Ranger Gene Leads the Foreigners to Betatikin

I had lots of fun with this painting. It's from a snapshot taken during a hike down a very long trail, leading to a famous ruin. Navajo National Monument is one of my favorite places. Located in Northern Arizona, it's been the site of many of my birthdays. I'm not sure why–it just seems to have worked out that way. I love being there on my birthday because a major meteor shower happens every year on that date. And the atmosphere is clear, with virtually no light pollution, so you can watch the spectacular sky all night long if you can stay awake!

Back to the painting. We have taken this ranger-led hike a number of times. This particular guy (Gene) was a seasoned ranger, with a definitely quirky personality. I got such a charge out listening to him and observing the people from various countries. The people on this particular day added a dimension that I just had to capture! It's part of my series about tourists.

Jack and David Attempt to Capture the Beauty

This is a painting from a series of snapshots I took while on a wonderful river trip, rafting down the Grand Canyon. The two guys here are my brother-in-law and my nephew. Yes, I took a few photos. My husband, Jim, took hundreds and hundreds of photos. This made sense because he's a professional photographer and consequently, was working. Jack and David were on vacation, but they took pictures non-stop on this trip. I'm not sure if they ever saw the Canyon except through the viewfinders on their cameras. It made me think about what the trip would have been like for them with no camera at all. It certainly would have been a different experience. Maybe we should all leave the picture-making to the professional photographers, use our vacations to enjoy our surroundings and purchase that quintessential image which really captures the place from the guy who makes his living doing this! For a look at Jim's wonderful current project which is chock full of photos and other exciting stuff, look at the US Route 89 project!