Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 3

We returned to an area in Valley of Fire State park to finish a hike we has abandoned a day or so previously.

Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo

There were many petroglyphs on the rock faces along the narrow valley that we hiked through.

Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo
Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo

I only carried my iPhone on this hike, which was not sufficient for adequately capturing petroglyphs higher up on some of the valley walls.

Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo

The image above indicates that some petroglyphs have been lost due to erosion of the rock face.

Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo
Petroglyphs, iPhone Photo

To be continued,

Ken

Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Lakeshore Drive – March, 2023

My son and I utilized the middle of the day hours to drive around, exploring the local area and generally sight seeing.  We traveled to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam on a couple of occasions.

Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, iPhone Photo

The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is like art and an engineering marvel rolled into one, which is fitting for this location, the site of the magnificent Hoover Dam, built over a period of 5 years from 1931 to 1936.  That such a structure could be built in those early years of the 20th century is an astounding engineering feat.

Hoover Dam, iPhone Photo

I had to be sure to have a firm grip on my iPhone as I leaned over the walkway to shoot downward at the face of Hoover Dam.  It was a windy day and the wind hitting the dam face was deflected upward with a significant velocity.

Lake Mead, Nevada, iPhone Photo

The image above is of Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam.  The bleached rock layers indicate the historic level of Lake Mead.  This is a very large reservoir, so that indicated drop in the water level represents a tremendous amount of water that is no longer in the reservoir.  Reading about the effect of the long drought in this area is concerning, but actually seeing the visible indication of how much water is gone, is much more impressive and startling.  Maybe the recent heavy precipitation in this area will provide some respite, but it will take years of above average rainfall to replenish this reservoir.  In the meantime, people whose water supply depends upon this water resource are having to adapt to using much less water.

Large man made reservoirs in the western U.S. have allowed more people to move into previously arid desert areas and increased farming and ranching activity, but now the lack of water resources is having dire effects upon that population and agricultural activity.

Hoover Dam Worker Tribute Sculpture, iPhone Photo

The drive between the Valley of Fire area and Hoover Dam is a scenic one along Northshore Drive.

Northshore Drive, Nevada, iPhone Photo
Along Northshore Drive, Nevada, iPhone Photo
Along Northshore Drive, Nevada, iPhone Photo

One can see from the clouds in these photos, that the weather was unsettled at times with intermittent rain and gusty winds and the light on the landscape changed as the clouds moved over.  The clouds added much drama to the sky and to the photographs.

Until next time,

Ken

 

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – Part 2

Arch View, iPhone Photo

There are many arches of various sizes all through out Valley of Fire State Park and in this area, in general, where the sandstone has been eroded away over long time intervals of exposure to wind, rain, freezing and thawing.  The arches are not on the size of those found in Utah’s Arches National Park, but seemingly more numerous.

Sunlight reflects around inside the arches, creating wonderful lighting on the rock surface.

Arch, iPhone Photo

The arches in this post are found along a short hiking trail and can be spotted by looking up into the canyon walls, which can be spectacular, too.

Canyon Wall, iPhone Photo
Cholla Desert, iPhone Photo

There is an open area along this trail with many nice cholla cacti.  I had to refrain from trying to photograph each one, as I’ve always found these enticing.

We stopped short of completing this hike today, since we wanted to get to an area that we had chosen for sunset photos.

We will revisit this area later,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – Part 1

My oldest son, also a photo enthusiast and excellent photographer, met me in Snow Canyon on the first morning of my stay.  The weather forecast called for considerable rainfall for our location over the next few days, so we began to consider our options.  After some discussion and exploration of not too far away areas, we decided it best to move into Nevada in the vicinity of Valley of Fire State Park.

Valley of Fire State Park has two camping areas, one with full hookups for RVs and another with no hook ups, but water available.  At the time of our visit, those campgrounds were still on a first come first serve basis.  This is a popular destination in the spring, so it is difficult to get a camping spot.  We stayed a few miles outside the park on BLM land for the first several night, traveling into the park and into adjacent areas.  We made a few passes through the campsites, while in the park, looking for open sites.  It was not unusual to see would be campers waiting in line for a campsite to be vacated that could be claimed.

