We are all familiar with what one does with an abundance of lemons. So met with a weeks worth of freezing temperatures where the mercury didn’t breech 32˚F /30˚C and night time lows were single digits Fahrenheit and sub zero Celsius. If we were talking lemons you’d make frozen lemon ice, but when looking for photographs in the desert southwest one looks for ice as a subject. So upon my arrival at Zion I immediately thought of Weeping Rock. One of the park’s most dependable springs or seeps any where in the region and not only water but dripping water falling 20 to 30 feet slow and steady.
After a good nights’ sleep cup of coffee in hand I headed out to brave the dawn, … did I mention it was cold. What I found appeared as a virtual wall of impenetrable ice. I surveyed the situation from my vehicle, still warm cup of coffee in hand.
I grabbed my gear and tripod and opened the door met with a cold blast of air reminiscent of winter in Wyoming, briefly thinking what am I doing here, then reminding my self of cold snaps I’ve experienced in both Death Valley and the Everglades. I was bundled up enough wear it was to bad, what caught me off guard was how wet the ice surface was soaked my gloves right off. I found away through toward the back of the alcove. It was like being in an ice cave. Views out to the canyon were just little vertical slivers here and there icicle upon icicle had joined together who knows how many times, winding up with diameters of jack pines and small Sequoia trees. The only cohesive outward view was at the north end a lateral view of the canyon wall with foreground icicles varying in length of several inches to several feet.