Midday of day 7, and our final day in Bisti, my son and I returned to the north area of Bisti to explore and scout potential areas to return to later.
Petrified tree stumps in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
We found these large petrified tree stumps in the broad wash area that we have to cross on our way into this area.
A petrified tree stump in Bisti. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Here is another petrified tree stump we found.
A petrified tree stump in Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
And a view from the top side of the stump reveals more color from mineralization and lichen.
Beneath the x in the sky iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My son seems to have found the magic spot beneath the big X in the sky.
Someone called these the conversing hoodoos for obvious reason. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I had GPS coordinates for features someone labeled “Conversing Hoodoos”. I had not seen photos of these, so I had no idea what they would look like; but upon finding them, it was obvious why these were so named.
Numerous wing like hoodoos in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
In the same general area as the conversing hoodoos are
Assorted hoodoos in the northern Bisti area iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
other large wing like hoodoos.
Large wing like hoodoos in north Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
More large wing like hoodoos that we saw in this area are in the photo above.
I’ve nicknamed this feature “Jack rabbit Hoodoo” iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
When the wing like feature above is view at just the right angle, it has a jack rabbit like appearance, hence my calling it “Jack Rabbit Hoodoo”. This feature is in the vicinity of the Conversing Hoodoos.
Many large hoodoos in Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The large wing like hoodoo features in the photo above are, also, nearby the conversing hoodoos.
Photo scouting in North Bisti iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My son walks past one of the rock features on the north side in the above photo. Note how far one can see from an upper elevation in Bisti. This is very helpful, when navigating this area. There are landmarks that one can see from miles away from higher elevations, such as this, and use those landmarks to navigate by.
Although, we found many interesting places for photography on the north side of Bisti, we did not have time to get back to this area for either sunrise or sunset photography during this visit. I returned to this area the last week of May, 2019 and spent many hours photographing and wandering this area. That visit will be the subject of more blog posts in the future.
After returning from scouting the north area and having a late lunch, I decided to kill some time, while waiting until time to go out for sunset photos by walking around in the area just across the road, west of the south parking area. Usually, I only went a very short distance into this area to climb a hill to get a cell signal.
This area, as far as I know is not a part of the designated Bisti Wilderness and is probably on Navaho land, but it might also be BLM land.
South Bisti area scouting photo. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Just into this area, I spotted this small arch with a view through it into the parking area. The red blob within the arch opening is my Sportsmobile.
South Bisti area scouting photo. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This photo is a close up of the arch with the parking lot visible through it.
South Bisti area scouting photo. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A really close up shot through the arch in which my red Sportsmobile is visible near the center.
Red capped hoodoos in a wash iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing through the wash behind the arch, I found these small red capped hoodoos in the wash.
This automobile carcass is on a hill side bordering a wash. It must have gotten here via a flash flood. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A little further down the wash, I found this upside down automobile body on a hill bordering the wash. I wondered how this got here, since there is no road, not even a reasonable way to drive into here to dump a wrecked vehicle. Then I realized that it must have been deposited here by a flash flood.
This must have been deposited here via a flash flood. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This view from the opposite side gives a better context for its location.
Hiking through this wash I encountered more automobile parts, which may have come from this vehicle. One such part is in the photo below.
Deposited here via flash flood(?) iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.The dark rock chips scattered over much of Bisti come from this dark layer of rock. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The dark layer in the side of this hill is the geological deposition from which all the dark rock fragments scattered all around Bisti are derived.
Dark rock layer weathering creates horseshoe pattern on a hillside iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I saw the horseshoe like features on this hill side from a distance and they looked like a strange geological feature, so walked closer to investigate. This photo clearly shows that there are exposed portions of the dark rock layer that are weathering. The loose rock fragments are then washed downhill creating this geometric feature.
The many red rocks scattered across Bisti come from this red rock layer. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The red rock layer above is probably the source of all the red rocks scattered all around Bisti. This is the only place that I consciously have observed this rock layer still contained within other layers of rock. I frequently see it as caps over the underlying layers, where the overlying layers have already eroded away.
The geological observations and/or conclusions/conjectures here are my own and not necessarily academically robust.
Clothes dryer shell. Deposited here via flash flood (?) iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A hoodoo on the wash wall with a clothes dryer visible in the wash in the lower left of the photo. I’m guessing that this clothes dryer shell also got here via a flash flood.
Deposited here by flash flood (?) iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
And a roll away bed frame that probably got here via a flash flood, too. I suppose it is possible that some of these type items might have been intentionally dumped into a wash somewhere, then got moved around via flash flooding.
The water here is either rich in minerals or dissolves minerals as it flows over the terrain, later dropping out of solution as the water evaporates. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Walking back towards the parking area, I looked more carefully around the drainage flowing out of Bisti into the area across the road. It is apparent that there are salts or other minerals in the water that drop out along the stream as the water floods over the land, then evaporates. This area is very soft and it is not advisable to walk into it.
