Coming home from a fabulous vacation/adventure is always a sad event. I wanted to lessen the blow by stopping at one of my favorite Texas parks, Guadelupe National Park. I had worries about finding a campsite, but the park was nowhere filled to capacity.

Also, after the other-worldly views of Utah, it was just a little disappointing. I think that you will see that reflected in my images, but they were the best I could get. Still it is a great place for a hike, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

It was a lot greener than Utah.

This dry creek bed made for some interesting shots.

This little dove insisted on posing for me.

Would a trip to Guadelupe be complete without a black and white shot?

And now, all that is left to do, is the grueling 10 hour drive back to Pipe Creek.

On the 22nd (yes I know it's the 26th, but I have not had internet access) Jack and I entered the Canyonlands National Park on the southern entrance. I thought that it would look a lot like the northern part of the park, and upon first viewing it I was even a little disappointed in what I was seeing, but boy oh boy, did that change as we got deeper into the park. What a wonderful treat! We took a nice long hike, and although it was hot and we bitched like crazy while doing it, I sure did come back with some very nice shots. It was mostly cloudy, so the dark clouds made for a beautiful and dramatic backdrop. Hopefully you will agree?

You just know it is going to be a great day when there is a rainbow!

The trees and rocks just seem to say, Take my picture.

Yesterday,mthe 21st of September, Jack and I took a trip to visit Canyonlands National Park. It is less than 60 miles from Arches. It is supposed to be the most visited park in Utah, but arriving early meant we had some alone time in the park. It is quite a bit different from Arches National Park, which I think you will see reflected in the photographs below.

Jack getting the perfect shot of the Canyon

The is also a baby arch in Canyonlands!

I don't know why I like this photo, I just do.

And of course there has to be a black and white

We had such a good time hiking and photographing that we are going to return tomorrow to do it all over again. Perhaps this time we will try the south entrance?

Jack and I decided that instead of rising very early, and going into the park to do some “light painting,” that we would just head out at about 9 PM. The park is open 24 hours a day, so we were thrilled to see some, but not very many people in the park. We were going to go to one of the most accessible arches, but we missed our turnoff in the dark so we instead went to Tapesty Arch. After a short hike with all of our gear and lights, we had the place to ourselves.

Light painting on Tapestry Arch

We were just not happy with the results, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the moon rising up over the mountains just to our right.

Moonrise at 11 pm in Arches National Park

Happy with these, we then move on back to our original location, the North Window Arch. There we met a couple from Peru who wanted to climb up Delicate Arch, a very difficult and long climb even in the day, with only a dying battery on their cell phone to light their way. They wanted to know if we thought they could make it. I gave them one of my star flashlights and hoped that they would make a baby under the arch by full moon and, who knows, maybe call him Pedro?

Full moon, with a little light painting at North Window Arch

And for our last stop we picked Balanced Rock. No hike involved, but it is a spot that is always way too full to stop at during the day. No problem with parking tonight!

Balanced Rock, or final stop.

We made it back to our campsite by 2 am, happy with another great adventure. Of course I did sleep to 8:30 AM the next morning. It's now 1 pm, and we still haven't gone anywhere!