Cathedral Gorge

Back to Nevada this week with one of our amateur photographer's pictures taken on a past trip through the Badlands formations called the Cathedral Gorge.
  A little history:  The origins of this area began with a fresh water lake that covered the Panaca Valley in Nevada and another valley east of Pioche 53 million years ago that deposited soft mud. 
  Erosion began during the Pleistocene age  that created big gullies through the soft mud and gravel. (the area is now called Meadow Valley Wash)
  Then during the Ice Age, 25,000 years ago the Carpenter River removed approximately 1,000 feet of mud and gravel. The harder materials remain but erosion continues to change the landscape.

Photographer:  TJM596

Entering the Badlands

Looking up and up from the bed of the Cathedral Gorge

A Peek-a-boo Sky

Are the walls closing in?

 

 Sure wouldn't want to be here during a flash flood

But this looks like a hall for giants

Dare to Climb Out Anyone?

 

 

What a cool/hot place to visit and to feel small and insignificant to what nature has made.  A good days hike here would definitely do that.

  Thank you TJM596 for sharing your wonders of the world around you. 

  I am looking forward to sharing someone elses experiences in the weeks and months to come.  Please send your trip pictures or any other pictures you think other's would enjoy and share with us.

 

  Thank You,

Photo Amature

 

Arizona Nevada Highways...

 We are still leading up to vacation time for everyone so this is a roadtrip view while traveling across Arizona and Nevada by car.  I am sure that many of you have enjoyed the views while on the road so nows the time to share some of the sights you enjoy.
  A slight blur is sometimes to be expected when clicking away on your camera while in your vehicle.  Distance helps and also the angle you use (slightly ahead and out from your vehicle, slightly behind and to the side of your vehicle or directly ahead or behind helps).  If you focus perpendicular to your direction of travel there will be more blur.

Photographer:  Photo Amature

Sparrow Wall

(note window glare reflection)

Close up of Bird Hollows

Old Indian Reservation Homestead

The Castle

New Mexico/Arizona Winter Alps

Desert Haze

The Sentinel

 

Arizona Infantry

Nevada Lava Hills

 

If you have a picture or two or more that you think other's would enjoy please consider contacting us at the email listed in the upper right hand side bar. Happy Trails to us all this summer.
 

Back to the Ruins....

  Vacation time is approaching and you may be thinking about places and sights you want to see this summer.  Let's share some of our special vacation pictures of the sights we have enjoyed.  You may feel like you just 'take pictures' and are not a real photographer but you would be surprised at what you may come up with just by keeping your camera ready, (even your phone camera) and watching this wonderful world around us.

   Several years ago we went back to a place of my family roots.  Some of my uncles and grandpa helped to dig out an Aztec ruins site in New Mexico that still stands today and is an interesting place to visit. 

  Just on the outskirts of a little town named (not surprisingly) Aztec, New Mexico, there is some acreage that contains the ruins of an actual Aztec city.

  This will be a tour of the site so the post will be just a little longer than usual.  Please enjoy and then consider sending some of your favorite photos of sights you've seen on your vacations. I would like to hear from anyone with pictures of Caves, Petrified forests or Dinosaur remains along with other historical sites you think other's would be interested in seeing. Let's start planning our summer....

photographer:  Photo Amature

Aztec Ruins, near Aztec, New Mexico

 2 Lower levels of a Meeting Room (left)

Square holes are windows between rooms

 and a kitchen with grinding stones (right)

 Below shows how wooden beams made up the ceilings and floors between home levels.

 The holes seen were for either the small ceiling beams

or vent holes

 Stones were chisled to shape for walls (left)

Demonstration of chisling motions possibly used to shape stones (right)

 Small doorways between rooms joined the apartments

 Aparently the Aztecs were small people

 I especially liked the patterns in the stones.

Large Beam, window, and smoke stained walls.

Spaces between stones were filled with small flat

stone slivers and then mortar.

 

 Large beams still visible between rooms

 

Note doorway shape, cool

Ceremonial Kiva was rebuilt to show how a complete one looked, inside and out.  This one has been totally rebuilt and refurbished with stone, wooden beams and paint.

 

 The rectanglar pits seen may have been fire pits or for other ceremonial uses.

 These Round discs are almost a yard in diameter.  Their use is unknown but may have had some religious symbolism.

This Kiva is deep into the ground with more than one level.  Note how the large beams were layered at angles across each other to create the floor or ceiling between levels in order to cover the very large expance.

 

 Along one side of the Ruins the wall was layered with dark blue-black stones.  They may have denoted an area of prestige among the royalty of the city.

Even the layers of very thin stones seemed to be used as a decorative addition to the outside city wall.  By the photo above they could also have been a means to level the wall as it was built.

This was the only apartment or home that was also decorated inside with the bluish stone.  This could possibly have been the actual home of the city's Leader or other Royalty such as a religious Leader.

The Blueish stones were smoother and more care was taken in their placement, and was obviously a decorative motif.  It  is unknown whether there was religious or other importance connected to the blue stones.

 

OK, Your turn.  Please contact me at the email listed in the upper right side bar and send in your pictures to share as soon as possible.  Also, suggestions are always welcome to enhance this blog and to bring you things you will enjoy viewing.

  Remember,  amateurs wanted to join in at anytime!

 

Thank you for visiting.  Please leave comments at the bottom of any page including the tabs for individual amateur photographers. All comments, including annonymous ones are reviewed before being posted so be patient and they should appear in the comments section in a day or so.