I will continue to test my readers patience with even more photos from Capitol Reef National Park’s Cathedral Valley.
The photographs in this post are all taken around the features called “Temple of the Sun” and “Temple of the Moon”.
Monoliths, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahMonoliths, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun (in right background), Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahDowncastTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun framed by smaller rocks, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
These photos were all taken late in the afternoon. The high ridge to the west of these features blocked much of the golden hour light, so essentially all of the foreground objects were already in shadows by the time the best golden hour light illuminated the large monoliths.
Temple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemples of the Sun and Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
I know these photos are similar, but those clouds that seem to be emanating from the monolithic rock, emphasizing its powerful magic had to be captured in numerous compositions (I have even more, that I will not impose upon the reader).
One of the most fascinating areas in Capitol Reef National Park is Cathedral Valley, located in the northeastern portion of the park. There are two access routes into/through this area from Utah Highway 24. The access closest to the visitor center requires a river ford, while the other, nearer Hanksville, does not require a river ford and gets into the most scenic portion much sooner than the river ford access point.
The geology in this area is varied and great for photography. We visited numerous times and only scratched the surface of the photographic opportunities here. I will devote a number of post to this area.
Cathedral Valley
Initially, we hit the most popular areas in this very large valley and scouted for the places we wanted to get to at golden hours, which was a challenge, given the many miles of driving to get here from our lodging and the limited time we had to work this very large area.
Cathedral Valley MonolithsCathedral Valley Monoliths
I see opportunities to organize my photographs of this area into themes, but rather than take the organizational time required for that at this time, I’m posting images in the order that they were taken.
Desert Shadows – Black and WhiteDesert Sand, Vegetation and Shadows – Black and WhiteDesert Life – Black and WhiteDead Grass and Shadows – Black and WhiteSunburst – Black and White
South of the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center at the end of the paved road is the Capitol Gorge Trailhead. We hiked a short distance down the canyon, then up a short, steep trail to check out natural water tanks formed in low places along a water drainage.
I captured a few images in the canyon in route.
Capitol Gorge and Hiker/PhotographerCapitol GorgeStanding Tall – Black and White with Selective ColorizationDefiance – Trees atop Canyon Walls – Black and White with Selective ColorizationReflection in a Natural Water Tank
The snow like blobs in these photos are foamy floaters in the water.
Water TankIcy Water Tank and ArchGreen Gold – Tree adjacent to the tanks – Black and White with Selective ColorizationArch below Tanks
Water flow has cut through rock forming a small arch along the occasional stream bed.
Old Visitor Register – Enhanced to bring out faded writing
Early visitors in this canyon left their names and dates high up on the canyon wall. These marking are much higher than anyone other than a giant can reach. Maybe some stood on horses or wagons to leave their mark here or maybe the canyon was not as deep many years ago?
Parched, Hopeful – Capitol Reef Desert Scene
I cannot recall where in the park this final photo was taken, but I think it was shot along the unimproved dirt road that continues past the end of the paved roadway from the Capitol Gorge Trailhead parking area.
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is a narrow, but long park. During our first visit here years ago, we saw a limited portion of the park centered near the most visited area around the park headquarters. We were determined to see more during this visit and consequently had to spend much more time driving many miles to and from others areas of the park. So much of our time here was spent in a scouting mode, rather than being in a particular place at the best time for landscape photography.
Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
This view of Strike Valley is in the southern portion of Capitol Reef National Park, accessible via a 3 mile, rocky, 4 wheel drive road, followed by a 0.3 mile hike through forest and over slick rock. The photos taken here were during a scouting visit, when it was mostly overcast with rain threatening, so the light was uniform with interesting clouds.
Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
I paused along the quick hike back to the trailhead to snap photos of the clouds overhead with occasional drops of rain coming down.
In late March of 2022, I drove to my oldest son’s home north of Denver, Colorado and we drove together to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. We lodged in the small town of Torrey, just west of the park.
Since we arrived late in the day, we only got out for a brief visit to the park visitor center and a stop at a nearby overlook trail, where we shot a few handheld images.
Past PrimeMonochrome Tree
The sky was overcast, the light well suited for muted monochrome images.
Rock TreesAbstract (Rock Texture)Old and GnarlyTruncated
This old tree stump looked different, depending upon the angle of view.
Dancing among the Rocks
The color image of this old tree stump with this angle of view reminded me of a dancer’s torso, but when I showed this one to my grandson, he saw two dogs back to back. I have to admit that I had a similar initial interpretation, but only seeing one blunt snout dog with long ears trailing behind it. I still prefer the dancer interpretation.
80% ExpendedLife on the Edge
I have not had time to go through all of my photos from this trip and just barely got time to write this initial post, more will follow; but I may not be able to keep up with my preferred schedule of two posts per week. (Every trip leads to much to do to catch up at home).
As sunset approached, I hiked back into the area around my campsite with my DSLR for a sunset shoot. As usual, I went out earlier than I thought necessary. Even so, my timing was off. Some of the features that I had anticipated shooting, were already in shadow, well before sunset. So I had to give up on some of the preplanned shot locations.
Golden Hour, Palo Duro Canyon
My first stop was at this vey tilted rock or hoodoo nearest to the campground. It was in full late day sunlight and I could see that there were already shadows on the big hillside in the distance.
Cacti and Red Hill, Palo Duro Canyon
I found this batch of prickly pear cacti that were still getting some late day rays, with the red hill behind them mostly in shadow.
Tiny Desert Tree and Red Hill, Palo Duro Canyon
Even though the light was much less than I had planned to see, I like this composition with the small, weakly lit tree and the big red hill in the background.
Late Day Deep in Palo Duro Canyon
I like the sinuous leading line formed by this drainage with green grass contrasting with the red earth and the change in lighting from the right side to the left of this image
Boulders and Red Hills, Palo Duro CanyonMoon over Tilted Hoodoo, Palo Duro CanyonDesert Evening
I converted this final image, made from the top of the hill from which I had photographed during my scouting hike, to black and white, to get a more dramatic late day image.
I tried capturing more images of the moon over this hilltop, shooting from a location on the side of the hill with tilted rocks pointing at the moon, but I could not get a good image with the lens I had chosen to use today.
