What Draws us to Utah's Red Rock Country?

What is it that draws us to Utah's Red Rock Country? Is it the red color of the rocks, the tantalizing sunrises or the remoteness of the countryside. When I think of Utah's Red Rock Country, I think of Moab, the Four Corners and Canyonlands. Just the thought of it, conjures up visions of John Wayne, the Navajo, the Anasazi and my favorite - Indiana Jones.

For me personally it is the pure Indiana Jones, adrenalin rush type of adventure that you can achieve on almost any visit to the region. That is, if you so desire. This rush does not just come from a remote hike into an Anasazi site, or hanging your hind end out on a Mountain Bike ride on the side of a cliff. This rush and inspiration can also be achieved by simply getting up early and watching the sun's early morning rays strike the monoliths in Arches National Park.

I am no expert on the region, but I am madly in love with it. My first visit occurred in the late 1980's while on a trip to repair the electronic controls on a houseboat at the Lake Powell, Bullfrog Marina. I drove all of the way down from Washington State and when I saw the scenery around Hanksville and then Lake Powell, I was awestruck! What was this place of red rock, this land of wild and towering rock formations, of remote and alluring canyons calling out to me. It leaves a lasting impression that I did not soon forget.

My first real visit was a trip to Moab. I believe it was the fall of 1994. My brother in law and I went there to do some hiking and mountain biking, to experience the adventure. And what a trip it was! We rode the Slick Rock Trail near Moab for the first time. This is where I found out that you can't actually ride up vertical rock, even though it seems like you can, but my complete backwards somersault proved otherwise. We also rode the Portal Trail, where leaning to far in the wrong direction can lead to a 450 foot fall. One of my favorite exploit's of the trip was rappelling into an alcove in a cliff to see if any human being had been there before. We were thinking that maybe it had been visited before by, perhaps an Indian, but alas, we were only greeted by a bunch of mouse droppings. It was adventure none the less.

What fun that first trip was and there was one other intriguing fact of knowledge that came up while on that trip. It was the photo that we saw at the Moab Airport of a large Anasazi Cliff dwelling. We asked at the airport and around town, but no one would, or could, tell us where it was located. Now, this was pure intrigue, the seed that plants visions of adventure in my brain. It took a couple of more trips to Moab and two years of asking around, along with minimal research, to learn the location of the cliff dwelling. And so, with that knowledge in hand, we planned a trip back down to Southern Utah.

Since I don't keep a journal I can't remember if it was one of our spring trips, or fall trips to Moab. Let's just say for fun that it was May of 1996, since I was probably down there at that time. We headed down to Southern Utah with the expressed purpose of visiting that cliff dwelling.

To get to the trail head, we had to drive 17 miles in on a dirt road, after driving for almost 2 hours on paved road. Our plan was to hike in, set up camp, hike to the dwelling, spend the night and hike out the next morning. We drove out from Moab early in the morning and arrived at the end of the dirt road around noon. The view of the canyon where the cliff dwelling lay was fabulous, with stripes of Painted Navajo Sandstone. The dwelling itself was not visible from our vantage point. The remoteness of the location and the rough desert beauty conjured up the image of an Anasazi Native American hiking along the canyon rim (just day dreaming).



The hike took us immediately down hill for 800 feet onto the canyon floor proper. Then we were following what seemed like little more than an animal trail. The first part of the canyon was wide and open. After the first about a mile and a half, we came upon an old log cabin, which I later learned was built in the late 1800's.



Inside the cabin were a couple of old pans and assorted odds and ends. Wow, it was cool to see, experience and know that it hadn't been stripped bare in the following years. Who lived here in this remote location, how did they exist here, questions that were voiced between us.


Next on the hike were bushes and bushwhacking. Having lost the trail, this part of the hike was interesting and not fun. It seemed like we would never get out of there and when we finally did we came upon a small spring with clear water. We were hot and tired by this time and the spring was a blessing. Fortunately, we had brought a water filter with us and we refilled our water bottles and drank our fill.



