Just a short post to say I have written up the entire Arizona road trip into one page with all the shots from the 8000 km/ 6 state trip. We had a great time and we're already thinking about the next one...something coastal perhaps.
You can go direct to the page by clicking here, and you will find a permanent link on our Canada page.
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After roaming the deserts of the US southwest for a couple of weeks I had fooled myself into thinking winter was over. I'd spent my time wandering around in shorts and a T-shirt and working the air conditioning during journeys in between.
But now I'm home and a short trip to Kananaskis quickly reminded me that winter here does not give in easily. All of my favourite haunts are still heavily iced and only the low lying ground shows any sign of dry land. Given the forecast of 20 cm's of snow this weekend I suspect that low lying ground will be covered again soon. Our temperatures have climbed and any new snow won't be around long, but it's enough to remind me that I'm a month away from 'safety' in terms of snowfall. The day was still really enjoyable and Cecil and I made the rounds along highway 40. A short stop at Ribbon Creek, and again along the way for a trio of Rocky Mountain Sheep by the roadside before finding our way to the upper lake and making a short hike around the eastern shore. I will be posting a desert 'all in one' at some point this week, but for now images of snow are all I have to offer, and of course this muscle on legs who kindly posed for a shot beside highway 40. Still on the first road trip of 2019 and following on from my long day crossing the deserts of California, I opted for an easier day on Friday. I stayed at the hotel for a good breakfast and did a little shopping in the local outlet place within walking distance of the hotel.
As the day wore on I set out to South Mountain Park hoping to have a short hike and make some images before catching sunset. I did both and even hung around for a night shot of the city before heading to the airport to collect Sarah. We met exactly as planned and on time at Phoenix International airport then drove back to our hotel for the evening. On Saturday morning we drove north to Meteor Crater before turning west through Holbrook to the Petrified Forest. After wandering the park we continued on to the Painted Desert before returning to Holbrook for our much anticipated stay in the Wigwam Motel (a route 66 classic) The rooms are concrete wigwams and each one has an old classic car sitting outside. On Sunday morning we had breakfast in Holbrook before turning south toward Tucson through the Apache National Forest onto the Tonto National Forest where we stopped at a nice overlook for a huge canyon we had driven through. On arrival in Tucson we went to an outlet shopping mall beside the hotel and spent a couple of hours shopping and eating before checking in. Once refreshed we set out again to see the huge 'cowboy cacti' the Saguaro National Park and to catch sunset in Tucson Mountain Park. As the low level sunset was ending we got to talking with a local guy called Nathan and enjoyed meeting and exchanging stories with him before finally parting ways and heading back to the hotel in the dark. It has been a great 'full' weekend and we still have one more day before Sarah flies home, we will be heading back to Phoenix tomorrow and have yet to decide what we will do for the day as we are now officially ahead of schedule. With the high speed internet of the Hampton Inn there's a good sized gallery below with captions to cover locations, the main image is from South Mountain Park in Phoenix, a classic western sunset which I made before collecting Sarah from the airport. I left the sanctuary of the Atomic Inn on the Nevada - California border at 04:30 today and made my way into Death Valley to catch the sunrise. I had no idea about a specific location within the park as I didn't intend to be there so early, but as I was awake I decided to get going.
As I entered the park I was talking to Sarah on the phone as she made her way to work (Calgary is and hour ahead of California) I noticed the star filled sky and decided to stop and make a quick shot of the milky way over the mountains, it was weakened by the morning blue hour but worth a hit all the same. Next I decided that as I didn't know where the best place for sunrise was I should climb something in the dark and be at the top for sunrise. I found a likely looking ridge and with the added energy of sea level oxygen I scrambled my way up, in the dark, hauling two cameras, 4 lenses, a tripod and numerous spares in a hefty backpack. My head torch picked out the route and I made the top in good time with only one grazed leg to moan about. From the top I made a long exposure of another early bird making their way into the park. Whilst sunset was not spectacular it was enough to allow me to make a few shots from my lofty perch with the telephoto lens. I enjoyed the morning scramble but wouldn't want to do it every day. The main image today is one of the telephoto shots of Death Valley sunrise. The descent was much easier than the ascent and soon I was making the long walk out to Badwater Basin (the lowest point in the US) to shoot the salt flats there before continuing through the park stopping every few minutes to shoot something else. The cacti were flowering in places and looked beautiful against the stark rocky background. After 7 hours I exited the park only to be distracted by a massive 'off road' area of impressive looking dunes so made a detour to investigate. The wind whipped up the sand and stung my face but the area is definitely one for the memory bank, a sunrise or sunset would go well here. From there I crossed the Mojave Desert where more flowering cacti put in a welcome appearance. Soon I was through the Mojave and into the town of Twentynine Pines on the outskirts of Joshua Tree National Park where my hotel awaited. After a lovely shower and change of clothing I still had a little daylight left so I drove half and hour through Joshua Tree National Park to Keys View for an impromptu sunset shoot. At the site I met a Geordie bloke who was working in California for a week and had also come out to shoot the sunset. It was nice to share stories with a northern lad so far from home. We had an enjoyable natter and made some nice shots too, so it was worth going out again. I'm now writing this blog 19 hours after leaving the Atomic Inn, so if there are mistakes in here they are to be expected. No sunrise shooting for me tomorrow, I'm laying in and enjoying a late breakfast before returning to Joshua Tree for the morning. Tomorrow afternoon I head to Phoenix Arizona ready to meet Sarah on Friday, it will be nice to be out together in the deserts of Arizona, I'm really looking forward to it. I stayed for breakfast at the hotel before starting out this morning, but I was on the road by 07:00. I went directly west toward Nevada, and as I did the expected winter storm went east over my head. The timing worked out perfectly as I missed all of the rain and snow but did catch some really strong winds along the edge of the storm.
