National Parks | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

November 16, 2020December 20, 2021

White Sands National Park

Yucca and dune patterns at dusk, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico — Yucca and dune patterns at dusk, White Sands National Park, New Mexico

White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico is probably the least iconic spot within the National Park system. It has no sheer cliffs, no grand waterfalls, no red-rock strata, and no great clefts in the earth – in fact, it doesn’t even have a forest to call its own. And that’s just fine.

What it lacks in the notable landforms shared by other parks, it more than makes up for with an endless sea of the most glorious pure white gypsum sand and a special quality of light found nowhere else. Visiting White Sands is not so much a trip to see natural wonders as it is pilgrimage to experience an unparalleled expanse of light and form.

Our newest park is so vast and featureless in fact that once you leave the road in the main dune area it’s quite easy to get lost. The park service has placed pickets along major trails, but these often are blown down or buried in the shifting sands so carrying a GPS and noting distance land forms on longer hikes is a must.

The best times to visit are spring and fall when the temperatures are moderate, and as with any desert environment it’s essential to carry sun protection and water. Dusk and dawn provide the sweet light this park is known for and the rangers are very accommodating with gate closures. So the next time you’re heading to the southwest, make time to visit White Sands. It might be a little out-of-the-way, but it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

October 14, 2020November 1, 2021

The Ancient Ones

The Native American cliff dwellings of the southwest are the most spectacular ruins north of Mexico. The Ancestral Puebloan Indians (or “The Ancient Ones”) were the prehistoric pueblo culture that thrived in the Four Corners region of the United States between 900 and 1200 A.D. before their mysterious disappearance.

Many of their elaborate structures are well-preserved in national parks such as Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, and Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. From three-story citadels perched precariously on canyon ledges like Square Tower House shown here, to the 500 room Great Houses of Chaco Canyon, these skilled masons left a legacy to rival the ruins of ancient Greece.

Once referred to as the Anasazi, Archaeologists and scholars still debate what caused their sudden demise toward the end of the 12th century. But the stone handiwork of the Ancestral Puebloans remains a fascinating testament to the vision and tenacity of these ancient pueblo people.

October 22, 2019September 3, 2020

Grand Staircase-Escalante

One of the largest yet least explored parks in the country, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a vast desert landscape of mesas, slot canyons, petrified sand dunes, archaeological treasures and American history. Divided by a single long ridge called the Kaiparowits Plateau, this remote region was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped and is a wonderful destination to find that desert solitude that Edward Abbey so passionately wrote about.

From the south, the Vermilion, White, Gray, and Pink cliffs rise to form the giant multi-hued terraces of the Grand Staircase. And to the east the Escalante Canyons are a labyrinth of geologic wonders slowly winding their way down to Lake Powell. Together these escarpments expose 200 million years of the earth’s history in a visual feast for the eyes, and contain the most continuous record of Late Cretaceous terrestrial life in the world.

For the photographer, the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument is a sublime location where the possibilities are endless and the light, which seems to glow from within, is worthy most anytime of day. I’ve often said you could spend your whole life in southern Utah and not see it all, but that might just be true of this very special park. The temptation to try is always present.