On a cold February afternoon, I left the Moab elementary school where I work as Art Coach and saw dark clouds billowing above the town. With gear and extras already in my truck, I drove up to I-Sky. The Green River Overlook, my favourite, was closed. I later found out the NPS was searching for a missing person in the snowstorm! Snow was blowing hard and cold. The roads were iced and covered in layers of blown snow. I drove partway to Grandview Point and decided to turn around. While making my 6-point turn on the narrow road, I was momentarily stuck.
While shifting into 4wd low range and looking behind me, this tree appeared in the corner of my eye. Whoa! I finished my turnaround, got out and took a close look. Gear time! I’m pretty sure the temperature was about 0 degrees without the wind, but I was still willing to work on the image, despite my hands starting to curl from the cold. The curve of this lone juniper is so wonderful. As I was composing, a tiny break in the storm allowed a bit of warm light into this freezing and darkening scene. A couple of exposures, and it was back to my running-with-heater-on truck. A few days and a little processing later – Beauty Tree!
