Nu`alolo Kai

Nu`alolo Kai was a fishing village inhabited by early Kaua`i residents and has been partly restored as viewed here. The place is only accessible by permitted boat and Captain Andy's is one of the only permitted companies.

A Metate?

This looks to me like a metate, used to grind grain and seeds. It is mixed in amongst the area that the petroglyphs are located. This could be a natural formation caused by water erosion and setting, but it is more likely man-made.

Face Rock overlook ruins

Here are some more archeological ruins in Canyon de Chelly that are visible from Face Rock overlook. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Converted to B&W with a red filter in Picasa.

Sliding House ruins closeup

Here's a closer view of the Sliding House ruins in Canyon de Chelly. You can see two of the sets of ruins a little better here, both are along the same level of the canyon wall where the canyon has eroded inward just above center here. This image was taken at 70mm focal ength with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Sliding House ruins, Canyon de Chelly

There are 3 or maybe 4 sets of ruins visible in this image, can you find them? Oh, and there's a "Bahhhd" herd of sheep in the picture too.... This image was taken at 43mm focal length with an exposure of 1/30 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

White House ruins - Canyon de Chelly

Here's a view across the canyon to the White House ruins to show you the context of the previous photo - can you find the ruins? One hint: they are at the base of the canyon wall and near the center of the picture. There are actually about 3 different archeological sites that I could find while scanning the canyon from this vantage with telephoto and binoculars. It would be nearly impossible to pick them out in this wide angle view, however. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/80 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

White House ruins - Canyon de Chelly

These are the White House ruins in Canyon de Chelly (not to be confused with the White House in Washington D.C.). At their peak, they were occupied by about 100 people in about 60 rooms. This image was taken at 263mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Puerco Pueblo ruins

Here is a segment of the Puerco Pueblo ruins that has not be excavated. You can make out the general shape of a straight wall in the rocky rubble in the middle of the frame. It is fascinating to be able to recognize such structures and imagine what it might have been like to inhabit this area when it was active. Of course, I prefer the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing and electricity, not to mention the store down the street where I buy most of my food..... This image was taken at 24mm focal length with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Puerco Pueblo Ruins

These are some of the ruins at Puerco Pueblo in the Painted Desert & Petrified Forest National Park. This section of the ruins was reconstructed by archeologists. Most of the ruins are still buried and only surveyed for their position and can be spotted if you know what to look for. This image was taken with my 24mm lens with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Signal Hill Petroglyphs

Here are some more petroglyphs on the south facing hillside at Signal Hill, just below the top of the hill. Along with the petroglyphs is, unfortunately, some more modern graffiti - the only thing separating the old from the new is some time, I suppose. This image was taken at 300mm focal length, with an exposure of 1/2000 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Snow on Signal Hill

Signal Hill in Saguaro National Park West in the Tucson Mountains west of town has numerous petroglyphs near the top of the. This is perhaps the most prominant of them. This image was taken at 70mm focal length with an exposure of 1/2000 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Walnut Canyon ruins

On the way back from the Grand Canyon, we stopped at Walnut Canyon where there is an extensive collection of cliff dwellings above a small creek that was dry the day we were there. Here are a few of the rooms. The dwellings are spread out over quite a large area and there is no large dwelling like we saw at Montezuma's Castle. This image was taken at 21mm focal length with an exposure of 1/8 seconds at fi/11, ISO 400.

More rooms at base of cliff

These rooms are at the base of the cliff at Montezuma's Castle, left of the main cliff dwelling. I can almost picture the inhabitants working to maintain their way of life, farming grains and carrying water from the nearby creek. I'm sure glad I live in modern times with my digital camera and computers! But communing with nature in a more one-on-one way would have been one positive trade off. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with and exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 200.

Montezuma's Castle

I wonder what it must have been like to be one of the inhabitants of this area 800 or 1000 years ago? This cliff dwelling and its neighbors provided a home for a hundred or so people. A river runs below the cliff which allowed them to farm the area and they probably were in contact with a small community a couple miles away called "Montezuma's Well" that even had some irrigation ditches. Life must have been a challenge in those days. This image was taken at 55mm focal length with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.