Painted Desert 1

The View from Above

There were abstract compositions in every direction! I was overwhelmed by the possibilities. After clearing my mind, I decided to photograph everything I could before the light went away.

A month ago, I was in the badlands area of Arizona flying my drone. You might think it’s easy to fly in the desert southwest. But drones are prohibited in National Parks, most State Parks, Indian reservations, and other seemingly inviting locations. There are far fewer drone-legal locations than you might imagine.

A few areas in the 60-mile-wide by 120-mile-long Arizona natural wonder known as The Painted Desert are open to drones. I was in one of those legal locations not far from that famous corner in Winslow, Arizona last month.

The Painted Desert

Years ago, when I first visited the area, the name captured my imagination. Why is it called The Painted Desert? Once I saw it, I knew the answer. But where did the name come from?

The Spanish conquistador and explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led a large expedition from what is now Mexico all the way to present-day Kansas between 1540 and 1542. He had hoped to reach the Cities of Cíbola, the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado from The Search for Cibola, the Seven Cities of Gold | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)

While he never discovered the Cities of Cíbola, his expedition recorded the first European sightings of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, among other landmarks. It was Coronado who named that section of present-day Arizona “The Painted Desert.”

Coronado’s Route from Route of the Coronado Expedition (1540-1542): first recorded European contact with the Hopi, Zuni and Apache Nations. (USNPS) [1455 × 703] : r/MapPorn (reddit.com)

The Shot

This photograph was taken a few minutes before the Painted Desert image of two weeks ago. The sun was beginning to peek through the clouds on the horizon bringing pleasing light to the scene.

Thanks for looking,

Chuck Derus

https://cderus.zenfolio.com/