I caught this scene Friday night with Minnie up at Mormon Lake. Got lucky with the circumstances of heavy clouds stalled to the west.
I mentioned to Minnie in the early evening, “It might be possible to see the Aurora Borealis tonight.” Friday night’s activities were a choice between finding some chicken wings or the same old, same old. Minnie, being the adventurer she is, chose to head north with the camera gear.
It’s all kind of a blur from there as we fight traffic up the I-17. The construction project is taking the night off, but the need for extra lanes heading to Flagstaff is apparent. Minnie and I reminisce about the good ole’ days before the population influx in Arizona. She’s a native of Phoenix and I have lived here long enough to claim this as my home state now.
Red Aurora Borealis and Milky Way in Arizona
Lost in the Smoke
We find the turn-off for Lake Mary and see some LED highway warnings, “Caution! Prescribed Burn Ahead. Heavy Smoke”. The scene suddenly goes from a dark two-lane blacktop cutting through a tall pine forest to thick white smoke.
We slow down and pass an elk standing on the side of the road that suddenly appears from the white smoke. The large beast tries to orient itself after being smoked out from his grassy bed. Wandering down to the highway as an alien in a Toyota with bright lights blinds him. If I rolled down the window I could have pet the majestic elk cow as we drove past.
I provide the navigation to the best view of the Milky Way core. It’s almost perfectly South East in the night sky gently arcing north. Our galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy like the image below taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. I would show a picture of our galaxy, but the Hubble didn’t have a selfie stick long enough, so we’ll have to wait for it to exit our galaxy. Who knows if it will still be working by then.
We continue through the smoke. Sometimes it looks like it’s about to clear then a swath of stale smokey air clouds the path again. The conversation intensifies as we lose sense of direction. I finally get a better view of the map and see a scenic outlook. The smoke and clouds clear as we approach our destination and we have our view of the Milky Way in the South East and the Aurora Borealis to the North.
Aurora Borealis
We set up the camera with a Nikon 35mm lens and take some test shots to get the settings right. I show Minnie how to take a panoramic with multiple panning shots, then lean back and watch her go to town.
We got lucky. The smoke and heavy clouds stall to the west of us encroaching on the Aurora. To the naked eye, the Milky Way and Aurora Borealis are just faint white wispy clouds in the night sky. Through the lens are some of the colors our eyes can’t see. What a wonderful night! A couple lovers enjoying a shared passion as the sun explodes, creating geomagnetic storms that could wipe out all of life as we know it. We are protected by an atmosphere that shields us as the energy is transformed into vibrant pink and red light waves of love.
I am here to tell you about the trip I almost took to Ajax Mine in central Arizona. Picking a location on Google Maps is where I first start my planning and the plan ends there. I did skim over a blog by Bold Canyon Outdoors on their adventure and it sounded easy enough. Easy enough for a 4 x 4 vehicle… I was thinking it looked more like the typical wavy smooth roads with occasional areas washed out.
The First Half
The first half of the trip was a straight flat track with ripples. I fantasized about the photos I was going to take of the Milky Way rising above the abandoned Ajax mine. The landscape was typical untouched wilderness of the Sonoran desert. You can see the Jumping Cholla, Prickly Pear, Ocotillo, Palo Verde trees, Jojoba and Saguaros cacti in the landscape.
Once passing the fence line and cattle guard from Cottonwood Canyon Rd leading to Mineral Mountain road I encountered some areas a regular passenger car would start scraping their under carriage. Google maps will have you take a route to a gated ranch. Which if I had fully read the blog earlier, I would have just taken their custom route. It didn’t take long after passing a camper packing it out and a recreational shooter that I encountered the furthest point my Mitsubishi Outlander could handle. It was 4.1 miles from the mine and I literally said, “Four miles ain’t shit!”
Pride Falls Before the Man
Paraphrase of Proverbs 16:18
About a half mile up I was already thinking I should retry to climb the hill as the trail was looking good to go again. Then I came up on the first water hole for the open range cattle. They all had horns and they were too far away to tell if any were bulls.
As I approached a couple of them popped up out of a resting position to their feet. There was apart of me ready to turn around in fear. There was also a very steep hill past the herd I was not looking forward to hiking up. I pressed on despite those inner voices seeking safety and comfort.
