• Capital Reef National Park,  National Parks

    A Quick Post

    October 2, 2013
    Icicles on a fence from an irrigation system that had run all night.
    Icicles on a fence from an irrigation system that had run all night near Loa, Utah

    It’s Tuesday night and ready for bed. I wanted to share a bit about this road trip I just finished. This impulsive idea turned out to be an eleven day adventure. I covered 2,680 miles. I saw the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capital Reef National Park, Escalante National Monument, Colorado National Monument and a half dozen cool mom and pop coffee shops. I played the tourist rather than a photographer so most photos are more about pressing the shutter. I camped 6 of the 11 nights, spending 3 nights in Phoenix with my parents. I saved money due to my senior status as all the parks were free and the camping sites were half price. Now we can’t even get in. 🙁 A couple of nights were cold as a cold front moved through the area. One morning it was 29 degrees and the next morning it was 25 degrees. The above image was taken the morning it was 25.

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  • Bryce Canyon National Park,  landscape,  National Parks

    September 27, 2013
    The Amphitheater at Bryce National Park
    The Amphitheater at Bryce Canyon National Park

    After crawling out of my sleeping bag this morning to 29 degrees, I’m now in a hotel room in Loa, Utah at a place called Road Creek In. I tried to stay in Torrey but there are hunters on the prowl for deer season and a BMW motorcycle rally going on.  everything was full. This is the best I can get and it will be warm and not wind to deal with.

    The last three days have been exciting. I’ve just touched Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks and Escalante State Park. I’m awe struck!  Such beauty. I can see why the Native American Indians call it sacred. The magnitude of these geological creations and how they were created go beyond my finite mind. And, yet they are so delicate.

    Escalante State Park, Utah
    Escalante State Park, Utah

    Okay, I’m tired and going to bed. I will pass through Capital Reef National Park tomorrow as I head home. Still have a couple more days of this trip. So far I’ve covered over 2,000 miles and have about a 1,000 to get home. I will write more about this trip in a future post. Good night!

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  • Grand Canyon National Park,  Great Sand Dunes National Park,  landscape,  Mesa Verde National Park,  National Parks

    Follow up

    September 24, 2013
    Great Sand Dunes National Park
    Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

    This road trip has been good for me. I’m now in Phoenix visiting my parents for a couple days and sleeping in a real bed for a change. I’ll head back out tomorrow morning and drift back towards home. I find it inexpensive to camp in the National Parks with my senior pass while entrance fees are free. I’ve never been to any of these parks before. This is not a photographic expedition but a vacation. I’m acting like a tourist and shooting from the same locations the tourists are shooting from. I just take more time as I shoot.

    My first night was in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Since it’s late in the season I’m not fighting large crowds. I’m able to select just about any campsite I desire. So far this park has been my most impressive and will stay on my bucket list. Clouds moved in early in the evening then rained hard for a couple hours during the night. I stayed dry but the rain cover on my tent was soaked the next morning. In the above image you can just make out a few people who have climbed to the top of the dunes.

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  • Badlands National Park,  clouds,  landscape,  National Parks,  quotes

    Badlands

    August 7, 2013
    Badlands
    Morning Sunrise in the Badlands

    “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ― Maya Angelou

    My first, and only, trip to the badlands was in May of 2004. I spent three days camping there and shooting a few images but that was not enough time. The rugged beauty is breath taking. The openness with vast skies will cause you to look skyward. My evenings were spent looking to the west, watching the sun set and the clouds constantly changing formations. That was seven years ago so I’m think it’s time to make plans for another visit.

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  • Glacier National Park,  sunsets

    Relaxing Before Bed

    July 12, 2013
    Lake McDonald

    A few years ago I made a trip to the west coast and back in my car. I camped wherever I could to save on cost and be in nature. One of my favorite nights was at Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. The water in this lake is crystal clear with the bottom of the lake strewn with colored rocks. It sits in a valley created by erosion and glacial activity.  This visit was made in June of 2004 just after the massive fires of 2003.  Approximately 136,000 acres burned within the park boundary. This came after 5 years of drought and the hottest summer temperatures ever recorded in the park. I had a nice campsite back among the trees and away from the lake. Because of the noise from campers and the chugging sound of RV generators I took a walk to the lake. I’m glad I did and just happen to have my camera with me. I think it’s a great way to relax before going to bed.

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  • sunsets,  Yellowstone National Park

    It’s a time for ….

    July 11, 2013
    Yellowstone Rive - 2003r
    Yellowstone River

    It is light that reveals, light that obscures, light that communicates. It is light I “listen” to. The light late in the day has a distinct quality, as it fades toward the darkness of evening. After sunset there is a gentle leaving of the light, the air begins to still, and a quiet descends. I see magic in the quiet light of dusk. I feel quite, yet intense energy in the natural elements of our habitat. A sense of magic prevails. A sense of mystery. It is a time for contemplation, for listening – a time for making photographs. – John Sexton

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  • landscape,  mountains,  Smoky Mountains National Park

    And That’s Your Picture

    November 13, 2012

    Foothills Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains

    “As the saying goes, we see in terms of our education. We look at the world and see what we have learned to believe is there. We have been conditioned to expect. And indeed it is socially useful that we agree on the function of objects. But, as photographers, we must learn to relax our beliefs. Move on objects with your eye straight on, to the left, around on the right. Watch them grow large as you approach, group and regroup as you shift your position. Relationships gradually emerge and sometimes assert themeselves with finality. And that’s your picture.” – Aaron Siskind, The Art of Photography

    It can be difficult to find new perspectives when capturing images from those popular locations people flock to like this image taken on the Foothills Parkway in the Smoky Mountains. People will sometimes be elbow to elbow as the sun begins to rise. The morning this image was taken a photography workshop was in progress so we had about a dozen photographers with tripods. So I moved away from the crowd looking for another angle and used a Nikon 80-400mm lens to bring the scene in closer and remove distracting objects. This is my picture.

    Not sure if it was that evening or the next that I dropped and destroyed that lens. Still makes my stomach turn. 🙁

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