Not long after we left the spring, we were greeted by a right facing spur reaching out from the canyon. The little information that we had about the main canyon was that this is where you camp. It wasn't really a camp site, more like a flat spot on the ground with fewer weeds. We set up our tent, stowed our gear and prepared to head out to our main objective.














We crossed the spur canyon and found a small Anasazi granary. We spent a few minutes looking it over then headed out again. As we entered the main canyon we greeted by our first glimpse of the cliff dwelling still a ways down the canyon. It did indeed look impressive! We sped down the canyon ushered on by finally getting to visit the place that had inspired us in a photograph two years before.

An hour and a half of hard and fast hiking finally brought us to the base of the cliff. I found out later that the cliff dwelling has 27 rooms and it was exhilarating to stand there beneath it. The alcove appeared to be over thirty or more feet from the base of the cliff. Some one who had been there previously had taken a dead log and leaned it up against the cliff to try to gain access. We toyed with climbing the log and even tried to go up a little ways, but concluded that it might be very difficult to get back down.



We hiked along the base of the cliff and came upon some pottery shards and other small artifacts that had been collected by others and placed in that one location. I was totally captivated by these items. I couldn't believe that these items were there and still existed after the approximately 800 years since the Anasazi had left.

This was pure Indiana Jones stuff, the adventure, the find (though hardly the first modern men there), the pottery shards. It was true, you could still do real Indiana Jones! And I was hooked, this was way to cool, this fabulous country, the scenery, the remoteness, the adventure. We stayed there a while and took a few photographs of the cliff dwelling, shards and surrounding area with my cheap film camera. Then we hiked back to our camp arriving well after dark. The only interesting thing that happened on the way back was the snake laying across the trail that I almost stepped on. I didn't go back to try and determine what type of snake it was.

The next morning we packed up, hiked out and headed back to Moab.

This was the trip that got me hopelessly hooked on Utah's Red Rock Country. Adventure, breath taking scenery, it has it all! Easy or difficult it is there for people of all abilities to enjoy and of course, photograph.

And what does this story have to do with photographing Utah's Red Rock Country you ask? Well, the canyon, the area and the cliff dwelling are calling to me to return and photograph them. I hope to return some time in the next couple of months and do just that!

You might have noticed that I did not tell you the location of the canyon. There is good reason for that, I am leaving that unsaid so that you too can enjoy the same adventure that I had.

Click here to see beautiful images of Utah's Red Rock Country

Photographing Car Lights at Night is Fun!

 

 

Click Here to See More of my Images of Car Lights at Night

Here is something fun that I have been doing of late on my trips to the Moab, Utah area and that is, taking pictures of cars going by at night.  These are time laps photos that make for a wonderful light show and I find them interesting and enjoyable to shoot.  The photo above was taken in Canyonlands National park at dusk.  It is a 30 second exposure with a motor home and a car going away from me and a motorcycle coming towards me.  I used a tripod of course, had the Camera ISO set at 100, the Lens Aperture set at 22 and the focus around the mid point.  With the Aperture set at 22, I was able to get the Star Burst affect at two points where the lights from the motorcycle were pointed more directly at the lens.

I have found that for me personally, photographing car lights at night takes a bit of pre-planning and then some trial and error to get the image that I am seeking.  It was certainly enjoyable trying to get the photo above.

Images of Car Lights at Night

 

 

Photographing Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

Beautiful Images of Delicate Arch

If you have ever been to Delicate Arch located in Arches National Park, Utah, you were probably not alone.  I have hiked up to see and photograph the arch many times.  I have been there for the sunrise, sunset and in the middle of the day and have witnessed the Arch during all four seasons.  Only once have I been there when no one else was around.  The Arch is a very famous and popular attraction and one of Utah's Icons, it even adorns Utah license plates.  Being such a popular attraction, it is very difficult to take photos of the Arch without people getting in the shot.  On one evening at the Arch, we counted more than 200 visitors.

