Tag: Owl Creek Pass Road

2018 Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 4

The last night camping along Owl Creek Pass Road was the coldest night I experienced on this trip.  When I awoke in the pre-dawn hours the temperature inside the Sportsmobile was 45 degrees F.  I turned on the furnace to bring the temperature up to a more pleasant 55 degF, as I dressed and prepared coffee.  As I was preparing to leave the campsite for the final day of photography, I noted a patch of frost on the inside of the windshield and a bit of frost on the exterior.  The frost quickly disappeared after starting the van and putting the heater setting on defrost.

I drove on Owl Creek Pass Road towards Silver Jack Reservoir and pulled into a wide pull out just before a cattle guard just south of an access road to Silver Jack Reservoir.  This area was a mile or so further north of the area where I had shot the morning before.  I gathered my gear, including knit hat and gloves, since it was still a bit frosty prior to sunrise.  I walked down a slope in a pasture towards the broad drainage into Silver Jack Reservoir, looking for a good vantage point from which to shoot the mountainside to the west, dodging cow patties as I went along.

A frosty cow pie. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I set up the tripod and camera in a place where I thought the view was best and one that allowed me to move around a bit, if necessary, then waited for the sunrise, choosing initial compositions and taking a few test shots.

The sky was clear, much different than the previous morning.  I made a number of photos, as the morning light moved from the top of the mountainside downward towards the drainage, from a couple of slightly different vantage points.

A fall scene off of Owl Creek Pass Road near Silver Jack Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Skylum Luminar 2018.
An early morning fall scene near Silver Jack Reservoir, Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The compositions from my chosen location were a bit limited.  It was difficult to avoid the foreground clutter, with the 24-70mm lens that I had elected to use this morning, and many of the shots looked so similar or otherwise just did not turn out as I wanted, that I am posting only a couple that I liked best.  I chose to shoot with the 24-70mm, since I was rather sure that the 14-24mm wide angle lens, that I had used the previous morning, would be too wide for what I wanted to shoot today.  It is possible that the 80-400mm lens might have been a better choice in this location for shooting beyond the foreground clutter and I certainly could have gotten some good shots of the mountain peaks with that big lens.

Finished shooting here, I drove north on Owl Creek Pass Road, exploring the area and looking for favorable places to maybe get mid-morning shots of the colorful Aspens.  I walked around in an Aspen forest, shooting with the wide angle 14-24mm, which I found to be a bit difficult to work with in the woods.  Nearly all of the shots that I had high hopes for, turned out poorly, but I do like the one below with the long shadows cast by the trees.

Fall forest shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

After shooting in the forest, I continued driving along Owl Creek Road, enjoying the great fall day and the scenery, stopping occasionally to shoot with my iPhone.

A scene in one of the Silver Jack camp grounds that are run by the forest service. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A side road off of Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A mid-morning fall scene along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Along the roadway, I encountered a lone cow that stood in the middle of the road, staring at me.  I stopped to wait for it to move along.  As it continued to look at me, I picked up the iPhone with the intention of getting a photo of it.  As soon as I did this, it turned and started to walk away down the road.  I followed, slowly.  Eventually, it moved to the edge of the roadway and I pulled up beside it, stopped and it stared up at me.  Again I picked up the iPhone, aimed it at the cow and it immediately turned and walked away.  Again it stopped in the middle of the road to stare back at me.  Again I started to shoot it with the iPhone and again it began to walk away.  I can only surmise that it was a camera shy cow.  I really wanted a shot into its eyes as it stared, but I only got shots of it walking away.

The camera shy cow. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Owl Creek Pass Road near Silver Jack Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Aspens in fall color and evergreens along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I began to make my way along Owl Creek Pass Road towards highway 550 and Ridgway, where I would spend the night in Ridgway State Park before heading to Bisti in New Mexico the following morning.

Along the way, I was hailed by someone driving a jeep coming up the road in the opposite direction.  I stopped to see what was going on, thinking that they might be wanting to warn me about road conditions ahead.  It turned out to be the couple that had visited my first campsite (the ones that wanted to use my campsite the following day).  They easily recognized my vehicle since it was the only one like it in the area and they just wanted to chat.  We only had time for a brief conversation, since other vehicles began to accumulate behind them.  I also had conversations with others (campers, tourist, photographers, hunters) that I encountered at various locations in this area.  It is always interesting to learn about others and their backgrounds, experiences, etc.  and surprising how many times we find people with similar backgrounds, who are familiar with seemingly unusual places we or our family members have lived.

