The Devils Garden

Just a few miles into the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument there is a dirt road going south into the foothills. It is a dusty road flanked by large fields. Long Horn Cattle come close to the road here to see the passerby's as they zoom down main route 12. I take the turn off and drive down the dusty road. I am watching the time and the gas needle as I am going far out into a wilderness area. There are no gas stations or restaurants out here. There are many smaller enticing turn off roads but I am on a mission. I am looking for the famed Devils Garden that is somewhere down at the end of  road.

After what seemed like an hour I was wondering if my GPS was telling me the truth there was no road marked on the screen and it said I was driving on open range.  But then there it was a small hand painted sign on the left side of the road... Devils Garden this way.
Here is the photo essay of that stop. Click on the image to see it larger.

As the day moved from late morning to early evening my belly began to complain and road fatigue was setting in. Up ahead a few miles was the Boulder Mountain Lodge, a phone call and I had the last room for the night, lucky me. This is a first class lodge and is often totally booked. My room looked out on a small pond. The last image here is the view from the back deck off my room. This was such a nice place I booked two more days using it as a base from which to explore the back roads. They also have a great home made Elk Sausage.

Route 12 on the Escalante Staircase

Leaving Bryce Canyon and heading toward our next National Park is a remarkable drive filled with vistas of shocking beauty and a long and meandering road past cattle farms and small state parks created to preserve rock formations and arroyos. I found it irresistible to stop and take pictures along the way. Needless to say getting to the next stop was less important then recording the path I was traveling. This post will give you a glimpse into the sights along the way.

 This first image is of the hills just outside of Bryce. The red rock hoodoos are still evident hidden among the trees of increasing density and just as interesting only smaller and less dramatic. I feel sad leaving them I feel that I am leaving old friends. To see them get smaller as I drive by reminds me of the days I spent among them.

Soon The landscape opens up wide and distant mountains mark the snow line and it seems I can see forever.. The forest releases it's grip on the land and scrub brush begins to populate the high range. The colors are soft and varied, the shapes are soft and wave in the breeze as the wind blows.

Fences appear and long horn cattle roam free on wide expanses of landscape. I stop to get a closer look at the cattle that are close to the road. I am carefully watched by the large black and white steer, but soon his curiosity waned and he walked away. 

 The blue sky is dotted with white clouds and one can see the distant rainfall of approaching storms from a long way off. Large for-ground textures become spattering clumps of dotted shapes as they move to the distant horizon.

As I travel further down route 12 the land flattens out. Small trees stand out occasionally, dispersed in the fields, contrasting the wide horizontals as if they were their to watch over the herds of cattle roaming over the range.

Bryce Canyon... Land of the Hoodoos a spiritual place

I have been putting off writing about Bryce Canyon until I finished processing all the 600 photographs I shot while walking the canyon. The difficult process of choosing which images to use on this blog is what has taken so long. So I hope you will enjoy the images and get a feeling for this amazing canyon.

My first impression of Bryce is that it is a classic old lodge set in a nice block of woods that one reaches from SR 12 to SR 63. There is only forest and snow as I drive the road. Spring thaw has had no effect on the grip of Winters cold in this place. I am wondering what sets this place apart from the many other nice looking woods I have seen on my travels? After a few minutes I reach what appears to be a parking lot framing a classic old log building and a group of cabins set in a snowy wood, a Christmas card setting if ever there was one.

Checking in as evening is setting, I go to my cozy room up on the second floor of the rustic lodge main building. The room is really two rooms, one for sitting, reading or just looking out of the perfectly placed window and the other part for sleeping. There is a small no frills bathroom off the bedroom. I am grateful for the second floor location and a warm comfortable bed. I check my photo gear for the next day of exploration before going down for dinner.

Dawn brings the light of day in my window, waking me from a restful night sleep. The smells of coffee and eggs waif their way up the stairs as I go down to the lodge dinning hall for a hardy breakfast, a welcome way to start my day.

