Blog

Our two layover camps seemed like little bits of heaven in a sea of beauty and wonder.  Heaven because we didn't have to break down our tents and set them up the next day.  We still got up with the sun, but it seemed less onerous, somehow.

After another wonderful meal I set off to paint.  I was intrigued by the bright glare of the sun and the glow within the shadows on the canyon walls.  I had watched Kevin painting several times in the last few days and liked the way he added color to his skies and used such a high key for the warmer / cooler colors in the sunlit canyon walls, so I tried to see if I could create something equally attractive.

In the early morning, before the sun reaches into the canyons, the atmosphere is still cool.   Time was flying and we were all tryi

ng to capture the cool moments of the very early morning, knowing that soon we would have to find shelter from the hot sun.  The painting above titled, "Morning Shadows On Canyon Walls" was the result.

Since we were not going out on the river, I decided to seek shade by hiking up deep into the nearby canyon called Fern Glen.  We were told that the canyon had changed dramatically several years back because of flash flooding.   Now there were HUGE boulders all the way up the canyon which I needed to climb and crawl over with my painting gear on my back.  If you're interested, there is a terrific video on You-tube that hikers who were there at the time took during the flash flood.  You would put in Fern Glen flash flood and up it comes.  I can tell you that the power of the water had to be immense because the rocks and boulders were carried long and far and were piled one upon the other all the way back into the canyon.  At the end was a pool of water with a trickling waterfall.  It all disappeared into the rocks and you couldn't see any water through the canyon until you neared the end.  After I had explored, I walked back until I found a spot I wanted to paint.

A few of the others hiked up and back down the canyon but I found a rock to rest on began to paint.  I tried to capture the striking light that shone across the canyon walls and down to the sandy bottom floor.  I decided to stay and work to get as much down as I could before lunch.

Here is my  "Fern Glen Canyon".

I finished up and tried to get back to the camp without killing myself.  I was really worried because climbing over and around all of those boulders and rocks was quite treacherous and I didn't want this wonderful trip to end in disaster for me.   I fell down many times, but happily I made it back with only bruises.

After lunch I decided to wade out into the slow-moving water of the river.   I hung out there with several of the others for a good part of the afternoon because there wasn't any shade in camp and I didn't want to go back into the canyon and risk a break or a sprain.

Finally in the late afternoon I totally immersed myself to cool off and then hiked up to a hillside which overlooked Fern Glen's entrance into the Colorado River.  I found a spot of shade on the shadow side of a tamarisk tree which was near the high sandy wall which lined one side of Fern Glen's arroyo.

I painted until dinner and managed to capture most of what I was trying to accomplish.   I can tell you that by dinnertime, I was ready to eat and very, very tired.   

On the left you can see the last effort of the day:  Afternoon In Fern Glen Canyon.

Although most of the time, the crew was busy cooking and making sure we were all safe, on the two lay-over days while all of us were out painting, they had a bit more relax time.  Sometimes they got up a game of bocci balls or horseshoes, and sometimes they chatted or played the guitar.

Dinner that day as with all of the other days was delicious!!