Future posts will cover the couple of days that I spent shooting in the Bisti Wilderness area in New Mexico, which is becoming one of my favorite places for photography.

2018 Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 3 – Sunset – Supplement

After the previous post, I realized that I had forgotten to include a few iPhone photos of my final campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road.  So this is just a brief post to add those photos.  Thanks for your indulgence.

The final campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Fall 2018, iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A panorama at the last campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Fall 2018, iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Panorama of last campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado, Fall 2018. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

2018 Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 3 – Sunset

After early and mid-morning photos on day 3 along Owl Creek Pass Road, I drove around exploring other areas and spur roads off of the main forest road, looking for another suitable campsite that would put me near a place for sunset photos.  Many of the best campsites were already taken and I ended up across the creek from my first night’s campsite, where I saw a couple of hunters breaking camp.  I pulled into the site, struck up a conversation with the hunters, the younger one a chemical engineer from Missouri and son-in law of the older one from Arkansas.  The older hunter has been coming to this area since the 1970s.  They had been elk hunting, unsuccessfully; but they had an antler shed, which they offered to me.  Having no desire for the shed, I left it at the campsite for someone else to find.  After they finished loading their considerable camping and hunting equipment, including an OHV, onto a trailer and into their pickup trucks, they headed out and I moved into the flattest area of the site.  This campsite was very open and it was a sunny day, so I put out the solar panels and allowed them to charge the Sportsmobile batteries, until about an hour before sunset, then I packed those away, since I did not want to pack them up after dark and I expected it would be dark soon after my sunset shots.

The views from this site were very similar to those on my first night and first morning of camping, but with more trees and the creek between me and the mountainside.  I walked around the area and down along the creek, looking for suitable places from which to shoot, then had a sandwich, potato chips and Gatorade for dinner, while waiting for the late afternoon light.

The photos from this site were so similar to those from the first day of shooting and with more clutter in the foreground, that I initially thought about not including any in this blog; but as I looked at them a second time, I thought some might look better, if converted to monotone or edited with one of my other image editors, in addition to Lightroom adjustments to the raw images.  So I did just that, experimenting with Nik Silver Effects Pro and Color Effects 4 and Skylum Luminar 2018 software.

The photos posted here are also posted to Flickr (just click on an image), where the images will be sharper and brighter than in this post.

One of only two color photos chosen to post from this shoot. I’m not really enthralled by this composition and in particular the bland sky, but I think it might be the best of the color images that I captured during this shoot. I processed the raw image in Lightroom and Luminar 2018. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 160.
This is the best sunset light that I saw on this feature. I might have brought out the colors in the foreground a bit more, but I wanted the emphasis to be on the rocks in the mountainside.  Raw image processed in Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 160.
I really wanted to see the cliff face in this image appear colorful in the setting sunlight, but it never got as much light on it as I wanted. At least, the color bands, shadows and highlight along the rock face add interest in this version. The trees in the foreground are colorful, with contrasting color and shapes, but just did not seem to work as well in the color image.
This large cliff face was just south of my campsite. The rock is not colorful and the setting sun did not produce a colorful glow at any time as the sun went low on the horizon, so this and all the other color photos of this feature were bland. In this B&W conversion, I wanted to emphasize the rock along the edge and top of the mountainside, while keeping hints of the trees in fall color in the foreground. The sky was mostly bland, adding minimal interest, other than the cloud along the right side, so I made the sky go mostly dark, making the cliffside look as if it had been purposely light painted. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
Those of you who have viewed the photos from my first blog about this photo trip will recognize this feature.  In this B&W version,  I like the contrasts produced by variations in the tree foliage color and the shape of the trees in the foreground, as well as the highlight on the rock outcrops. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 160.
This is a similar view to that in the above photo, with more sky, less of the trees in the foreground and more of the mountainside.  The sky was bland, so I let it go black to emphasize the rock along the skyline, while retaining the hints of fall color in the deciduous trees. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64.
The rock face in the original color photo is very colorful in the setting sunlight; but the foreground is distracting in the color photo. I have kept a hint of the foreground color in the trees in this image, while highlighting the rocks with its texture and shadows. I like the way the two tall evergreen trees appear to be pointing towards the rising moon and the diagonal lines formed by the tree lines and the jagged, horizontal line of the top of the mountainside, both converging near the rising moon. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/15s, IDO 64.
I was trying to capture the reflection of color in the sky in the branch of the creek near the center of this image, but it just did not fit well with the rest of the image. I like this B&W conversion with the fall color in the trees, showing up brightly against the dark evergreens. I do not like the tree along the left edge, but I could not find a pleasing composition of this scene that excluded that tree. There is also a halo effect, produced by the Nik Silver Effects Pro software, that is quite noticeable along the top of the peak on the right side of the image. I do not really like this effect; but I currently do not know how to eliminate it. I’m sure there must be a way to tone this down. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 160.

