Category Archives: Arizona

December 31, 2015

Mystery is Spoiled by a Word

By Ross Martin

 

On this last day of 2015 I am reflecting on the images created since I began this blog. I’m filled with gratitude for the majesty of God I’ve been blessed to experience, and for the photographic work that resulted.

I leave you now with a gallery of my favorites from the first 18 months of blogging, trusting that the pictures will speak for themselves and reveal the fingerprint of the Divine…

 

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“Mystery is spoiled by a word.”

– Brennan Manning
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[PLEASE CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO BRING UP CAROUSEL VIEW]

Dusk falls over the Gulf of Mexico at low tide near the coastal town of Dunedin, FL
Mesa Arch glows from reflected light at sunrise in Canyonlands National Park, UT
Falls Creek Falls along the Snake River in Idaho has become a favorite of photographers who travel off the beaten path
A summer sunset casts spectacular light on clouds above Mount Rainier at Reflection Lake
Soft warm light at dusk gives shape to patterns and lines in the Badlands
When sunset was over the last glow of dusk lended lovely color to clouds behind Devils Tower
Seemingly endless ridges are layered at sunset at Grand Canyon National Park
An October sunrise brings glorious life to the Towers of the Virgin in Zion National Park
A grove of aspens explodes in bright yellow on a hillside covered in the more muted colors of scrub oaks
The sun sets in dramatic fashion over blue-tinged layers of mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway
A big beautiful ponderosa pine artfully decorates Lee Vining Canyon
Showy maples bring jaw-dropping color to the autumn party on Zion’s east side canyons
Layers of pink and blue light at dusk highlight tufa formations in Mono Lake
A lone warm-toned rock contrasts with a pattern of blue beach stones
An autumn thunderstorm passes over the grandiosity of the Grand Canyon
An autumn forest cathedral invited me to worship in the Great Smoky Mountains
Steam rises off the rainbow-colored cGrand Prismatic Spring evoke an alien landscape
Late evening sun highlights the steaming terraces set against storm clouds
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6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

October 20, 2015

The Significance of Feeling Insignificant

By Ross Martin

 

Canyon Layers After Storm

 

As far back as I can remember, I have longed to feel that I mattered. To believe that I am somebody. To somehow find, in this crowded world of billions, even a small significance to my existence on planet earth.

To put it more accurately, I’ve been driven by the fear of being insignificant.

This fear propelled my performance in school, in work, and in relationships. And the motivation to matter did not always end well. It took more than four decades of life to begin understanding the complexities behind the drive to be accepted and acknowledged, and thankfully recent years have seen an end to this fear dominating the deep places of my being. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I still desire to live a useful life, to have some value – but it’s not the debilitating desperate pursuit it once was.

Last night as I walked up to the edge of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of this spectacular natural wonder of our world. The dimensions of this canyon opening up before my eyes my brain could not calculate. Big beyond belief. Swallowed up in these overwhelming visuals, I felt an emotion recognizable, yet also different:

I felt insignificant.

 

I've visited the Grand Canyon many times but the views still make me gasp in awe

I’ve visited the Grand Canyon many times but still gasp in awe at the views

 

But this was not the old familiar fear. It was not an emotion of tortuous longing to be somebody. It was instead a wonderfully peaceful feeling overtaking all of me. It was gratitude for being a lowly insignificant human creature, in the face of significant grandeur created by a significant God. It was the freedom and joy of knowing I no longer have to be significant in the measure of the old way, because I have found a significant rest in the One who loves me without condition.

You see, there is another canyon. Its vastness is infinite. Its depth is immeasurable. To walk up to its edge and peer over makes the heart stop in sheer awe. The Grand Canyon is a dried-up creek bed in comparison.

It is the breathtaking canyon of God’s love.

Its mind-boggling swath was carved through the rocky rebellious soil of the human heart by the unstoppable onrushing waters of the grace of Christ. The One who lived and bled and died and conquered and ascended for me, and for all weary earth travelers who simply trust in his kindness.

