Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Sunday, June 10 - Bryce Canyon National Park, UT - 134.6 Miles Today, 5822.9 For the Trip

I had a great drive along UT 12, another one of my favorite roads. Also reached 9600', the highest of the trip so far. The RAV4 had no problems, although since the temperature was in the high 40's, I'm sure that helped.

I'm staying at Rubys Campground tonight, site 154. While expensive at $45.00, I need to do laundry, and at 7500' will appreciate the ability to run my electric heater overnight. Last night it got down to 53°F at Capitol Reef; a big change from the past few days.

So, it is off to do laundry. I'll head into the park towards sunset for some photos.

The laundry is done, I did a little shopping in Ruby's General Store (as little as possible - they sure know they are the only one around!) then went into the park. I don't know why, but I cannot get a photo of Bryce that I like. The Hoodoos are unique, and are wonderful to look at, but for some reason, I cannot capture their impact. I've tried different times of the day, but I have to admit that I've always been here at about the same time of the year. I know a bit of snow on the formations would help. Anyhow, I took a few photos from the rim, then took a short hike on the Navajo Trail, one that makes a loop to the bottom of the canyon. Going down was easy, coming back up - well, I was huffing & puffing! After finishing the hike I drove over to the North Campground to check it out. I hope to go to Kodachrome tomorrow, but if it is full I'll try for a space in the park. I took a photo of a herd of deer nibbling around a tent in the campground.

I stayed in the park until dark to take a few star photos - there is very little artificial lighting in the park so it is a good place for them. On the other hand, at 8000', it gets cold fast. By 10:00 is was already in the 40's and the prediction if for close to freezing tonight. I packed it in once my fingers were getting numb working the camera. Probably should have stayed longer - the sky was not really all that dark when I left.

After driving back to the trailer I quickly dug out the electric heater which quickly brought the temperature up to 68°F, and made a cup of Tangerine Orange "Zinger" tea. I may even plug in the electric blanket tonight - Ah, the luxuries of a trailer over a tent!

Till Next Time

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Pectol's Pyramid

Saturday, June 9 - Capitol Reef National Park, UT - 99.9 Miles Today, 5688.3 For the Trip

Some of today's mileage was within Capitol Reef - it is only about 70 miles from Goblin Valley State Park. While I had thought about staying another day at Goblin Valley, the amount of sand the wind blew around was too much for me. It was in my eyes, nose, teeth, etc as well as coating every part of both the trailer & the RAV4. While the fan in the trailer does a fairly good job of keeping the temperature inside equal to the outside temperature, to do that you have to keep the windows open. The screens are no match for the fine dust! Finally found a reason for the AC even when it isn't too hot - you can keep the trailer closed up & still run the AC.

Anyway, I left around 8:30 heading down UT 24, a very picturesque road. Maybe picturesque isn't quite the right word - it is difficult to capture the beauty of the scenery in a photo. In any case, a great drive. I decided to try for a stay in the park campground - I'm in site B27. Again, no hookups, but less wind & dust, lots of shade, and you can't beat the price - $5.00 with my senior pass.

I took some photos of the Gifford Homestead, some not yet ripe fruit in the trees in the Fruita Historic District, then hiked up to a viewpoint for Hickman Bridge & Pectol's Pyramid. As usual, more photos at today's LakeshoreImages Page.

After that it was back to the campground for a Bubba Burger & left over rice. I found the best way to warm up left over rice (without a microwave) is to use my vegtable steamer. A bit difficult to clean, but it doesn't burn it or dry it out.

Depending on the cloud cover & color, I may go back for another couple photos of Pectol's Pyramid around sunset.

I put together a rough schedule for the next two weeks - probably won't follow it, but it is a month until the first day of my reservation in Oregon, I have many places I still want to visit, so a little planning is in order.

I won't be able to post tonight - there is no cell service (AT&T or Verizon) here in the campground, or anywhere near by.

6/10/12 - I reached Bryce & found a good Verizon connection, so I finally get to post yesterday's page.

Till Next Time

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Thursday, June 7 - Dead Horse State Park, UT - Day 2 - 119.7 Miles Today, 5588.4 For the Trip

I did manage to get a couple of night time images, some from the point and the rest from the campground. Neither was dark enough for showing the milky way, but at the campground I did manage to include a couple of shooting stars (I have to call them that because I can never remember the official differences between Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites.) Photos at LakeshoreImages.

