Deer Creek State Park, Utah

2015-09-12

We are somewhere about 5 hours shy of Grand Tetons National Park. Hopefully we will be there tomorrow, but I couldn't let Arches go before posting just one more photograph. Plants and trees struggle for life and make for some very interesting forms and shapes. Here is one of my favorites. Not a great shot, but a nice memory.

Desert Struggle

Arches National Park

2015-09-19

Broken Arches

Today we, and I do mean WE. That's Kim and I got I up at 5:00AM to drive into the park for sunrise. There really is only about 15 minutes of golden light. To catch that perfect time with the first rays of light on the arches we were going to be ready. There weye very few people in the park at that hour. We pulled up to an empty parking lot. There were two arches on this hike. One was Sand Dunes Arch and the other was Broken Arch. It was already close to the bewitching hour, so I chose to go to the closer one. Unfortunately, it was in a deep dark canyon, so as we arrived at 7:15 we saw just the tips of the rock spires high above turn a beautiful golden orange. Shit! No worries, it was still a fabulous experience.

That's Kim! Proud that she made it.

When we finished there we took the half mile hike to Broken Arch. The light was coming from the opposite direction, so we had to hike through the arch to get sunlight illuminating it. As you can see from the pictures it couldn't have been more perfect. After we finished we took a 3 mile hike to another arch and then back to our waiting van. I have to say that this was one of the most beautiful hikes that I have taken in my life, and Kim agreed.

It was a great hike with magnificent scenery.

By then it was almost 1 and getting hot. We had lunch in the by now full parking lot, and drove back to the camper for a well deserved nap.

A nice black and white shot.

Arches National Park

2015-09-18

Do you want the good news, or the bad news first? OK, let's start with the bad news. After a 5 hour drive, we arrived at the visitor center for Arches National Park at about 4:30 PM. The parking lot was filled with cars, and there was a good line of cars just waiting to get in. Patiently we waited until we could find a parking space. As we walked up to the smiling Park Ranger I knew in my heart that there was not a chance in hell that there would be a camp site available for us, and she confirmed it. “Oh, all of our sites are reservable a year in advance, and they fill I up fast. We are fully booked,” she added. She suggested that there might be sites available outside the park. There goes the vision of camping under the arch filled night sky, I thought.

She was right. About 10 miles away, we found a commercial campground called Spanish Trail RV Park. At $40 for a site with only electric and NO shade we felt bummed out.

The approach to the first set of arches was breathtaking

Now for the good news. We left for the park at 6 AM, and it was everything and more than we had dreamed of. It was like being in a natural Disneyland. You be the judge. Here are just a few of the over 200 images I shot. I guess that we will be spending another night in this nasty overpriced campground, and going to the park early again tomorrow.

Anyone who dared climb to the top took this pose.

Here is a nice shot of a pair of arches

At this point Kim was a happy camper

Montrose, Colorado

2015-09-17

Well, if the van had to break down again, I couldn't think of a more perfect place than Montrose Colorado. Couple that with the fact that it is the home of Nikki, Kim's long lost half sister, and you have the makings of a perfect couple of days. Montrose is a much bigger city than I realized, and much more beautiful than I had imagined. It is surrounded on all sides by tall mountains. Some if them over 14,000 feet.

Black Canyon National Park

Nikki was nice enough to take us on a tour of the Black Canyon National Park. It was a wonderful time with a lot of laughter and some spectacular views. The are two roads. One leads down into the valley, and the other follows the rim. Both had equally great views

What a stunning View!