A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
As noted in the previous posting our mission for this day was to see the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. But first we stopped at Old Faithful.
Along the way we enjoyed the sights that are uniquely Yellowstone.
At last we arrived at Midway Geyser Basin, where the spring is located.
At last – The Grand Prismatic Spring. While it was obscured by steam, it was still an impressive sight. Mission accomplished!
Rising over 2000′ above the valley floor along the edge of the Uncompahgre Plateau, the Colorado National Monument provides amazing views along Rim Rock Drive.
This road clings to the edge of the cliff, often without guardrails, with precipitous drop offs all along the 24 mile drive.
It does however have numerous overlooks that provide commanding views.
Day 3 found us in the western end of Colorado, leaving the town of Cortez in the early morning light. Our primary destination was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, but our route there took us past Telluride.
Colorado Highway 145 took us out of Cortez, and past the town of Dolores, along the Dolores River as it made it’s way up the canyon. The green hills and fields was a dramatic change from the deserts of Monument Valley, just a hundred miles or so behind us.
As we neared the summit of Lizard Head’s Pass, we went through the small town of Rico
The mountains become more dramatic the nearer we got to Telluride.
As we made the turn to go up the valley to Telluride we passed a field of deer.
Telluride is a very exclusive ski community (don’t even ask how much real estate costs in town). They have far less development than other famous ski towns in the west (Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole), and they like it that way.
After a brief visit we continued on our way, passing more scenic valleys.
After another hour or so we reached the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Montrose, Colorado. It is so named because of the steep walls of the canyon prevent sunlight all but 33 minutes of the day in the steepest part.
The Painted Wall is over 2200′ of sheer cliff, the highest in Colorado. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, while not a large park, is impressive.
According to the National Park Service documents the Canyon de Chelly contains over 2500 archeological sites dating from 1500 BC to 1350 AD.
Among these are numerous cliff dwellings dating from 1100, built by the Anasazi.
Today the canyon is located in the Navajo Nation. While you can tour the area from the rim, the best way to see and appreciate the area is to take a guided tour with one of the local Navajo guides, which is what we did.
Our tour guide Sylvia took us on a 3 hour jeep tour of much of the canyon. Having grown up in the canyon, she was a fantastic guide, pointing out not only the historic features of the cliff dwellings and the petroglyphs, she added insight into life in the canyon from a first person perspective (even showing us her cows!)
The White House ruins is one of the more famous, and most complete. While the walls of the canyon rise as high as 1000′ the deeper you go in, the walls here are around 500′ high.
After completing our tour of the canyon floor, we drove around both the north and south rim.
The most noteworthy view is Spider Rock, rising 800′ above the canyon floor. Named for the mythical lair of Spider Woman, it is a sacred Navajo place.
From above the views of the canyon floor is impressive.
The Spanish Colonial Jesuits missionaries established numerous missions throughout the area that is now Arizona in the late 1600s. The Mission San Jose de Tumacacori was established in 1691, with the existing church’s construction being started in the 1750s.
The grounds are now owned by the National Park Service.
The Organ Pipe Cactus is very different from the more prevalent Saguaro in that rather than 1 large trunk with arms growing off of it, the Organ Pipe cactus has numerous small ones, making it somewhat bushy, resembling the pipes of an Organ (hence the name)
It is very rare in the United States, with the national monument just north of the Mexican border being the predominant one.
In addition to the Organ Pipe Cactus and the Saguaro, the park has many other examples of desert flora.
Wupatki translates to Tall House in Hopi, an appropriate name for this large Sinagua pueblo structure that had over 100 rooms.
It is constructed of Moenkopi sandstone, giving it the red color it is famous for. It dates from the 11th century.
In addition to the house there is a ballcourt and other nearby structures.
On a recent long weekend road trip around Arizona we stopped by Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We were fortuitous in that a week later the ‘Tunnel Wildfire’ impacted the area. Fortunately it did not damage the visitor center but much of the forest was burnt.
Sunset Crater is a result of an eruption approximately 1000 years ago, leaving this impressive landscape.
Welcome to Utah – the land of immense beauty and strange liquor laws.
We spent a week touring the National Parks in 2015 – they are all amazing, as well as the other scenery in the state.
1945Â Â Â 2002Â Â Â 2013
Salt Lake City – The capital and largest city in Utah, Salt Lake City is the center of the commercial aspect of the state.
The State Capitol is your typical building. It was completed in 1916, 20 years after Utah became a state. (photos from Wikupedia)
State Symbols
The State Bird is a California Gull! They are credited with saving the crops in 1848 by eating the crickets that were eating the crops. (photos from statesymbols.org)
State Cooking Pot – Dutch Oven
Golden Spike – The point where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869.
Hovenweep – A well maintained early Puebloan village in far southeastern Utah.
1953 – Arches   1958 – Bryce   1963 Zion – Virgin River   1967 – Canyonlands – Angel Arch   1972 – Zion   1974 – Canyonlands Angel Arch   1979 – Bryce – Aqua Canyon   1995 – Bryce   2011 – Canyonlands
Zion National Park
Bryce National Park
Capital Reef National Park
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Natural Bridges National Monument (one step down from a National Park)
1964 – Big Cottonwood Canyon   1965 – Lake Powell Rainbow Bridge   1970 Calf Creek Lower Falls   1971 – Monument Valley   1977 Manti-La Sal Forest   1986 – Eagle Canyon   2000 – Unidentified   2007 – Dirt Devil River Slot Canyon
Southwest Utah
Escalante & Devil’s Garden
Eastern Utah
Mexican Hat in Far Southeastern Utah. The great dirt road is Moki Dugway, dropping 1100′ in 3 miles of a dirt road. It was fantastic!
RDZ Photography 