It was last day of our photography getaway and my trigger finger was still a little itchy. It needed just one or two more scratches. So, we stopped at a place called “Coal Mine Canyon” which we had visited back in April, 2012. We loved this place because of its raw beauty and, maybe more important, we were the only ones there, the entire canyon to ourselves. With those pleasant memories we decided to try it again.

We arrived around noon to a deserted canyon. Yes! The place was all ours. We started to hike around, ignoring our achy legs from yesterday trek to The Wave. When there is shooting to be done, pain is not in our vocabulary.

Looking away from the canyon toward the painted desert.

Looking away from the canyon toward the painted desert.

Closeup of some of the rock formations.

Closeup of some of the rock formations.

There’s gold in them there hills, pardner!

There’s gold in them there hills, pardner!

Featured rock formation inside the canyon.

Featured rock formation inside the canyon.

Tired, hungry, and dusty, we headed to our oasis in the desert, the La Posada Hotel and Gardens in Winslow. There’s nothing much else in Winslow. OK, there is nothing else in Winslow. But, this historical hotel is comfortable, unique, and has a great restaurant called the “Turquoise Room.” On the way, we decided to make one more stop. We had heard the, “Little Painted Desert County Park,” was very pretty in the late afternoon. Since dinner wasn’t until 6:00, we made the quick detour.

The park was overgrown and in disarray, but the scene was worth the stop.

A partial view of the painted desert. It looked a lot nicer than the county park.

A partial view of the painted desert. It looked a lot nicer than the county park.

This looked like a big dinosaur foot to me.

This looked like a big dinosaur foot to me.

Remember, it’s all about the light.