Abstract art form in mud along a shallow stream bed. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The stream creates abstract art like patterns in the mud, some outlined with colorful mineral deposits.
Abstract patterns in mud in a shallow stream bottom. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The above mud pattern makes a really nice abstract photo.
This has gotten into a much longer post than I intended. I hope you have not been too bored by it.
On day 6 in Bisti my son and I went to the unofficial north parking area for access to the northern portion of Bisti Wilderness. Neither of us had previously been to this portion of Bisti, so we were truly exploring. I had GPS coordinates to a few of the northern features that I had gleaned from online research, but rather than heading towards any of my GPS coordinates, we just wandered around on an exploration hike today.
Shortly after crossing the deep drainage at one end of the parking lot, we found an abandoned well.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This well is not very deep, but it would not be good to fall into this, while hiking in the dark, as we usually do in the early morning on our way out for sunrise photos and in the evening on our way back from sunset photography.
Continuing to follow the broad open wash/valley area, we could see features on the top of hills in the distance, so we headed towards those.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
From a distance, the features above looked like three distinct hoodoos, so I nicknamed these the Hoodoo Trio. On a subsequent visit to this area in May (more photos and blogs from that visit will be posted later in the summer or early fall), I used these features as primary navigation points to and from destinations in this area.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
That is my son hiking near this hoodoo navigation beacon.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Hiking in a wash on the west side of the Hoodoo Trio, we eventually worked our way up to a plateau area, encountering a Hoodoo rich area that we called the “Valley of Hoodoos”. The photo above is near our exit point from the valley onto the plateau. (During my May visit here, I found an easier way to get to this area and also a short cut to get from this plateau back to the north parking area).
Multiple exits from this valley/wash are possible iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
If my memory serves me well, I think we exited this valley at the blue arrow, hiking up through the Valley of Hoodoos onto the plateau. In May, I found it easier to follow the wash along the left side of the photo, exiting at the green arrow. There is one big step up on the green arrow route on the way out, then a big step down, when returning on this route. Other than that big step it is an easy route.
A red rock garden area, just to the south of the “Valley of Hoodoos” exit iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
After exiting the Valley of Hoodoos we very soon came to this “Red Rock Garden” area. Walking through the rock garden, we found many interesting features, some of which, I recognized from our first visit to Bisti in 2011. At that time, we came from the south parking area; but it is much easier and quicker to get to this portion of Bisti from the unofficial north parking area.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The features in the above photo are on the plateau, just over a hill from the rock garden. My son named the hoodoo in the foreground here the Tongue Hoodoo. I think it is obvious how he came up with that name. I think the other large hoodoo in the left background is one that someone called The Pedestal.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A wing like hoodoo with a hole in it is shown above.
Wing like structures with holes are fairly common in Bisti. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The same hoodoo with the hole, but from the top side. Holes in such rocks seem to be common here.
Just to the south of this area, we came to a very deep drainage, on the other side of which were other interesting features, but we did not see an easy way down into that drainage. We did see someone photographing features in the drainage and he motioned towards an access point, but we were running out of time on this scouting trip, so we did not attempt to find our way down, deciding it best to head back.
We came back to scout more in this area on our last day here and I will blog about that in a subsequent post.
During the mid-day hours of day 4 in Bisti, my son and I scouted in the northern area of Bisti. The unofficial parking area for access to this area is several miles north of the official south parking lot and it is on Navaho land.
A short distance along the dirt road access to the “unofficial” parking area is another spur road going south. This road leads to a rocky drainage crossing, which can be made with a high clearance vehicle and maybe best with a 4 wheel drive. We decided not to drive across the drainage or to drive all the way to it, since the dirt road had much broken glass on it. It appears that this area might have been a dumping site for trash at one time.
We hiked across the drainage and towards hills and rocky features a few tenths of a mile in the distance. There we discovered interesting features. We think this area is on BLM land, outside Bisti proper, but maybe some of it is on Navaho land. Where we parked is probably on Navaho land.
My son hiking among some interesting features. North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Although, there are interesting photographic subjects in this area, note the human infrastructure items along the horizon, which will present problems getting compositions that exclude those structures.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of the area in the previous photo is presented above. Note the two steel items. We have no idea what these were used for nor why they are here at this location. It appears that they were designed to lift or hold something. These will present some compositional problems.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A close up view of one of those mysterious steel items is shown above.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The portion of a weathered, petrified log shown above is near the previously photographed features. There is much petrified wood in the Bisti Wilderness, so apparently this was a lush forest area many years ago.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another portion of a petrified log with scattered pieces of weather petrified wood around it. This is very common in this area.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above puts the petrified long into context with the other local features here.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One possible composition that eliminates the nearby human infrastructure is shown here.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another interesting looking hoodoo in this area is shown above. Big mouth rock?
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I named the hoodoo above “Snail Rock” for obvious reason.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of “Snail Rock” is above.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
More petrified wood protruding from the ground.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A small bridge formed by harder rock overlaying softer, faster eroding rock is shown in the photo above. Such features are common in Bisti.