I arrived at Goblin Valley State Park around 10:15AM and all that was left were a couple of tent sites. The ranger at the entrance sent me to look at them - since each tent site has two parking spaces, it might be possible to put the trailer in one & the RAV4 in the other. Very tight, but it would work, so I headed back to the office to make the reservation. When I got there the spirit of my late wife must have been looking over me. When ever we traveled, if Carol was in the car there was always, if necessary, a parking space. The ranger told me I was in luck - someone had left early while I was driving through the campground and a standard RV site (Site 24) was available for the night! Like all the sites at Goblin Valley it is a dry site, but at least there is room for both the trailer and the RAV4.

I drove to the "Valley" (about 1 mile from the campground) and made a panorama. The lighting is too harsh this time of day for good images, but it will show you what the place looks like - unreal. I hope to shoot more later in the afternoon & tonight. By the way, the wind is very strong; I had to fold up my awning and the fine dust is blowing everywhere.  Not a good place to change lenses!

The Verizon internet is very slow so I'm not sure I'll be able to post more images until a better connection, but the small version of the panorama is today's photo.

Until Later or Tomorrow!

Mesa Arch & Hummingbirds

Mesa Arch at Dawn, Canyonlands National Park

I managed to wake up 3 minutes before my iPhone alarm went off (at 4:27AM) and quickly dressed & headed to Mesa Arch. Unlike last year, I was the first one there, although a couple showed up within 5 minutes of my arrival. I set up where I wanted to, feeling a bit guilty since I was in the middle of the arch, but it was the only way to get both the arch & the towering formations in the valley beyond. I felt even more guilty when a group showed up later in the morning & complained about my location, but since i had to choose second place last year I stuck to my location.

Actually, as soon as I got the shot I wanted, I moved out of the way to let others in. I moved to a bunch of different locations - this year there were far fewer photographers so there was room for all of us to get the shots we wanted. I have to be honest - the images with the -Edit in the ID were Photoshopped to remove or at least cut down flare. Shooting into the sun with the Nikkor 24-70 lens is tough. Since I don't get the chance to shoot this location I took a bunch of images - more on today's LakeshoreImages Page.


After getting back to the campsite around 8:00 I decided to get another couple of hours of sleep, then made a bacon & eggs brunch. I noticed a couple of hummingbirds while cooking & set up my feeder, hoping to get a couple of photos. I did get a couple of interesting ones of a pair fighting over the feeder:

So, I'm relaxing for the rest of the afternoon. The sky looks clearer than yesterday so the plan is to head out to the point at dusk & try for some photos of the stars. Actually, I could probably do some right here at the campsite, depending on the other campers. While there are streetlights all over the campground, they are not turned on. Fairly dark skies with the exception of the bathroom, and, in the distance, a drill tower that has very bright white lighting.

Until Tomorrow unless I add some star photos later tonight!

Dead Horse State Park & Canyonlands

False Kiva, Canyonlands National Park, UT

Wednesday, June 6 - Dead Horse State Park, UT, - 96 Miles Today, 5422.8 For the Trip

As you can tell by the title of today's post, I made it into the campground at Dead Horse State Park. Beautiful views of the canyons from the campground. I'm in site 13. Like all the sites, it has 50/30/20 amp electric, but no water or sewer. Since they have to truck all the water for the park, I can understand why they don't provide it. No problem for me - I don't use all that much & I have plenty in the fresh water tank.

Lots of photos today. They start with a site photo, of course, then show part of the set up for a bicycle race taking place today. After that I drove to Canyonlands. The plan was to visit a number of locations, then head to False Kiva in the late afternoon. I wanted to photograph a particular granary at Aztec Butte, but the trail to it was closed. I did photograph one at a smaller butte along the trail, but it was not as impressive as the one that was closed. I'm including a photo of a trail carin just in case someone doesn't know what they are. Simply a pile of rocks thet are either left by others or ones you build yourself to remind you how to get back. I really got to False Kiva too early for great photos, but I have this exaggerated fear of having to walk back in the dark. If you saw the "trail" going up from the ledge below the site to the flat part above False Kiva you would understand! Actually, it was easier this year than last. A bit cooler, and, of course, I'd been there before. Still, it is quite a hike, the most difficult of the trip.  More photos at today's LakeshoreImages Page.

False Kiva is hard to describe. It is a beautiful place to photograph, but it is far more than that. The feeling you get sitting next to a structure likely built 1000's of years ago that has a magnificent view & incredible serenity is well worth the difficult hike. You spend a lot of time just thinking about the history of the place. Anyhow, I got back well before dark. I was hoping to shoot some night time star photos at Dead Horse Point, but the clouds have rolled in. They are thick enough that we may not even get a sunset. I'll check it out after dinner.


Tomorrow I hope to get up early enough to reshoot Mesa Arch. Last year I couldn't get the position I wanted because there was already (at 5:00AM) someone set up in my spot. Hope to do better this year. I have two days to try for it.

Until Tomorrow!