Cedar Pockets

I keep coming back to this area. (Here and Here) It is one of the closest places out of state that I can get to, and my husband works around here, so it is a well-known stomping ground. I love hiking the mountains around this part of northern Arizona, but even more, I love walking around the river. The Virgin River meanders through Cedar Pockets, a BLM campground and recreation area. While it can get crowded, if you are out hiking first thing in the morning or just around sundown, it can seem like you are the only person around. Walking along the river, all signs of civilization are drowned out-- all you can hear are the sounds of water lapping up onto the "beach" and the noise that standing waves make when they fall into themselves or collide into one another.

I grew up an hour away from the coast. I spent many childhood afternoons swimming and building sand castles at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. So while the muddied river water might ruin the illusion for people used to more pristine salt water, I could easily imagine myself at the beach when walking barefoot on the sandy shoreline of the river.

Of course, the vegetation kind of gives away the location. 

But if you find a spot where you can sit, preferably with your feet in the water, and you close your eyes, you might be able to think that you are somewhere tropical--especially in the summer when the sun is beating down on you and the sand is radiating heat back up at you and all you can hear is the roar of water rushing past. 

This is a project that my dear hubby started. He would find large river-tumbled rocks and carry them over one by one until he outlined the path of the trail that lead to the river and beyond. When local boy scouts asked to be given a project, he passed the torch to them, and flagged the path that they could finish marking. I think it looks like art, really. I much prefer it to stakes in the ground or metal posts that carry arrow signs to keep travelers going in the right direction.

This is my favorite double exposure that I've ever taken.

Watching the sun set on a cloudy evening on the banks of the Virgin River. 

I'm still not done with the photos from Cedar Pockets. It has turned into one of my favorite places, and I am sure that I am going to return again soon.

*All of the above photos were taken on my Diana Mini.