2013 Spring Trip - Day 7 - Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Last night after driving out to Egypt trail head I knew I wouldn't be making the hike to the Golden Cathedral with Jessica and Travis.  Looking out from the trail head the view was awesome.  We were high above looking down to the Escalante River far below.  The Golden Cathedral hike is about 9 miles, round trip, the last of which is a steep uphill climb.  Since I'm not in very good shape and since the hike the day before wore me out I thought it prudent to not even attempt the hike so my plans changed.

Travis and Jessica decided to go ahead with the hike and I decided to head back to Capitol Reef National Park and head out to Cathedral Valley.  It was a blast spending two nights and a day hiking with my friends on their honeymoon.  We went our separate ways from our camp site.

Before leaving home I had thought about going to Cathedral Valley.  I had been wanting to go to this part of Capitol Reef for a few years and now was the time to do it.


Cathedral Valley is in the north section of Capitol Reef.  It is a remote location in the middle of a 59 mile dirt loop road that requires a high clearance vehicle.  These are the roads I like to take since you have a great opportunity to have few, or no, fellow visitors.

I arrived in Capitol Reef and stopped by the visitor center to find out more about the drive out to the valley.  I found out the road was in good shape and the campground was first come first serve but there probably wouldn't be many campers.  I planned on spending the night and all seemed well so I headed out.

I was kind of in a hurry since I wanted to be out in the valley in the late afternoon and evening.  Aside from one rather interesting place, Bentonite Hills, the drive out to the valley was rather dull.  I thought to myself that Cathedral Valley couldn't be as boring as the drive and I was right.


After about 25 miles you find yourself on a ridge with desert below on both sides.  I took the turnoff on the north side out to an overlook of Upper Cathedral Valley. WOW, what a sight from high above, such a beautiful valley below.  I didn't spend much time at the overlook since it was getting late and I wanted to get down to the valley floor.

The road down the mountain passed the campground.  It was a nice campground with Juniper trees around and lots of room between campsites.  Past the campground the road got very rough and I had to go pretty slow over the rocks.  The decent was quick and I found myself in front of some amazing sculpted monoliths.

I find it fascinating how these monoliths remain when everything around them has eroded away.  As I approached the monoliths they disappeared behind a hill and it wasn't long before I came to a parking lot and trail head.  It turns out the trail follows the monoliths from across a little valley for their whole length.  I hiked quite a way down the trail and was excited by the fact I was experiencing this all alone.  Of course I wished I was sharing this with Carolyn but that was not to be.  The afternoon turned out to be cloudy and it rained some.  The sunset I'd hoped for never developed but it was a fun time being one with nature.  

My plan for sunrise was to shoot the Sun and Moon Temples.  The temples are a few miles from where I was in Upper Cathedral Valley.  The campground was a few miles back but the drive was very slow.  I knew If I stayed in the campground I would have to get up super early to get over to the templesb fore the sun rose.  Fortunately you have to leave the park to get over to the temples.  Since it's BLM land you can camp anywhere so I found a nice spot just outside the park boundary and the entrance back in to Cathedral Valley.

Tomorrow I'll check out what is here and start my journey back to Minnesota.  In the meantime it's time to hit the sack.

Roger
(-:)

2013 Spring Trip - Day 6 - Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

It’s Wednesday, half way thru the trip.  I woke up to a beautiful day.  Jessica was in camp and Travis had left to shoot sunrise at Devils Garden.  When he returned he said he had tried to wake me.  He shook the car then shook me and all I did was grunt and roll over.  I hadn't felt a thing, darn.

We had some coffee and ate breakfast and then we were off.  Travis and Jessica had picked the Zebra and Tunnel slot canyons to visit and I was all for it.  Having come from the cold Midwest, today was going to be a great hike.  The day was absolutely beautiful and the temperature couldn't have been better.