As is our normal practice, we scouted areas for photography and I made many photos with my iPhone, during these outings.  So part of this series of blogs will contain mostly those scouting photos.

Reaching for the sky, iPhone photo

I got down low to photograph this small cactus, making it look much larger than it is.

Valley of Fire 1, iPhone Photo

Late day sunlight lights up the rocks in Valley of Fire, enhancing the color, shadows and textures.

Prickly Sunset, iPhone Photo

 

Sure Footed, iPhone Photo

We spotted these two desert sheep as we were driving.  I shot these from the vehicle.  That slope is much steeper than this image makes it appear and the soil is loose, making their hooves slip with each step.  These animals have a remarkable balance and the ability to navigate steep rugged terrain.

There is an old CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) multiple room crude cabin used by CCC members, who worked in the park during the Great Depression, in the park.  The following image is from the larger of the three rooms.

Master Suite, iPhone Photo

More later,

Ken

Upper Calf Creek Falls, Escalante National Monument, Utah

As a side trip from Capitol Reef National Park, we decided to hike to Upper Calf Creek Falls in the Escalante National Monument.  The trailhead to this waterfall is just off of Utah Route 12 near Boulder.  We traveled this route numerous times going to and from Torrey and the southern portion of Capitol Reef National Park.

The trail to the falls is only about a mile one way, but it is very steep over slick rock for the first portion, before becoming moderately level, then moderately steep just before the base of the falls.  It is so steep that not only is coming back up the trail strenuous, but going down the trail takes some effort to avoid slipping and falling.  There were a few places on the trail that required big steps down and up.

The information we found for the trail says the grade is 14% at the top and my son’s trail app showed as much as 20+% grade over some portions.  Anyone reasonable fit can do this trail, but care is advised.

We had planned to make the round trip to the falls in about an hour.  When we signed the trailhead register, we noted that the two previous hikers had taken hours on the trail, which gave us pause to consider whether much of that time was due to the strenuous nature of the trail.

Anyway, we proceeded cautiously down the trail.  I knew the trip out would require me to stop to take periodic breathers, but I had no doubt that I could safely navigate down and back.

Due to the steepness and strenuous nature of the trail, I elected not to carry the weight of my heavy DSLR and lens.  So the few photos in this post are via my iPhone.

Upper Calf Creek Falls and Pool, iPhone Photo
Upper Calf Creek Falls, iPhone Photo
Upper Calf Creek Falls, iPhone Pano

We took time at the base of the falls for photography, snacking and hydrating, before heading back to the trailhead.  Our round trip time was 90 minutes, 1.5 times as long as we had anticipated.  The additional 30 minutes was mostly due to the strenuous nature of the trail both going down and coming out.

We had done the trail to the Lower Calf Creek falls years ago.  That trail is three times as long, but mostly on flat, sandy ground along the creek bed.

Until next time,

Ken

 

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 25 – Bentonite Hills

Continued from Part 24:

After sundown, I continued to shoot in the dimmer light, going back to some of the earlier locations to capture the scenes in muted light.

Bentonite Hills 9
Bentonite Hills 10
Bentonite Hills 11
Bentonite Hills 12
Bentonite Hills 13
Bentonite Hills 14
Face Off

Staring at this old tree I see what appears to be a fierce guardian of the hills, rising up from the desert sand, spreading its tentacles and roaring from its upper, dark center.  (Viewing on a large screen can help viewers see what I see, or else maybe I’m off my tree).

Contortionist
Twisted
Bentonite Hills 15
Rest Time

This concludes the Capitol reef portion of this trip.  I’ve just got a few other miscellaneous items and experiences from this trip to share.

