One Final Stop

After a last night of sleep in Madera Canyon it was time to head back north for one final location in Arizona.  Catalina State Park is a marvelous jewel just outside of Tucson.  It was another clear and dry day this time with the heat reaching up to early summer levels.  Fortunately towards the end of the afternoon, some clouds rolled in to soften the light a little.  The state park reaches into the Catalina Mountains offering some great hiking trails and desert landscapes.

One of the great things about clouds is that they can create shadows across the landscape.  When the light is relatively harsh, as it often is in the desert, it can be hard to create a feeling of depth. The shadow of clouds can help to provide the depth you’re looking for if you wait for it to fall on the right places.  Here shadows behind help to bring the nearby rock line.

Canyons are everywhere and I mean everywhere in Arizona.  Anywhere that the rare water can drain it will form shallow beds.  Most canyons aren’t those narrow slot canyons that you often see, but look more like gullies or dry river beds.  The canyons also provide you with some shadows when the sun is low enough in the sky.