My plans for sunset on day 2 of my May visit to Bisti was to go back to the Conversing Hoodoos and shoot with my 24-70mm lens, since I was not completely satisfied with the wide angle 14-24mm shots the day prior.
However, it became increasingly windy and gusty as the day progressed into late afternoon. I even put my penthouse top down due to the wind and rain concerns. I could see rainfall in the distance, but it might have been evaporating before it got to the ground. The rain was in the east and the wind from the west, so I was hopeful that the wind would at least keep the rain away from me. The parking area is all clay soil and would be very slippery and messy, if wet.
As I was sitting in my vehicle, either reading or writing in my journal, a vehicle stopped nearby and a man got out, approaching my vehicle. He had thought that I was someone he had seen earlier. Anyway, he introduced himself as Yan or Jan (not sure of the spelling) from the Netherlands. Since I had served in the U.S. Air Force in the Netherland, we had a bit in common to chat about. He was very familiar with the area around the NATO base at which I had been assigned.
He informed me that he had researched this area via internet posts, at least one site was the same that I had used. He introduced me to his wife, Alida (spelling is uncertain), who had remained in their vehicle. They liked visiting the southwestern U.S and had been to the Valley of Dreams (VOD) in this area. VOD is also known as Ah-She-Sie-Pah (various spellings) and is on Navaho land. I was interested in going there on this visit, but overnight stays on Navaho land near there is not recommended and for my purposes, it works best if I can stay overnight. The drive from Bisti to VOD requires a long drive along dirt roads, which means a slow commute, making it awkward for sunrise and/or sunset photography. If it rains, those dirt roads are not passable and Jan related a story of one of his friends that got stuck on a muddy road and got one of the local Navaho to pull him out.
I’m thinking that, if I can find a local near VOD, I might get permission to stay overnight there in the future. I have seen some amazing features in photographs from VOD.
Later in the day, another couple of guys (Tony and George) parked nearby and came over to chat. They were both from California and Tony was apparently leading a group into Bisti for photography. George was keenly interested in my Sportsmobile and walked around it looking underneath and all around it.
They had camped at the Cracked Eggs in the south portion of Bisti the night before, saying it got very cold and windy at night. (It got down to about 44 degree F in my vehicle the night before). Tony also told me about tent camping in very low temperatures at Yosemite on a recent visit. Shooting at Yosemite in winter would by good, but tent camping there, especially in winter, does not appeal to me.
Around 3:30Pm the wind was very strong with sand and dust reducing the visibility to zero on occasion. It sprinkled rain a little and as a precaution, I moved the van to an area near the parking area exit, where I could quickly exit, if it began to rain in earnest.
The forecast, obtained via my InReach Explorer GPS, showed windy conditions until 9PM – not looking good for sunset photography. The wind subsided around 5PM and I began to think a sunset shoot would be possible. Several car loads of people came into the parking area. They all got out with camera gear and headed into Bisti. From a distance, I thought that I recognized the vehicle that I had seen Tony and George driving.
The wind soon picked up again and it became much cloudier. The clouds could add drama, but too many on the western horizon, of which there were many, will not allow good light for sunset.
Around 6:15PM, I walked up a hill, where I could get a couple of bars of cell service, to make a phone call. Standing there in the gusty, dusty wind convinced me to abort a sunset shoot today.
Later, the sunlight did look good near sunset, but it was still very gusty. which can make shooting difficult and blowing dust and sand is not good for the gear. I had no regrets about not going out.
When the group that had gone out earlier returned, one walked towards my vehicle. It turned out to be Tony. He said the light was great and he liked this area better than the south area. He said that if I came to Southern California he could fix me up with great beaches at which to shoot.
So to wrap up this day, I met some interesting people, had a few interesting conversations, but did not get to shoot at sunset.
Maybe tomorrow will work out better,
Ken
Always fun to meet people along the way! They too will make for fond memories.
Shutterpug, you are correct. If not for meeting and conversing with people during this particular day, it would have been a really boring day.