Dead Horse's Sunset

 

What a weird title, you might think. 

You might remember that we had visited the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. On our way back to Moab we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park, just a few miles away from the entrance to Canyonlands, still on top of the mesa. From here you have a breath taking view over the desert landscape of canyons, carved over millions of years by the Colorado River and the Green River. On a clear day your eyes may travel over to the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

This state park is particularly popular for both sunrise and sunset. It has been on our list for quite a while, because whenever we had been up here it was either completely foggy or we were a bit too late since we had spent so much time in Canyonlands. This time, though, we were right on time.

Above you can see the canyons and also the Colorado River if you look closely. The picture below is directed to the other side which is more hazy because of the low sun, but you can still see the crazy bends the river makes.

So, what about that name, Dead Horse? There are different legends how it came to its name. One of them is described on the park's website:

Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone cliffs. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. There are many stories about how this high promontory of land received its name.

According to one legend, around the turn of the century, the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.

A couple more pictures while the shadows weren't too long yet.

Then the light started to change, turned more golden and warm.

The shadows became longer and deeper, obscuring the canyons.

Well, of course, a tree! Is anybody surprised?

The two "lakes" you see on the desert floor are solar evaporation ponds for a potash mine.

One of the last views over the darkened canyons.

Rocks on the mesa were still in sunlight, but not for much longer.

What about some Alpenglühen (alpenglow)?

Even that changed quickly on this winter evening.

The top of the mesa was tinted in pink-purple for a few minutes.

I finish this post with a twisted dead tree.

December Reflections

 

Like every December I participated in Susannah Conway's December Reflections on Instagram. It is a good way for me to reflect on the year, go through my photos and just take it a bit slow. Sometimes I feel the prompts are not really for me, but funny enough I always come up with something.

Here are my 31 photos. There are quite some faces to see and they, of course, are for Nicole's Friday Face Off.

There are a couple photos I want to say a few sentences about.

Day 24 was "patience". How do you express this in one photo? I was a bit lost first, but then I thought of my mom who loved to do jigsaw puzzles. There was a specific one of a painting by Albrecht Altdorfer, "The Battle of Alexander at Issus".

We had that as a puzzle of 1500 pieces and every year we would put it together between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Well, it was my mom who did most of it, but we all loved to help and find those pieces that just seem to disappear and then magically reappear right before you. This painting is probably the one I know best. When the puzzle was finally finished, it would be left on the table for a couple days and then put apart again and back into the box until the following Christmas.

Here is my mom working on a different puzzle (I think this was the English countryside):

Day 25's prompt was "memories". That is a wide open field. I chose a photo of my family - i.e. my husband and daughter, and my parents. This was taken during one of our visits back home. Staying with Omi and Opi was always special for Kaefer and I am so glad that she has these memories of happy, careless times with them. Both my parents adored her and she in turn adored her grandparents.

One last photo, for the prompt "birds", day 5. I had taken this photo of a Black-crowned Night Heron at the lake on a very foggy day when the lake was very still. The bird - one of my most favorites - is also perfectly still (that could have worked for "patience" as well) and the picture seems to be all grey in different shades. But there is the tip of the branch the heron is sitting on that has some light color as well as some slightly lighter part on the heron's chest where one solitary dappled ray of sun has hit. Not a masterpiece, but an image that truly reflects that morning.

I want to thank you, my wonderful readers, for reading my blog, leaving thoughtful comments and getting in touch outside of my blog. Thank you to those who checked in after our very forceful storms in the last week. And thank you for taking up with my sometimes weird English expressions that are colored by German.

To all of you I wish a happy and healthy 2026.

Island in the Sky

 

The majority of people who come to Moab are here to visit Arches National Park. But there is another national park right here, just across from Arches - Canyonlands National Park. It is Utah's largest national park, a huge area with different levels of accessibility, and has three regions: the Maze, Island in the Sky, and the Neddles. The Maze is the most remote area that so far I have never visited, but we've been to both Island in the Sky and the Needles several times. Today I'm taking you to Island in the Sky.

As the name implies, this region is located high up on a mesa. It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to drive up here from Moab. Since Arches has become almost overcrowded with visitors, Island in the Sky has grown in popularity. There were more visitors than we had ever seen before, but it was far from crowded.

You can drive along almost the entire length of the mesa without getting out of the car, but getting out and doing a couple hikes reveals the beauty and magnificence of this park. Just a very short hike from the road and there are the most amazing views.