 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, 
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)

An autumn thunderstorm passes over the grandiosity of the Grand Canyon

An autumn thunderstorm passes over the grandiosity of the Grand Canyon

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Arizona

September 4, 2015

Thirty Years, and Counting

By Ross Martin

 

There are few people on this planet I’d want to travel with for eights weeks holed up in a 7 x 10-foot camper.

Ok. There is no one I’d choose to do that with. I don’t think I’d be sane for more than a week in such conditions 🙂

With the exception of one person: my high school sweetheart and bride of 30 years, Wendy. That one fact speaks volumes about our compatibility, and how we have survived and thrived in thirty years of life stuff together.

In 2008 we took a 2-month sabbatical and hit the road in our Toyota Tundra outfitted with a tiny Four Wheel Pop-up Truck Camper, making a loop around America starting from our home near Seattle, WA.

 

Camping in our pop-up truck camper overlooking the Upper Mississippi Valley

Camping in our pop-up truck camper overlooking the Upper Mississippi Valley

 

We headed south through Yosemite, desert poppy blooms, the Grand Canyon, and the tasty red & green chile dishes of New Mexico. We made our way east through sublime Texas hill country, lush green Arkansas hills, and legendary Great Smoky Mountain National Park (accompanied by piles of mouth-watering barbecue along the route).

 

The waterfalls of Yosemite National Park were our first scenic stop

The waterfalls of Yosemite National Park were our first scenic stop

 

Wildflowers in the Texas hill country were a colorful highlight of our road trip

Wildflowers in the Texas hill country were a colorful highlight of our road trip

 

Turning north we discovered the intimate and peaceful splendor of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the colonial history scattered all over Virginia and magically preserved Williamsburg, and the varied wildlife and Atlantic beaches of Assateague Island National Seashore.

 

The old Methodist church in idyllic Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountain N.P.

The old Methodist church in idyllic Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountain N.P.

 

Dogwood and fresh spring greens decorate a foggy forest on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Dogwood and fresh spring greens decorate a foggy forest on the Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Westward we drove, seemingly back in time through Pennsylvania Amish country, to the shores of Lake Superior, up the Mississippi River Valley in Iowa and Wisconsin, through picturesque Minnesota forests and other-wordly Dakota badlands, and finally to the glory of Yellowstone.

 

As we gawked at the Amish in Pennsylvania, the Amish sheep gawked at us.

As we gawked at the Amish in Pennsylvania, the Amish sheep gawked at us

 

The 1891 Dubuque, Iowa courthouse is a historical gem

The 1891 Dubuque, Iowa courthouse is a historical gem

 

The memories from this adventure are among the very best of my life so far. The photographs from that trip I share today are a tribute to that fantastic time, to the extravagant beauty that is our America.

But more importantly, these memories and images are a tribute to our 30th wedding anniversary that we celebrate this weekend. They are a tribute to my life partner, Wendy. Her grace, her wisdom, her steadfastness. Her beauty that begins outwardly and then keeps on going deep into her spirit. When folks wonder how we made it to thirty years of marriage and counting, I just point to her!

Most days I thank God for the small blessings I get to enjoy, whether it’s the taste explosion of morning bacon, an afternoon bike ride amid lush Florida beauty, or settling in with a fine adult beverage in the evening. But when I thank the Creator for this amazing woman my wife is, I’m talking about a blessing that far eclipses all other things. Wendy is THE blessing for me in this life. All else pales next to knowing her, loving her, sharing this joy-pain-laughter life adventure with her.

She is my great love.

As we celebrate our three decades of marriage this weekend, I’ll be dreaming of the next opportunity to hole up in a tiny camper again (ok, perhaps a more spacious trailer this time) with my very best friend and lover and continue our explorations of America together…

 

Seemingly endless ridges are layered at sunset at Grand Canyon National Park

Seemingly endless ridges are layered at sunset at Grand Canyon National Park

 

10 Comments | posted in Arizona, California, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin

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