The opinions expressed about the images here are my subjective ones.  I welcome your feedback, opinions and critiques, as I can always use those to improve my work.

2018 Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 3 – Part 2

After the early morning photo shoot, I continued along Owl Creek Pass Road, enjoying the fall scenery and looking for a place for mid-morning photography and some experimentation with PC (Perspective Control in Nikon terms) lenses, commonly referred to as tilt/shift lenses.

Tilt/Shift lenses are typically used in product and architectural photography.  The shift allows one to make vertical objects, like buildings, look vertical, rather than tilted, as they do with ordinary lenses.  The tilt function of the lenses allows one to get a deeper depth of field with a large aperture, rather than having to go to a small aperture for a deep DOF.

Within the past twelve months I purchased a couple of used PC lenses from local photographers.  The lenses are quite expensive, if purchased new and not cheap, when a good used one is found.  The first one that I purchased was a Nikon PC-E 24mm.  The photographer that I acquired it from had used it for wedding photography, a surprising use of this lens, I thought; but one can get some special effects with it that makes for unique photographs.

The second tilt/shift lens that I acquired was an older Nikon PC85mm.  The photographer from which I purchased it had used it for product photography.  I had seen some interesting landscape photos taken with such a lens,  so I wanted to experiment with one and not wanting to spend a fortune on a lens that I might not use often, I knew it would be more economical and practical to get a good used lens.

These lenses are all manual focus, which can be a challenge for us older folks as our eye sight becomes less sharp.  The metering is also manual with PC lenses.  The PC-E (E designating electronic) will meter with the lens in the non-tilt, non-shift mode, so the exposure needs to be determined prior to shifting or tilting or one might shoot test shots and adjust the exposure by trial and error.  I found it best to estimate the exposure prior to tilting, shoot a test shot after tilting and tweak the exposure as appropriate.

Thinking that a forest might be a suitable place for experimentation, I found a couple of places near Silver Jack Reservoir where I could walk into an Aspen forest just off of a roadway.  A few of the test shots are posted below.

Experimenting with a tilt-shift lens, Nikon PC85mm. Note the line of focus in the upper third horizontal portion of the image with blurring to either side. Nikon D850, Nikon PC85mm, f5.6, 1/125s, ISO 64. Note the large aperture. It is possible to get a large depth of field with large apertures with tilt-shift lenses.

Many of the Aspen trees along the roadway into a parking area at Silver Jack Reservoir had initials or names, etc. carved into the trunks.  I happened to note that the tree on the left of the above image had my initials on it.  (No, I did not put them there).  Your eyes are ok, the image is blurry except along a horizontal band in the upper 1/3 of the photo.  The technique for getting such an image is to focus on a nearby subject, then tilt the lens to bring more distant subjects into focus.  You will notice that the large f/5.6 aperture gives a good depth of field through a portion of the image.

Experimenting with a tilt-shift lens. Nikon D850, Nikon PC 85mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 64. Moving to smaller apertures gives a broader area of focus through the central portion of images.

The photo above is also taken with the PC 85mm, but with an f/8 aperture.  Moving to a smaller apertures seems to widen the area of focus, as it increases the DOF.

A PC-E 24mm image in an Aspen forest. Nikon D850, Nikon PC-E 24mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 64.

The 24mm PC-E is a bit easier to work with than the PC 85mm.  It seems to give more leeway in acquiring focus while tilting than does the PC85mm.  In the above photo, I first focused on the rough bark on the tree on the left, then tilted the lens to increase the DOF.  Tilting the lens also affects the near focus a bit, so that a portion of the near object goes out of focus as the more distant objects come into focus.

Nikon D850, PC-E 24mm, f/6.7, 1/125s, ISO 64.

The lower photo above is the same composition as the previous one, but with a larger aperture.

Nikon D850, Nikon PC-E 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 64.

The same composition as previously, but at f/11.  I think the wider focus area is apparent.  The lighting changed, as well as the aperture, so the exposure is a bit different.

Perhaps these are not the best images for illustrating the effects obtained by these lenses, but I’m thinking the tilt function can be useful for emphasizing certain aspects in an image, perhaps with a “tunnel” vision effect.