Everywhere there are these stunning views of the canyons below - hence the name. Here is where the Colorado River and the Green River have carved this narrow "peninsula in the sky" before they merge a little bit further south and continue as the Colorado River.

Of course, the shadow picture...

Canyonlands - just like Arches - has a high number of crooked and/or dead trees.

Look at these canyons! Isn't it amazing what water can do over millions of years?

I didn't mention trees, did I?

The following photo is my favorite of all the pictures I took on this elevated island. Please note that it is NOT a tree! More like a bad hair day.

Grand Point View is at the end of the road and offers lovely hikes. We did a shorter hike that offered more stunning views.

Did I mention trees?

A dirt road goes around the entire Island in the Sky, the White Rim Road. It's only passable for 4-wheel drive; the drive takes about two days and you can stay overnight in a few very primitive camping spots. I think it would be a great adventure. You can see the road as a faint line in the following photo.

I love how ragged the cliffs of the canyons are. Fascinating. This is stuff I find highly attractive.

Good tourists that we are, we had to take a selfie. Of course I always have Nicole's Friday Face Off in my mind when we take pictures like that. In the background you can see the La Sal Mountains.

Back at the parking lot we enjoyed my friends, the ravens. They are so entertaining and I'm convinced that they have a real sense of humor.

Oh look! A dead tree!

One more look over the canyons towards the Green River.

Our next hike was up to the overlooks of Upheaval Dome. It was quite steep in places, but the trail was lovely.

The view of the eroded crater was interesting; the geology is fascinating (I wish I was more knowledgeable about it).

So far we had mainly looked to the West and the South, but now on our way back we had a beautiful clear view to the East with the La Sal Mountains on the horizon. Oh, and a dead tree smack in the center!

The most popular spot is Mesa Arch, very close to the entrance of the park. This is only a short hike and we only did it because there was one free spot in the parking lot, otherwise we would have avoided it. I wonder whether that would have been the better decision.

Years ago we had seen the sunrise here for which it is most popular. Even for that favored time, it wasn't crowded back then. This time - not so much.

Darn those cell phones! Everybody had to take a selfie with the arch in the background. And not just one, no, at least five or six, if not even more. I do understand taking a selfie, after all, we do that, too, but does it have to be an entire series of them when there are so many other people waiting for their turn or to just enjoy the view? None of them even bothered to look at the view. It was all about the selfie.

There was a very short window - a couple seconds - when we could enjoy this truly marvellous view. Isn't it stunning?

One last view from the side of the road towards the La Sal Mountains on our way out of the park.

 

Luminiscence in Münster

 

Kaefer and one of her colleagues were lucky to get tickets for Luminiscence in the cathedral of Münster, the St-Paulus-Dom. Luminiscence is a 360º immersive show of illumination, voice and music. Since my explanation might not be sufficient, here's an example (all photos and videos except for the one of the outside of the Dom are by Kaefer):

https://youtube.com/shorts/sFknNgcbEto?feature=share

The 50 minutes long show tells the story of the Dom, or better, the Dom tells its history. Quite an achievement to crowd 800 years of history into 50 minutes! This is what the Dom looks like:

It is simple and inornate on the inside and therefore offers a perfect "stage" for this kind of show.

This one reminds me of Van Gogh's "Starry Night":

The program has four acts and I'm not quite sure which video relates to which act (with the exception of the last one). I sometimes could make a guess from the voice of the speaker, but there isn't much speaking in the videos my daughter took. If you watch the videos I'd recommend to either turn up the volume or put on headphones, the sound experience is so much more impressive.

Light and shadow with Vivaldi's "Four Seasons":

https://youtube.com/shorts/0jabu1a6SsM?feature=share

"The measure of fleeting, irretrievable time" with Händel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks":

https://youtube.com/shorts/t29cPUy3jhE?feature=share

An organ light show with Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor - definitely turn up the volume!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Z_MokEcBFIc?feature=share

A little calm in blue.

Finally, the grand finale, "A symbol of eternity".

https://youtu.be/ZNWmlOW27dc

I hope you enjoyed this show of light and music. I'm very glad that Kaefer had the chance to experience this and that she shared her photos and videos with us.

Right after Thanksgiving her closest friend from their time at UC Davis came to visit her. Here they are at the Christmas market in Berlin, drinking either hot cider or white Glühwein (mulled wine). This is for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday.

Those of you who celebrate it, I wish you a merry and peaceful Christmas.

If the videos don't play for you, you can copy the link beneath each one and paste it into your browser.