America's southwest is an exciting place full of nature's wonders. Southern Utah alone has a concentration of 6 national parks, and a handful of national monuments, national recreational areas and state parks. When I browse the map a year ago to plan for my long cherished cross-country driving, I realized how featureless the East Coast is. Gradually, I grew a desire to relocate myself to the West Coast. To start with, I planned this trip, including visits to San Francisco and San Jose, as an "orientation" with one humble goal --- The urbanized me want to see as many as possible the nature's wonders. I knew quite well, as had also been suggested by a few gentlemen over the net, that I'd be taking more and better pictures if I slow down the pace, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation...
(For those who don't want to be bored, here are once again direct links to photos in each park: Death Valley National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Monument Valley, and Grand Canyon National Park.)
Arriving at Las Vegas a little pass 8am, I picked up a rental car and did a little grocery shopping: several gallons of drinking water, a bag of apple, and some breads. These would be my lunches for the days to come.
Without wasting any time in Las Vegas, I headed directly to Death Valley. Driving from Las Vegas to Death Valley Junction, CA, is about 2 hours. The visitor center is another half hour away. The park is huge. From one spot to another could easily take half an hour. I had an uneasy feeling when I read National Geographic's Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways suggesting "fill the fuel tank before entering" the park. In fact, there are several gas stations in the park, though at steep prices.
This squeezed-in side trip only allowed me to skim a few tourist spots:
Leaving the park, I headed back to Las Vegas. At night, the sin city appeared much larger than I saw on the plane. Only until that time I saw it really qualified for its name: the "city of lights". Approaching the city in the dark, with the fresh memory of Death Valley, was like swimming toward a life raft in a drowning ocean. The city was so lively, who cares whether it was sin or saint!
I didn't linger. After a dinner, I hit on I-15 eastbound toward Zion, the destination of my second day. The speed limit on this section of I-15 is 75mph, on which I drove at 90mph at ease according to Bostonian's "speed limit + 15" mph driving standard. Inevitably, I was passing everyone. :-) At night, I could only sense that the Arizona section of I-15, in the Virgin River Recreational Area, must be very scenic as the road wound dramatically in the skirts of mountains.
Leaving Las Vegas 1.5 hours later, I arrived at Hurricane, a relatively large town about 25 miles from Zion National Park. Because of the low season, the hotel rate was cheap. I stayed in the Day's Inn for $30 a night, and asked the attendant to call me at 6am, after being told that the sun rose at 8am.
If I'd Do It Again, I'd need at least 1.5 days in the park, with a tight schedule, to tour all the tourist spots: half day in the east side, half day in the west side (Immigrant Canyon), and another half day in the north side (Scotty's Castle and Ubehebe Crater area). At a slower pace, or to capture the best light for each spot, probably I need 3-5 days.
I drove along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive which snakes along the canyon floor along side with the Virgin River. I captured a couple scenes with a half- moon in the sky. As it turned out, there was no sunrise --- Zion is a narrow canyon; only well into the morning, the sun shines on the tips of the western side the cliffs. In that particular day I visited, the pre-dawn sky was clear, but gradually, clouds gathered and played a hide-and-seek with the sun all the morning.
As the scenic drive wound, the landscapes changed dramatically. The drive was much shorter than I had expected. At the end, I hiked the Riverside Walk trail into the Canyon Narrows. But I was not equipped to wade into the water to reach the narrows. I can only stood in the riverbed at the end of the on-land trail and peeked into the narrows for a shot of the Temple of Sinawava.
Turning back, the Sun was already high up, and I stopped at the following tourist spots:
I almost hit another group of deer crossing the road when I drove back toward the visitor center. They fearlessly marched to nearby campgrounds seeking foods. I managed to get a couple close-up shots in a close range.
Afterwards, I found myself short of time: it was almost 4pm. I only got a peek into the Watchman mountains on my way to the visitor center. Picking up a map from there, I quickly turned back and moved on to the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which passes the east part of the park.
The switchbacks along the early portion of the highway elevates the highway and gave me another chance to see the park from a higher ground. Immediately after the long tunnel, I hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail, a short hike leading to a spectacular overlook of the Zion canyon, with East and West Temples facing each other. Unfortunately, the last ray of the Sun diminished before I could find a spot to set up my tripod.
Down the trail, I wrapped up the day's shooting with a shot of the Checkerboard Mesa in the darkness.
It seems that the switchbacks in the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway lifts the highway but never brings it back down. Leaving the park, I drove toward Panguitch, a full-size town closest to Bryce Canyon. The elevation of Panguitch is much higher than Hurricane, and thus really chilly and in fact colder than Boston! At night, the temperature was only in teens. This tourist town appeared quite abandoned in this off-season. I found a motel that was only $22 a night, and had a stuffy meal for less then $10.
