Terrell Brothers Road Trip - Day 3: First Dawn, First Climb and Onwards
Very early morning found the Valley of the Gods overcast. As we packed up I was a bit disappointed. Len wouldn’t get to experience that clear desert skies pre-dawn glow that I’d hoped. Still, we had an action-packed day ahead of us so I wasn’t too worried about not getting our photographs in, if not early, then later.
However, there is a reason we love to camp at a location that offers photography right out one’s front door.
That’s because as we were about to leave, cracks in the eastern sky started to let some reflected morning light hit the landscape. With those cracks came some lovely light that reflected off the underside of the mostly high clouds. Gone was the oppressive, undifferentiated darkness that comes from heavy overcast skies in the morning. It was time to grab the cameras. We wouldn’t be leaving early that morning! And, like I said, it’s great having a campsite right where you can photograph because all of our images were made within 100 meters (that’s about 110 yards for you non-metric folks) from our camp site.
Light, in its many forms, is amazing. And the fact that the camera does not see what the eye sees (though you can train the eye to see as a camera/sensor does) means often times the only time you know what you really have before you is to set your camera up and to make an exposure or two. This is particularly true when the lighting conditions are new, like the high, but light, overcast skies we had for much of that morning. You have to explore to learn and explore we did. Particularly since the quality of the light changed quickly and frequently.
I did learn, however, that as incredible as in-camera body stabilization can be for hand-held photography, nothing beats a good tripod when you’re dealing with very low levels of light. That is, of course, if you want sharp images. So tripod it was, at least until things started lightening up.
At times, the clouds would thicken, which gave one effect, and at others they would thin, for a very different feeling, and occasionally the sun would break through. It was a matter of taking advantage of the light conditions you had at any given moment.
In one respect we were very fortunate. While the sky was still cloudy, the fact that reflected light found its way through cracks in the clouds helped us out a lot. It meant that not only was “sunrise” much later due to the clouds, it meant that it seemed to last much longer than it would have otherwise. What we lost in that surreal purplish glow I so love in the desert morning, we gained in soft, ever changing bouncing light that eventually led to sunlight as the clouds burned away. Landscape photographers around the world know that you can’t control Mother Nature and you either learn to take what is offered as an opportunity to create images, or you walk away entirely frustrated. The light that morning was a thousand times better than a dense overcast sky, and Len and I took advantage of it.
The light truly blessed us that morning.
Eventually, we decided it was time to head out. As before, as the sun rose the light became harsher and we knew that the best light of the morning had passed. We had either taken advantage of it and gotten our images . . . or not.
The next part of the trip involved the first big climb/descent of the trip - the Moki Dugway. It climbs up the escarpment that forms the background of several of the above images. It’s a road that immediately came to mind when planning the trip because it’s not the type of drive that is Ann’s cup of tea. Me? I had to try it at least once. It’s not as bad as it looks (I can see Ann’s eyes rolling now), given that it’s pretty wide and well graded all the way up.
The only problem with it is that they’ve paved some of the upper hair-pin turns. 4-wheel drive vehicles are not supposed to drive on pavement (they need to be on a surface where one of the pair of tires on an axle can spin), so that meant stopping at the last few turns, shifting out of 4WD, taking the turn, and then stopping to reengage 4WD after the turn. Fortunately, there wasn’t much (read: any) traffic so stopping did not become an issue.
The unfortunate thing about our long morning session was that I knew we had a packed day of travel and photography and it was much later than we’d expected by the time we got to the top of the Moki Dugway. So we decided to nix a 2-hour off road trip that would have taken us to the tip of the escarpment you can see above, and then beyond to get a better overlook view of Monument Valley way off in the distance.
Instead, we headed up to Natural Bridges National Monument. Along the way, we were able to see the “bears ears” of the mountains to the east of Natural Bridges that gives the Bears Ears National Monument its name.
Natural Bridges National Monument is a fascinating place to visit, with stunning tight canyons and beautiful rock features.
Unfortunately, hiking down in the canyons requires a bit of a hike/climb (they have ladders installed on some routes, and chains for narrow cliff-side trails) that neither of us seriously considered taking. You can take your pick of whether it was because it might be dangerous, because we’re both in our 60’s or because we both out of shape. Maybe the answer is (d) All of the above.
We opted instead for a shorter hike to overlook a cliff-side dwelling. There is something about observing these places, knowing that families lived there many years ago in a very different way than we do now.
Again, this is a place that probably offers amazing rewards (and photographs) for those who take the time and effort to get down to wander the canyons.
From there, our next stop was at a nice cafe in Monticello . . . Utah, not Virginia. I couldn’t remember the name of it, but as we were driving down the main street in Monticello I was explaining to Len that I recalled a place with blue walls inside that wasn’t a bad place to eat. Right as I said that, I saw it on the right - the High Desert Cafe.
After lunch (well, breakfast and lunch) we headed towards the final destination of the day - the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park. To get there, however, we had to pass newspaper rock and, of course, we had to stop.
I didn’t bother to pull out my cameras, the phone would do. Nevertheless, it is worth seeing.