Soon I am loaded up with food and gear and ready to experience Bryce Canyon. I walk from the lodge through the woods on a small path in the snow. Then without a hint of warning I am standing at the top precipice of a massive and deep open space full of colorful towers reaching up to meet me. The first experience is shocking and unexpected, even if you have seen pictures of Bryce before. A large gust of wind blows up the walls hitting me in the face with a cold blast of air as if to say wake up and take notice of where you are. My eyes begin to water. After a long pause to take in all that is before me I decide to walk the rim trail above to see the view from all angles. The light is beautiful in the morning, creating deep shadows of reflected red shades. The sunlight adds warm yellows to the towers. The first day passes fast as I return to my room to recharge both my own batteries and that of the camera. I couldn't wait to see how my shots came out. Tomorrow I will walk the steep lower trails.

Day two is met with eager anticipation. A quick breakfast and I am off to the edge and the trails that lead to the canyon floor. As I walk the canyon's up and down trails I can't help but think how time and weather must have diminished the still overwhelming scale of the towers looming above me.

 It is hard to explain the feeling I had the first time I looked out over the rim of Bryce Canyon it was as if it belonged to another planet or to a science fiction film set. Not quite real yet there it is a sight to behold.The red rock of this place is so unreal that you may think that I have adjusted the color of the photos, let me assure you that it is the real color. The consistent rushing wind of the upper rim is clearly missing in the relative quiet calm of the descending trail. I become aware of my breathing and the rising Hoodoo Towers around me. Hoodoos... that's what they call them. They have personalities you know, distinctive features that make me feel they are watching and wondering why I have come among them.

It is a long and winding walk of many hours down as I stop to take pictures. It will be much more difficult on the uphill climb out of the canyon as I will be tired from the long hike. I am grateful for the forethought of a packed lunch and several bottles of water I brought along with me. Turkey jerky never tasted so good.

At the bottom, the Hoodoos of red rock reach to the sky as if standing guard over some unseen treasure. The treasure though is the beauty of the spires themselves. The towers are like nothing else I have yet experienced on this journey through the Parks of the Western United States. Now the land flattens out a bit in front of me and the trees take hold as the forest starts to regain a foothold. Small animals scurry around. An incredibly bright blue bird lands on a branch near me, my wife tells me (she is a bird watcher) that the bird is a Western Bluebird. It is a fabulous bird that is disappearing from many ranges that it once inhabited.

Noon passes and the day wares on as I cross the canyon floor, Soon I start the long slow climb back out of the canyon. I am glad I took my time getting to this point, my back pack and camera begin to feel like lead weights as the trail steepens. I am now using my tripod as a walking stick and have to rest at each turn of the switchback trail.

The shadows begin to grow longer and the temperature starts to fall marking the need to start the long climb up. There are many climbers marching up the trail, I am passed by several young folks that seem to not even realize the steepness of the path they are walking. I feel my age as they go by me with a big "Hello".

Undaunted I press on shooting and climbing the steep trail. An hour passes, and then another, now I can see the top of the path. This has to be one of the most strenuous hikes of my trip, but I will do it again the next time I return to Bryce it is too good to miss. As darkness falls I am back at the lodge, a shower, a rest and a well deserved dinner with friends ends the perfect day that I will long remember.

The Long Road to Zion

Leaving the South Rim of the Grand Canyon behind, I headed northwest toward Las Vegas. There I would meet my wife and some friends for the next part of the journey. It wasn't long before I was back in civilization. There is a lot of road work being done all over the area and I was caught in the grip of this road development with many other unfortunate travelers. It would be slow going for several hours.

I can't say that Las Vegas is an ideal stopover after the tranquility of the open desert. It's more like a dunk into ice cold water after baking in the Sun. On one level it is revitalizing and on another just shocking to the system. Thankfully this would be a short layover.
 
I picked up my wife and the next morning we were off on route 15 to the open spaces of the Colorado Plateau and the next major location of Zion National Park. Along the way it is worth stopping at St. George, for gas and food before the route 9 cutoff as there is not much between there and the small town of Springdale which marks the entrance to the Park.

