Pointless Waymarks

Ramblings, Questionable Geographics, Photographic Half-truths

Created by Charles Miles on 3/3/2024.

2023 December Falls
Falls. Charles Miles. 12/12/2023.
2023 December Dry
Still some green, but no hint of surface water. Charles Miles. 12/12/2023.
2024 February Pool and Cloudy Skies
Pool and Cloudy Skies. Charles Miles. 2/5/2024.
2024 February Falls
Falls. Charles Miles. 2/5/2024.

Hidden water in the dry summer and water falls in a wet winter, thousand year old pottery and grinding holes, owls flying away in silence, javelina grunting, insects buzzing around the first mistletoe blooms. I know the other travelers only by their footprints - this canyon isn't in any way a hidden secret, just one of an infinite number of nameless unremarkable curved lines on the map.

These smaller places are really where my heart is - different every day, every season, every year - endlessly changing, more interesting every visit...

2024 January Eye
Eye. Charles Miles. 1/30/2024.
2023 November Owl 03
Owl 03. Charles Miles. 12/11/2023.
2024 January Watery Sky
Watery Sky. Charles Miles. 1/30/2024.
2023 December Time Lines
Time Lines. Charles Miles. 12/12/2023.
2023 December Many Suns
Many Suns. Charles Miles. 12/25/2023.
2023 December Rock
Rock. Charles Miles. 12/12/2023.
2023 December Cliff Reflection
Cliff Reflection. Charles Miles. 12/25/2023.
2024 February Hint of Rainbow
Hint of Rainbow. Charles Miles. 2/5/2024.
2024 February Flow
Flow. Charles Miles. 2/11/2024.
2024 February Spill
Spill. Charles Miles. 2/5/2024.
2024 February Snow Surrounding a Stone Canyon
Snow Surrounding a Stone Canyon. Charles Miles. 2/11/2024.

Created and Updated by Charles Miles on 12/10/2023.

2023 November Fall Color in Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Fall Color in Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Charles Miles. 11/28/2023.
2023 December Scattered Leaves
Scattered Leaves. Charles Miles. 12/4/2023.
2023 December Top of a Young Cottonwood Tree in the Sun
Top of a Young Cottonwood Tree in the Sun. Charles Miles. 12/4/2023.

The past weeks have been spent chasing the fall color thru the lower elevation washes, canyons and rivers of Southern Arizona. It came late - we saw more greens and browns than we did yellows and oranges - but the brief/scattered nature of fall color in the desert is balanced by an impressive intensity. After a long summer filling ourselves with the colors of fall was a joy, a recharge to take us thru the whites and grays of winter...

2023 December Cattail
Cattail. Charles Miles. 12/4/2023.
2023 November Mushrooms near Cienega Creek
Mushrooms near Cienega Creek. Charles Miles. 11/26/2023.
2023 November Saguaro Skeleton 03
Saguaro Skeleton 03. Charles Miles. 11/6/2023.
2023 November Terrible Color
Tamarisk - Saltcedar - an aggressive invasive species adding beautiful color to the river. Charles Miles. 11/12/2023.
2023 November Fall Sumac
Little Leaf Sumac I believe, several berries - past their prime - are in the left of the photograph. Charles Miles. 11/12/2023.
2023 November Sunset
Sunset. Charles Miles. 11/21/2023.
2023 November Fall Color 04
Fall Color 04. Charles Miles. 11/12/2023.
2023 December Posta Quemada Canyon
Seems late this year... Charles Miles. 12/3/2023.

Created by Charles Miles on 6/8/2023.

2023 March Creamcups off Redington Road
2023 March Creamcups off Redington Road. Charles Miles. 3/28/2023.
2023 May Large Patch of Evening Primrose
Large Patch of Evening Primrose. Charles Miles. 5/8/2023.
2023 May Cliffrose Above the Verde River
Cliffrose Above the Verde River. Charles Miles. 5/8/2023.
2023 May Prickly Poppies
We have seen these many more times along roads and highways than on our hikes - nice to find them somewhere peaceful! Charles Miles. 5/15/2023.

