Much of the images that I captured on this trip were what I would call “unprofessional“. I did have a few take-a-ways of some fairly nice shots, but they were anything but “professional“. Looking back at this time there were many missed opportunities! I was in the most beautiful location, in the perfect time of the year and for the most part had the best weather for photography. My problem was that I struggled to focus on composition or I didn’t take advantage of the best possible lighting available. I would love to go back for a redo of this trip with the knowledge and equipment that I have now! Even with the “unprofessional” images that I took, this was a very memorable trip and one of my favorite trips of all!
I had taken a photography trip to Utah with my brothers Glenn and Mark in April 2005. It was the first of several family vacations taken for the sole purpose of focusing on photography. We had a list of areas that we wanted to visit and it was spread through out the whole state of Utah as well as an area in southwest Colorado. We didn’t stay in one place for more than a few hours before moving to the next location. It was a very busy schedule for the 8 days that we were there.
Kolob Canyon
Image No 008
Kolob Canyon is a beautiful area that is part of the Zion National Park. It is located between the cities of St. George and Cedar City on the western side of Utah. The word “Kolob” is from Mormon scripture meaning “residence closest to heaven.” The beauty of the place sure does measure up to its name.
While photographing the landscape, I also wanted to include shots I had taken of my brothers. This one above is of Mark lining up a shot in Snow Canyon.
Cedar Breaks
We stayed the first couple of nights in St. George. The weather in St. George was warm, almost tropical it was so warm. The weather certainly was very different a few miles away up into the mountains in a place called Cedar Breaks. Several feet of snow and it was so cold it was well below freezing.
Dixie National Forest
We were driving through Dixie National Forest in Utah when we saw this old falling down house. We pulled over and started photographing it with the snow covered mountains behind it. We noticed in the distance a “dust devil” moving through the area behind the house. We weren’t able to capture it on camera before it disappeared, but it would have been awesome if had.
Occasionally I snapped a shot of brothers concentrating on capturing the perfect scene….
Red Canyon
Red Canyon is part of the Dixie National Forest near the famous Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. The bright orange-red limestone rock formations, hoodoos, ponderosa pines, and pink sands make up the incredible landscape of Red Canyon.
Devil’s Garden
Devil’s Garden is a 200 acre protected area of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. You can see the Metate Arch, numerous hoodoos and rock formations. It doesn’t have any definitive trails but you can meander over the scenic area at your leisure. This treasure is located about 19.5 miles south of scenic highway 12 in Escalante on Hole-in-the-rock Road.
At Devil’s Garden there are hoodoos everywhere and each of them have unique character. There is a group of hoodoos called Four Wise Men (not pictured) that was interesting. I saw these intriguing hoodoos sitting on a hill that resembled chess pieces.
Escalante
Not only does Escalante have beautiful rock formations but they have a few slot canyons as well. Slot canyons are narrow gorges caused by the erosion of soft rock material like the layered sedimentary deposits found in Utah. These slots can be dangerous if there is heavy rain so it is best to hike them when there isn’t a chance for rain.
I have seen very few shots of this particular slot canyon so I don’t think it is a commonly known place for people to visit. We were fortunate to find this gem, and this was my very best shot from the whole trip!
Image No 012
Hite Overlook
The small town of Hite is located on the northeast end of Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. The 1994 movie “Maverick”, starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner was filmed here. The best place to view the town and the surrounding landscape is from an elevated viewpoint atop of the cliffs of Hite Overlook.
Lake Powell used to be a large lake, but in the last few decades is drying up. Water levels have hit a record low in July 2021 and the water level continues to decline. The pictures here from Hite Overlook was taken in 2005 over what used to be part of the lake.
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep was once home to the Anasazi tribe. The masonry structures that they built have stood for centuries, constructed between 1200 and 1300 AD. Hovenweep National Monument is located in two states, between Cortez, Colorado and Blanding, Utah. The name “Hovenweep” is a Paiute/Ute word meaning “Deserted Valley”.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is located in eastern Utah near Moab. There are approximately 2,000 natural sandstone arches in the park and covering nearly 120 square miles of high desert on the Colorado Plateau. The highest elevation in the park is at Elephant Butte at 5,563 feet and the lowest is at the visitor center at 4,085 feet. Arches National Park receives an average of less than 10 inches of rain each year.
Canyonlands and Glen Canyon
Canyonlands is a national park in the high desert of southeastern Utah consisting of 337,598 acres of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, spires, hoodoos and arches. Canyonlands is divided by the Green and Colorado rivers into four districts and there are no roads linking the districts together. Traveling between districts requires a two to six hour drive due to the fact that there are very few places to cross the rivers.
Image No 019
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area consists of more than 1.25 million acres in portions of Garfield, Kane, San Juan and Wayne counties in southeastern Utah, and Coconino County in northern Arizona.
Durango, Colorado
Durango in Colorado was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1880. The railroad arrived in Durango in August 1881 and the construction on the line to Silverton began soon after. By July 1882, the tracks to Silverton were completed and the train began hauling both passengers and freight.
By 1893 10 large mines were forced to close when the price of silver dropped from $ 1.05 per oz to 63 cents per oz, which was the beginning of the end of the mining industry in the area. After the mines played out, the railroad was endangered until in 1906 when the federal government designated Mesa Verda a national Park and this brought in potential tourism. Today the trains still operates much like it did over 100 years ago carrying tourists through scenic Colorado between Durango and Silverton.
This is the first of four trips that were taken with my brothers. There were actually a total of 5, but one of the trips I couldn’t make due to restrictions at work. The trip that I couldn’t make was to Death Valley and Arizona. It sounded like a fun trip, but sometimes life doesn’t let you do what you want.
More posts are to come that covers each of our trips to different areas of the country.
Cameras used on this trip: Canon F1 35mm film camera, Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel
Family photography trips taken
2005 – Utah and southwest Colorado (Durango)
2006 – Northwest (Washington and Oregon)
2008 – Colorado (Rocky Mountains)
2010 – Utah (Capitol Reef National Park)
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