Huge heaps of praise...

go to the Grand County Road Department for a job well done eradicating graffiti on the Castleton Road bridge over Castle Creek earlier this year. I alerted them to the offensive tagging in May via email, and much to my surprise the director responded within hours asking for more information. He additionally followed up with another email in July informing me that the graffiti had been painted over. On behalf of all Castle Valley residents that enjoy this beautiful place, THANKS!

May 2023

September 2023

Mercury at its greatest western elongation...

at 17.9 degrees away from the Sun, meaning it’s the best time to view the innermost planet before sunrise, while the Sun is still below the eastern horizon. Here is the tiny planet early this morning, rising above Adobe Mesa, with Venus shining more brightly overhead.

Heads up, the autumnal equinox is tomorrow. Bummer, I prefer longer days.

There's a jungle of volunteer sunflowers...

brightening the high desert landscape, many as tall as a person. It’s quite the display in Castle Valley and elsewhere.

The sun flares in these images are a result of closing down the camera’s aperture to its smallest opening. I manually set it at f/22 and make sure I have a very clean lens and shoot directly into the Sun. Easy.

Photographing today's Sun...

using a new solar filter, all in preparation for the annular solar eclipse in one month’s time. I’m very excited.

My image captured early this afternoon with a 400 mm telephoto lens with solar filter (ND 100000).

For comparison, here’s the daily image from spaceweather.com with sunspot numbers, acquired by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

More about the quickly approaching 14 October 2023 annular solar eclipse: Eclipse America 2023. IMPORTANT: Proper eye protection must be used to observe all phases of this event.

Deep in the Swell...

under extremely dark skies during the new moon the Milky Way is nothing less than sensational.

My camp along Mexican Mountain Road in the northern San Rafael Swell. I estimated that the core of the Milky Way would rise between Window Blind Peak (left) and Assembly Hall Peak (right). That’s the San Rafael River near the center of the image.

Silhouetted selfie with the Milky Way. All alone. Sublime.

Attaining the summit of Bald Mountain...

in the western Uinta Mountains of Utah is a moderate but rocky hike, and is also a lung buster if one is not acclimated to the high elevation. The trail steadily climbs 1,250 feet in 1.5 miles to the 11,943 foot (3,640 meter) summit where there are expansive views into four drainages.

Bald Mountain summit and Mirror Lake. Note the three hikers in the upper left approaching the summit plateau.

Periodic Spring is well named...

and very reliable, surging in 15 minute-long cycles of enormous discharge, then completely shutting down for a similarly long recharging period. This unusual and extremely rare hydrologic phenomenon is the outlet of a confined karst aquifer system hosted in the Madison Limestone. The intermittent spring lays in a deeply recessed canyon near Afton, Wyoming and requires a slow drive on a potholed gravel road and a short hike to reach.

Here is a well presented description of the spring, including an explanation of the mechanism at work: Geology of Wyoming - Periodic Spring.

Closer view of the modified spring orifice under flowing conditions. I recorded a time-lapse video of the spring over several cycles with a GoPro, tripod seen at left, and will post it here in a little bit.

UPDATED 19 September 2023: Here’s the time-lapse video of Periodic Spring through several cycles of discharge and recharge, each about 15 minutes long, shot over about 45 minutes. It’s magic!

The core of the Milky Way...

next to Bald Mountain, high in the western Uinta Mountains of Utah. This new moon is the last opportunity to enjoy the galactic center this season, as it will not rise above the horizon in the northern hemisphere until next spring.

Silhouette of Bald Mountain (11,943 foot (3,640 meters)) on the right.

A frosty sunrise at Mirror Lake (10,050 ft (3,060 m)) the following morning.

Hopper and Gomer...

are my neighbor’s llamas, but they meet me at the fence line every day for a treat. I get all the enjoyment without any of the upkeep. Thought I’d snap a couple of quick portraits to share with their owner.

The perfect wall hanging...

for an unabashed cartophile, this shaded relief printing of the classic Moab 1:250,000 quadrangle is quite stunning. Keep in mind that in the image below the paper is completely flat, yet the map pops in the third dimension. I just mounted and framed this print and it will hang in my high desert hacienda in red rock country. Perfect place.

24 x 32 inch print of the Moab, Utah 1:250,000 scale topographic quadrangle (1969).

Close detail view of the Moab and Castle Valley area, Utah.

Dig artistic wall maps? Then Muir Way is the place. I wish I had more wall space.

A terrible situation is developing...

in eastern Washington where the Gray Fire erupted two days ago, burning more than 10,000 acres and destroying more than 185 homes and structures in and around the community of Medical Lake. A “State of Emergency” has been declared in Spokane County and my residence is under a Level 2 (Get Set) evacuation order.

Current information here: Watch Duty - Gray Fire.

Fire mapping: Fire Information for Resource Management Systems US/Canada.

Image by C. Pritchard taken on 18 August 2023 from northeastern shore of Medical Lake.

UPDATE 22 August 2023: A burn perimeter map has been released showing the affected 10,014 acres with the ignition source located at a youth ranch west of Medical Lake. My residence still remains in a Level 2 (Get Set) evacuation status. Rain is in the forecast!

Gray Fire burn perimeter map southwest of Spokane, Washington.

UPDATE 22 August 2023 at 5 pm PST: Evacuation areas are being downgraded and my residence is no longer under any evacuation warning. Feeling extraordinarily fortunate.

An annular solar eclipse...

will traverse the southwestern United States in about two months time. I’m getting prepared for this rare and interesting astronomical event, the center line for which is a short distance south of Moab, Utah. I’ll be camping there with all my telescopic and photographic gear.

More information here: Eclipse America 2023.

Terrific zoomable map: Interactive Google Map showing center line.

IMPORTANT: All observers regardless of location will require appropriate eye protection to view this event!

A literal night owl...

caught at the bird bath by the trail camera last evening following a very hot day.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).

Days later: Elusive during the daytime, but a frequent visitor under the cover of darkness.

After the burn...

at the leading edge of the wind driven wildfire. I estimate that only about 40 acres of ponderosa pine forest burned, thanks to the quick aerial response in dousing the fire.