Spring and Early Summer - wandering daze I guess - local hikes, travel north and days where I hope we were lazy and happy... There isn't a theme that joins the photography from the last few months, but some familiar subjects emerge: beautiful spring flowers, blister beetles and other insects, water+green, travels, strangeness and sunset. I miss the spring flowers already but it is time to move on into the true summer's relentless heat and endless light!

2023 March Indigobush and Bee 02
Indigobush and Bee 02. Charles Miles. 3/26/2023.
2023 March Desert Blister Beetle
Desert Blister Beetle. Charles Miles. 3/30/2023.
2023 May Iron Cross Blister Beetle 03
Iron Cross Blister Beetle 03. Charles Miles. 5/15/2023.
2023 May In the Shade
In the Shade. Charles Miles. 5/28/2023.


2023 April Green Patch Beside Rincon Creek
An interesting spot where it looks like rock forces water towards the surface and turns this area green - just a few feet away, across an outcropping of rock, the vegetation above the creek was brown... Charles Miles. 4/11/2023.
2023 May Verde River 02
Verde River 02. Charles Miles. 5/8/2023.
2023 April Green Trees and Water in the Agua Fria River near the end of the Badger Springs Trail
Green Trees and Water in the Agua Fria River near the end of the Badger Springs Trail. Charles Miles. 4/30/2023.


2023 February Looking Back Toward the Mount Bruce on the way to North West Dome
Looking Back Toward the Mount Bruce on the way to North West Dome. Charles Miles. 2/27/2023.
2023 May Mining
Mining. Charles Miles. 5/2/2023.
2023 May Looking over Sycamore Canyon to Casner Mountain with the San Francisco Peaks in the Background
Looking over Sycamore Canyon to Casner Mountain with the San Francisco Peaks in the Background. Charles Miles. 5/7/2023.
2023 June Late In the Day Near the Arizona Trail Pistol Hill Trailhead
Late In the Day Near the Arizona Trail Pistol Hill Trailhead. Charles Miles. 6/4/2023.
2023 May Palo Verde Sunset
Palo Verde Sunset. Charles Miles. 5/15/2023.
2023 February The Sun Near Home
The Sun Near Home. Charles Miles. 2/6/2023.

Created by Charles Miles on 2/19/2023.

2023 February Stone Swimmer
Stone Swimmer. Charles Miles. 2/14/2023.

Streamside thru the winter - often beautiful ribbons of sand and fading pools, on the luckiest of days water spilling over rock, and, of course, on the unlucky days good-idea-interesting-small-side-canyons narrow until the cat's claw grabs you from all sides.

I know that the water comes and goes every year, each season, again and again, sometimes more and sometimes less - regardless, it feels like a gift, a celebration, whenever, wherever, we find it!

2023 February Foothills Stream
Foothills Stream. Charles Miles. 2/14/2023.
2023 January Carpet Cleaning
Colts Carpet Cleaning - We Don't Horse Around... Charles Miles. 1/31/2023.
2023 January Red Canyon Walls
Red Canyon Walls. Charles Miles. 1/31/2023.
2023 January Reflected Saguaros
Reflected Saguaros. Charles Miles. 1/24/2023.
2023 January Ice
Ice. Charles Miles. 1/24/2023.
2023 January Desert Stream 01
Desert Stream 01. Charles Miles. 1/24/2023.
2023 January Rincon Peak in the Distance
Rincon Peak in the Distance. Charles Miles. 1/31/2023.
2023 January Reflection
Reflection. Charles Miles. 1/10/2023.
2023 January Orange Beast
Orange Beast. Charles Miles. 1/2/2023.
2023 January Hail Accumulating in a small Wash
Hail Accumulating in a small Wash. Charles Miles. 1/2/2023.

Posts Before:
2022 December Forked Saguaro and Canyon
2022 September Camped at the Rim Campground
2022 July Mesquite and Saguaro
2017 June Solstice Sunset from just outside the West Wall of Pueblo Bonito
2022 January Cottonwood Peak in the Distance
2021 April Topaz Canyon and Castor Temple on the way to Walapai Point