Alstrom Point

It was a place I had heard about for a long time but had never visited. Our trip to Page Arizona was to feature Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons and trying to get to hike to "The Wave". Everything else was optional including Horseshoe bend and Alstrom Point. (We had as much luck with "The Wave" lottery as I do with PowerBall even the odds are much better, we lost.)

On Tuesday we spend 6 hours in the Antelope Canyons, 4 in Lower and 2 in Upper. It was a magical time. We got out of Upper around 5:00pm and since the sun set after 7:30 we decided to head over to Alstrom Point for sunset.

As we were driving out there, it's a long drive, I kept looking at the sun thinking we weren't going to make it but since I'd never been there I wasn't sure so we continued on. As we got closer it became obvious something was wrong.

Before getting to the Point the sun had already set but all was not lost. Before the actual end of the point there is an overlook were we decided to stop. That was a really good decision. The sandstone cliffs lite up with a warm glow that just captivated me. The water was a deep blue and the view before my eyes was just awesome. I told Travis we should return the next night.

Wednesday we decided to drive out Cottonwood Canyon Road for half a day then drive out to Alstrom Point the second half. The drive to Alstrom Point is quite interesting by itself. You feel like you're driving thru a moonscape and the boulders that strew the landscape having fallen from the adjacent buttes are just huge.

But today we got to Alstrom Point with plenty of time to spare. As expected the road to the end was very rough. I bought a new Subaru Forester just for this type of road and it served me well. You definitely need a high clearance all-wheel drive vehicle if you plan to go see this spectacular place.

We found the perfect location at the very end of the bluff. We were also lucky to have this whole place to ourselves where quietness ruled. While we go out to places like this to make images we don't loose sight of the beauty around us. When the shooting was done we just sat on the edge of the point and marveled at what was in from of us. There was no sign of man, well the lake is a sign of man, but no man-made structures that you so often see.

I will definitely return, maybe next December.

Roger
(-:)

A Day at Antelope Canyon

Since I discovered Antelope Canyon in December of 2009 it has been a goal to get back as soon as possible. When Travis and I were planning our trip to Nebraska to shoot the Sandhill cranes I figured this was the time. So after shooting the cranes we headed west to Page, Arizona. Yesterday we spent the day shooting both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon. Here are a few images from the day.


We shot Lower Antelope Canyon during mid-day from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The 4 hour photographer pass gives one a good amount of time in the canyon but it just doesn't seem long enough. The first four images are from this trip thru the canyon.







After doing Lower we headed across the highway to the parking lot for Upper. After a bite to eat we headed up the wash with a guide around 3:30 in the afternoon. The canyon was quite dark given the time of day we visited but it was light that I really liked. The subtle light accented the darkness of the canyon. Upper is darker inside than Lower and I like my images to reflect that quality.

The following four images are from Upper Antelope Canyon.






This next December I will be traveling thru Page again on my way out to California for Christmas. Guess where I'll be stopping.

Roger
(-:)

Anne, Shelley, Travis and I Snowshoeing

The morning started off really cold, relatively speaking, it was -4F. We got up for sunrise which did not disappoint. Anne had wanted to hike to this waterfall only she knew about, something she'd wanted to do for a long time. So she invited Shelley, Travis and I to go along.


We're trying to figure out which way to go. Good thing Anne was with us to guide us in the right direction.


One of the many cool things about hiking with Shelley is her eye. She is always seeing things on the side of the trail to investigate. (She used to be a photographer too)


This is one of the things she found. Don't have a clue what it is though but it's kinda cool.


When in doubt follow an animal track. Speaking of animals we saw 2 wolves as we were hiking this road. I wasn't fast enough to get a shot of them plus they were a ways in front of us. Travis got a decent shot though, he usually does (-;).


Notice how Anne's wooden snowshoes are about as long as she is tall? We're just standing around taking in the day. Did I mention the day was spectacular for a snowshoe hike.


Did someone bring a bottle of wine along? If they did I didn't see it, darn !!


Travis and Shelley stopping for a pose.


Shelley animating while Travis decided it's time to move along. Shelley and I tended to lag behind Anne and Travis. Actually I didn't see much of Anne since she led the way. Shelley is a walking encyclopedia about Ojibwe customs and history. As we walked along she told me about how the Indians would pick up small pieces of birch bark as the walked along. When it came time to start a fire, which they did regularly, they wouldn't have to go looking for kindling, they already had it. She also told me when they found dead logs in the forest they'd lean then up against a tree so the wood would dry instead of rot. When they needed firewood it was ready to go.


One one occasion when we were stopped I heard this popping. We both investigated and found a nearby birch tree popping every once in a while. It was just like it was growing right before our ears. It was quite exciting for me since I rarely hear things like that in the forest with my poor hearing. It was also really wild to actually hear a tree actually growing.


See I told you. It was a very beautiful day.


Those snowshoes of Annes are really great on the flat snow. But I was up on a little hill that needed some grippers on the bottom of the snowshoe to get the traction needed for climbing. Well Anne needed to find another way around the obstacles in the river.


I think Shelley needed a little rest so she plopped down on her back. No, actually she decided to back up which doesn't work so good when the back of your snowshoes digs into the snow and stops while your body keeps going. Oh but the snow is soft.

