highly recommend visiting Arizona’s Verde Valley if you are in the Jerome or Sedona area.