If I'd Do It Again, I still think one day would be adequate for a fast-paced trip. I'd started with the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway in the morning, hike the Canyon Overlook Trail at dawn and shoot the sunrise there. Afterwards, spend the rest of the day down in the canyon along the Scenic Drive. Hike at least one trail, probably a segment of East Rim Trail. If I have one more day to spare, I'd tackle the Angle's Landing Trail, with a pretension of innocence. :-)
Bryce is really a jewel in the region. It is rather small but almost everything is spectacular: the color, the shape, the lights, the size, the trails.... And I had a perfectly deep blue sky that day! I wished that I had enough time to hike every corner of this park.
However, it is bitterly cold! In the early morning in late January, the temperature is in a single digit, and winds at lookout points were gusty. The highest temperature of the day only reached about 25F. When I shot at dawn, my breath condensed and froze on the camera back and eventually formed a miniature icefall, and became painfully sticky to my own face. Yuck! Worst of all, I found a problem with my tripod: some screws got loose and the tripod became shaky.
I shot the sunrise and the following couple hours in the region between Sunrise Point and Bryce Point, all around the Bryce Amphitheater. Then, back to the visitor center for a map and information about trail conditions, a brunch at Rubby's Inn (Best Western), and back to the park. (I checked the store in Rubby's Inn for tools to repair the tripod with no avail.)
I quickly drove through the rest of the tourist spots in the park. The 17-mile park road was icy but practically empty. It still took me about 2 hours to finish the drive, with photo stop at almost every spot. (Fairyland Point and Paria Point were closed.)
Back to the Sunset Point around 3pm, I decided to hike the short but the most popular Navajo Loop Trail. As soon as I descended the rim, I regretted that I came down a little too late: geographically the western side is the high rim that blocks the Sun before the Sun actually sets. At that time, the famous Thor's Hammer was already in shadows.
Down the rim, everywhere I look was beautiful. Descending the north section of the trail was easy and the scenes were beautiful. The yellow and pink spires of sandstone contrasted with the deep blue sky, and decorated with white snow. At the bottom, I immediately got the feeling of Mr. Bryce's Cow1. My second thought, as a mechanical engineer, was wondering how these curious spires stood up centuries of time: just like a chessboard with of all pieces in place, the slightest shake would tumble all of them. In fact, while I stood against a wall in the Wall Street, a couple rocks fell about 2 feet in front of me.
Now, ascending back to the rim became really strenuous: not that the trail was hard, but the elevation was high, and I forgot to bring water with me thinking that the hike was just a little over one mile.
Back to the rim, it was about 5pm, and I thought I could shoot the sunset at the Red Canyon, which I passed in total darkness in the morning. I only managed to get out of the park and onto Route 12 before the total darkness gulped everything. I took one shot of a nearby geological fault (Powell Plateau?) under the early evening's purple hue. I passed the Red Canyon again in darkness.
I drove back to Route 89 northbond toward I-70, passing Panguitch in the way. My next destination was Moab, UT, which is about 250 miles away. Calming down from the day's excitement, I just realized that I suffered a minor degree of dehydration in Bryce: my lips were dry and in danger of cracking and peeling, and my stomach was a little upset. I kept drinking water all the way.
I stopped by the largest town en route, Richfield, UT, where I picked up a screw driver and a key wrench and repaired my tripod, and had a dinner in a Day's Inn's restaurant. At around 11pm, I checked into a Super 8 Motel at Moab, which is 5 miles pass the Arches National Park. MoaB was the town where I heard the story of Monica and Bill on the radio.
If I'd Do It Again, In a fast-pace visit, I'd keep basically the same schedule, except skipping a couple stops along the park road, and try to get down the rim as early as possible. But I have a strong desire to visit every corner of the park, down the rim.
I still got up at 6am. At dawn, I shot at the Balanced Rock, with the snow-cover La Sal Mountains as the backdrop. The predawn sky was very promising but clouds soon commenced and were thickening just before the sunrise. Afterwards, everything became colorless as the sky brightened, and my mood was also going down the slope, coupled with an upset stomach.... I was shooting arches, I got to have some sky in the picture! But...
