Superstition Mountain #1 I was fortunate enough to spend time in Phoenix recently with my brother John, who is an excellent musician and explorer in his own right, and was able to capture this photo on our last day in the area.  We decided to explore the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix to see what they had to offer.  John had been to the area before and knew roughly what to expect.  We searched for a gully with flowing water that John remembered seeing on his last trip to the area, and finally found it, but it was dry, so off we went wandering across the beautiful landscape of cholla, saguaro and barrel cactus.  The Sonoran desert is a very interesting place.  It has so many varieties of living things that it's amazing to think it all survives on less than 10 inches of rain a year. 

Sometimes having no agenda, plan or goal is what exploring is all about.  After a great day of hiking and looking at interesting plants, rock formations and the occasional lizard, we decided to start looking for a place that most represented the area as the sun was beginning to set.  The light in the west can be amazing, especially as it reflects off mountains, rocks, and subtle desert plants.  This photo was captured just before the sun hit the horizon, and for about 5 minutes it was pure magic.  Using a blending technique to capture the best of two differently exposed photos seemed to render the beauty most accurately. 

I'm glad we didn't have a plan that day.  It was just a day to explore, view, wonder, accept what nature brings, and be humbled by the awesome beauty of it all.  Cheers to all the explorers out there, searching and finding their own way regardless of where or what they do...because it's the spirit of exploration that is so powerful within us and should be embraced whenever it can.