I will have more scouting information for Bisti North proper in a subsequent post.
[Note: None of these scouting photos are posted on Flickr].
While in Farmington, I took advantage of the city amenities to do laundry, have a simple restaurant meal and acquire a few more provisions, including food, water and filling my spare fuel containers, before heading to Bisti.
Upon arriving at the parking area for the southern access into Bisti/De Na Zin, I noted only a few visitors were there; but with the eminent weekend, I expected more soon and, indeed, more began to arrive as I set up.
I parked in a north-south direction near the back end of the parking lot and began installation of my solar panels on the roof rack, being sure to secure them well, since it was quite windy. Normally, I would move the solar panels during the day to get the most power possible from them, but with them on the roof and the required tying down, it would not be convenient to move them, so I just left them facing south at about 45 degrees to the roof rack. It turns out that this arrangement was sufficient to keep the house batteries charged, as I did not have to resort to running the engine at anytime.
The Sportsmobile with solar panels on the roof rack and the Penthouse raised. iPhone photo.
The photo above was actually taken near the end of our stay in Bisti.
I met and chatted with a few of the visitors Friday afternoon before heading into the wilderness area. It was a windy, cloudy day with a considerable wind chill, even though the air temperature was not so cold. I knew the possibilities for late day light were slim, but I went out late in the day, just in case. I wanted to explore new areas, anyway. If nothing else, I would be able to scout possible places to return to in more favorable photographic conditions.
An interesting feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I spotted the small hoodoos/toadstools in the above photo high up on a hill top. There was no direct way to get to these. So I hiked around this area for awhile, eventually finding a not prohibitively steep slope to climb up a hillside from which I hoped to be able to work my way to these features.
Interesting features in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view to the east in the above photo is at the top of the hill that I climbed. I continued walking along the hill top to the west, looking for access to the interesting features that I had spotted from the valley below.
Scouting Photo, Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
On the northern side of the hilltop, I spotted this small wash with emerging hoodoos.
Working the area scouting photo in Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view to the south of the hill, overlooking the area through which I hiked, to get here was quite good.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
After a short hike along the ridge, I came upon the features for which I was looking. I wanted to be on the far side of these at sunset. Carefully walking around so as not to damage anything or leave footprints, which I did not want in a photo, I looked for a safe way to the other side. The drop off on the right side, I deemed too steep for a safe descent; but I could walk along on the left edge of the ridge past the hoodoos and the slope below was not excessively steep.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
It is always a good idea to look at a photographic subject from various view points to find the best possible vantage point, so I took a number of iPhone photos as I worked around this area. One might note that these natural features can look much different from different view points.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A view from just below the feature from the west side.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another possible composition from the west side.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
And a wider view from the west side.
One of my concerns at this location was where my shadow would appear as the sun went low into the sky. So I thought I probably would need to go a bit more down the slope below this feature.
A view from just below this feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view above is a bit deceptive. This photo is not taken from as far away a view point as it appears. From this point of view, I can see several different places along the slope from which to shoot and possibly eliminate my shadow from the composition.
Since I still had plenty of time prior to sunset, I continued to explore the area.
A view from a hillside in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another possible feature to shoot from the top of the ridge is shown in the above photo.
I continued back down into the valley below, since it appeared that the increasing cloud cover was not promising for late day photos. I eventually set up to shoot one of the large colorful bluffs and waited for the sunlight to peek out from underneath the clouds.
I was rewarded with really good light for a brief moment, only to see that my shadow was a prominent feature in my composition. There had been no shadow due to cloud cover, when I set up my shot. I worked quickly to modify my composition, but the sunlight vanished more quickly.
Soon I gave up hope for more light and headed back towards the parking area hoping to avoid hiking too long in the dark.
About half way back to the parking area, the sun made a brief appearance. I turned around to see the desert lit up by great light and I hastily set up to attempt a shot.
Late day sunlight briefly illuminates the Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
With such an interesting sky, I put the horizon roughly in the middle, which is generally not a good idea. I considered cropping this image, looking at various scenarios, but in the end I liked the original composition better than the crop possibilities. I think the little drainage wash coming in from the bottom right leads the eye into this image, then the diagonal lines formed by the vegetation and their shadows adds to this effect.
After this shot, I quickly tried another composition with one of the red hills in it, but the light faded quickly.
Late day sunlight briefly illuminates Bisti wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Note that in this image I included much more of the sky and less of the desert foreground, since the light was much more dramatic on the clouds in the sky.
Maybe had I gone back up the hillside to the little hoodoo/toadstool area, I might have gotten a good shot, if I had been prepared and waited patiently for the light. Then I would certainly be hiking out in the dark, but that is not a big deal here.
Even though this afternoon’s photographic excursion was disappointing, my expectations had not been high and I had found places to revisit again at another time. Such is the life of a landscape photographer.