The terrain in this area is quite interesting.  The hills are generally bare and consist of many layers of sandstone.  A few years ago, like 600 to 2000 million years ago, this area hosted warm shallow seas and was located near shore environments.  Slowly this area has undergone an uplift of some 5,000 to 10,000 feet and is where we see it now.  Who knows what it will look like in another 50 million years.  What I do know is the fascination I have with what I see surrounding me.

As we hiked to Zebra slot the lines and shapes and patterns around me really struck me.  It’s fascinating how mother nature bends and twists itself into so many diverse ways. (Am I using the word fascinating to much?)

The entrance to Zebra canyon revealed little of what was to be found further along.  It’s not a long canyon but it quickly narrows and the walls grow tighter and tighter.  It’s hard getting your footing since your shoes are easily wedged in the V shape where the canyon walls meet at your feet.  Unfortunately Travis wasn't able to squeeze thru but I just made it.  After a short ways into the slot area, there was a little opening where you could actually easily stand.  This is a canyon where visitors need to take turns visiting.  There just isn't much room.

I’d seen pictures of Zebra Canyon and what I’d seen didn't look like what I’m seeing.  Further up the canyon though there was a boulder wedged in the canyon and it was clear to go further a little climbing was needed.  I got myself up and over the rock and there it was, the Zebra slot.  It is a very short section, maybe 25 feet long but looked really cool.  I walked to the other end and realized this was as far as I was going so I turned around and began photographing.  Since it’s such a confined space and there were others wanting to get in I didn't photograph as much as I’d like but there was more to see so we moved on.

Normally a visit to Tunnel slot means walking back to Harris Wash and walking up the wash to that canyon.  Jessica and Travis had heard of a different route that took us over the hills and into the back end of Tunnel Canyon.  The main reason for taking this route was to find the Moqui Marbles.

Did we ever find Moqui Marbles.  They were all over the place and were just fascinating.  Most were a dark color and those that had been cracked in half had red sandstone inside like the sandstone all around us.  They are just like black eggs and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  According to Wikipedia, Moqui Marbles are iron oxide concretions which are broken down iron-bearing silicate minerals.

Travis found the way down into the back end of Tunnel Canyon. I’m not sure if it’s actually called Tunnel Canyon but since Tunnel Slot is in the canyon I figured Tunnel Canyon would work.  It was a short distance before we reached the slot and what a surprise we got.  It definitely looked like a tunnel but the full length of the slot had water in it.  What was clear was we weren't going to back track but were going to go thru  it.

What we soon found was this was not a get your feet wet kind of water depth.  It started out being a little more than knee deep, at least for me.  Then it became deeper and it became apparent my iPhone and keys might be getting wet so I stopped to put them in my back pack.  When I pulled my phone from my pocket I heard something splash in the water.  I thought it was my keys but no they were still in my pocket, whew.  I felt around with my feet but couldn't feel anything and the water was to deep for me to reach down plus I had a backpack on my back so I went on.  It turns out the deepest part was at the far end and ended up above my waist.  First time I’d ever been in water like that and made for a memorable time.

Once we got thru the slot we took out shoes off and attempted to dry out a bit before returning to the cars.  It was then that I realized my GPS had fallen into the water.  Figuring it was fried I didn't go back to find it.  

It was a great day of hiking.  Tomorrow we’re planning to hike to the Grand Cathedral out of the Egypt trail head so we headed over there and camped out close by.

Roger

(-:)

2013 Spring Trip - Day 5 - From Farmington to Escalante

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Today is another travel day.  I remember when I lived in Calif. and traveled to Arizona, which I did often, it would take me less than a day.  One trip I met a couple in Monument Valley that traveled 2 full days to get there.  I remember how lucky I was.  Now I’m in their situation.  But I’m not complaining since I really like cross country travel.