I'd herd a lot about Zion and how beautiful it is and was looking forward to the experience. The bad news is that we arrived at the gate late in the evening and the road into the park was very dark. All we could see in the darkness as we drove the winding road for the several miles to the Lodge were the trees lit by my headlights. Also, just a word of advise at this point, you need a reservation at the Zion Lodge to drive your car into the park. All others must use the shuttle buses that run during open hours. 

Night hid any chance of seeing the grandeur of anything but a few rodents caught in the headlights as we drove to the lodge. Soon a sign announced that we have arrived. We checked in quickly and were so tired we went directly to our room to get some sleep. The lodge is rustic and the rooms are nice and without frills, but the bed was soft and soon I was fast asleep... Zion will have to wait for morning.

The morning sunlight brought the first view of the valley and it did not disappoint.  The red cliffs formed bands of strata layers revealing  the history of 225 million years of erosion from the Virgin River, earthquakes and volcanic activity. I strained my neck to look to the top as the peaks rose to meet the blue sky.  

Over the next days as I walked the trails and photographed this valley I could not help but be awed by the majestic scale and color of this spiritual place. It is clear why and how Zoin got it’s name one feels the energy of a higher power here it is a vortex of energy, a place of contemplation and self awakening.

It’s at this point that I become lost for words. Yes... you heard me right... I became speechless. I have been sitting here thinking what I could say that would add to the images that follow but the story is in the images so I think I will let the images speak for me. I hope the pictures that follow do justice to the experience of Zion National Park. 

My first view of the Canyon.

Emerald Pools Trail "The Falls"

Emerald Pools Trail the path along the pools.

Emerald Pools Trail water etched rock face

Trees along the edge.

Towers of the Virgin

Looking south over the Virgin River

The wide view looking south

Traveling the South Side of the Grand Canyon

I know I said the next post would be Zion but that will have to wait just a bit longer my fellow travelers. I have decided to take a small detour to the lesser visited south rim of the Grand Canyon. Many of us have been to the highly viewed and crowded North Rim. It is the most familiar of the Canyon views and is the most photographed. So with this in mind and because I am free to do just anything I want, when I want, I thought I would detour to explore the road less traveled. Taking to the back roads going east on route 40 to Cameron then North on 64 to the Grand Canyon Village.

Once at the village I was surprised to find a bumper to bumper traffic jam. Now I must warn you that once at the village you will be asked to park your car and travel by bus if you want to go to the rim. There are long lines and a high fees as you spend hours in one line after another, herded through what felt to me like a processing mill. There are also planes and helicopters that for even higher fees (shorter lines) will fly you into the canyon. Needless to say I soon realized that this was a bad idea. I was overwhelmed by the sea of humanity and the high prices for everything from food to rides and  memorabilia. I hurried back to my car and left what felt like a waste of time. Sadly, I did not get to the glass viewing site that extends over the rim.

So to recover my sense of balance I looked for a back way to see the canyon and surrounding area. I took an unmarked dirt road on to the Havasupai Indian reservation (My GPS said Indian road.) and headed west into the hills. This felt better and more like the experience I was looking for. It was my hope that sooner or later this road would bring me to some views of the South rim.

Driving over long stretches of winding road filled with rocks and potholes that threatened to damage the car if not avoid was stressful. An hour went by and I did not see another car or person anywhere, I was truly out in the wild and on my own. Another hour of turns dips and bumps on a road that seemed to go in every direction, my GPS said no road indicated, I was driving on nothing! But now I was committed and had used half of a tank of gas going back was out of the question, I began to wonder if I would spend the night out here?

Rounding a turn to my surprise, I saw on the side of the road a reservation police SUV. I stopped and walked over to the car. Sitting in the drivers seat was a large dark impressive figure, his face etched with the lines of life in the elements, his black and silver hair wrapped with a bandana. Sitting straight up behind the wheel half dressed in police uniform and half in his Indian garb. He looked at me with calm clear eyes and said "What are you doing way out here, are you lost?" I said I was looking for the south rim of the canyon that was not in the village tourist trap. I wanted to see the places where the locals go. He grunted an understanding gesture and said the reservation roads are not for outsiders, but since you have come this far you can go through. I asked will this road take me back to the highway and could I reach it on half a tank of gas?  He said "Keep on going and be careful the road is very bad and there is no help for you if you break down. You will be on your own. Eventually you will come out at the highway if you are a good driver." I thanked him for his advice and went on.