Pretty much everyone that goes there wants to get a photo taken of them standing inside the Arch.  This tends to make it somewhat difficult for the purest landscape photographer to take a photo of the Arch.  Though you can get some interesting shots of the Arch with people in the image. 

Delicate Arch has amazed me with how many different views that you can capture in an image.  Most photographs that I have seen of Delicate Arch are of the evening light and sunset and of what I refer to as the popular view.  What I think of as my best image of Delicate Arch was taken in the evening and is of the popular view. 

I believe that the time of year has a lot to do with the quality of the image of the Arch.  The summer is hot and my photos tend to have less contrast and appear to be washed.   My favorite time of the year to take pictures in Arches and Canyonlands is during the winter months, especially if there is snow in the photo.  The snow contrasts well with the red rock.  If you take pictures of Delicate Arch on a clear winter evening you can frame the sunlit - snow covered - La Sal Mountains in the background and through the Arch.  Around the time of the Winter Solstice you can capture the sun setting inside of the Arch (see my previous blog post - A Little Known Delicate Arch Photo Opportunity).  Early on a winter morning you can capture a beautiful sunrise over the La Sal Mountains.

After the sunrise you can capture beautiful photos of the morning light on the Arch.

Mind you it was 13 degrees outside when I captured the last two images.  But, it was the one time that I had the Arch all to myself for three hours, an amazing experience. 

Delicate Arch is always a fabulous location to visit and photograph any time of the day or year.  It can sometimes take patience to capture an image of the Arch without another visitor in the photo.  I have been there when photographers have requested a minute or two of the Arch standing alone all by itself and it actually worked, they got their minute for photos. 

I don't remember how many times that I have visited the Arch or how many photos I have taken of the Icon.  What I do know is that I am not done visiting the Arch or capturing the Arch and possibly visitors in an Image. 

Beautiful Images of Delicate Arch



Photographing the Milky Way in Arches National Park

OK, so my equipment is not the very best and it took several attempts just to get stars to appear in my images, but boy is it fun trying to get photos of the Milky Way in the middle of the night in Arches National Park.  I used a Canon T2i to capture my photographs of the Milky Way.

It was on May 28th at around 3:00 a.m. that I finally got an image of the Milky Way to appear in my camera.  I was staying in Moab and set my alarm for 1:30 a.m., got up and drove to the Maverik gas station to get some coffee and headed up into Arches National Park.  I had tried several times previously this year to shoot images of the night sky without any luck (maybe a few dots appeared in my images).  This time I promised myself that I was going to get the shot.

I stopped after entring the park to check the night sky.  It was pitch black and you could easily see the Milky Way with the naked eye.  I decided that I would try to photorgraph the Milky Way with Balanced Rock in the foreground and headed for that location.  When I arrived at the parking area, there was one car parked there, but not a person to be found.

I had talked with several photographers while shooting the sunrise at Deadhoarse Point several weeks prior.  They provided some advice on shooting the Milky Way and I also searched the netherlands of the internet for clues.  I finally settled on what I needed to do to get some photos of the night sky.  So, I grabbed my headlamp, camera and tripod and hiked over to a location that lined up the Milky Way on the right side of Balanced Rock.  I got my equipment setup and set the camera and lense to the following settings: 1) Shutter Speed at 25 seconds, 2) f-stop at 3.5 (lense open all the way), 3) ISO at 6500 and 4) set the focus on manual just shy of the infinity setting.  I also setup the 2-second timer on the camera and had the mirro locked in the up position.  The difficult part was framing the shot, with it soo dark out, it was very hard to see anything well enough to frame the shot.

