Saturday, July 9, 2011

THE WIZARD OF AZ


On the Travel Snapshots section of CNN Travel this morning, I was awed by the pictures of one Floyd Yarmuth. He documented the majestic areas of Sedona, Arizona and the Petrified Forest National Park, two places now on my travelog as I walk planet Earth. Credit first, of course, to the Creator and then, of course, to the one who captured it. Both practice art and design. Creation begets further creation in a beautiful circle of development and achievement. For more from both, check out Yarmuth's portfolio.


Earlier this week, I beheld an incredible time-lapse video of a sand monster taking over Arizona. This leviathan-of-a-storm belongs to the breed and creed of haboob (news to me). As photographer Scott Wood reported, this haboob "engulfed the Phoenix metro area on July 5th." (There is no shortage of other impressive images at Scott Wood Photography.) I was traveling through several states that day, including Arizona for some miles; there was something special brewing in the air. I had no idea this was going on until I had returned to Los Angeles and checked Twitter. The dust gale delayed flights and left some 10,000 residents without power. From what I could gather, nobody was hurt. Amazing really, you'd think somebody would have crashed their car with such driving condition abounding. Here is CNN's coverage of the story, which includes more video of the undertaking (or overtaking I suppose). One man, born and raised in Phoenix, said it was "unreal" and "like a movie." It certainly looks like something Roland Emmerich would salivate over having in one of his productions.

And so, after having two different sources in one week lead me to the spectacles of Arizona, I was pushed to write, post, and share. Having lived in America's Southwest for years, I know the exclusive beauty and mysterious energy lodging in that region. The first time I saw a dust devil while driving through Santa Clara, UT would have left me speechless if it weren't for my teenage tendency to exclaim the likes of "dude... awesome!" I am ever-impressed by the world we live in and the ultimate "powers that be" who made this land for you and me.