Tag Archives: Monument valley

Monument Valley Morning

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Monument Valley              Click to enlarge

For some of you it still feels like Winter, I know it and I feel your pain, but believe it or not there are places in our world, right now, where the sun is shining and you can go outside without long underwear, excuse me, they call it base layers now, and not freeze your fuon buey bueys off.

In fact the other day as I was lying on the couch in a carbohydrate-induced coma, I felt something warm and comfortable slide across my face, no it wasn’t the dog’s tongue, I’m out of dogs at the present, it was sunshine. Yes, sunshine. Well I was surprised I can tell you. I immediately jumped up, well, to be more accurate, rolled off the couch and crawled to the window to see if it was real.

It was and what’s more the snow that had been steadily climbing up the side of the house covering the windows and burying my car, had disappeared. You could see the ground. But the biggest miracle was that the lucky Aspen tree, the one we call Dead Tree Walking, the one that is still alive after all the attempts were made by the elements to kill it, had buds on it. Big ones too, like they were going to open tomorrow kind of big. How’s that for giving one hope?

I could feel the blood starting to move slowly and sluggishly around in my body, pressing up against the various valves in my veins, saying “open up, open up we need to get to the brain, we’re about to lose this guy!” and they did, those little valves, they opened and soon the flood gates were down and I was walking and talking and going outside and looking around, staring at the sun like some peyote-crazed Aztec. I marveled at the fact that white was not the dominant color anymore, that I hadn’t been trans-located to some black & white movie, set in Croatia or somewhere worse, like 1950’s Czechoslovakia, you know, all coal-fired steam trains, cold dark fog, grey with soot everywhere, all filmed 20 minutes after the sun went down.

As the sun warmed my head little thoughts started to dart around in my mind like those minnows you see at the edge of the shore, you remember, the ones that flit from one shadow to another at the speed of light, not staying in the sunshine for one moment longer than they need to, lest something bigger make a meal of them. Then bigger thoughts arrived, then bigger yet, edging into my imagination like the berthing of the Queen Mary. Huge ponderous thoughts like I used to have before Winter caught me and turned me into a couch dwelling, TV watching, soulless lump, nearly one of the undead but not quite.

One of the biggest thoughts coming up out of the murky depths, brought to the surface by the slow turning of the great props as the Queen of the Sea was slowly  brought dockside was ” I could go somewhere.”  yeah seems obvious to you I bet, but it was a revelation to me. I thought I was going to die on that couch. Never seeing the beauties of the world again. Alone, staring at the ice encrusted windows as the world turned slowly grey then black. So you can see how a guy would suddenly be GobSmacked, his life returned to him in an instant, full of hope and joy with the idea that there was a future.

Where to go though. I quickly ran to my computer and began feverishly going through the images I had placed in the folder labeled, “Places I want to go again if I live through this Winter” and up popped this image of one of my favorite places in the universe, Monument valley. It is early morning, the sun just rising high enough to clear the buttes, lighting my way to a secret place deep in the desert where no one has ever taken a picture before. The wind making a keening sound as it rounded the spires and towers as it finishes writing its name in the sand….. Listen I’d write more but I have to go pack the car. I got to go before Winter changes its mind.

Deep Green

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DeepGreen2187Deep Green                                        click to enlarge

What are your colors today? Are they the cerulean shades of blue as you gaze out over the ocean? Or perhaps the vermilion shades of the redstone buttes of Monument valley. Perhaps you’re seeing American School Bus yellow as your half-frozen kids board the bus.

I’m thinking the majority of us are seeing the shades of slightly stained grayish Concrete on windblown drifts of snow, or perhaps the oily iridescent colors of blue/red/green of old ice as you step over the gutter on your way to work, unless you’re spending time in Belize of course, then all bets are off.

But I think the one color any of us are not seeing in any abundance is the Deep Green of mid-summers foliage. So here it is. Enjoy.