I quickly toured the Windows area, which is the least interesting part of the park, (or maybe because of my mood?) and moved onto the trail leading to the Delicate Arch, the must-see of the park. Every book I read says the hike to this arch is strenuous. Actually, it was pretty easy but rather long (1.6 mile). The problem lies in the marking of the trail: to the end, one has to hike over huge slickrock surfaces and the trail is only marked by (stacks of) small rocks. In fact, I got lost during my final approach to the arch and wondered in the slickrocks at the base for a good half hour, which was actually quite photogenic. I felt lucky that I had abandoned the plan to hike the arch at pre-dawn time to shot sunrise there: first of all, there was no sunrise that day; second, it would be too dangerous to be lost there in the darkness.
Although it was my first time there, the Delicate Arch was far too familiar. With the pale white sky at high noon, with my pale mood, I had no desire to overdo many other fine photographs of the arch I had seen. I only mechanically took a been-there-done-that kind of obligatory shot...
I quickly moved on to the Devil's Garden area. In my opinion, this is the finest part of the park where arches are most colorful. Unlike other sections in the park, the arches are reached by a rather long hike. The first portion (1 mile) is a easy hike but only leads to the famous Landscape Arch, and second portion (1 mile) is more difficult and leads to the Double-O Arch, and the final mile leads to the real Devil's Garden.
The first portion was actually nothing but easy. Because of low visitation in winter, sections of the trail were covered by slippery ices. One the way, the sky cleared very briefly and I quickly took several shots of the surrounding sandstone formations. I slipped and tumbled once, luckily landed on my butt with the camera on my stomach. I called it quite as soon as I reached the Landscape Arch. (The unofficial trail that goes beneath the arch was closed.) Part of the reason was that my time was running out and I needed to rush into my next destination: Monument Valley, which was about 2 hours away.
On my way out, I made frequent stops when I approached the Courthouse Towers area. This was the part I drove by in a total darkness in the morning and was actually unaware of. (Arches National Park was the only park that I didn't have a map before visiting. I added this park into my itinerary at a very late stage of planning per a suggestion from a friend.) Park Avenue looked very magnificent, but I had to run against time. I picked up a map at the visitor center and roared into Route 191 South.
After Moab, Route 191 appeared quite remote, and the landscape became interesting: the plateau rolled very gently, the straight highway split through the center, and the snow-covered farms on both sides gave a sense of serenity. Occasionally, a lone tree or two protruded into the land-sky partition. In a rush, I only stopped once for such unusual landscape photos. Passing the town Bluff, Route 191 splits into 163 and 191. The former leads to the Monument Valley.
If I'd Do It Again: I'd need one full day. I'd visit the Windows and Devil's Garden (finish the hike) first, then the Courthouse Towers area, and shoot the Delicate Arch at sunset. If I have two days, reverse the schedule in the second day --- shoot the Delicate Arch at sunrise.
Many people are unaware of the exact location of Monument Valley, probably because this is not a national park. In a general sense, Monument Valley is the area surrounding a segment of Route 163 between the towns of Mexican Hat, Utah, and Kayenta, Arizona. In a specific scene, it often means the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park located at Gouldings, Utah. (The town is in Utah, but the park is largely in Arizona.)
As soon as entering the the boundary of Navajo Nation (Indian reservation), the sandstone buttes and mesas became prominent fixtures on the landscape. Monument Valley is marked by entering Mexican Hat, a town gains its name by a strange sandstone formation of the same name and reminiscent the name. Passing the Monument Valley Pass, the entire desertscape of the monument valley unfolded before my eyes. I couldn't find any better description of the curious desertscape than the one in National Geographic's Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways: like phantom ships on a silent sea.
My timing was perfect: it was one of the nature photography's golden hours: one hour before sunset. And, despite the cloudiness whole day long, the sky had started to clear, the setting sun was particularly warm and the sky colorful. (As planned, I didn't intent to visit the tribal park, as there was simply not enough time for two parks in one day. From what I've read, most of the famous sandstone formations are visible along the highway, just cannot get up close.)
I drove back and forth frantically along a section of Route 163 about 5 mile long in Arizona side along the fence of the tribal park, surveying and trying to located the best picture spot. The Sun set at a maddening pace. Just about 15 minutes before the Sun dropped behind the mountains, I found a good spot and shot away. Afterwards, I move to a better spot and shot the remaining 5 minutes of sunshine. In fact, the sky was still beautiful after the Sun set, and 15 minutes later, the sky was again filled with a purple hue and yet the buttes appeared to maintain a little bit of orange glow against a darkened sky.
By now, my blue mood in the morning was all gone. I was quite excited and looking forward to my next destination. Approaching Kayenta, I stopped in a darkness and shot the last two curious rocks facing each other across the highway: Owl Rock and Agathla.
