2017 Utah

Monument Valley from the roadside

From NM I headed to a familiar campground, Goosenecks SP, about 25 miles north of Monument Valley.  It is sort of barren, you pick a spot which may or may not have a table, but a one-of-a-kind view is guaranteed if you walk a few steps to the rim of the canyon. I tend to use this place as a base and visit Monument Valley to the south or Valley of the Gods to the north. This trip the weather was pretty overcast and each late afternoon I could watch the storm clouds pass by, sometimes with a rumble of thunder or flash of lightning, but no rain. A drive to view some of Monument Valley from the road was a must but mostly I just relaxed and caught up on stuff.

 

From there I headed north to another familiar place, Horse Thief CG. This is a BLM site, dry camping without

Twisted tree on a cloudy day, Canyonlands NP

even water available located just outside Moab, UT. It is convenient for Canyonlands NP, Arches NP and Moab. Sites are large with plenty of room and often some screening between them. One of the delights of this stop was that I was able to meet up with some friends from various parts of the country and to meet some new folks. The weather started out sunny each day, but with enough breeze so it stayed pleasant, not too hot.

Turret Arch lit by the moon, Arches NP

Arches NP is undergoing some extensive road work, prohibiting access 5 nights of the week and some sections of the park are closed completely. The closures will change as the work locations change. Fortunately I was able to get in on Friday night and the places I wanted to visit were accessible.

There was a full moon during my stay so instead capturing the Milky Way I decided to see how some familiar places looked in the moonlight.

Double Arch in the moonlight, Arches NP

Turned out the moon does a much better job of lighting things up than any artificial light.

 

Click here for more images. 

2017 Death Valley

View of Death Vally floor from along Badwater Drive

At Quartzite some friends mentioned they were headed to Death Valley next…..hmmm, never been there so I decided to go, too. I got a site at a rather barren campground, really  a gravel lot with space numbers, but the cost is low. There is a decent breeze that makes up for the lack of shade, too. The valley floor is close to 200′ below seal level. I can’t imagine the hard life the miners and others had here when they came.

I had no idea what to expect and it has been interesting exploring a bit. It is surrounded by mountains, with a long drive slowly descending to the valley floor. So far I haven’t seen much if any cactus of any sort. The hills are different from most I’ve see out west because they seem softer or more crumbly, affected more easily by any rains or winds that come. The colors range from yellow and gold to dark brown with a tint of green in a few places.

I’ve gotten out a couple of nights and took advantage of the interesting

Moonlight and stars at Zabriskie Point

foregrounds and moonlight, Very different from what I’ve seen before.

For more images click here

2016 Utah nights

I had two very clear nights while staying at Horsethief campground outside Moab, UT. Needless to say I spent some time in Arches NP. The Milky Way was glorious and while not in the best location to get some of the arches below it the rock formations made nice foregrounds.

From Moab I headed south for a couple of nights at Goosenecks SP near Mexican Hat, UT. This is near Valley of the Gods, a BLM area with several monuments to equal some found in Monument Valley. The area is ideal for night photography but that also makes it a bit daunting. I did venture a couple miles in and got a nice image with not only some clouds on the horizon being lit up by lightning but a very nice meteor.

After a few more shots in the same location I headed back to the trailer, it was just too remote and isolated for me on my own.

Click here for more images

2016 Grand Teton NP, 2

Sunset over the Tetons

A colorful sunset over the Tetons is always a delight. After spending a long time at the riverside hoping to see some moose I gave up, threw the camera gear in the truck and headed out since it looked like there might be a good sunset. Turns out the gamble paid off!

I was up very early the next morning and caught the sunrise lighting up the Tetons and then happened on some bison that were still frosty from the cold night. While driving around or
being stopped I’ve also seen two foxes and two coyotes.

The night of the full moon it was very clear so I headed out to see what a couple of places

Full moon light on the barn on Mormon Row with the Tetons and Big Dipper

looked like in the moonlight. First stop was the iconic barn on Mormon Row with the Tetons behind it.

After that I went to another spot on a hunch. On a good day the

Full moon light at Schwabacher’s Landing with Tetons and Big Dipper

Tetons are reflected in the river and I thought if things came together right the moonlit Tetons would be reflected in the river. Sure enough, they were!

Click here for more images

2016 Grand Tetons NP, 1

The Tetons are a favorite area of mine, the mountains so majestic and the animals fascinating. When I arrived at Gros Ventre campground the moon was waxing, giving lots of moonlight so the first night I arrived I went out for a few evening shots.

Big Dipper over the Tetons

Didn’t get much, but did see a fox that stopped within 15′ of me and heard an elk bugling in the night.  A fellow camper told me where to find some beaver so I visited their pond and I’ve spent many  hours watching moose. 

The campground is along the Gros Ventre River, a great place for moose. Watching their interactions is fascinating to me. One of the spots seems to be a hangout for a cow, her calf and a young bull. So far he doesn’t seem to be impressing the cow very much.

The young bull needs a new line…..

 

Click here for more images

2016 Yellowstone, Geysers 2016

Yellowstone geyser area has many interesting features which attract thousands of visitors. Fortunately there are some that are off the beaten path and less crowded. The colors in the hot springs are beautiful.

Great Fountain Geyser goes off every 9 to 16 hours, making it a hard one to see. I didn’t catch it during the day but one night it was supposed to go off at between 8 pm and 1 am so I arrived plenty early. Needless to say it took its time and erupted at about 9:30 pm, in total darkness. A factor hard to figure into it was the amount of steam produced by the hot water and cold air. That made it very hard to photograph any water being sent up. The eruption lasts a pretty long time and by the end of it there were some stars visible so I capture a bit of steam lit by a light I had and the Big Dipper.

One of my favorite geysers is White Dome Geyser since it goes of frequently (every 20-30 minutes) and is usually pretty free of spectators. The first evening I was at Madison campground I went over and got a nice sunset image of it.

 

 

Then I went back that night to see if I could get the Milky Way above it. I did, though there were clouds and smoke so the images weren’t as clear as in the past. The difference this year was the forest fires in the park, they reflected on the clouds and made the images very unique.

 

Click here for more images

 

2016 Glacier NP, 2016 final

The next to last day at Glacier I was able to get a couple of  photos of a grizzly feeding in the bushes. Unfortunately when I headed out that time I did not put the long lens in the truck, just the camera bag with other lenses, this was a mistake and one I won’t make again.

Last night after hitching up the trailer and dumping the tanks in preparation to leave first thing this morning I wasn’t driving anywhere. It looked like it was clearing and sure enough about 11 pm it was very clear out and the Milky Way was visible in all its glory above the mountain. I got out the camera and tripod, set up in the road next to the trailer and took about 12 images using 2 different lenses. Well worth the effort! To my delight I captured a couple of meteors along with the Milky Way. Always fun to see the night sky!