Art, What It Is

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Petroglyphs   Monument Valley   Arizona                                                          click to enlarge

Here at The Institute we are all about Art. I mean ‘All About It’. One of the prerequisites of obtaining employment with us is you have to pass a rigid, difficult testing procedure where the prospective employee must be able to pick out art in its many forms wherever it may exist. No multiple choice questions here. They must be able to state “Yes that’s art and here’s why” and be able to write a short 800 page conclusion as to why they think it is art and how it fits into modern life as we live it today. If they can not do this or they choose something that is not art, like maybe a Jackson Pollock painting or anything that needs to be explained at length to be able to understand it, they are immediately rejected, foreheads stamped with a large red “Don’t no Art”  and sent to seek employment with the government or some other soulless place that is primarily decorated in grey.

But that’s not the end of it, no sir, for their final test they are sent out into the world at large with the instructions to find ‘Art’ and bring back proof that it exists. We prefer the actual piece of art itself, that we then keep carefully stored in our climate controlled Art bunker, but on the rare occasion that the prospective employee cannot bring it back due to legal restrictions, or fear of being shot while trying to remove the art, we will accept photographic proof that there is Art there. Photographs must be unaltered and show enough of the surrounding areas to document that it is not ‘Fake Art’ drawn by the prospective employee, or Art copied from a book, or a post card set up on a rock some place to fool us. We know all the tricks, any funny business and it’s off to the government employment office for them.

Recently we had a very good prospect that passed with flying colors all of the testing we could throw at her and as one last hurdle she was sent out into the desert with nothing but an 85 lb. pack and a point and shoot to find art. Her only failing was she took our instructions a little too literally and tried to bring back the carving and most the rock slab it was on. The image above was found on her camera when we went through her personal effects. We can only surmise that her judgment was clouded by her hallucinations and lack of proper hydration. Lesson learned here, don’t try and deface art on public property or tribal lands. It is sad to lose the possibility of a good employee and we marked her application “Passed with Honors” and “She really knew Art but was a little weak on tribal law.” Her application is tacked up on our jobs available bulletin board as an example for all of our employees to emulate, without the defacing part, that is.

Although these requirements may seem harsh to those reading this, we must reiterate that Art is all, and consequently the price we pay for art can be high. But what that means for you, our loyal readers, is that you can rest assured that any images you see here are actual pieces of Art, original, unedited except for maybe some Photoshop stuff we do to make it look better, and best of all free. So enjoy, folks have paid a very high price for us to be able to bring you, Art, in all it’s glory.

Two Sides

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TwoSides1513click to enlarge

Monument valley for all its beauty is a harsh environment for those who live there. It doesn’t rain much here and consequently the grass is difficult to find and sometimes you don’t find it at all. This horse herd spends all of it’s waking hours searching for it and when they find it isn’t all that nourishing.

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This colt is new to the herd and isn’t old enough to figure out that these are tough times. As far as he’s concerned every days a Sunday in Monument valley. When he’s hungry all he has to do is find mom and the magic udders and he’s home free.

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But sometimes there is a problem. Mom is doing her best to make milk but that takes grass and if she doesn’t find enough the well goes dry. Two Sides tries this side only to find there is no milk at the inn.

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Undeterred he knows another place that is open and he races to get there before he can’t stand being hungry one more second. The second side always works.

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Success and he loads up because he’s got running around to do and that takes energy. Right now he looks as good as he will probably ever look as it won’t be long and he’ll be hunting for grass just like the rest of the herd. Then it’ll be time for some hard lessons.

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But right now life is pretty good when you’re young.

 

Here Comes the Sun

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Here Comes the Sun4127click to enlarge

It is the break of dawn here in Monument valley. The night gods are fading deep back into the stone where they are safe and the day gods are riding in with their white-hot spears of light. As the invaders they will stick their spear tips into every crevice that harbors the slightest darkness and resume full control of this magnificent valley so there is no place left un-illuminated. Even those spots that appear to have shadows will have light reflected into them so that the darkness is not complete. There is always a brief struggle when the sun first presents itself to bring the new day. The constant battle between light and dark is played out every morning with only one outcome in this eternal conflict.

The darkness is always reluctant to return to its daily slumber, but the sun is relentless. It favors the light and has no sympathy for the desire of darkness to remain a little while longer. To show it will stand no challenge to its supremacy as soon as it sends it first warriors over the horizon, their spears of light brilliant against the darkness, it unleashes all of its army and there is no doubt that day has come. Victory is always complete and total, but however grand it is it only lasts for one turning of the Earth. Then night will begin its slow seduction and day will succumb and fade again into the darkness. This struggle is relentless with neither side gaining the upper hand. Balance and constancy are preserved.

