This week’s Foto Friday Fun features images chosen by eight readers including several multiple shot panoramas, lush green scenes from South Africa, and a birthday present to myself.
Rita chose #723, one of four in a panorama of Lake Powell, a reservoir straddling the Arizona and Utah border. Note the light bottom, known as the bathtub ring, on the island called Lone Rock showing how low the water was in May 2009. It continues to drop.
Tredeuce chose #1966, “the birth year of my first born.” After an amazing hike and restful sleep, waking to this first light on the Drakensburg Mountains felt like a rebirth.
Taking #66 from above at Aztec Ruins National Monument. Superb stonework by the Ancestral Puebloan peoples located in what we now call New Mexico. Seems unlikely to see so many matates, grinding stones, in one room.
Bonnie chose #329, “for my birthday.” One of five in a panorama will be your birthday present of the Grand Canyon from Point Imperial overlook on the North Rim. Taken three days after opening my first season as Ranger at the canyon in 2008.
Diane and Nigel chose #2203, one of three in a panorama. Camdeboo National Park offers wildlife and geology along with this fantastic view of the Valley of Desolation located near Graaff-Reinet in South Africa.
Jeff chose #1918, “the year the dam at Lake Hodges was completed.” Same Drakensburg hike as above was not yet completed from this shot.
The #18 from above is a scanned print taken in March 1990 of sunset from La Push, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.
Sherry chose #3366. The west is littered with all kinds of rough hewn fences like this one seen at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southern Utah.
From above the #66, Ranger Gaelyn demonstrating the position for grinding on a matate in Spruce Tree House when working at Mesa Verde National Park during summer of 2005 in Colorado.
Jennifer chose #1867, one of three in a panorama taken in August 2011. I was leaving the Kaibab Lodge after dinner. The building is the North Rim Country Store. All this not far from the North Rim Grand Canyon.
Jo chose #4530. Not too far from where I finally met Jo is the Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour where I zip-lined through the treetops in South Africa.
My final choice is my birthday present to myself. I won this Squash Blossom necklace at the silent auction held at our local community center. It’s 1970s costume jewelry not sterling silver and turquoise.
Thank you for playing along with Foto Friday Fun which allows me to share these photographs and memories. Please join in next week by leaving a number between 1 and 9999 in your comment below.
Do you have a favorite this week?
Good morning Gaelyn, interesting selection of photo’s this week. Love the on of you in your ranger outfit grinding on a Matate Mesa Verde. What is a Matate? Is it the word for stone grinder in the Native language ? My favourite of course for this week is Grand Canyon overlook on the North Rim. I just love the Grand Canyon. I envy my brother because he has been there to see it, but wishes he had flown down into it now as he only flew over the top. Have a great week end.
Thanks. Matate is the Spanish word for grinding stone. Depending on when your brother visited the Grand Canyon he would only be able to fly over and then not directly but on the edges. No flights allowed right over the park or in the canyon.
“No flights allowed right over the park or in the canyon”
This is partially correct; I pulled my Grand Canyon Sectional flight chart of which there is a special one for flights over and around the canyon and park. It’s is a complicated situation for GA pilots as there are flight zones and corridors with varying allowed altitudes. There are FLT exclusion zones for part of the park/canyon, those being ‘Desert View’ _ Toroweap/Shinumo _ Sanup.
There are special FLT areas for permitted air tour operators, but in no case are FLT’s allowed below 500-ft above any terrain or into the canyon, except for emergency FLT’s.
Canyon FLT rules are covered in FAA ‘SFRA’s
GA – General Aviation/Private Pilots
FLT- Flights
SFRA’s – Special FLT Rules Areas
Morning, Gaelyn.
Love the verdant velvet covering the softly eroding Drakensburg Mountains.
1.618 for next week. The ratio of the Golden Mean.
The Drakensburgs do look covered in velvet. #1618 for next week.
Hi Gaelyn, yes Tsitsikamma is a stone’s throw from Knysna where you and I met! My favorite is the Valley between Cathkin Peak and Champagne Castle with Ntunja in the distance. I keep meaning to ask you: did you add a stone to the cairn at the Sphinx? My number for next week is 7500. Have a great weekend. Jo
I am envious of you living in sight of those mountains. I did not add a stone to the cairn but do remember seeing the Sphinx near the trail. #7500 for next week.
