Southwest | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

November 20, 2013July 17, 2018

Boulder Mountain Solitude

Bare aspens at twilight on Boulder Mountain, Dixie National Forest, Utah

Boulder Mountain in south central Utah is one of those special places that doesn’t get the attention it deserves – and that’s a good thing. Covering half of the Aquarius Plateau in Wayne and Garfield counties, it includes 50,000 acres of rolling forest and high meadows surrounded by beautiful stands of aspen. At over 11,000 feet it’s also the highest timbered plateau in North America, and encompasses a good portion of Dixie National Forest, the largest preserve in the state.

Scenic Byway 12 is the main artery in the area and traverses the eastern side of the mountain from the town of Torrey through Boulder and on to Escalante. Rising to the west of Capitol Reef National Park, Boulder Mountain is the prominent landform along this beautiful stretch of highway as you travel south to Bryce Canyon and Zion.

With so many outstanding natural features and world-famous parks in the area, it’s easy to see how this spot gets overlooked, but therein lies it’s beauty. It’s a wonderful place to explore and experience the solitude that’s often hard to find in the more popular destinations of this amazing state.

October 11, 2013October 30, 2015

Magic in the Sky

Hot air balloons rising in dawn light at the International Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

There are plenty of good reasons to head to New Mexico this time of year. The fall color in the canyons of the Sangre de Christo Mountains is spectacular, and the light along the high road to Taos has a special quality found nowhere else. But equally mesmerizing are the skies over Albuquerque where hundreds of hot air balloons rise in unison in the dawn light.

This week marks the 42nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta – an event that everyone should experience at least once in their life. The mass ascension is a kaleidoscope of color as pilots from all over the world guide their giant orbs upward into the air currents known as the Albuquerque Box. What might seem like a helpless craft floating at the whim of the wind can actually be steered in any direction by skilled pilots who raise or lower the balloon to catch the right currents.

Whether you take a ride for a bird’s-eye view or simply wander amid the controlled chaos of preparation on the ground, this is a spectacle you won’t soon forget. Oh, and don’t forget the camera!

July 18, 2013October 30, 2015

Along the Waterpocket Fold

Morning light on volcanic boulders under The Castle, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah USA

Utah is a geologic wonderland and exploring its myriad canyons and plateaus is journey through time. With one of the highest concentrations of parks in the country from iconic Bryce, Zion and Arches to the seemingly endless expanse of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, one could spend their entire lifetime on the Colorado Plateau and still not see it all. Yet there are still grand vistas worthy of protection in this vast landscape making the prospect of seeing it and preserving it a lifelong pursuit.

One park that often gets overlooked is Capitol Reef. West of the Henry Mountains and east of the town of Torrey, it straddles the most prominent landform in the area – the Waterpocket Fold. This massive upheaval in the earth’s surface (a monocline in technical terms) is over 100 miles long and exposes some 70 million years of our planet’s evolution.

The town of Fruita along Highway 24 on the Fremont River corridor is rich in Mormon pioneer and Native American history. Surrounded by orchards under the towering sandstone cliffs, it’s a beautiful spot to spend a day or a week exploring the natural wonders of this special park.

Capitol Reef National Park contains nearly a quarter million acres in the slickrock country of central Utah. And with only one paved road bisecting it, it’s not hard to find your own space to photograph, hike, or simply contemplate the incredible light and form along the great expanse of the Waterpocket Fold.