Just some examples of interesting plants from California and Nevada.

Cholla cactus

Water drops - Redwood Park

Forest floor - Redwood Park

Forest floor 2 - Redwood Park

Forest floor 3 - Redwood Park

Death Valley Giant

Yucca in full bloom - Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park of Nevada is located about an hour outside of Las Vegas. It is not as large or well known as some of the National parks of southern Utah but the red rock formations found there are just as spectacular. It is also one of the the best places in Nevada to view ancient Indian petroglyphs. While the meaning of these images have been lost to history, there is some very intriguing hypotheses. The famous bighorn sheep images have been widely interpreted as hunting symbols but could mean movement or direction as part of a larger story. Spirals are also very commonly found in the area and in this case the meaning is more clear. If you go up and around in the direction of the spiral you will usually find something of interest such as another more important petroglyph panel or even a water source.

"Bighorn" sheep

Anthropomorphic figures

Shield or war figure

Large spiral

Elongated figure

Very unique human figure

Likely falling water symbols

The recent controversy over President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor has truly brought out the anger, bitterness and fear that exists within the white male conservative wing of the Republican party. In their defense of the “oppressed” white male minority, however, they have missed the historical reality that for much to long the truly oppressed minorities of this country have been denied their seat at the table. Check out this Article on Supreme Court Diversity to see how things could have been different.

Living in Las Vegas allows easy access to some of the most spectacular scenery in the South West. The photographic possibilities are endless and could not be fully explored in a thousand lifetimes.

All Photographs are the property of 1fine49.com

Redrock Canyon Conservation Area 30 minutes outside Las Vegas

Redrock Stormy Morning

Redrock Sunrise

Valley of Fire State Park

Cathedral Gorge State Park

Check out my article on Redrock Canyon for more information and pictures.

After listening to the former Vice Presidents Speech today I was reminded of the accepted definition of Terror. The object of terror is terror. If this is true then Dick Cheney is exhibit #1. 911 transformed this man into a simpering old man afraid of his own shadow. Obviously, 911 altered the way all Americans viewed the world, but that does not justify abandoning our core principles of justice and human rights or giving up the moral high ground of history. By doing that you justify every vile thing that the terrorists believe about this country. I don’t care how scared you are or how much “high value” information you think you might obtain by pushing people beyond the limits of human decency. Fear, in fact, is not a legal justification for purposefully hurting somebody day after day week after week.