Another Sedona Hike - Boynton Canyon Or How I Met the Lizard King

in #photography5 years ago

All photos taken by me with a Fujifilm Finepix A210 except where noted, with some Lightroom post processing.

This is another hike I took back in 2011 while visiting Sedona AZ in early June. It originated right from the back gate of the Enchanment Resort where I was staying. This resort and a couple of private residences are on the edge of the Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness.

Click images for larger view

Here I am at the breakfast table overlooking Boynton Canyon that I will soon be hiking. Taken with an LG VX11000 cell phone.


A couple of shots of the start of the hike. Not sure if that is a private residence or part of the resort. I liked the way the resort buildings and private residences were built to try to blend in with the surrounding landscape.


A shot of some of the wildlife I encountered on the hike.


The sun starting to show its self over the canyon wall. Since I was here in June an early start was imperative to avoid the afternoon heat.


I loved the contrast of colors as the hike proceeded. The blue sky, the shades of green on the canyon floor, the red and white of the rocks... it all made for stunning views.


But if you focused looking up too much, you were bound to miss the beauty in the spots of color dotting the canyon floor in the form of wildflowers.


The walls are starting to close in as I reach the end of the box canyon.


The flat sheer face of this cliff reminded me a little of a hike I had done in Zion NP in Utah.


A few more views as I reached the end of the trail.


Okay, so maybe I didn't find The Door's Jim Morrison at the end of this box canyon, but I did find his spirit animal. :) The thing I love about this shot is I never realized I had caught the lizard peering over the rock until I got back home and reviewed the pictures. I made a conscious effort on this shot to include more than just the grandeur of the cliff face across from me. I backed up to include the plant and the rocks on the left. Ultimately the universe rewarded me for my efforts by allowing me to capture the lizard. :)


Least but not last, me. Does this picture make my feet look big? :) Taken by a friendly hiker I met at the end of the trail.


A final shot from the end of the canyon looking at the way back to the resort, pool, and cold beverages. :)


A couple Google Earth maps I created to show the relative path and location of the trail.

Click images for larger view

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day!

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Some truly great photographs. What hit home to me was how blue the sky is. We used to have that 20 years ago and very rarely see that sort of deep blue today.

Thank you!

Where I live now in Central Oregon we still get the deep blue on some days. But I agree it does seem to be a more rare occurrence.

I haven't seen that blue for the last 10 years and I do find it worrying. What will it look like in 20 years time from now is a bigger concern and I would like to see it back again at some point.

It is worrisome that's for sure. My country seems to have a problem even acknowledging the problem, let alone supporting the leadership it will take to make the tough decisions to change things. For the sake of my kids and all that come after me, I hope solutions can be found and implemented.

Great post and amazing photos. i always love a good hike.

Thank you! Nothing better than getting outdoors for a hike. :)

That is the truth!!

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Hi oldmans,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.

Thank you, much appreciated!

It looks like it was a very hot day so you got enough vitamin D on your hike :) Can you also hike on the top of the rocks or are there trails only in the canyon?

I didn't know that phones took such good photos back in 2011 :)

At first I didn't get what you meant with that lizard but then I found it :) It must have been a very nice surprise for you when you got home :)

Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your curie vote!

You can hike to the top of some of the rocks. I did one to the top of a mesa but was very exposed and probably got too much vitamin D. ;) Probably those hikes are better done in earlier spring or fall/winter. Here is a shot from that mesa looking at the entrance to the resort and Boynton Canyon (center left).
Click image for larger view

Only the first pic was a cell phone, the others were a little Fuji point and shoot. Lightroom post processing really helped with these photos.

It is my favorite shot! Thanks for your comment and stopping by. :)

Those were good shots you made, @oldmans. The scenery is incredible. I know we will all agree that trekking is not only good for our body because of its exercise aspect but also for our soul, by witnessing all these magnificent creations. We all need such as these once in a while, to escape from all those stress that we have in our life.

I will be also going for a trail walk in a week or two, and I hope to share my adventure in steem community as well.

Cheers my friend. God bless you!

Thank you! Being out in nature is an amazing experience. Good for the body, mind and soul.

Enjoy your time in the outdoors!

I personally find canyons a marvelous creation of mother nature and I am really fascinated by their beauty. Although I have not seen one in real till now, but one for sure.

Thanks for sharing these lovely pictures with us :)

You're welcome and thank you for stopping by! :)

Great view from the area through the photography.
Does the canyon hike took all the day?

It was about a 4 mile round trip hike. Probably took me 4 or 5 hours mostly because I was stopping a lot to enjoy the scenery and commune with nature. :)

Thank you for stopping by!

hi @oldmans
haha great beautiful photo of the lizard! it will be a game of perspectives but to see it so big but it looks like a dinosaur ;-))
first of all I had to go to goggle maps to see where you were, so you could put another place in the list of places I didn't know !! nice walk you made us thanks! do you live near theare? And beautiful the picture where you are, with your big feet and fit body, nice to meet you !!

The lizard does look rather large, I'm not sure how big they grow them down there. I don't live near there, it was just a little vacation for me but I would like to go back for a return visit. Lots of trails I didn't get to. :)

Nice to meet you too, thank you for visiting my blog! :)

hello @oldmans. Looks like a wonderful place, Perfect for hiking. I would love to have a view like that from my breakfast table :) I always loved the texture of the rocks, you can clearly see here the layers, which id amazing, not to mention the red, terra color. You don't find that in my country. And to answer your question, your feet look normal :)
You took some wonderful photos.

It was a peaceful and serene place for breakfast. I think I ate there every morning while I was there. :) I have always loved rock formations and their coloration and textures. Something about them makes me feel closer to nature.

Thanks for the reassurance on my foot size. :)

Thank you for stopping by!

Thanks for the reassurance on my foot size. :)

😁 You're welcome!

Rocks and mountains are very interesting, it remind me of time. They were formed hundreds or thousands of years ago and still standing.

Cool adventure and nice shots! That's awesome you got to see some deer and a lizard! :)

Thank you! The lizard shot was a complete surprise to me and is now one of my favorite shots. :)

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