Foto Friday Fun 311–every picture tells a story

This week’s Foto Friday Fun features images chosen by seven readers including ancient images of ancient stuff, spring flowers, and a few of my choices as well.

Rita chose #89.  This lovely little creek flows from the waterfall in Roaring Springs Canyon about five miles down the North Kaibab trail and 3000 feet below the North Rim of Grand Canyon.  In September 2008—my first season at the canyon—I took the mule ride to this area.  Sadly, the last year the National Park Service allowed the ride that far.  I wanted to experience as much as possible to share personal experience with visitors.  As I’d already hiked rim to rim my feeling about which is better, no matter how you do it something is going to hurt, just different somethings.  Mules are wide.

Jim and Diana chose #1040, “as I am going to do our taxes today.”  Here we see your tax dollars at work feeding the non-native, hybrid Bison/Cattle that over-graze the meadows on public lands at the North Rim Grand Canyon National Park.

My search of #40 from above reveals a standing dead tree in the blast zone, 12 years after the eruption of Mount St. Helens when I worked there in 1992.

Diane and Nigel chose #1503.  The Navajo Loop trail in Bryce Canyon National Park descends to the base of the hoodoos, or as I think of them as the rock people.  This shot from my first visit in 2010 with an old P&S.  I look forward to sauntering and photographing here again.

The #03 from above, a scanned print from Christmas 1970.  Adolph was a ball dog and opened his own present.  Note the ribbons around this long body.

Tredeuce chose #1898, “the birth year of my much loved paternal grandfather.  I believe that means he’s a classic, as is this Bugatti I spotted in the parking lot at the North Rim Grand Canyon National Park.

From the #98 above.  A 13-year old me, with a scarily similar haircut although today more gray.  My 1967 class photo from O’Neil Junior High School in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Jennifer chose #5106.  A sunset view over the Weaver Mountains I’ve taken and shared numerous times from Yarnell, Arizona.

The #06 from above takes me back to summer love and partying in 1971.  A friend’s parents owned acreage with a lake where many days were spent languishing on a blanket as friends would come and go.  A time just before we all became working and maybe responsible young adults.

Jeff chose #317 for St. Patrick’s Day.  I’d feel extremely lucky if I’d found all these arrow heads.  But none of them are old.  These are reproductions from a couple friends’ who are flint knappers.

#17 from above is another scanned print taken in March, 1990.  On an Olympic peninsula journey to visit a friend in La Push, Washington I stopped along the road and shot this view of Crescent Lake.

Sherry chose #7481.  An unusual view of zebras from the underground bird hide in Addo Elephant National Park.  My favorite elephant park in South Africa.  However, I apologize for the over processed photos in Addo this post as I’d just starting using Lightroom and went overboard with excitement.

The #81 from above shows the craftsmanship of the Ancestral Puebloans when they built about 1000 years ago at what is now Aztec Ruin National Monument in New Mexico.  I visited the summer of 2005 while working in the area at Mesa Verde National Park.

My final choice, a sure sign of spring.  Patches of Poppies along a road near Wickenburg, Arizona earlier this week.

Thank you for playing along with Foto Friday Fun which allows me to share these photographs and memories from my archives.  Please join in next week by leaving a number between 1 and 9999 in your comment below.

Do you have a favorite this week?