Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you,
At incredible speed, traveling day and night,
Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents,
through narrow passes.
But will he know where to find you,
Recognize you when he sees you,
Give you the thing he has for you?”
― John Ashbery

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during a morning hike along the southern rim on the Greenway Trail. I’m still fascinated by the stark beauty of this dead tree, juxtaposed against the vibrant green of the pine and the watercolor sky. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Long since, the desert wind wiped away our footprints in the sand. But at every second of my existence, I remember what happened, and you still walk in my dreams and in my reality. Thank you for having crossed my path.
― Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during the tail end of the sunset golden hour.  The colors were glorious and I’m so pleased with the watercolor intensity. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

 

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The next time that boy pursues you, he better do it like a dying man looking for water in a desert. When it’s the right guy, you’ll know, because he’ll cherish you.”
― Karen Kingsbury, Leaving

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ during a recent vacation. This has become one of my favorite spots to see when visiting family in the area. April might possibly have been the best time to visit with everything in bloom. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This is a close-up of a vibrant flowering bush taken outside our hotel in Mesa, AZ while on a recent vacation visiting family in the area. April was truly a lovely time to visit, everything was in bloom! No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

 

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So it always is: when you escape to a desert the silence shouts in your ear.
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken on my last night in Arizona, just outside of Mesa during a recent vacation.  The skies had been almost crystal clear, and I was grateful to have a vibrant sunset, I kept excusing myself from dinner to run out to the parking lot to take more pictures. I especially love how the cloud formation looks like a bird in flight, a Phoenix perhaps…? No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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The world makes things for each place. Fish for the sea, Rocs for the mountain skies, and girls with sun in their skin and perfect aim for a desert that doesn’t let weakness live.
― Alwyn Hamilton, Rebel of the Sands

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This gathering of saguaro and funky gourd-like cacti were part of the landscaping in front of my Gramma’s house in Mesa, AZ. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

 

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I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Like a desert wanderer afraid of mirages, I gazed at my oasis, but he was real.
― Laura Whitcomb, A Certain Slant of Light 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during a morning hike along the southern rim on the Greenway Trail. I’m still fascinated by the stark beauty of this dead tree, juxtaposed against the vibrant green of the pine and the watercolor sky. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Wilderness. The word itself is music.
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at a scenic view and hiking trail outside of Sedona, AZ during a recent vacation.  I was surprised and delighted to find this patch of royal-purple irises. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath… We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?
–Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during the tail end of the sunset golden hour.  The colors were glorious and I’m so pleased with the watercolor intensity. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

 

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I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently.
― Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ during a recent vacation. This has become one of my favorite spots to see when visiting family in the area. April might possibly have been the best time to visit with everything in bloom. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

Save

 

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