Wild ‘Bill’ Hairball

Corona Arch
©Joe Bridwell

Utah has a number of truly spectacular arches.  Just west of Moab, Corona is a popular Colorado River site.  The ancient artifact in front of Corona is Wild 'Bill' Hairball... camper, arch hunter, HDR shooter, and sand-covered country bumpkin.

No, this is not an HDR image.  But, I did spend the onset of a long hot summer way off the highway down horrible washboard roads shooting HDR sunrises and sunsets, many in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Since you just don't snap and show HDR panoramas, forgive me if there hasn't been time to do little more than document my return.
Thankfully, a primary order of business _ a deep, encompassing bath_ was joyous!

With time, some of these images will emerge.  As will memories of:
Seeing 4 sunlit crow's watching solemnly from a dawn-lit, nearby hill.
Finding 3 Japanese on a country road 14 miles beyond their goal, lacking English.
Carefully negotiating a small slot canyon, unable to believe my eyes 'Liam the Lizard running along, slightly ahead of me, body and tail parallel to the ground'!  I simply did not know lizards could do that...
On a back country road watching a pickup pull a hang glider by wire.
A windy Navajo rodeo with running horse's hooves creating dusty cloud puffs.
When occasionally around people, frequently hearing German...
Nightly set up a 30-year-old tent, recently renovated by REI (no charge)...
Taking pictures of the most incredible Southwestern natural landscapes.
Living out under great Western skies which softly welcome sunrise and warmly embrace opulent evening.

I would be quite remiss if I did not thank Sonny (Tracback) Lane and Larry (Magic Breath) Stroup for their emotional and intellectual support on this venture and safe return to technical nirvana!  In each unique way, these guys were the Wind beneath My Wings – teaching, arguing, testing my theories, and praying for great images…
And, my beautiful daughter Donna aka Chris, who patiently listened to disjointed and rather intermittent cell phone calls from where ever, contributing care and love on this lonely vigil.  Perhaps the most unusual was from Hole in the Rock Road, some 45 miles down, way in the outback, as Crocodile Dundee might say.  I can only guess that a flashing red light on Navajo Mountain farther south of Lake Powell let me make that jewel… mostly it was ‘Can’t Find  Service…’
Enjoy...