Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oxalis, originally uploaded by ivoryblushroses.

The last few days with my two oldest boys has been delightful! We've seen many of the sights in Northern Arizona and taken hundreds of photos! Now they have headed home and I miss them already.


While out and about, we stopped in a store selling little pots of Lilies of the Valley. One of them had to come home with me! Such sweet little bells and a delightful fragrance! I loved the way they looked against one of my paintings. I was craving this bit of green after seeing so much red landscape the past few days!


On the last day the boys were here, we traveled out onto the Navajo Reservation to see the Grand Falls of the little Colorado River. Up top, the river slides placidly along, gathering red silt and reflecting the clear blue sky with a purplish blue color.


At this spot, one can drive across the river and we watched both a van and a road grader do just that! In the distance though, the river simply disappears and the sound of the falls can be heard.


We walked along the southern edge of the river and falls, watching as it changed. Closer to the falls, the river begins to drop down small sandstone steps.


Then, the drop off comes into view and a glimpse of the river far down below.


The large shelves of the falls come into view, the water running silty red in parts, blue green in others. When the wind is right, the moist cool air can be felt, but most of the time, the Arizona sun beats down, bright and hot.


The sheer drop offs of the canyon and the slick cinder surface kept me well away from the edge! Further down the river, one can find their way down a slippery slope to the lower river's edge. In the bottom right of this picture, in the circled area, you can see where two people are standing. It makes you realize just how big these falls are!


The Grand Falls are running at only a partial capacity this year, but are still spectacular to see. I've heard that when they are running at top capacity, they rival the Niagra Falls and having now seen both, I can imagine what it must be like in a peak season! It takes a year with an abundance of snow, more than we've had since I've lived here. But even though it is a moderate year, I am glad to have seen this little known wonder!