These lenses also rotate, so one can put the tilt and shift at various angles.  So far, I’ve only experimented with vertical tilts; but I think tilting at various angles to the camera will be appropriate in some situations.

These lenses all are configured by the manufacturer with the tilt and shift at 90 degrees to each other; but, as I have learned in my research on these lenses, these can be easily reconfigured to have the tilt and shift aligned in the same direction, making it possible to keep vertical objects vertical, while also increasing the DOF with the tilt function.  I have not yet tried this, but I am thinking that I might.  One might pay Nikon or a professional camera shop to reconfigure a lens, but it is an easy do-it-yourself operation, just be careful with the E versions, since there is wiring within these lenses and one cannot rotate the lens parts more than 90 degrees or damage to the wiring is probable.  Information on how to modify these lenses (Nikon and Canon) can be found via an online search.  Here is one link that describes the procedure for Nikon PC lenses http://www.achim-sieger.de/en/axis-change-pc-e-nikkor-24mm/

The 24mm PC-E is a very sharp lens and can be used in a non-tilt, non-shift mode as an ordinary 24mm prime.  While shooting with no tilt and no shift, I noted that occasional breezes shook loose leaves and I thought shooting them as they fell might make interesting photos and maybe brief time lapse videos.  I could not use the built in time lapse function of the D850 very easily, since the breezes were not predictable, so I elected to just shoot a series of shots using the remote release, whenever the leaves began to fall.  I did not even take time to set the camera to continuous mode, I just used the remote release to shoot as quickly as I could press the shutter release button.  It is best to view the following photos and time lapse videos on a large screen, otherwise the falling leaves are not easily observed, in this very brief video.  To make a longer video, would have taken much more time and many more shots and I did not think it worthwhile to expend that much effort to do so. (This video is also posted to my Flickr page).

Falling Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, PC-E 24mm (cropped), f/11, 1/125s, ISO 64.

The falling leaves are fairly easily seen in this cropped version (just above) of one of my images.

Look for very brief yellow spots within the video to see the falling leaves.  If nothing else were moving, I might have made gotten leaf trail type images (similar to star trails); but if nothing else were moving, there would be no falling leaves, either.

I got feedback from one of my blog followers regarding the video format (mp4).  Apparently, not everyone can view these formats.  While I can convert an mp4 to an avi and other video formats, I cannot view an avi on my MAC computer, so I have no idea how the avi looks or even if it will work in this post.  I tried to insert an avi into this post, but I’m rather sure that it would not be visible, so I removed it.  At this time I have no solution for this problem.

I later used the PC-E 24mm to photograph at Bisti in New Mexico and I will post photos from that shoot in a later post.  I’ve not yet had time to review those photos in detail, so I hope I have suitable ones to share from that shoot.

2018 Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 3 – Part 1

Arising early on September 20, after coffee and a light breakfast, I set out in the Sportsmobile to select an advantageous spot for early morning photos along Owl Creek Pass Road just a short distance from my campsite.  I drove back and forth along one particular interval on the road, before picking what looked like a suitable place, gathered my selected gear for the morning shoot and set out across an open range pasture towards the drainage between the pasture and the mountains to the east.

It was a very cloudy morning, after a rainy night, but not completely overcast as most of the previous day had been and the rain was gone, so I had some hope of getting some early morning light highlighting the mountainsides nearby.  It was a bit dicey, as all of the clouds were moving towards the light from the sun, which was still hidden behind a mountainside to the east of the roadway.

As I walked across the open range pasture, I recalled the statement credited to Ansel Adams, “the secret to getting a good photograph is knowing where to stand”.  Photographers are always going to extremes to find the best place to stand and sometimes get into uncomfortable or precarious positions in doing so.  This morning I noted that a corollary to Adam’s statement had to be “knowing where not to stand”, as I carefully selected each step to avoid the numerous cow patties in the pasture.  There were so many that I had to be very careful, not only where I stepped, but where I set up the tripod to avoid sticking one of its legs into a cow patty.

I wandered around in the pasture, looking for various possibilities for suitable places from which to shoot.  The broad drainage area between the mountainside to the west and the pasture to the east of it was filled with scrubby vegetation, which would make for a messy foreground, no matter where I stood with my 14-24mm wide angle lens.  There was no time to scout any other area prior to sunrise, so I had to make the best of this area.

