"Dynamite Sunrise"

In my naive, younger years, I considered desert scenes rather boring. I thought they lacked color, vibrancy and interest however I’ve since discovered the real living desert and just how much I love photographing desert scapes. To experience a desert’s awakening, you truly must be on the desert floor as the sun rises, as I was here. It’s only then that you see the colors of the plants but also their renowned halos. That said, the most most notable were the Saguaro trees and Cholas (both have dense needles), as you can see in this photograph. This photo was taken from a biking/hiking trail in Brown’s Ranch State Park (McDowell Sonoran Preserve), in north-east Scottsdale, Arizona). We arrived just after the park gate opened and cycled into the sun as it rose. It was so (unbelievably) beautiful; I was in awe and in that moment, I counted my blessings for being here. Brown’s Ranch hosts my favorite cycling trail (to date) because they’re undulating and curvy while surrounded by the desert plants, large boulders and the far off mountains. We had a blast! AND what a spectacular morning!