We were quickly on our way towards the park again. But that did not stop us from soaking in the changing landscape and occasionally stopping to make a photograph or two.
It was spring and the fields were in bloom.
After stopping at the welcome center at Canyonlands NP to scope things out a bit, we headed directly out to the end of the road and the Big Spring Canyon overlook and trailhead. Fortunately, there was space to park, unlike our 2015 visit there.
We spoke to a ranger who was there about where the various trails led. She explained that there was the Slickrock Foot Trail that went along a mesa with a few overlooks, and then another, longer trail that descended down into the canyons, which ended in an overlook. We figured “How interesting could a mesa top be?” and opted for the trail that descended into the canyon, knowing we could turn around whenever we wanted to.
We started our photography session by hiking onto the rock spur that extended beyond the trailheads and the end of the road. We’d decided to take advantage of the elevation that location afforded us for our photographs before descending into the ravines below.
It was a good choice because we were able to get several different views of what the area is like.
You can tell why they call it the needles. The protruding rock sections are fascinating up close, and from a distance look like needles.
From above, I saw a vegetated area that I wanted to photograph. So that’s where we headed. On the way I found an image at where we diverted from the regular trail.
We then worked our way down a wash to where there was a big drop with lots of vegetation. One can easily imagine the waterfall that forms when the rains come. I had to make my way around the the edge of the drop and struggled to find a location to set up my tripod where the surrounding brush would not get in the way of the image.
The conditions were very contrasty, which presented a lot of technical issues. I must say that I’m impressed with the dynamic range of the X-T5’s sensor and the ability to create a usable image from a high-contrast scene.
For other images, the contrasty conditions helped make the image.
I am, however, going to plead mea culpa about the quality of any of the images, given that I do not have a calibrated screen to work with. I’ll just say, I cannot wait to get these files back to my calibrated photography monitor in Didam, and then to eventually print some of them.
We spent quite a bit of time down there and the afternoon was moving onward. As we climbed back up the trail, Len and I decided it was time to start thinking about where to photograph at sunset and . . . where to spend the night. We had decided that, since we didn’t get the tickets in Arches that we’d hoped (more on that in the next edition), we would try to shoot a sunset/sunrise here and not try to drive up to Moab that night.
The park ranger we’d spoken to before had told us of a nice sunset viewing location that used a trail that left from the far end of the campground parking lot. We drove out there and went where she recommended. There, we ran into another ranger who was less encouraging about the trail and the difficulty of navigating it in the dark if necessary. So we opted not to try that (who needs a broken leg on day 3 of a trip?). On the way out, I stopped and backed up to read a sign at one of the two campsites reserved for handicapped travelers. It said that, if unoccupied at 8:00 pm, anyone can use it for 1 night. Hmmm, something to keep in mind.
We ultimately decided to check out an area I’d photographed at before. If you’ve looked at my images from the 2015 trip, you should be familiar with the shot. As you can see, about the only image I felt compelled to make was the same composition I’d made back in 2015. Even so, I’m pleased with the image, in part because of the different lighting. I think it gives a real feel for the landscape in that area and the late afternoon sun makes for a much less contrasty image.
While we both made a few images at that location, we agreed that it just wasn’t the place to give us a lot of options at sunset. Particularly given the fact that part of it was already coming into shadow.
As we drove around, the sun kept its never ceasing trek across the sky. Sunset was approaching and I was at a loss for where to spend it. Len eventually said, “Why don’t we try that mesa trail?” For lack of a better alternative, I said, “Why not.”
The map at the beginning of the loop trail indicated that there were 3 viewpoints, the first of which was about 3/4 of a mile into the loop and faced east. We figured we could make at least that point before the sun got too low and then we could decide from there what to do.
Well, we didn’t have to go any farther.
Sure, given the eastern-facing viewpoint from atop the mesa, much of the foreground landscape was in shadow, but the distant views were spectacular and we both had longer lenses to work with.
We had excellent views of the north, east and south to work with as the sun set.
And we had clouds that added character and that reflected light beautifully.
As we worked through the changing light, I was glad we had such a range of photographic opportunities and such lovely lighting conditions to work with from a single location.
It truly was an amazing sunset. But, as you can see below, eventually the shadows started making their way up the rock faces and soon we’d be in darkness. As the sun dipped below the horizon we opted for not photographing during the post-sunset blue hour, preferring not to hike the rocky trail back to the rig in total darkness.
We made it back to the vehicle without needing to use our head lamps.
The next question was where were we going to sleep? Well, it was 8:15 pm, so we headed back to the campground. Luck was on our side, yet again. The handicapped spots were still open, so I parked the rig in one of the two free spaces. As I headed out on foot to pay the campground fee, I could tell that it was still possible to photograph in the dimming light. I pulled out my iPhone and took a shot.
Looking at the image on my iPhone, I yelled out, “Hey, Len, you really want to stop setting up and come out here to make some photographs. The light’s great!” And that’s what he did. Sometimes I too have a good idea. At least it was a good idea for him . . . I had to go pay for the camping site and knew it would be dark by the time I got back (it was).
Still, what a day of photography. This is the way it is supposed to be.