First day of my fall break adventure.  I am headed to The Moab Utah Area, specifically Canyonlands and Dead horse Point State Park.  I realize that this is not the usual off the road adventure, because I am not really off road, but going to a  commonly visited area.

I have wanted to go here for quite some time.  I especially want to get a photo of the iconic Mesa Arch at sunrise.  Now that I have my teardrop trailer it is more feasible because I can camp instead of stay at a hotel.

I left after work, instead of going home first, so I could get a head start. The road is long and straight. I am feeling the floorboard beneath my feet. The motor is vibrating, the moon is shining through the side window and I am harmonizing with Simon and Garfunkel as they sing to me from Central Park.  Life. Is. Good.

Thursday morning I am up at six o'clock headed to Dead Horse Point to take a picture of the sun rise.  I pull on my clothes and brave the rather cold morning. My little teardrop is easy to take care of but there isn't much heat. I brush my teeth as I am driving toward the small glimmer of light on the horizon. I have been to Dead Horse Point before, but I wasn't looking at it as a photographer.  I kind of have willies in my stomach. Kind of liking I am going to perform at an event.

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I get there in plenty of time. The point is beautiful. The green river is down below the point. The people are very quiet, reflective and almost reverent. As the sun begins to rise it shines on the river and the plateaus and spirals. The lighting is incredible.  I snap pictures for a moment then watch.  I watch the light slowly move down the plateaus. I take a few More  pictures, then move...beautiful.

I spend the rest of the day driving around Canyonlands almost like a crazy women who hasn't had anything to eat and is running from buffet to buffet. Gobbling up the treats and feasts before me...Shaffer trail lookout, Grand Point.  I prefer not to talk to people too much when I am in the zone. I end the day with a drive down Shaffer Trail. Pretty steep and narrow as road goes down and up the trail. The moon was full as it come up from the east...the Green River was reflective.

I made it to the top about the time it got dark and  back to the rv park. I sat in my jeep and checked my emails, called home and checked in with my family and then put some hand warmers in my sleeping bag, brushed my teeth and fell asleep, dreaming of the moon and the sun having a duel...

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Friday I woke up nearly again. This time to take a picture of the iconic Mesa arch at sunrise. I got there in plenty of time. I thought there would be a handful of photographers there but there was about 25 Asian photographers huddled around the archway. They were not letting anyone else in. There were about 6 Europeans and Americans hanging around in a group.  A women from Switzerland kept saying, "They are so loud. They are so loud." I still got a good photo from Mesa Arch. The sunrise there is magical. When the sunrises it lights the bottom part of the arch. The spirals down below have mist surrounding them. I love this. 

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I Spent the rest the day  driving along mineral point road or the white rim road pretty dusty, narrow and full of mountain bikers. I got some pretty good photos but the lighting wasn't really all the great. Too bright and up in the sky. I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the teardrop.  I had a few minutes and then I went back to the Mesa Arch to see if the moon would come up. I was hopeful that the moon would come up through the arch. I will be honest. I wasn't sure if it would but it did. It was absolutely breath taking. I was there with 4 other people and they decided to stay with me and see if the moon would come up. We were not disappointed. It came up big and beautiful and the sky was full of light, and darks and purples. It's weird when you spend such an intimate moment with strangers.  I fell asleep with the moon lulling me to me to sleep. I slept soundly.

Saturday
It is time to go home. I need a shower. I haven't taken one since I got here.  It was always too cold or too late. I wanted to stop by nine mile canyon before I came home. I ate breakfast at a restaurant.  It was the first time I have had hot food since I left home.
I drove through 9 mile canyon on the way home.  There are extensive petroglyphs along this canyon road.  It isn't 9 miles long but rather 23 or so miles long.  Part of the road is quite rough.  Make sure you get a map from the gas station because the signage isn't really great.  You really don't have to go along the rough gravel road because there are no petroglyphs there.  It is just a way to connect to towns together.
I drive home listening to The Eagles sing "It's a long way out of Eden".  Very appropriate. This has been my most successful trip as a photographer.

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Craters of the Moon National Monument

This was the Maiden voyage of my tear drop trailer.  It was raining when I left and it was dark and rainy when I finally got there. I dislike driving in the dark because I can't see the landscape. I couldn't find a place to camp in the campground and I couldn't see the signs very good so I pulled into what I thought was camping spot. I got in a situation where I couldn't pull forward and couldn't back up because I was jackknifed. I did put a hole in my tote that is attached to the front of the trailer. I was so tired I just stayed there.

When I woke up in the morning I assessed the situation and found that I could move the rocks in front of me because they were lava rocks and very light. After I moved them I was able to just drive down through. I did put the rocks back!!

The clouds and sunsets/sunrises were beautiful. Even through it rained off and on it stopped long enough to let the light through the puffy clouds.. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of landscape. Just lava rock. And a few trees. I climbed a hill formation that was just small pieces of lava rock. The view was unexplainable. At the top of the hill was a lone pine tree that was huge and leaning toward the downward side of the hill. How very sad it will be when it finally topples. I could see lightening in the distance. I felt like I could have stayed there forever.

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City of Rocks National Monument

On this trip I took my son Zachary. Spent a few days at City of Rocks National Monument  This is really one of my favorites. Especially if you can make it there during the week or in spring or Fall. A few years ago I spent a magical night there in March, but it was very cold in my tent.

It as become a Mecca for rock climbers and so often times the campsites are full  I love taking photographs here. When the sun sets it reflects so warmly off the peaks.

With Zachary's help I was able to climb up bath rock. There are steel rod steps on the back of the rock that is kind of cheating but still difficult. On top of the rock there are several pan holes but one is large enough to fit 4 people almost like a hot tub. Only the water isn't hot. My guess is that there is usually a bit of water in there  I have read that for a short time they and beauty pageants here-- the swimsuit activity. 

I was glad that Zachary was there because I wouldn't have dared climb here my self. The views from on top were completely different than the views below. I used my wide angle lens and got some interesting shots.

      Zachary is very good company. He doesn't need much; he takes good care of me and is almost always in a good mood. It was a great adventure for this middle aged woman and her teenage son.