They are beautiful photos, as always. You must have met so many people as ranger.
#9236 for next week!
Thanks. I’ve met 1000s of people as a Ranger, and a few I knew as bloggers. #9236 for next week.
Always fun to see pics of Ranger Gaelyn sharing her knowledge. The green of the Drakensburg Mountains is gorgeous. Our own mountains in SoCal were almost that green this year! Can never see enough of your photos of the canyon.
#7101 for next week please.
Thanks. Ranger Gaelyn is anxious to be back at it, soon. By the look of profuse flower pics taken in southern CA it’s nice to know the mountains are green. Just hope it doesn’t dry out too quickly. #7101 for next week.
Oh my goodness, busy day and I have just discovered it is Friday again!! I do have a calendar right in front of my computer, not as good as yours, but this is one that our local fire fighter produce every year and they need looking after. I love all the photos, and as much as I love the RSA ones, I also love all the others equally. But I will go with your favourite, as my favourite, lovely piece of jewellery,
Have a good weekend, Diane and Nigel
Thanks. It is a pretty piece of jewelry and I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet.
Just realised I forgot a number – brain is going……. 2903 please for the next Foto_Friday
#2903 for next week.
Headed for Lone Rock in about 3 weeks! 2) La Push, WA was a favorite place to go during Christmas vacation for storm watching. 3) 6792 for next week — whatever that is (:
I might be about a week behind you. A friend taught school in La Push. I loved how the storms moved around the ‘beach furniture’ logs. #6792 for next week.
Storm Watching_ We used hike the Hoh River trail to the mouth of the Hoh, than turn north and hike the trail high above the beach, which is the only safe route, but the views are spectacular.
“Beach Furniture” is thrown high(a couple hundred feet) into the air in a spectacular display of aerobatics and stunning power.
I have hiked the Ozette trail from the mouth of the Hoh to Ozette. This has to be one the great coast hikes in the world. Only(in my experience) the coast hikes in Brazil and in particular, the hike from Rio Galegos to Cabo Tres Puntas in southern Argentina, rival it.
I love the photos of the matates in this post. When we lived in central Utah in the mid 1960’s lots of people found them out in the high desert and took them home. I think my brother found one, I have no idea where it is now. I know we used to find arrow heads and an occasional spear point in the desert. We also found a few pottery pieces.
I bought a matate at a yard sale and now I haul around a 100 lb rock.
In the mid 70’s I found a large beautifully formed Metate near my parents river property at Rowena on the Columbia River. It was about 170-pds. so not easily transported by its original Native American users. It was of a type of granite not found in the area, so we speculated that it had been transported from the Okanogan bulge area near present day Grand Coulee dam or all the way from the Rockies as an erratic on a large chunk of ice during one of the Lake Missoula/Bretz flood events.
I donated the metate to the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center where it is still on display.
We also found metates when we excavated the dig at the Trojan Nuclear power plant site before the plant was built. Those metates are part of the Oregon Historical collection as are other artifacts we found throughout Oregon rockhounding.
As always nice photos, nad you seem to have hit nice memories with your readers. Me too, I enjoy the sight of a double rainbow – the secondary is a mirror image of the primary. For next week I’d like 7569, I picked Gonzaga to to go the distance this year, but they will go home after a 75-69 defeat to Texas Tech.
Thanks Jeff, can’t go wrong with a rainbow. #7569 for next week.
So much to love! I picture all the ladies in the community getting together to chat and gossip as they grind their grain … that must be why so many in one room. Of course the canyon panorama or the SA NPs arethe photos I’d want on my walls to live with forever (and I wish I were that lucky) , but I also love the slice of life photos … you grinding grain, and thezip line specifically ….that was such an adventure! …. I’m probably too late maybe for next week, I’m so far behind. Feel free to ignore my number if you wish, I will never be upset. But if room and early enough I will take 118.
Women working together makes fun and chores go quickly. We’ve lost that idea it seems. #118 for you this week.