A short walk from the car on a sandy path and up a slight incline . . . you look over the landscape before you and if you breathe normally . . . well you won't! I had no idea where to start!
In the center of Dave's photo you can see the iconic 'oyster'.
With water I always want reflections. Not so easy on this day. You can see the rain drops on the pond. There were times we took turns holding a large umbrella so the other could shoot. If it was not raining the wind picked up and churned the water's surface a bit. Once in a while some semblance of a reflection was possible.
Storms built up, passed by and then a few minutes of sun. Most of the time we had the scene pretty much to ourselves. Just before we left a group of about 20 people showed up.
This is for Cory.
A closer look at the whirling rock of the oyster.
Whew! A lot of photos! Let me digress. The trip from the paved highway to White Pocket does requires both a high clearance vehicle and one with four wheel drive. It takes a bit over an hour of slow, careful driving, mostly over sand, on a narrow road to get to the site. Signage is non-existant from what I could tell. That is probably one reason that so many people hire a guide. It is not that you would need help with photography or to be shown what to photograph. All of this is in a rather small area. You can't miss any of it. You just want to get there!
The drive to White Pocket is scenic with hints along the way of what awaits you when you arrive at the parking lot. There is a telephone booth rock! It is one place that you can stop and make a cell phone call!! I asked Dave how he knew that. He said that in passing by it he started getting alerts of new mail and messages. He checked. Sure enough, he had service. Fifty feet later it is gone!
Telephone Booth Rock (our name for it).
A tease rock!
We spent about 4 to 5 hours at White Pocket. Storms were still developing in the area when we left and returned to Jacob's Lake to get my car. Dave made the long drive home to Phoenix. I drove to Williams to spend the night with Greg and Ann. Thank you Dave, for sharing this treasure, for driving, for having great optimism when it counted. I want to go back. Next time we will shoot the Milky Way.