As you ascend from the broad valleys of southern Arizona's high desert sky islands into the higher terrain of the rugged mountains the landscape changes from a dry and arid Caliche into a lush evergreen forest more reminiscent of alpine slopes in the midwest. Here conifers tower into the sky, their needles tiny solar mirrors that create shimmering reflections in the hot desert sky. In the shadows below life teams abundant with birds and mammals seen few other places in the world.

It was in this high altitude paradise that I found myself as my yesterday came to an end. As the heat of the day quickly left my skin cooled rapidly. But, that chill was tempered as my soul caught ablaze in the fire and beauty of the scene in front of me. In my mind I saw the man on the mountain, my name for the Ramsey cliff face, seeming to blow out a candle made from the silhouette of an errant giant tree that had lit the sky above and the treetops below into a glowing masterpiece of refractive light. The fire was soon quenched, and all turned to peaceful darkness.

As we descended the mountain in quite I could not help but revel in the beauty of Gods creation and the gift, each day renewed, of His artistry. I am blessed to be its witness and humbly remain its scribe.
Shoot Date: March 25, 2019
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Aperture priority 3.2 sec at f/16 0 EV
Lens: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 45 mm
ISO: 100