I was where my imagination runs wild, in Arches National Park around 3:00 a.m. all by myself, it was quiet and peacefull and a sky full of stars.  I clicked off the first shot which took forever to provide a preview in the camera.  I did it!  I could see the Milky Way in my image, I was actually kind of surprised as I did not expect positive results.  I did a quick little jig and then proceeded to take a multitude of shots in the general area.

Click on the link to see more images of the Milky Way in Arches:  Arches National Park at Night at pictures-west.com

I did not see another person until the light of dawn started to appear, then there was an influx of photographers entering the park to catch the sunrise.  I myself took some shots of the sunrise and headed back to Moab to get some rest. 

I really enjoyed that night, in fact I enjoyed it soo much that I got up at 11:00 p.m. the next Saturday and drove to Arches to take more images of the night sky in the park.

Click on the link to see beautiful images of Arches Natioanal Park: Arches National Park Photos at pictures-west.com

Canyonlands - Island in the Sky District

I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise at the Green River Overlook in Canyonlands National Park on Sunday, January 29th.  It's a great time of year to take photos in the Moab area as the cold air makes the colors really vivid.  Another advantage is that fewer people are visiting this time of year because it is so cold.  I had the Overlook all to myself for almost two hours.  It was a beautiful and thoughtful experience.

One of the photos I took was featured as the "Travel Photo of the Day" at Today.msnbc. 

Native American Petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock near Canyonlands National Park

Newspaper Rock located near Canyonlands National Park is a sandstone formation that has one of the largest known collections of Native American Petroglyphs. It is believed that the oldest drawings are up to 2,000 years old. Over the years when Native Americans passed through the area, they would add to the collection.  There are many different images that have been engraved into the rock, there are buffalo, deer, horses, and human images to name a few.  Newspaper Rock is truly a wonderful and historic site. 

I have photographed a large collection of images of the petroglyhs on Newspaper Rock.  You can see those high quality images by following the link to my website:  Newspaper Rock at pictures-west.com

Quiet and Alone at False Kiva in Canyonlands National Park

I took a cold, but fabulous trip to the Island in the Sky District in Canyonlands National Park in the first days of March. My intent was to visit the False Kiva ruin and hopefully get a few photos.  I had seen some awesome photos of  Flase Kiva on the internet and they really sparked my interest in seeing the site.

Contrary to what one might think, the site is not an Anasazi ruin, it is actually a Pueblo Indian ruin.  The rangers at the visitor center told me that it was dated around 1350 A.D.  The site is designated a Class 2 site, which means that it is not noted on any maps or literature, but if you inquire with the rangers, they will tell you how to find the site.

I arrived at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center on the afternoon of March 1st.   I was supprised to see that there was still a lot of snow on the ground.  I immediately went inside and asked one of the rangers for directions to the False Kiva.  The ranger was happy to provide the information, but told me that there would be possible deep snow and muddy conditions on the steeper ground leading up to the Kiva.  He told me that the hike was a three mile round trip and could be difficult.  I led him to believe that I was well prepared and would not be deterred by the challenging conditions.  I thanked the ranger for the information and headed out to setup my tent at the Willow Flat campground. 

After getting my camp set, I headed on down the road to find the not so noticable trail head.  After parking at the location noted by the ranger, I wandered back and forth along the road until I finally setteled on a set of foot prints leading off toward the edge of the canyon.  The prints cut a path in the snow that in most places had melted into the dirt.  After hiking for about fifteen to twenty minutes on the mesa, the path started to drop leading down to the edge of the canyon wall.  I was certain that I had chose the correct path when I met the edge of the cliff and saw that the path led out under an alcove.

I had to do some scrambling on steep scree below the alcove but it was dry, not muddy as I had been told and it was fun to navigate.  Finally arriving at the alcove I got my first glimpse of the ruin.  It is like the pictures depict, a small rock wall forming a circle.  It is the location that is totally heart stopping.  The alcove was quiet, out of the wind and the view looking out over canyonlands was astounding.  How the ancient ones found this place is amaizing in itself, but the reasons for making a site there were totally understandable.