About halfway up, I was thinking of the final week of basic training at Ft. Benning. They take us on a 15 mile road march with a combat load. Today I was only carrying a camera gear and a half gallon of water. So counted my blessings resting my legs every so often. I lost signal to Google maps converting the directions from car to walking until I reached the peak of the hill. It told me I was only about a half mile in.
The top of the first major hill on the South Ajax Mine road.
Once again I was thinking about turning around. The inner voice said, “This is suicide to keep going with a half gallon of water and the sun setting and intermittent cell phone signal.” In reality it is pretty dangerous, but it was only a few miles. I couldn’t just quit though.
Grace of the House Finch Babies
Then a moment of grace between the first and second hill happened. I could hear birds frantically chirping away just off the carved mountain path. I saw a brown bird with a red breast fly off from a Jumping Cholla. A dark cluster between arms appeared to be a nest. I climbed up a few feet to see the chirping was coming from a couple baby House Finches.
Baby house finch in a nest made in Cholla cactus
I pressed on to a second challenging hill. It was obvious my vehicle would never make this journey. If it made it there, coming back might be another challenge.
Southwest side of the second hill
Ajax Mine trail that would require four wheel drive
Still with three miles to go I stood there trying to figure out the distance to the mine. Google maps said it would take an hour, which would put me at the mine during the blue hour giving enough light for some nice long exposures.
A view of the South Ajax Mine Trail route to the North Ajax Mine Trail leading from the ranch.
I came to a junction and a large dry wash. It lead to North Ajax Mine Trail and some unmarked OHV trails. Luckily Google maps saved me from taking the trail in the picture above. The Ajax Mine Trail is actually behind the mountain. The hike was pretty easy from that point crossing a couple washes.
The view past the wash junction looking south to the second hill
Momma Cow
I came around a bend and found another herd. They looked like they might be penned, but as I got closer one of them was definitely outside the fence. It started rolling it’s head around. In my mind, I was trying to figure out if it was shaking off some cacti needles or if it was an aggressive gesture. Despite it’s cowbell and long eyelashes, it’s horns were all I was thinking about. I happened to stop next to a Catclaw Mesquite with some Tarantula Hawks having a feast. I figured I could work out my fears while taking pictures of these little monstrous looking insects.
Tarantula Hawk in Catclaw Mesquite
Unfortunately momma cow was not budging. I could see her calves now and my creative mind went off. Not only would I be walking past on unstable ground the narrow path had no real cover. I imagined myself running through the desert in a thin pair of shorts catching all the cacti needles and eventually being brutal gored and trampled. Not to death though just a thorough ass kicking, because God would want me to walk bloody and broken back up those hills. Regretfully I started to walk back looking over my shoulder. Then momma came out of the brush in my direction. Great she’s stalking me now!
Momma cow protecting calves
The Long Walk Back
I continued to walk briskly and took the wash to throw her off my trail. Coming to the first uphill on the 2nd Hill. The sun was setting behind it. Fully paranoid at this point I was sure a rattlesnake would be repositioning from their day lair for a meal.
A perspective of the vertical challenge of the northside of the second hill
I continued on and came across the first herd again with a few missing now. A little further up the road I spooked a calf and this time another cow was standing on the side of the road. Fuck me man! I powered through my fear and calmly walked by. This cow just looked goofy with one horn pointing up and the other down. It might have been crossed-eyed too. At this point I felt foolish for turning around in the first place. What’s even funnier is I was running scenarios of fighting off mountain lions and bears in my head before all this. Really I do look at these thoughts in a comical way though. Which allows me to enjoy some of the beauty I would miss otherwise.
I started this journey a couple years ago and find myself now saying I need to find my niche. I think it’s obvious what I am passionate about though. Needed to exercise and release some stress first and foremost.
This has been a great year for sunsets in Arizona. This one in particular is just on the edge of a storm blowing dust northward. Not the most epic one but enough to create a soft glow.
Southern View with Eastern Valley Cities
Western view – The Phoenix skyline almost looks like another mountain.
I like how my delivery work can turn into a day trip for photos. It’s not something I could do in an office job where they expect you to be at your desk looking busy all day.
Last Thursday I had a quick delivery to the outskirts of Phoenix and decided to see if I could get paid to go back with a trip. Otherwise that afternoon traffic in construction going East on the 101 was a no-go. I received a round trip with a group of young transplants from Chicago and they mentioned Sedona at some point.
