Have you ever been to a place, completely enjoyed yourself, but at the end of your trip thought “you know, I probably don’t need to go back there”? Not because there was anything wrong with it, but because you felt like you saw everything there was to see. Then, after some time, you discover you didn’t even scratch the surface of the place? This is my consistent experience with the Sonoran desert. My friend Allen and I met up there a couple years ago and did a fair amount of exploring, and I came back with some shots I really liked, but when it was time to leave, I felt satisfied that I didn’t need to ever return because I’d seen it all. Well, fast forward to when I was planning my free weekend in the Phoenix area, and I realized Allen and I had only seen a tiny section of the area! At the end of this most recent trip, however, I again found myself feeling like I’d either seen everything there was to see, or what I hadn’t seen was simply out of reach without having some serious off-road capability and a partner to help should things get squirrely in the back country.
This brings me to the picture above. Several times while I was exploring around in the area the odd-shaped mountain / butte caught my eye. On this particular evening the light was gorgeous and I happened upon a picturesque cactus with the mountain in the background, so I setup and worked the scene. After I was satisfied I’d captured what I was after I stepped back and admired the mountain, and because I was in the middle of the desert, surrounded by unnamed peaks, I didn’t give it much thought that I could ever identify the prominent feature, and that was that.
Now… why am I telling you all this? Well on the last day, as I was driving out, feeling like I’d seen all I *could* see, I noticed a sign on the side of the road by what I thought was just a wash (this road I’d been on for over 20 miles was only gravel, and it is crossed by many such washes). I decided to hop out and see what it said – Castle Dome Peak – and it turns out it wasn’t a wash, but another road. I snapped a picture so I wouldn’t forget and took off. When I got back home I googled it, and low and behold (you knew this was coming already didn’t you?) the peak I’d been so attracted to, was in fact Castle Dome Peak, AND, there was a whole OTHER area of the park that I’d not seen on maps prior (it seems this area isn’t mapped completely in any one place). So yet again I realized that I only thought I’d seen it all! 🙂
More next week!
–Dan Thompson