The Adventure Continues
Well, we missed the Yellowstone snow storm by a week, though that was probably good for us. Several feet of snow would definitely have put a dent in our trip plans. Though we didn’t get the snow we were hoping for at Yellowstone, the adventure has continued. And since it is laundry day, we figured we’d play catch-up to let you know where we’ve been.
As planned, we took the east gate out of Yellowstone towards Cody, Wyoming. Ann had read that it was a beautiful drive (it was) and we even stopped to make a few photographs along the way.
Otherwise, it was a driving day with a stop in Cody to stock up on items and to take care of some business (via a cafe with wifi).
Next stop was one of our usuals, Goblin Valley State Park. After an afternoon of scouting, and then a shower, we headed for our predetermined location for an evening shoot. The light did not disappoint!
The next morning we were up bright and early and hiked out to an area we hadn’t been before so Ann could make a shot she’d seen on the previous day’s scouting trip. While we were having our last sips of coffee before heading out, I saw a strange circle rising above the horizon. Ultimately, we realized that it was the dark side of the moon when we then saw the crescent rising too.
As we hiked out towards Ann’s photo location, I turned around and had to stop to make an image of the rising moon, still well before sunrise.
We only had reservations for one night at the campground (though we took 2 showers!), and Ann suggested that we continue on the road and see what we could find instead of camping in the area. So we headed towards the Cainville Wash, our next planned destination. We took a round-about route to get there, driving about 30 miles off-road around Factory Butte.
After scouting the Cainville Wash Road for photo locations and camping sites, we settled on a site on a ridge that offered us views for both evening and morning photography.
It was lovely overlooking the diverse landscape and just enjoying the changing light.
The next day we drove around Capitol Reef NP, then headed back towards Factory Butte where we were hoping for a lovely morning shoot. Having found the spot we wanted to be at for the morning, Ann suggested (she’s had some excellent suggestions this trip) that we take a road out to an overlook north of Factory Butte. It did not disappoint, despite the buffeting wind!
The next morning we arrived at Factory Butte with plenty of time to spare given we’d camped a mere 10 minute drive away. That morning Mother Nature decided to throw a lot of different conditions at us, so we were blessed with a range of different photo opportunities with the same subject. Here’s a simple sunrise image of the butte.
After we were done photographing, we had breakfast and then headed down the Notom-Bullfrog Road, then up the Burr Trail towards Boulder. There we had dinner, and after photographing the next morning . . .
had breakfast at where other than Hell’s Backbone Grill. It was delicious as always.
From Boulder we headed down to Escalante, the Hole in the Rock Road and another one of our favorite photography locations - the Devil’s Garden.
We had several shoots there, an afternoon and two morning shoots. I’d been worried that I may have made my best images there on previous occasions and that I’d run out of ideas, particularly given we were going to have clear skies for the next few days. I shouldn’t have worried.
After the first day’s morning shoot, we drove up the Left Hand Collet Road from the Hole in the Rock Road, to the Smoky Mountain Road back to Escalante, and then back to our usual campsite near Devil’s Garden. It was 2 1/2 hours of serious technical driving up Left Hand Collet Road (thank goodness for low range 4WD and Beast’s beefed-up suspension.
After our second morning shoot at Devil’s Garden, we’ve had showers and are now doing laundry. We’ve spent the past 5 days wild camping and driving as much as possible off-road. More than we ever have, and it’s been great. It’s so beautiful what you can see when not driving on pavement.
Our next stop is two nights in Kodachrome State Park, and then off-again for several off-road wild camping excursions to Alstrom Point and White Pocket. The weather looks favorable, so all we have to do is be smart in our driving. Then it’s on to Zion NP and another of our favorites, Snow Canyon State Park.
Who knows if we’ll have an opportunity to catch-up before we arrive home, but if we can, I will!