Granite Dells

One of the last things I did before leaving Prescott, Arizona, was climb over rocks in Granite Dells near sunset.

Granite Dells2

Fantastic mounds of rock look like toes or fingers or mushrooms or just about anything else you can imagine.

Granite rhyolite

mushroom

The neighborhood sits right next to a Rails-to-Trails throughway where you can hike for miles. We scampered up and up to catch the last rays of the sun. On the way we played with our shadows to make living rock art. That’s Joan on the left, me on the right, and Marna offstage taking the photo:

rock art

The trees cast their own shadows as the rays of the sun lengthened and color deepened:

Granite Dells

I’m a sucker for abstract art, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from the granite walls next to me, their shadowed shades softening to pinks, grays, and blues, painted with aqua lichen:

closeup granite

A chink in the rock showed bright sunset beyond:

granite chink

Granite walls traced the eons-long pathways of water:

granite closeupFinally, a tree at the top caught the last rays of setting sun:

tree at sunset

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14 Responses to Granite Dells

  1. Pennie Magee says:January 28, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    What beautiful photographs! Thanks for sharing these images with us on this gray winter day in Boulder.

  2. Jerrie Hurd says:January 28, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    Great photos. Looks like great place.

  3. dana says:January 28, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Looks lovely!

  4. Maggie says:January 28, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    I love the Dells! Whenever I visited my late father in Prescott I’d always go there. Beautiful pictures!
    –Maggie

  5. Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:January 28, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    It really is beautiful–and the sunshine there was a welcome change too from the rain, snow, and flooding we had in the previous days.

  6. Kathy Kaiser says:January 28, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    Wow, I love those rocks. Such wonderful shapes and textures.

  7. sibylle says:January 29, 2010 at 8:32 am

    What beautiful rocks! I’ve climbed at Mt. Lemmon in Arizona, but never at the Granite Dells. I imagine other rock climbers are active at this area?

    • Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:January 29, 2010 at 8:39 am

      Those rock faces look pretty tempting, don’t they? I’m not a climber, and they lured even me. For more info on climbing in the Dells, see this link.

  8. Joyce, IL, USA says:January 29, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Your shadow pictures on boulders are a riot! What a fun post.
    Joyce IL, USA

    • Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:January 29, 2010 at 1:15 pm

      Yep, we had a great time! Joan, who grew up on granite, led us up the boulders like goats.

  9. Gail Storey says:February 3, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    Spectacular photos–so vivid I feel like I’m there!

  10. Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:February 7, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Marna, thanks for providing your link. You captured the heart of the walk in words! Those who want to read some utterly gorgeous writing and experience “being there” in this captivating setting, be sure to follow Marna’s link to her blog post about our hike.

  11. Nature Boy says:September 12, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    Thanks for the pics! I am thinking about moving to that area and you have piqued my interest.