Fortunately for us this cosmic battle enriches our lives and we are willing participants benefiting from the victory of either side equally. The ebb and flow of nature marks our passage along this journey and we barely notice it for the most part, except perhaps when there is a blazing sunset or spectacular dawn. We support both sides equally and find constant satisfaction in its outcome.

Silence For As Far As The Eye Can See

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Silence3169-3190click to enlarge

Quiet. You like quiet? I do, but where to find it, that’s the bazillion dollar question. It used to be that quiet was every where, in your backyard, down at the park, over at Uncle Skid’s boat dock early in the morning, you could lift the rug up in the dining room and what would you find? Quiet. Just laying there in a big pile not doing a thing. You didn’t have to go looking for it. I sat in my favorite chair the other day, reading, drinking a cup of Jasmine tea, just listening, trying to isolate the different noises I was hearing. Even with the TV off and no radio on there were noises everywhere. The refrigerator would kick on, there were hums and other soft sounds from stuff I didn’t even know was running. Noises from outside made their way inside and I’ve got really thick walls because the big house here is made of logs. It was a constant battering of sound. I thought back to where and when I had last heard nothing but silence.

It was in Monument Valley, that incredible place where the total experience can overwhelm all of your senses before you even get a chance to go “Whoa!, Man, it’s quiet here’.  It is one of the places where you can find true silence. In fact there is so much quiet here it’s deafening. Sometimes you have to put up with some tourists, I didn’t say the quiet was constant, or wait until that herd of goats makes it way over the dune, or for that lizard to scuttle back under the rock outcropping, but mostly it is quiet, really, really quiet. The wind will blow but there is so much space it can’t begin to fill it and you hardly notice it.

If you want to experience this go to Monument Valley, late spring is a good time as it’s not too hot yet, the crowds are still back home being noisy, and find John Ford’s Point, that’s the picture up there at the top of the page, walk out a bit, find a shady spot against the cliff wall and sit. Soon your ear drums will stop spasm-ing from the constant bombardment of civilization and the quiet will come down on you like a Tsunami. Some people can’t stand it when this happens and they run off screaming into the desert with their hands over their ears, never to be heard from again. It’s a good bet they didn’t really want to hear silence anyway and probably should have just stayed home with the TV playing softly in the background. If looking out over all that quiet is too much for you and it seems that you can’t take it all in, just squint a little or even close your eyes for a moment and you’ll settle out. Sometimes you have to ease into this new stuff. But if experiencing quiet is what you want to do, you know what to do now, you know where to go, so just do it. And remember, no iPods, that’s cheating, you can wear sunglasses though, that’s accepted.

Shadow on the Mitten

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There is a special event that happens just twice a year in one of the most spectacular places on earth. That place is Monument Valley located on the border of Utah and Arizona and watched over by the Navajo people. Towards the end of March and the end of September the sun sets at just the right spot on the horizon to cause the shadow of the Mitten on the left to be cast upon the center of the mitten on the right. If you are particularly lucky, and who isn’t, there won’t be a cloud in the sky and the full spectrum of colors will display. As you head into sunset the colors shift into the reds and get deeper and richer until you think it can’t get any more beautiful. You get a sense of how quickly the sun drops down behind the ridges to the west and how short the sunset is as suddenly the scene goes from being brilliantly lit to deepening into the dark of early evening. It would not be unreasonable at this time to demand that the sunset last for at least an hour or so. The colors which were so intense moments before morph into deep shadows and the show is over for the night.

 This process of the shadow being cast starts several days before the finale and last for several days after but is different from the centering because the shadow doesn’t line up on the center of the right mitten until the one day in the middle when all of the conditions are perfect. What makes it imperfect, if that is even possible in this place, is the shadow drifts off to either side of the right mitten and is only partially formed depending on whether you’re at the beginning of the cycle or the end. If you happen to miss the centering don’t feel bad, just being in this truly incredible place will be one of your greatest experiences.