Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona– Image by kenne
South of the Utah line,
the land ripples in stone—
sandstone waves frozen mid-swell,
a sea stilled by time.
Ridges curl like ancient surf,
wind carving foam from desert rock,
sun pouring light into every crease.
Here, the earth remembers motion,
even in silence,
and the hiker walks
through a tide that never falls.
Big Smile, Say Cheese (Red Rock Canyon) — Image by kenne
— from Who Moved The Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Black Mountains, Arizona Geological Contrasts — Image by kenne
Near The Wave Entrance in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness Area in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona
— Image by kenne
Known for its colorful swirls of slickrock, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a sherbet-colored dream world
filled with fantastical rock formations like The Wave, White Pockets, and Buckskin Gulch.
Pena Mountain (Vermillion Cliffs National Monument) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Capitol Reef National Park (06/12/14) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Tourist In Other People’s Reality (1974) — a caricature of kenne
In 1974 an artist friend I worked with at a publishing company drew this caricature of me trying to include all the things he felt identified with me. For a long time, it hung on the wall in my office(s). One day I used a sharpy and wrote on the glass of the framed poster, “I’m a tourist in other people’s reality,” which sums up my life. I borrowed the line from Susan Sontag’s book (On Photography), “The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.”
— kenne
Pinned on the wall in the drawing is the Edmund Burke quote:
“No men can act with effect who do not act in concert;
no men can act in concert who do not act with confidence;
no men can act with confidence who are not bound together
with common opinions, common affections, and common interests.”
One of the subjects we teach is geology, how the Santa Catalina Mountains were
formed, and the importance of water in the formation of Sabino Canyon. Twelve
million years ago, the Santa Catalina Mountains were just a range of hills, but the
earth’s crust in western North America was being stretched. What resulted were
huge blocks with steep vaults forming an up-and-down landscape called the
Basin and Range Province.
Naturalist, Kenne Turner with 3rd Grade Students (Sabino Canyon Dam Area)
— Images by Teacher
Sabino Canyon is composed of a hard metamorphic rock called “Catalina gneiss.”
Gneiss contains rock and five minerals; quartz, mica, feldspar, magnetite, and garnets.
Over time water and earthquakes have eroded the gneiss rock carrying smaller rocks
and minerals down streams like Sabino Creek. The minerals are deposited along the
creek edges, which created a natural laboratory to learn about the minerals by panning
for garnets. Need I say, kids love panning for garnets.
Students panning for garnets in Sabino Creek.
— from Sabino Canyon: The Life of a Southwestern Oasis by David Wentworth Lazaroff
Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
In the fifteenth century, the Incas invaded the island taking control of its people at the time. Like a lot of conquerors, they created a story of Incan lore. Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) is both the birthplace of their revered Sun God and the world’s first two Incas; Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo (the Adam and Eve of the Andes) in an attempt to not only justify their reign, but to identify themselves with the pre-existing Tiwanaku civilization whom they considered to be a great source of religious and ideological identity. This image is my attempt to capture the spirit of the Incan lore.
Walking to the boat dock.
The only way to get to Isla del Sol is via the glimmering waters of Lake Titicaca. Michael had arranged for a boat (a captain and his daughter) to take us to lunch in the Comunidad Yumani on the south side of the Isla del Sol.
Because of an ongoing dispute between two local communities (Comunidades Challapama and Challa) has seen the north side of the island become off-limits to foreign and domestic tourists since February 2017. The bitter feud began when the Challa community, who live roughly in the center of the island, built a series of guesthouses near a northern Inca ruin to try and earn a slice of the tourism pie. The Challapama believed the new buildings broke one of Bolivia’s laws, which relate to construction work within a certain distance of sacred sites. After an unsuccessful attempt to appeal through bureaucratic means, the folks of Challapampa decided to resolve the matter vigilante-style by blowing the guesthouses to smithereens with a dose of dynamite. The stand-off remains.
Leaving Copacabana
Tom, Ty and Michael
On the boat ride, we spent most of the time drinking Singani and Altbier and resulting in drinking conversations.
The terrace landscape reflects the Inca influence on the Lake Titicaca agriculture.
Images and Video by kenne (This Is Part-One of a Three-Part Series on Isla del Sol)
— kenne
Three Image Merge (Sedona, Arizona) — Panorama by kenne
Deserts Come and Deserts Go
— Phillip Camitses
Laid-Back at Delicate Arch, Arches National Park (June 12, 2014) — Panorama Image by kenne
— Albert Camus
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument In Northern Arizona — Image by kenne
—Anonymous
View of Hoodoos and the Rincon Mountains along the Catalina Highway — Panorama by kenne
— kenne
Two Nuns Red Rock Formation at The Chapel of The Holy Cross, Sedona, Arizona (June 14, 2016) — Image by kenne
Two Red Rock Nuns
— kenne
Grand Canyon Panoramas #2 — Images by kenne
— Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Earth from Above
