Day 2 - White Pocket







White Pocket is a remote, weird, swirling, multicolored, and beautiful rock formation of Navajo Sandstone in northern Arizona. It is near the end of a long, sandy, 4WD road through high desert terrain.
SSOlymPics-0049  The Vermillion Cliffs looking north across the Colorado River which is hidden deep in Marble Canyon, the canyon upstream of the Grand Canyon SSOlymPics-0051  We ate lunch at Bob's favorite restaurant, Cliff Dwellers Lodge and Restaurant:  alway good food. SSWhtPock-0008  The parapet of Cliff Dwellers is hard to distinguish from the Vermillion Cliffs behind it. IMG 5669-HDR  L. to r.: Don, Sunshine, Will, Brittany, Hayden, Bob, Lee
SSWhtPock-0005  A unique item on the menu.  The group shared several pieces, but the most was eaten by Lee.  Much better than it sounds. SSWhtPock-0012  Headed west on US89A to House Rock Valley Road, once known as the (Morman) Honeymoon Trail. SSWhtPock-0014 SSOlymPics-0069  A stop at the visitor's viewpoint below the release point of captivity-born Condors back into the wild.
SSOlymPics-0052  Mature Condor's are the largest land birds in North America. SSOlymPics-0054 SSOlymPics-0055 SSOlymPics-0056
SSOlymPics-0057Legend  Just below the arrow head are white streaks of droppings from Condors who have stayed for some time after release SSOlymPics-0068  Hayden makes friends with the dog of a member of the release team.  The team had released several birds about 3 days earlier and were watching them with spotting scopes. SSOlymPics-0061  This is not a Condor, although he is holding a sample of the tag and transmitter the birds are tagged with before release. SSOlymPics-0062  Brittany sees an approaching Condor and seeks safety.
SSOlymPics-0064  She finds it. SSOlymPics-0066  Hayden and his mom, Sunshine. SSOlymPics-0070  This is the terrain around White Pocket SSOlymPics-0073  The typical tree in the area.
BrittWhtPock-0003  The parking lot at White Pocket BrittWhtPock-0008  The foot trail to White Pocket from the parking lot. BrittWhtPock-0004  Haydon begins the sandy walk. SSOlymPics-0076  There it is ahead of us
SSOlymPics-0083  The beginnings. SSOlymPics-0084  The brain rock found in abundance.  We need the sun. SSOlymPics-0085  It's getting more interesting. SSOlymPics-0081  Will gets around.  But we still need the sun to bring out the color.
IMG 5672-HDR SSOlymPics-0090  Brittany awaits her rescuer SSOlymPics-0094 SSOlymPics-0101  Hayden gets around.
SSOlymPics-0104 SSOlymPics-0113 SSOlymPics-0115  Lee and Bob SSOlymPics-0121  Will finds some sun and interesting clouds.
SSOlymPics-0122  Get ready to shoot some great pictures - the sun is here. SSOlymPics-0131 SSOlymPics-0138 SSOlymPics-0139
SSOlymPics-0143 SSOlymPics-0145 SSOlymPics-0146 SSOlymPics-0152
SSOlymPics-0157 SSOlymPics-0158 SSOlymPics-0162 SSOlymPics-0167Annotated  The wind seems to die a little, so Don gets the drone out to get some pictures.  He knows he took some of the best pictures and video of White Pocket ever taken, but he has yet to find them.
SSOlymPics-0177 SSOlymPics-0179 SSOlymPics-0192 SSOlymPics-0197
SSOlymPics-0200  This is why White Pocket was known to Native Americans, the "pockets" hold water. SSOlymPics-0201  More pockets of water. SSOlymPics-0205 SSOlymPics-0206  A huge Desert Tortoise has come to one of the water "pockets" to get a drink.
SSOlymPics-0217  The eye of a viper is watching over things. SSWhtPock-0020 SSOlymPics-0164  The sun makes Sunshine's shadow stand out. BrittWhtPock-0006  There's that Tortoise still trying to get to water.
BrittWhtPock-0009  Sunshine BrittWhtPock-0011 BrittWhtPock-0014  Sunshine near the mouth of the Tortoise. BrittWhtPock-0015  Brittany captures her own shadow in this stunning photograph.
BrittWhtPock-0017  That's Hayden over there. BrittWhtPock-0018  Brittany captures another stunning photograph of the landscape. IMG 0243-HDR(3) IMG 0267-HDR(3)
IMG 0270-HDR(3)  Don captures his own shadow. IMG 0273-HDR(3) IMG 0276-HDR(3) BrittWhtPock-0010  We start out the trail to the 4WD vehicles we used to get here.
SSWhtPock-0037  Sunshine tries to capture the sunset we had on the way out.