Seeking the Grand View

There are little gems all around us, but in order to see them we have to stop looking for the Grand Scenic Prize Winner. The truth of the matter is that the Grand Scenic Prize winner has already been found and photographed by more people than you can count....but most of them missed the little gems. I suppose this is a lot like life. We spend our lives looking for the "big payoff" while all along the way we step over and ignore the little gems.

I was reminded of this a while back as I walked along a sandy arroyo in the desert behind my son's house. In the distance the Santa Rita Mountains rise up from the desert floor, shades of dark green, blue and purple except that single out of place white spot, where trailings from a mining operation have stained the mountain side. Behind me the hills rise up to meet the Rincon range which blocks the growth of Tucson toward the east. Between clumps of palo verde and mesquite I can frame portions of the view but the light is harsh and flat. Discouraged I give up on the idea of finding a scene that will be suitable for a photograph. I look down at the gravel bed to see if I can spot any interesting stones to return to my daughter-in-law for her rock garden.

Actually looking down is not a bad idea in a place where rattlesnakes often sunbathe, but again....that sort of "looking" and worrying can also cause you to miss the little gems.

There it was, right at my feet. A tiny lupine was blooming. A little sky blue gem that is here today but will probably be gone tomorrow. It is then that I notice the stones and gravel....green, blue, black, white, gray, brown, and red...more shapes than I can count. Most of the stones are smooth but there are many different kinds of stone represented. I am no geologist but I imagine that a geologist could tell me much about the history of our planet just by looking at the gravel bed of that arroyo. I began looking for a photo of less grand scale, while remembering that the subjects themselves. would be no less grand nor less important to the make up of this place we call the Sonoran Desert.