I've been too busy to blog lately. Anyway, I had a great two weeks in southern Utah, with visits to Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Parks, and Escalante/Grand Staircase and Pipe Spring National Monuments.
My Print of the Month for May is a black-and-white photo of storm clouds over Long Canyon on the Burr Trail in Escalante/GS National Monument. I expect to have a gallery or two of Utah photos up within a couple more weeks.
All of these places were stunning, but my favorite was Capitol Reef, which provided great opportunities for abstract images. I have heard many people rave about Zion, but the photos and descriptions I had seen didn't move me. Being there, just as the Cottonwood trees were beginning to leaf out, made a huge difference. Zion was truly inspiring. The next time I am there I will rent a bike, take the shuttle bus (with bike) to the top of the scenic park road, and use the bike to wander back down, stopping often for photographs.
Bryce was much more as I had imagined it: quite stunning. We took the Navaho trail to get down into the rock pillars, and it was worth it. We weren't able to do the Bristlecone trail because it was snowed in, as were most roads to the north. Thus, we couldn't get to Powell Point or drive the Hell's Backbone road.
We did get caught in a blizzard driving from Boulder to Torrey, but made it through OK. I now understand why Minor White spent several summers at Capitol Reef National Park. On our last day there we took a guided jeep tour of spectacular Cathedral Valley. Do look for photos from some of these places, as well as Devil's Garden and other locations in Escalante/Grand Staircase in a couple of weeks.
The photo with this entry is of Lower Calf Creek Falls in Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument.