Ken

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 24 – Bentonite Hills

Bentonite Hills 1, Desert, Bentonite Hills and Old Tree

On the final day of our time in Capitol Reef National Park, we photographed around some of the many bentonite hills in the northern portion of the park and/or along the roadway into Cathedral Valley.  The area where we photographed may actually be outside the park boundary on BLM or private land.  We had driven past these hills numerous times during out trips into and out of Cathedral Valley.

Bentonite Hills 2, Desert, Bentonite Hills and Old Tree

There were a number of old, gnarly trees in this area, so I used those and other desert vegetation as foreground for photographs of the colorful hills.

Bentonite Hills 3, Desert, Bentonite Hills and Old Tree
Bentonite Hills 4, Desert and Bentonite Hills
Scrubby Desert Vegetation, Rocks and Bentonite Hills
Hard Rock Desert and Bentonite Hills, Early Golden Hour
Bentonite Hills 5, Bentonite Hills Golden Hour
Bentonite Hills 6, Bentonite Hills Golden Hour
Bentonite Hills 7, Bentonite Hills Golden Hour
Bentonite Hills 8, Bentonite Hills Golden Hour

To be continued,

Ken

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 23 – Abandoned Drilling Rig and Scouting Photography

Abandoned Rig, iPhone Photo

Heading northwards along a dirt road in the northern portion of Capitol Reef National Park (actually, this is probably outside the park boundary, maybe on private land or BLM public land), is this abandoned drilling rig.  I think it was a water well rig.  It reminds me of the old cable tool rigs used in the very early days of oil well drilling, with its wooden mast and wooden flywheel.

Desert Grafiti, iPhone Photo

The old truck body has been used as an artist canvas and for target shooting by someone or someones.

Abandoned Rig, iPhone Photo
Abandoned Rig, iPhone Photo

There was a watering facility near this old rig for a local cattle herd.  Some of the cattle watched me as I watched them to be sure none of them took exception to my presence.

One never knows what one might find in the great open spaces of the western U.S.

Desert Overlook, Capitol Reef National Park, iPhone Photo
Desert Overlook, Capitol Reef National Park, iPhone Photo
Painted Hills, Capitol Reef National Park, iPhone Photo

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 22 – Cathedral Valley Exploration

Layers of Mystery, iPhone Photo

My readers have already seen many photos of some of the fantastic, massive geological features in the Cathedral Valley portion of Capitol Reef National Park.  The long loop road through this area passes many such features.  We did not have time to explore around all of these and certainly not time to visit each area for golden hour sunrise or sunset photography.

But we did stop and walk around at some of the more easily accessible areas near the roadway.  Often, I would use my iPhone camera to capture the scenes, rather than lugging around a heavy DSLR and lens.

Magic Seeker, iPhone Photo
Desert Vortex – Sky and Earth, iPhone Photo
Rock Power, iPhone Photo
Commander/Tower of Power, iPhone Photo
Desert Sentinels/Commander and Sidekick, iPhone Photo
Cathedral Valley Scene, iPhone Photo
Sky Partitioner, iPhone Photo
Desert Sun, iPhone Photo
Serpent Sky, iPhone Photo
Halo, iPhone Photo

Until next time,

Ken

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 20 – Arches

Continued from Part 19:

Near the double arch along the 4 wheel drive to the Strike Valley Overlook and Upper Muley Twist Canyon Trailhead is another arch.

Double Arch, One Almost Hidden

A quick glance from the roadway at this feature and one might think this is a single arch.  Getting a closer look, after hiking up a sandy bank, reveals a double arch.

Double Arch

These second and third images helps reveal the second arch, but it is still not completely clear.

Double Arch
Double Arch

This view point now clearly reveals two arches.

Triple Arch

But wait!  Moving around a bit, clearly shows a third small arch!  Not only that, but a close inspection of the large, front arch and some imagination reveals what appear to be two animals engaged in a fight.  Focus on the center portion of this arch and one can imagine the face and mouth of a dog or similar creature biting down on the adjacent rock, which resembles some other creature with legs formed by the second arch and a portion of the rock on the far right.

Triple Arch

That’s it for now,

Ken.