The summer heat was unrelenting as we started the Wahweap Hoodoo Trail. The trail winds through a dry riverbed, the sand burned under our feet and the air vibrated with heat. Despite the scorching sun, we felt relieved that we had left early in the morning, the only time when the temperature was somewhat bearable. The trek was long, the shade rare, and each step took us further into the vast silence of the desert.
When we finally reached the end of the trail and the Wahweap Hoodoos loomed before us, we stopped breathing. It was as if we had entered another world. The hoodoos stuck out of the ground like giant pillars, their tops dark and jagged, while the white rocks almost glowed in the sun. The colours were so intense, the contrast between the soft white and the dramatic shadows was hypnotic.
Superlatives came in short supply for us. It was impossible to capture these wondrous formations in words.
We stood there, speechless, realising not only the immense beauty but also the power of nature that had created all this. The heat and the long trek were forgotten in an instant. This was a place that you had to experience, that took your breath away, and that you would never be able to explain to someone who had not seen it for themselves.
My name is Gerry van Roosmalen, photographer and author with a passion for images and stories that touch. After years in the corporate world, I followed my heart and chose photography in 2002. I completed the Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn, specialising in portrait and reportage photography.
Documentary and landscape..
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