Introduction

In a world full of uncertainty and despair, it is easy to lose hope.  There is so much pain and destruction nowadays that sometimes I feel like there is no escape; the more I learn about our ecosystems and the environment, the more I see how troubled it all is.  Our actions continue to slowly destroy the land and poison the air.  The line between the natural and civilized grows ever closer.

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But there are still places that they can't touch; all the hate and ignorance in the world cannot change their beauty.  Time is the only factor, and that is the one thing we can never change.  It is here, beneath the walls of the canyons and the tops of the mountains, where I learn the most.  For it is here where I notice how small I am, a peon amongst greater things. 

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These photos and this site are an attempt to capture the brilliance, diversity, and incredible beauty of my homeland; a formidable task which I can never truly accomplish.  

 But I do what I can and that is all one can do.

It is a tribute.

About the author

Name: Eric Matthew Leifer

Born: May 13, 1986

Birthplace:  Anaheim, California

Student, Environmental Science, Northern Arizona University

Email: eml48@nau.edu  

For a moment, I forget where I am. There is nothing in sight. No people, no cities, no cars and no borders. Instead monuments of rock stand still amongst towering cliffs; sitting, listening, waiting for nothing. The middle of nowhere to most, but in reality this is the middle of everywhere. You can see in all directions for up to 50 miles; to the south lies the labyrinth of the Green River. To the east, the unimaginable depths of the Maze can be seen plunging into darkness.  To the west the sun is quickly setting beneath some daunting storm clouds, painting the sky the usual brilliance. The sheer beauty of it is enough to bring most men to contemplation. Of what? Everything of course, but really nothing at all. We stay to watch the end of the show. Good idea.

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From the rugged and pristine wilderness of the Mogollon Rim to the intricate canyons and high plateaus of Canyonlands; upon the highest peaks and within the deepest slots, amongst the vast forests and the tortured deserts, aside massive waterfalls and beneath fantastic grottos, exploring deep cold caves and swimming narrow sandstone creeks, into the black hole and out of the white box, and everywhere in between.  It has been a fantastic privilege.