I woke up around sunrise.  I decided to bypass sunrise and get up when I get up.  The parking lot was still empty so I had the place to myself.  Yesterday afternoon I’d met a couple what was asking about the hoodoos on the west side of the road.  I’d heard about them but had not seen them.  Since I had some time, and was trying to not be in a hurry, I decided to look for them.  It didn't take long, just a half mile from where I was camping, and there they were.  I got pretty excited with the discovery.  Lots of the cool stuff at Bisti is a few mile walk into the wilderness but this was just off the dirt road.  I grabbed my camera and tripod and began exploring.

True to Bisti form there were lots of photo ops.  I’m not sure how far I got into this area but I know I didn't explore the whole thing.  I just find these places so fascinating.

After a couple of hours I decided to pack up and head to Escalante, Utah where I am meeting up with the newlyweds Travis and Jessica.  We were going to meet at the BLM office in Escalante in the afternoon but I knew I wouldn't make it till after dark.  We decided to meet at a site by Devils Garden just off Hole In The Rock Road.

   

Having spent much of the previous drive going thru Nebraska and it’s rather featureless landscape the drive from Farmington to Escalante was full of wonderful sights.  Before I’d left Farmington I had eaten so when I went by the turnoff to Four Corners I had to force myself to keep going straight.  You see there is a Navajo Taco vendor there and I would have loved having a Navajo Taco, poor planning on my part.

   
This route took me thru the eastern part of Glen Canyon Recreation area, thru Hanksville then thru Capitol Reef National Park.  I’d thought of spending a night in Cathedral Valley here but decided to do it another time.

   

I arrived at the camping site where Travis and Jessica were already setup after dark, 8:30ish.  We talked a while when Travis mentioned going over to Devils Garden for a little moon shine shooting.  At first I didn't want to go but I’m glad I did.  We spent a couple hours over there and finally decided to head back to camp after midnight.

Tomorrow is a hike to Zebra and Tunnel slot canyons.

Roger
(-:)

2013 Spring Trip - Day 4 - To Farmington, and beyond

Monday, March 25, 2013

I woke up this morning to a beautiful sight outside my motel room.  The sun was shining and there was a clean layer of snow on everything.  No matter how long winter has been I always love the sight of falling snow and sunny mornings after a fresh snowfall.  I decided I needed a real breakfast this morning instead of cereal again and found a local restaurant in the middle of Walsenburg.

When I walked in I was greeted by four men sitting at the table in front.  I imagine they regularly meet at the Alpine Rose Cafe for breakfast.  I sat down at the bar and the lady reading the newspaper a few seats down came over and gave me a menu.  It will be bacon, eggs and hot cakes plus coffee, somewhat similar to my favorite breakfast at South of the Border in Grand Marais.

Breakfast

I suspect the lady was also the cook since she disappeared into the back and eventually came out with my breakfast.  She had given me the local newspaper and as I ate I checked out what was happening around Walsenburg.

Alpine Rose Cafe

After breakfast it was time to head west.  I'd decided to take this route, heading west from Walsenburg on US 160, since it took me to Farmington but also passed by Great Sand Dunes National Park.  My thinking was to spend some time at Great Sand Dunes then head to Bisti Wilderness, outside of Farmington,  for late afternoon and sunset.

I got to the turnoff to the dunes made the right turn heading in north in the direction of the dunes.  I'd stopped here twice before but have never actually been out on the dunes.  The problem today was it was noonish which isn't a good time photographically to shoot the dunes.  It's much better morning and evening when the lines made my the sand stand out and create interesting patterns.  I'd driven about a half mile down the road when I decided to abandon this idea and just head to Bisti and I'm glad I did.

The drive to Bisti was uneventful and I arrived in the parking lot about 3 in the afternoon.  Sunset was around 7:30 so I had a few hours to shoot.  There were a few people in the parking lot but they looked like they were leaving.  My original plan was to get to Farmington Sunday night and spend the day at Bisti but that didn't work out.  Now I had the late afternoon, a great time to be there, and I was going to make the best of it.

