Arches, Zion and Vote No! – wk 46

Last weekend, I returned from a short vacation to Utah and Arizona. Work has also been busy, so this post is a little late. I made the trip to Moab, stopping at Cisco during a late afternoon storm. After camping, I headed up to Arches National Park early the following morning. The cottonwood trees in Courthouse Wash had taken on their fall colors — a vibrant yellow. I set up away from the park road to capture the high altitude clouds with the sandstone skyline in the distance.

Arches Fall Sunrise

Later in the day I made my way towards Escalante. After passing through Hanksville, I spotted this abandoned concrete truck at the roadside. It seems to be covered with graffiti from a previous election.

Vote No Concrete Truck

In late afternoon, I headed towards Devil’s Garden that is located along 50 mile road. This is a dirt road that rapidly degrades into a bone-jarring experience as one drives further along. Devil’s Garden has several sandstone hoodoos. The hoodoo at the left edge always reminds me of a statue with a huge nose!

Devil's Garden Hoodoos

Whilst working the area, I encountered another group of photographers attending a workshop led by Jack Dykinga. I have long admired Jack’s work and introduced myself. Jack asked whether I was a pro photographer. I said “No, but I do make some print sales”. To which he joked that I was “hurting his business”! After chatting for a while, Jack setup a tripod for a night photo session under Metate Arch.

The canyons around Escalante are reknown for an abundance of slot canyons. The following morning, I took a hike into Zebra slot — this slot has distinctive stripes in the canyon walls. It had not rained in the area that day, so I was assured that there would not be any flash floods in the canyon. This is something to be constantly aware of when hiking slots. Soon after entering Zebra slot, I discovered that the canyon floor was flooded. Bummer! I never did get to those stripes, but here is a view of the canyon floor.

Flooded Zebra Slot Canyon, Escalante

That afternoon, I arrived at Zion National Park. I entered the park via the east entrance that follows along Pine Creek. Here may be found a rock outcrop with a small tree growing from the top. I have see this tree be referred to as a “funny little tree”. This does not do justice to this unusual tree that I have named “Serious Big Tree At Zion”.

Serious Big Tree At Zion, No 2

Whilst working this area, I met another photographer from a group that was out from New Jersey. I am not sure whether this was another group attending a workshop. I never did get to find out. This guy noticed my shoes, and proceeded to talk about shoes for the next five minutes!

One feature of Zion during the fall are maple trees. This variety does not grow very tall and has small leaves. During this trip, the maples glowed a magnificent red. Here is a small cottonwood that contrasts nicely with the red maples.

Cottonwood And Maple In Pine Creek

This is the typical site that greets you when you climb down into the creek bed.

Maples In Pine Creek, Zion

During the time at Zion, I hiked into The Subway, meeting a couple of other photographers — CW and Brett — and taking my time to explore Zion. After spending three nights camping at Zion, I made my way to Page, AZ. I settled into a cheap hotel room, where I could have a shower later (there are no shower facilities in the Zion campsites).

Then I headed out to the Paria Rimrock area, where there are several hoodoos. I was planning to make photographs looking down upon the hoodoos. This requires a drive along a dirt road (that was closed several miles further than I needed to travel) and a 40 minute hike to the cliff edge. After arriving, I setup tripod and then opened my backpack to discover no camera! Earlier in the day, I had taken the camera out to prepare for quick access when required. I had forgotten and the camera got tangled up the a coat! Well that ended that opportunity — the sun had set by the time I got back to the truck. I decided to may my way to the hoodoos from the base for some night shots.

Light Painting Of Toadstool Hoodoo

Some time ago, I found a cheap and powerful “million candlepower” flashlight with rechargeable batteries for some night photography. So I decided to take this opportunity to light up Toadstool Hoodoo by light painting. This is the first occasion that I attempting light painting. However, the experience did allow me to make half a dozen or so images before the batteries discharged! I used the flashlight to light up the prominent hoodoo against the darkening night sky. Not to shabby for a first attempt.