Fall colors line this iconic meadow in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Lockett Meadow was a favorite picnicing spot for my family when I lived in Flagstaff as a child. This tank gets lots of love from photographers and artists. A car-load of them missed these beautiful clouds this same day I shot this. It was pretty close to noon when I did shoot this... not usually the best time for photography. I tried not to rub their noses in it. Also interesting to note: Millions of tiny orange diatoms were doing a frenzied dance in the waters of the tank. It was amazing to watch them swirling and boiling in this small patch of water. My pano makes it look huge compared to how small it really is.
A temporary stream was fed by the rapidly melting snow in the desert below Four Peaks. I was amazed to hear the sound of water and followed it to this caramel-color stream winding it's way though the Sonoran Desert. The water was highlighted by thin threads of black silt as it wound around the desert floor.
A winter storm clears over the Superstition Mountains outside of Apache Junction, Arizona. A story about a rich gold treasure being hidden somewhere in the Superstition mountains is undoubtedly fiction. It's probably a cover story by a German man named Jacob Waltz who was a fence for gold thieves in the surrounding areas of southern and central Arizona. His story was a convenient way to explain the gold he did possess. Needless to say, the location of the Lost Dutchman's gold has never been found. Nevertheless, people come from around the world to hike these mountains in search for the elusive gold.