This was my second time at Bisti.  At first glance the area looks rather dull and uninteresting but once you get about a mile into the wilderness it changes drastically.  Since my time was limited I decided to go to an area where I'd been during the last trip.  It was just a 1 or 2 mile walk from the car and it had some interesting formations.  I loaded up my gear and was off.

Following is a collection of images I made that afternoon and evening.

It was dark then I got back to the car.  The moon was shining brightly which meant I didn't need, nor use, my flashlight.  I've always love walking at night by the light of the moon.  Had I been more adventurous,  having someone with me would have made it fun, I'd have stayed out and done some shooting by the light of the moon.  There is something about moonlight that adds a different character to the scene.

Tonight was going to be my first night camping out on this trip.  By camping out I mean sleeping in the back of my Forrester.  When I went looking for a travel vehicle a few years ago I wanted one that I could stretch out my 6'4" frame in the back and be comfortable.  It took a little customization and the result is quite comfortable.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Travis and Jessica who are on their honeymoon.  I'm looking forward to spending a few days with them exploring Utah and some slot canyons.

Good Night.

Roger
(-:)

BTW, when I first viewed the portrait image above on the computer there was movie figure that popped out of the screen.  Do you see what I see?

2013 Spring Trip - Day 3 - A Morning with the Sandhill Cranes

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Morning came early with the anticipation of what might lie ahead.  I was concerned about not hearing my iPhone alarm so I put it on vibrate and put it under my belt against my skin.  This served two purposes, 1) my body would keep it warm and the battery wouldn't die and 2) I would feel the vibration.  Sure enough it worked.

It was cold this morning and the sleeping bag was nice and toasty but once I put my hearing aid in and heard the faint sounds of cranes I was up.  I looked outside and didn't see any cranes, but of course it was still rather dark.  It's not uncommon for the cranes to move during the night and I was afraid they had. As the light on the river increased to my relief I saw the cranes and they were there in large numbers.  

It was clear this morning.  The storm had passed during the night and a sunrise, with the sun, was in store.  It’s hard to explain what the next few hours were like.  The cranes were to far away to make any decent pictures so I spend my time videoing.  I knew there was an excellent chance of getting video of one or more blast-offs.  It's impressive to see on video but mind blowing in person.  The river explodes in sight and sound and the sky fills with noisy cranes.  Take a few minutes and watch how the morning unfolded.

It was a show like I'd never seen before.  There's no need to travel to other countries to see amazing migrations of birds and animals, we have one right in the middle of our country.  Researchers believe from 600,000 to 800,000 cranes use this 80 mile stretch of the Platte River every spring.  That's 80% of the worlds population of Sandhill Cranes.

I had asked the person that took me to the blind to pick me up as early as possible since I was planning to drive to Farmington, New Mexico.  The Rowe Sanctuary is mighty protective of the cranes.  The activities of the sanctuary go out of their way to limit and minimize impact on the roosting cranes.  Their policy is to wait until all of the cranes have left the river before they pick up the people in the photographer blinds.  The cranes were so comfortable in the warm morning sun they didn't want leave.  It was after 10:00 am before enough left for them to come down and get me and there were still a dozen or so that were left.  Funny thing was before we got out of there they were coming back to the river undeterred by out activity.  As we were riding back to my car I learned that the two other groups in blinds downstream were out by 7:30.  The eagles down there spooked them and all of the cranes left.  I consider myself lucky.

I must say I was happy to get out of the blind.  I'd been in there for about 17 hrs, you do get a bucket, and I was anxious to get on the road.  After a little breakfast I was heading west toward New Mexico.  As I passed south of Denver I ran into a snow storm and decided to stop and spend the night in Walsenburg, CO.  

It was another memorable few days with the Sandhill Cranes.  It's now time to explore the wonders of New Mexico and Utah.  I will be returning to the Platte on the way home next Saturday so I see another crane encounter in my future.

Roger

(-:)