After a three-month winter layoff, I again visited the red rock country of Utah, this time to Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse Point SP, and several small sites in the southeast corner of the state. The photos below give a small taste of the scenes in this area. To see more photos from this area, please visit the Southeast Utah gallery at http://www.zenfolio.com/mikebucher/e/f513743166. Click on any image below to see a larger version.
The first several days of my trip coincided with spring break and I was surprised to find many of the campgrounds full, with campers enjoying the mild mid-March weather. Fortunately, one of the advantages of camping during photo trips is the ability to adapt to unexpected challenges, such as finding a place to spend the night.
For me, one of the attractions of the high desert is the variety of wispy cloud formations. This trip offered several examples:
Arches NP, South Window |
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Canyonlands Green River Overlook |
Castle Rock, Priest & Nuns |
Mesa Arch in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands is a very popular location, with crowds of photographers almost every morning. I have not yet made my best image of this iconic landmark, which means I need to make more visits.
But the Milky Way above the arch was impressive.
Dead Horse Point is a spectacular viewpoint of a canyon carved over 1000 feet deep by the Colorado River, and is especially beautiful at sunrise.
The Four Corners area of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico has a large number of well-preserved Indian ruins, including the House on Fire grainery perched under a large sandstone overhang that appears to be flames.
In this same area is a large valley filled with imposing monoliths, the Valley of the Gods. This area is reminiscent of Western movies of the 40's and 50's.
Finally, the Dolores Valley offers attractive views of imposing bluffs from the river level.
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