Kayenta appeared to be quite a large Indian town. I was looking for a decent restaurant for my dinner, but I could only find a pizza house in a brand new shopping center at the junction of Routes 163 and 160, and a nearby Burger King. I opted for the latter, and headed onto the Route 160 as soon as I could.
One and half hours later, I arrived at a small village Cameron, Arizona, which was about 30 miles to the Grand Canyon National Park. As soon as I reached the village, I felt cheated and should have stayed in a larger town Tuby City 20 minutes ago. Cameron actually is mere a junction of Routes 89 and 64; the latter leads into the park. The entire village consists of two gas stations, a motel, and an RV park. The police chief was moonlighting as the motel's night attendant. Since they were the only motel in town, the price was steep and firm: $49 a night. I debated with myself whether to back off to Tuby City for more motel choices, or directly to go pass the park into the town Tusayen, where I could find a motel at the same or even lower price right at the park's entrance. But, I was quite physically tired after such a long day and gave in.
If I'd Do It Again, probably I'd need one full day, stay between Mexican Hat and Monument Valley Pass in the morning, tour the tribal park in the afternoon, scouting and keeping notes of best locations in day time and concentrating the shooting in late afternoon's golden hour.
In the morning, the police chief at Cameron failed to woke me up at 6am as I requested. But my own biological clock had adjusted quite well.
It seemed that Grand Canyon was the only park that had a night staffer collecting the entrance fee. As the time was still early, I quickly move to the Yavapai Point near the Grand Canyon Village, the most popular spot for sunrise shots.
As several friends of mine who have been there claimed unanimously: no much, just the grand size. Sitting there patiently waiting the whole process of sunrise while taking pictures, I soon got tired of the landscape in front of me. I think the 35mm format is not suitable for its grand size: wide angle to normal to tele lens can only capture a small piece of this huge scar on the Earth, and a super-wide angle tends to miniaturized the center portion of the image, which does no justification to the grand size, either.
After the Sun was high up in the sky, around 9am, I turned back onto the East Rim Drive to visit every lookout point. The entire 23 mile East Rim Drive was just a minimal distance compared to the grand size of the canyon. The scene remained largely the same no matter where I moved. Still, I sincerely tried to shot differently at each lookout point. As the Sun rose higher, the grand size introduce an extraordinary amount of haze, and the scene became flatter and flatter, grayer and grayer. (A circular polarizer was an indispensable tool. In fact, I often combined both a circular polarizer with an 81A warning filter to make the scene a little bit more colorful.) The park had quite a number of visitors, and the most popular activities among these visitors seemed to be trying their hardest to identify the hikers and mules down the rim. :-)
On the East Rim Drive, I encountered two groups of mule deer having their breakfast on the road side. Along with another photographer, we approached the deer quietly and got several nice shots.
It took me almost one full hour to drive from the Desert View back to the Grand Canyon Village. The road was not congested by any other measure, just that there were many drivers prefer to drive at a super-safe speed and enjoy a big group of desperate followers. I decided to skip the breakfast and the lunch all together after seeing the only restaurant at Bright Angle Lodge was quite crowded and my time was short. Driving into the West Rim Drive did not provide any better vintage point for the canyon. I left the park at 3pm, no time to get down the rim for my planned hike on the Bright Angle Trail.
At 4pm, I arrived at Williams. This is a cozy small town located on the historical Route 66. The main street was the original Route 66, which seemed to contrast dramatically with the I-70 about one block away. In the town, the gas was $0.30 cheaper than right on the I-70 exit. I had a nice breakfast-lunch-dinner at Rod's Stake House. Filling the tank, I was ready to head back to Las Vegas to catch my plane at 9pm (10pm Arizona time). I finished my trip with an ice-cream at Kingman, AZ, and a peek into yet another old town on the historic Route 66. Around 7:30pm, I was back in Las Vegas, ready for a good night sleep at San Jose.
If I'd Do It Again: It still puzzles me till now why the Grand Canyon is so popular. It is the least interesting park among those I visited. Next time, except during the "golden hours", I wouldn't waste any time on the rim. Down the rim probably is where photo opportunities lie, which, unfortunately, I don't have time to venture this time. Photographically, a circular polarizer is a must.
| Park | Hours of Stay | Number of Photos | Hourly Rate |
| Death Valley National Park | 5 | 73 | 14.6 |
| Zion National Park* | 10 | 87 | 8.7 |
| Bryce Canyon National Park | 9 | 112 | 12.4 |
| Arches National Park* | 6 | 48 | 8.0 |
| Monument Valley | 2 | 28 | 14.0 |
| Grand Canyon National Park | 7 | 25 | 3.6 |