My first stop of the day was Bonneville Salt Flats, some of which was still iced over. You can't really drive past Bonneville without stopping. At this time of year you will often find water on the flats and it is equally often perfectly calm providing stunning reflections. I managed a few shots this morning before those storm winds came in and killed it. The main shot today is of the appropriately named 'Silver Island Mountains' on the north west side of Bonneville salt flats. I've seen the perfect mirror of Bonneville, flowering Joshua trees, HGV's flipped over by the wind and enormous larva flows today. Best of all I have traveled hundreds of miles on almost empty desert highways. Tomorrow I hope to see Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park and cut through the Mojave desert to Yucca Valley. From there I can visit Joshua Tree National Park on Thursday morning and be in Phoenix by Thursday night ready to collect Sarah from the airport on Friday. I set out on Sunday afternoon heading south, for the first road trip of 2019. I crossed the border and made it to Great Falls Montana for an overnight stay. There are some spectacular waterfalls there that I thought I would go to for sunset but solid cloud ended any ideas along those lines.
I was set to go to the 'Craters of the Moon' national monument today and then overnight in Twin Falls Idaho, but the weather again scuppered my plans. A severe winter storm heading east was going to bring significant snowfall on Tuesday so I hit the interstate at 05:30 and made the 8.5 hours journey to Salt Lake City to put myself beyond the worst of it. I settled into the Hampton Inn in Salt Lake City (where Sarah and I have stayed before) then decided to drive another hour to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake. There wasn't much chance of sunset owing to the could cover, but I've missed Antelope Island twice in the past and didn't want to miss it again. I did plenty of wandering around and made numerous images but hotel wi-fi being what it is means I've only posted a taste of the day. The main shot was all there was of sunset at the Great Salt Lake and the gallery has captions to identify locations along the way. It also has one shot of the new wheels, Sarah and I indulged ourselves at the Range Rover dealership last week so I'm getting used to a new vehicle along the way. Sarah will be joining me on Friday in Phoenix Arizona, where we have a packed schedule of places to visit, as always I'll try to post a few shots when hotel wi-fi allows. Highway 40 in Kananaskis is a beautiful road. Meandering through huge mountain ranges beside the Kananaskis River you can always find something to photograph. Cec and I set out today to do just that and were soon exploring the shore where the Kananaskis River meets the south end of Barrier Lake.
The ice is slowly melting but there's still a good amount to go. On the up side, the lower mountains are almost clear of snow all the way to the summits so I may well be heading up again soon. After some shooting around Barrier Lake and Mt Lorette Ponds we drove toward the upper and lower lakes. Along the way we spotted a moose at the roadside and stopped to grab an image or two. It was a big sturdy looking fella who was busy reaching high into the shrubs to strip away the new spring growth. He wasn't at all bothered about our presence (the moose rarely are) so we stood a while watching him. When he turned to the side we saw three huge scrapes along his flanks, right down to the skin. At first I though he was badly injured but after watching a while he was clearly moving fine and eating well, so it appears he had a very close call and got away with it. On the computer at home I zoomed in on the injury area, it has some well healed cuts and the skin looks clean and infection free. I found myself really happy that this big fella had got away with it (whatever it was). From the appearance it looks like he fell onto something very sharp and slid along or down it for a distance. Anyway, he's in the gallery below along with the rest of the shots from today. The main shot shows the point where the Kananaskis River meets the south end of Barrier Lake, the gallery has captions to identify locations. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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