I now knew that I could make it back, that the road did go through and not take me to a dead end that would leave me stranded. A renewed feeling of confidence gave me energy and it was early enough in the day to stop at many of the vistas that I felt were never photographed. I almost didn't care that a close view of the canyon would elude me on this trip. I was fortunate to be shooting images across two reservations now that I had passed from the Havasupai to the Hualapai Reservation. Slowy progressing over one hill after another the vistas promised an ever closer view of the south rim. Would it still be possible to get a good look?

The land here is vast desert and scrub with variations of subtle to strong colors that are hard to believe. Distance is compressed and the illusion of scale confuses the mind. That which is large appears small and that which is far seems close.  Another hour passed as one photo-op to the next moved me down the road. Time stopped for me, the spirit of the landscape revealed itself to me. In my solitude of visual meditation I found the images I was looking for.
I was glad to be alone out here and feel the vast bigness of it all reveal how small I really am.

I noticed a cloud of dust approaching me over a distant hill. It was another car going the other way. I flagged him down he told me the road was at least an hour back. I was amazed to see he was driving a Cady and warned him of the road conditions and that he had over 4 hours if he was going to reach the village as it was beginning to become dusk and night travel on this road would be very hazerdous. That's OK we are going to camp in an hour. I wished him good luck as we parted going in opposite directions.

Needless to say that I was glad to be in my Suburu all wheel drive and soon reached the highway as my tank was riding on the empty mark. Gassing up and a motel for a shower and sleep marked the end of a day of rewarding excitment and adventure. Life is good when you come out without a scratch. Tomorrow I will be on the road to Vegas to meet my wife and friends then off to Zion.

 Oh, and by the way I did get that big shot of the south rim, amazing!

Hoover Dam

Leaving Joshua Tree National Park I set my sites on Hoover Dam. Driving northeast I was soon back in civilization and after the mind expanding experience of the last park the invasive explosion of humanity was more then obvious. I don't mean this to be in a negative context, just an observation of fact. Driving between wilderness and cities is a real eye opener about how we live. The narrow roads of wide open spaces give way to the 5 to 8 lanes of superhighway and cloverleaf junctions filled with traffic congestion. Everywhere one looks there is signage informing us of our needs to consume everything from A to Z. All of this is of course is a necessary part of the economy and we all need to participate at some level right? It is just that much more noticeable after coming out of a place like Joshua Tree. Wind farms (a good thing) dot the hillsides where they can do the most good.

 It wasn't long before I arrived at Las Vegas, Nevada. I would spend the night there to clean up and have a hot meal. Can't tell you how good it feels to sleep in a real bed after camping so many nights in the car. Soon my wife will arrive and we will travel together for a while. The next day I pick her up and meet some friends... then we get on the road to Hoover Dam. There is a great deal of construction being done on the infrastructure of the roads all over the southwest. Hoover Dam is no exception. The traffic began to back up miles from the dam and it took hours of bumper to bumper driving to reach the dam. As I crested the hill that provided my first gimps of the dam it all felt worth all the trouble.

If you look carefully you will see how the road winds a zig zag now the hill and out over the dam then up the opposite side of the ravine. A grand view overlooking it all. There are many places to pull out and park but you will pay at least 7 dollars for the privilege. Do it... it 's worth it so you can spend some time walking around and taking in the spectacle of this place. It is a beautiful thing to behold. What follows are just a few of the images I captured at Hoover Dam. Enjoy!

If you look carefully you can see all the power lines running from the Dam to the poles on the left this is to distribute the power generated by the dam. I hope you enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed being at Hoover Dam. Notice the bridge bypass that they are now constructing. Soon You won't have to stop at all if you don't want to. This construction was the reason for the long lines of car waiting to cross. Next Park on my list is Zion National Park don't miss that one coming soon.