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Travel Photography > Desert Southwest
Desert Southwest
While much of the Southwestern United States is arid, its two main desert regions have little in common. The Desert Southwest - the warm deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas form a region of incredible beauty, and offers some of North America's strangest, wildest and most modern of cultures. Follow me as I explore America's Desert Southwest. |
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Desert Southwest | February 2, 2009
Mud Road to Coyote Buttes
Low clouds move with surreal speed along the cliffs above the Colorado River; they swirl, shapeshift, and from time to time, they seem to disappear altogether. Day will come soon, but until then, the movement of the clouds brings unexpected shapes.
Coyote Buttes
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Desert Southwest | March
Mesa to Canyon along the Colorado Plateau
I
drank water on a grassy plateau, and entered the gulch. This slot descended
to 500 feet under its cliffs, and it was narrow. Soon, there were patches
of water.
Colorado Plateau
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Desert Southwest | June
The Saltwater Fish of Death Valley
It's unlikely that anybody beyond a handful of scientists would care much about this tiny fish, except for the fact that farmers were keen to use this same series of springs for their crops.
Death Valley
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Desert Southwest | MAY
Atomic Agriculture on the Rio Grande
We decided to take a walk up the mountains near Las Cruces, in the evening when the sun casts its long glow over humble Las Cruces.
Rio Grande
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Desert Southwest | sEPTEMBER
Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea
The
truck slowed at my presense, and a bald man and his scruffy wife grinned
at me and drove on. While I was walking down the main street of Bombay
Beach, I noticed the blue truck had stopped, and the couple was watching
the sunrise.
Bombay Beach
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Desert Southwest | May
Paddling and Driving the Los Angeles River
We walked the gentle ridge of the Los Angeles River's first dam, and down into a marshy bed of sand and water; through the bamboo, and out into the shadow of the iron claws of the dam.
Los Angeles River |
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Desert Southwest | June
Death and Salvation on the New River
That mountain - it's one of the geological 'slabs', is really just a clay hill. The slabs are a series of wasteland buttes that extend into the empty desert beyond. Leonard began painting one day when it was 118 degrees in the fierce Salton Sea summer sun.
Slab City |
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Desert Southwest | June
Panamint Valley Roach Motel
My plan was to hike two miles on a mud flat at the center of Panamint Valley. The valley is gigantic, and parts of it fall within the Death Valley National Park boundaries. The Panamint Valley can defy imagination.
Panamint Valley |
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Desert Southwest | March
Four Seasons of the Western Mojave
From here I can see five miles of trees, and a Jack Rabbit, the size of a small dog ditching his Chuparosa hideout. I find a Prickly Pear Cactus, and examine some lichen through my loupe - lime, aqua, red-orange and pitch.
Western Mojave |
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Desert Southwest | February
Trona and the Unusual Lake Searles
Go to any small bar in any small town, and you will get the same answer. "Too many people there huh?" "Yeah." "Way too many fucking people there huh?" "Yeah." And he started laughing and drew the last sip from his pitcher and said...
Trona, California |
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Desert Southwest | April 15, 2010
Reefs of Pollen on the Carrizo Plain
On my way to Los Angeles, I explore the idea of travel and limitations during some of the amazing wildflower blooms in California history.
Carrizo Plain |
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Desert Southwest | February 12, 2009
Longboarding Las Vegas
A few years ago, I decided to cross Las Vegas by skateboard, and then write about it. I've yet to complete the project, but in its pursuit, I've already come across places and experiences in this sprawling, growing city.
Las Vegas, Nevada |
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Desert Southwest | March 1, 2012
Valley of Fire and Thorns
I am on a walk with my four year old boy in Springs Preserve, a 180-acre cultural center in Las Vegas. We are walking on a hard, sandy soil when suddenly my boy shrieks in the most horrible terror I have ever heard.
I turn to him and drop to his level. What's wrong? I ask. But I can already see that he has stepped on a dried branch with one-inch thorns. All six have penetrated cleanly through his thick-soled hiking shoes.
Valley of Fire, Nevada |
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