We ended up turning back before we got to the falls. There was so much junk in the stream bed we decided it was best to turn around. So we hiked back to our car, actually Travis truck, and went back to Annes place where she cooked us a very nice meal. Anne is heading to Nashville to pursue her dream in the music business and before we left she treated us by singing a couple of songs she wrote. Thanks Anne.

It was a beautiful day with beautiful people.

Roger
(-:)

A Snowshoe Outing with Travis

One of the things I was really looking forward to doing on my last trip to Grand Portage was to snowshoe up the ridge to the top of Mt. Josephine. We were starting from Hwy 61 where we left Travis' truck. The plan was to do something different, well different for Travis since this was my first time snowshoeing Mt. Jo. Instead of returning to the truck we were going to hike down the hiking trail back to Travis house where we would use my car to go pick up Travis truck. We set off about 1:00 in the afternoon.

During the prior week, on his days off, Travis broke a trail up to the top. Mind you we were traveling a route that has no designated trail, something we often do, but he is quite familiar with the route. I certainly appreciated his effort since it made the going much easier.



You gotta believe I was impressed when we left the highway and started down the trail he had made. I'm thinking to myself that this hike is going to be a piece of cake with a trail like this, much better than the hiking trail.


You can almost see the pride on his face as he stands next to his masterpiece trail.


But wait he soon turn off the big wide trail onto this skinny one. I stopped, hesitant to continue on. With a little encouragement Travis was able to convince me it would be OK so I followed.


It was a beautiful day for a snowshoe hike. The forecast was clouds and snow and I had hoped we would be going "snowshoeing in the snow" (that's an inside joke in case you don't get it).


But the day turned out to be just beautiful with temps in the upper 28s and some sunshine to boot. There were some interesting formations of undisturbed snow along the way.


And shadows. What does this look like?


And how does snow wrap itself around a branch like this? Weird.



Speaking if weird how about this snow fall.


Being the good guide that Travis is he regularly checked on me to make sure I didn't get lost. I appreciate his concern.


At one point we got together to plan our assault up Mt Jo. (actually he was figuring out why my camera was displaying weird things and this was a test shot just to check the image review. I thought this accidental image is pretty cool.)


Almost to the summit. What a beautiful view, huh!


Travis is certainly enjoying the view.


We do goofy things sometimes while we're out. hahaha


Sometimes Travis would get quite far in front on my. He kept assuring me that I wouldn't get lost and just follow his trail. (Good advice since I did make it back)


Here's Travis hiking along enjoying the beautiful day.


The next moment I find him resting, just plopped down in the snow. (Actually he fell and it was pretty funny to watch. I didn't feel bad for him since he already had a few chuckles watching me fall, I fell alot. Thankfully the snow is soft.)

After his 'rest' we finally made it to the top of Mt. Jo. What a view it is out over Waswagoning Bay and the Susie Islands.



The view back to the west was a mighty fine view as well.


Out over Grand Portage Bay the sun was shining thru the clouds making some quite nice sun beams.

It was starting to get late and this was the last image of Grand Portage Bay with Pete's Island. It was time to begin out descent down the mountain.

If you've ever climbed Mt. Jo you know it is a climb, not just hike. The trail is steep and in some places steep and rocky. It was quite an adventurous trip down, trying to keep from sliding off the trail and down the mountain side. My snowshoes have grippers under the ball of my feet and I used them alot. But every once in a while my weight would shift back and my snowshoes became skis. My feet would just fly out from under me. I must have fallen a half dozen times coming down that trail.

We finally got down to level ground. It sure felt good walking normal again. Back to Travis' house we went then back to pick up his truck. We were both pretty sore by the time we got to his house but that was expected and it actually felt pretty good. I think we hiked about 3 1/2 miles in almost 5 hours. We had a good dinner at the lodge then an evening at his parents capped off a fantastic day.

I'm looking forward to hiking Travis' trail again but this time returning back to his truck. Once is enough snowshoeing down the hiking trail.

Roger
(-:)

Artist Point on a Stormy Friday Afternoon

Last weekend my plan was to head up to Grand Portage and spend the weekend with Travis. Originally I was going to head up after work on Thursday but work made me change those plans so I headed up Friday morning.



The plan was to shoot along the shore as I drove north but I really didn't see anything worth stopping for so I just ended up driving straight to Grand Marais.

I was meeting my friend Don Davison in Grand Marais to give him some Lefse. He said he was heading out to Artist Point to shoot the crashing waves. I figured I had a half hour or so and decided to head out there with him. I'm sure glad I did.


The weather was quite mild, for February, in the upper 20s lower 30s. Even with the wind blowing it wasn't to bad. The lake was rather angry and was putting on quite a show.


This was the first time I was using my new ice cleats and they sure worked out very well. Ice abound on artist point and I was very sure footed with the ice cleats. We walked around shooting these images.


A half hour turned into a good hour and a half as I worked myself all over both sides of Artist Point. By the time I returned to the car I was exhilarated and soaked.


I stood in one spot knowing I was going to get some spray but got alot more than I was expecting. Got my clothes soaked and my camera all wet. The camera was fine and after changing my pants back as the car I was reasonably dry.


From there it was off to Grand Portage with some treasures in my camera and a great experience behind me. Just another grand day on the North Shore.

Roger
(-:)