Pre-sunrise test shot. The clouds are adding drama to the sky, but might prevent early morning light on the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.
The clouds moving to the east might totally obstruct the early morning sun rays. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.
Pre-sunrise, early morning clouds and mist or campfire smoke in the valley. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.
It is getting close to sunrise and the clouds are still a major concern. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.
Nice clouds, but I am becoming more concerned about getting good early morning light on the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.
Pre-sunrise. I kept seeing either mist rising or camp fire smoke wafting in the valley, but I was never ready to shoot, when it looked the best. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.
A crop of the previous shot, better showing the mist or campfire smoke in the valley.
Surprise! Even with the heavy clouds, sunlight is beginning to highlight the mountainside! Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.
A crop of the previous shot.
I’m liking the clouds thinning and the ribbon of light highlighting portions of the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.
A crop of a photo very much the same as the previous one, leaving the dramatic sky and emphasizing the diagonal mountainside slope with the streak of light along it.
Rotating to the left, I get this view with a thin ribbon of light along the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
A crop of the previous shot, emphasizing the clouds and the thin ribbon of light along the mountainside.
With the light now highlighting the vegetation in the wash, I had to get a shot with the mud splattered Sportsmobile in the foreground. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.
This is entirely about the clouds sweeping overhead. I just happened to note that the thinning clouds, revealing the blue sky background, made the sky look very attractive. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640.

This was, perhaps not the best morning nor the best location for sunrise shots, but the views were quite good, even though I might not have captured the scenes as well as I would have liked.

Part 2 of this post will continue with mid-morning shots and experimentation with tilt/shift lenses.

Until next time, best wishes to you all,

Ken

Colorado Fall Color Road Trip – Day 2

The sunrise photo shoot on day two of this trip was mostly a disappointment.  The features that I had hoped would get good sunrise light did not get sufficient illumination and those that did get light did not make really good subjects.  With a big zoom, I was able to get only a couple of fair shots of a distant feature with colorful foliage in the foreground and middle ground.

Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm, f11, 1/80s (soft)
Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm, f11, 1/160s (sharper, but no clouds).

I, also,  tried shooting along the little creek behind my campsite, but the compositions were limited and not very appealing.  There were some reflections of colorful trees in small portions of relatively still water, where I tried to get good images and even tried to get a number of images to focus stack, but I was not happy with any of those images.

The creek just to the west of my first campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f16, 1/20s, 09192018.

Soon after breaking camp and beginning to scout for another site for late day shooting, it became very overcast with intermittent rain.  I managed to get a few good shots of Courthouse Rock, standing in a light rain, shooting from the far side of the meadow, where the scene from True Grit (1969) of Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) and Lucky Ned Pepper (Robert Duval)  charged at each other with guns blazing.  I shot a sequence of photos here with clouds passing across the rock face.  The shots vary from ones with nearly completely visible Courthouse Rock to ones with Courthouse Rock completely cloud enshrouded.

Court House Rock in the clouds. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 80mm, f11, 1/40s.
Court House Rock with clouds. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 80mm, f11, 1/50s.

This looked like a good scene for time lapse movies, so I experimented with the built in time lapse feature of the Nikon D850, shooting short sequences of shots to convert into time lapse movies.

It may take a few moments for the videos to begin, so be patient after clicking one.

{This is open range cattle country and the meadow from which I shot Courthouse Rock was so covered with cow dung that I had to calculate each step to avoid it.  I assume this was not the case during the shooting of the True Grit scene}.

I drove around quite a bit on this day, scouting locations for the next day’s shoot and looking for other places to shoot on a rainy, overcast day.  I ended up going all the way back down to just before the start of forest road 858 to a campsite/view point from which the entire profile of Courthouse Mountain is visible.  I had hoped to be able to shoot sunset photos from that view point, since I had seen a brilliantly lit sunset view of this profile from Ridgeway State Park, but obviously today was not going to be the day to do that.  However, since I was there, I hiked up and over a ridge to the east of the parking area and made a few images with the big 80-400mm zoom.  The images are not great, but here are a couple.

Court House Mountain from a view point along Owl Creek Pass Road on a rainy day. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 120mm, f11, 1/40s.
Courthouse Rock shot from a view point along Owl Creek Pass Road on a rainy day. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 340mm, f11, 1/100s.

I did not find a campsite that really appealed to me more than the area near my first campsite.  So I ended up setting up camp no more than maybe a half a mile from the first campsite.  It rained off and on through the night and got fairly cold, but the temperature inside the van was still only down to about 50 degrees the next morning and I only switched on the furnace for a few minutes just after getting up, while preparing for day 3 along Owl Creek Pass Road, which will be the topic of the next post.