Hmmm I was a third of the way there already. Hell why not? Right about the turn off point to Sedona my gut told me to pull off and check the map. I pull into a gas station to review Google maps as the afternoon sun was about to drop quick, it didn’t leave room for much exploration.
For some reason Arcosanti popped into my head and I Googled it. What? It’s where? No lie, I look up and was staring at the road sign pointing to Arcosanti. My observation skills were on point.
It’s a long bumpy road past some other local business or ranches. At the end is a small dirt parking lot and a paved path to the entrance. Met this orange tabby along the way.
Arcology = Architecture and Ecology
Paolo Soleri is the visionary behind Arcosanti. If you are not familiar with either check out the website it’s an entire college course once you enter the rabbit hole.
Arcosanti showcases the principals of Arcology or Architecture and Ecology. If you look back at the cover image there is a stair encasement to the right that leads to the visitor areas.
Taliesin West is where Paolo studied for a while after earning his doctorate in Italy. The use of land and architecture goes back to ancient history most of my observations are Arcosanti uses Roman and Egyptian technology for heating, cooling, and lighting.
The basic thought is we are wasting space, wasting time, wasting resources, causing pollution, and most importantly removing ourselves from nature one street at a time. An Arcologically developed city would condense populations to make use of resources more efficiently. Think of science/fiction space exploration movies with an entire city housed in one ship.
Once I made it to the third floor visitor center I took a look around and held off on more photos. Eventually I was greeted by someone and paid for the $15 tour. Depending on the time you can buy lunch and even stay the night. I was told photos were ok (free advertising) and to have a seat where this Wind Bell was on display next to the tour video playing.
As the video ended we got the spiel from our tour guide. Our tour group consisted of me and another dude, so easy day for her.
Our first stop was the ceramic workshop/amphitheater. This time of year is gorgeous for working outdoors in the shade with a light breeze. Come summer I would be interested in seeing the temps and probably will for a chance to get better night shots.
I’ll be honest my listening became selective at this point as I was there to take pictures and my camera needed attention. Our tour guide probably was glad we didn’t have a ton of questions too.
Checkout the gallery below for some of the shots on the guided tour.
Visitors Trail
There’s also a non-guided tour persay, but it won’t get you inside very far. Although a great place for a panoramic shot of Arcosanti. At the bottom of the stair encasement is the door to the Visitors Trail. The end of the trail is marked with a kite shaped awning on a single pole, which is on the other side of the valley. It’s maybe a mile long in total, down the valley, up the other side and back. A little slippery in spots, but not incredibly challenging. I did it in my driving shoes.
Future Plans
I’m going to look into the overnight stay a little more. I left wanting to spend more time making the right adjustments, catching the right light, the right angle, setting up HDR shots.
Along the way home I decided to stop and visit Bloody Basin – Agua Fria National Monument for my sunset shot. Ended up being more interested in making this composite of the Orion constellation. The brightest star, Betelgeuse, is spinning off plasma as it moves through the universe. Turns out what I was observing was dust.
Well anyways thanks for reading, go check Arcosanti out for yourself. Certainly worth a quick stop on your way north.
On my way to Christmas Dinner I stopped by thePapago Park Amphitheater to capture some of the most dramatic skies of 2019. Also the start to a long chill for Phoenicians use to 70-80 °F weather. If you haven’t seen it is just south of McDowell Rd between 52nd St. and 64th St.
The first version is how Photoshop rendered it using Camera RAW. It does a great job, minus some lighting issues. I didn’t get the focus perfect either as this was just going to be a project to test Photoshop’s accuracy. Focused images do help with alignment though. As far as finding that middle ground for capturing light, I went with what my I learned in my first year of photography classes. On a cloudy day use F8 at 1/250ths of a second at 100 Iso.
The second image below is what I did stitching the image together using a few different methods. I made sure to use lens correction before placing each image. Then used Auto-Align to save a ton of time. I was able to delete some pieces and heal the seams using layer masks and finally the patch tool. The differences are subtle. The little things I see are the wind blurring bushes and maintaining the same focal distance for each image.
The main idea is when I do pack up my car to go on an adventure I will arrive with knowledge of what’s working and what isn’t. Then I can work more efficiently as the chaotic skies roll over head.
