If you happen to find yourself caught up in the Black Friday frenzy and need a place to clear your head, I can heartily recommend Monument valley. What really works is to get there about 6 in the morning, a little earlier if you want to watch the sun come up behind the Totem Pole, and just walk out amongst the dunes. Remember to breathe though, a lot of people get so caught up in the beauty they forget to breathe then you’ve got drag marks all over the place as you try to pull them out of the shot.

This is also the time of day when the night shift goes off duty and the day shift is just clocking in. This Jack Rabbit is hightailing it home before the day shift coyotes come in. Coyotes being overachievers tend to punch in a little early just in case there are stragglers hanging around, so it’s best to clear your duty stations as quickly as possible.

Maintainance did an incredible raking job last night to get the dunes looking just right. There’s a couple of old-timers in charge of this particular area and they have the techniques down pat. If they rake everything just right the shadows work the way they’re supposed to, filling in the valleys amongst the rivulets of sand and laying out the various shapes just perfectly. These guys need a raise. They’ve also chosen the clear blue sky motif for today. That works too. Everything’s spiffed up just right.

You can’t see it but if you were here you’d feel the air this early in the morning is crisp, almost cold, bracing is the word I’m looking for. Makes you glad you’re alive. Cold enough that you’re really glad you brought that down coat. But it won’t last. Another couple of hours and it’ll be warm enough that you won’t need to wear it, instead you’ll be using that coat to sit on to keep the still cold chill of the sand off your butt. Sitting, watching the light play across the sand as you drink the last of your tea you begin to realize this is better than fighting the mob down at the mall.

I knew about his place already so I brought an extra thermos of hot tea. I’m just going to sit here for a while longer. Let me know if you got any good deals.