The alcove was warm and out of the wind and the only sounds were the noises made by this modern man.  I stayed at False Kiva taking picutres untill the sun dipped well below the canyon rim.  It was a special kind of experience, alone in a rugged wilderness enjoying the same view that the ancients experienced, a view unchanged by time.

 

Check out my new blog entry about visiting False Kiva in the middle of the night to view the Milky Way: False Kiva Revisited - An Adventure to see the Milky Way

You can see more photos of False Kiva on this link:  False Kiva Ruin Images

Experiencing the Incredible Sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands

 

"There is nothing that I can say that would give meaning to the beauty that is watching the sun rise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands"

 

I have been trying to remember the first photo that I saw of the sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. I believe it was on a magazine cover back in the early 90's, or maybe it was one of the motivational posters with the man running on top of the arch, like the one that I have in my basement. In any case, the photo brought awe and wonderment and the inevitable, where is that place and how did they get that incredible picture.

Since my first glimpse of that sunrise, it has always lingered in the back of my mind. Even after several trips to see Mesa Arch in the middle of the day, it didn't quite connect that it was the place of the fabulous sunrise. Then a couple of years ago, I saw one of the sunrise photos with a caption explaining that it was Mesa Arch in Canyonlands.

Now, I really did want to go there and see the sunrise, it just happened to be an activity that was bit too early in the morning for me. That is, until I decided to become more serious about photography, then it became a must see! One of the first trips that I planned after obtaining my new camera, was to go and take a photo of the sunrise at Mesa Arch.

 

 

 

 

See spectacular images of Mesa Arch - Mesa Arch and Canyonlands National Park 

So, after three trips to photograph the sunrise at Mesa Arch this past year, there I was, warming up the Jeep in Moab at 5:00 a.m. on the frozen morning of December 20th. Since I was already down that way to catch the photo of Delicate Arch the night before (see my last blog), I thought I might as well see my most favorite sunrise one more time.

The drive up to the arch took me a little over an hour, it takes you up on to a plateau above the canyons. I arrived at the snow packed parking lot around a quarter after six. Surprisingly, there was another vehicle parked in the lot, a VW Van and I just assumed that its occupants were sound a sleep.

I sat all snug and warm in the Jeep as I watched the horizon slowly turn a lighter color. The thermometer in the Jeep was telling me that it was 13 degrees outside and I kept thinking, "is there any sane reason why I would want to leave this comfy warm Jeep and go outside."

At a quarter to seven, with the sky looking like the sun would be coming up soon, I got brave and started putting on every warm item of clothing that I brought. Fifteen minutes later I got out of the Jeep, packed my camera gear and headed up the trail. With all of the layers that I was wearing I felt like a mummy while hiking. Fifteen minutes later I could see the arch and lo and behold another photographer that was crazy enough to be out there on that frozen morning.

The other photographer introduced himself as Sunny and his cheerful spirit got me thinking that I might be doing the right thing by being there.

There is nothing that I can say that would give meaning to the beauty that is watching the sun rise at Mesa Arch. It is special in so many ways. All knowledge of the cold surrounding me was lost as I watched, and tried to capture the image of the scene that was unfolding before me. The air was clear and the cold temperatures made the colors more vivid than I had ever experienced on my previous trips.

Happy, happy to be there, happy that I would choose to brave the cold, choose to be a little crazy and adventurous again, happy and gratefull.



My new friend Sunny and I stayed for over an hour and a half happily chatting and taking photos of the arch and the surrounding scenery. I took close to 400 digital images of that sunrise and the red glow of the suns rays reflecting on the bottom of the arch.



I have had second thoughts about posting this article knowing that it might draw more people to the arch to watch the sunrise. I have met people from all over the world at that spot and time of day, and at times it has seemed a bit crowded. But, sharing the experiance is also a delight!