The very first time I saw Death Valley the first thought that popped into my head was “Boy, but this is a barren landscape!” But right on the heels of that thought came a second, this one attached to a sense of wonder – But Oh! The colors!
So this week I’d like to share a different kind of rock art with you, Mother Nature’s masterpieces. I’m going to get a little artsy-fartsy and share some abstract photography, portraits of those fantastic colors, patterns and texture that can be found in every corner of the national park.
I’m convinced that every color of the rainbow can be found somewhere in Death Valley’s rocks. I’m so convinced that when I was a ranger there, I played a little game as an icebreaker, to slow my visitors down on my Nameless Canyon hikes and sharpen their powers of observation. I picked up a random assortment of paint sample chips at the hardware store. I included lots of variety – purples, blues, yellows, pinks, browns, tans, greys – no two colors exactly the same. It was a big box hardware store. I got LOTS of paint chips.
Then I cut them all to a uniform size and put them in a bag. Each hiker had to blindly thrust their hand in the bag and pull out three paint chips, then find its EXACT match in the landscape we traveled through.
There was a lot of eye-rolling and exclamations of “I’ll never find THIS color!” I did end up removing 2 or 3 shades of blue and one particular red chip. True black was a surprisingly difficult color to find. But nearly every time, each hiker would eventually find all 3 of their colors, no matter what they picked out of the bag.
Some areas are more colorful than others, world famous for their colors, it’s true. But even the hills that look a uniform baked brown from the road reveal their loveliness in the layers and shades you will find if you get a little closer.
When you delve deeper, all those colors, layers and patterns reveal a plethora of geologic events and eras. If only the rocks could talk, what stories they could tell!
So it doesn’t matter if it hasn’t rained all year. It doesn’t matter if it’s a poor flower year, or the wrong season. You can visit this national park and still see a brilliant display of color, because Death Valley rocks!
Thank you, Ann-Christine, for bringing us this week’s Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge, “You Pick It”. Also thanks to Tina for the art inspiration and Amy for the desert rocks inspiration.
A stunning post Dianne (and thanks very much for the mention!). I just LOVE the bag of colors idea – brilliant way to make people stop and truly see. You’ve demonstrated that Mother Nature, as always, is the best artist there is. I remember being stunned by the colors of rock when we visited the areas around the glaciers in South America. They too emphasized the amazing colors of the nearby rocks – just glorious. You are exactly the kind of guide we need to help people appreciate and treasure nature’s wonders.
Thank you, Tina, for your kind words.
Amazing formations and colours, Dianne! Having you as a guide must be the ultimate position for any visitor!
Thank you, Ann-Christine. What a nice thing to say!
Hi, Dianne. You sound like a wonderful tour guide! I love that idea. Your photos are marvelous, as always! What a treat.
Thanks, Patti. So glad you like them!
That’s incredible. And what a fun exercise with the paint chips!
These images are amazing! Thank you, Dianne for showing us the artworks by nature. All are beautifully captured,
Thank you, Amy. Glad you like them!
I love these photos, the mix of the hard reality of the rocks with the abstract patterns and colours! I’ve never been to Death Valley and always wanted to but now even more so 😀
I hope you can make it sometime. But be sure not to come in the summer! February through April is the best, because most years you can get the colors of a few flowers in addition to the amazing rocks!