Western USA – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Utah – March 2026 – Part 1 – Plan C

It is spring (or almost) and time for another spring trip with my oldest son. Traveling in the U.S. for outdoor activities in the spring, one always has to consider the weather at potential destinations.

The initial plan this year was to fly into Portland, Oregon, drive to Cannon Beach for photography along the Oregon coastline, knowing that the typical rainy weather along the coast might result in last minute changes, and it did. The forecast for the time interval available for this trip was for cool, rainy, overcast weather every day, which can offer some opportunities for photography, but might not be so pleasant every day. So cancel plan A. Move to Plan B.

Plan B was to go to the same area as last year, where there were still some possibilities to see and photograph in some locales not visited during previous trips. Then a few days before executing Plan B, Plan C came up. Plan C was to explore an area of Utah seen superficially and partially, when passing through on the way to other destinations. Plan C was executed.

I drove two long days to reach the first destination, a first come first serve, free camping area on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) public land not far off of I70 west of Green River, Utah. This area is said to be popular with off roaders and I wanted to be sure to get here to find a campsite before the weekend crowd arrived. As it turned out, while there were a few scattered campers, including those hauling their offroad vehicles, there was no large crowd and I easily found a suitable campsite, somewhat secluded from others.

I shot the sunset panorama standing on the roof rack of my vehicle. If one looks closely, the tops of a few other campers can be seen in this image.

My son met me here to begin our exploration, making this our initial home base. Before he arrived, I had some time to walk around this area, shooting desert scenes with my iPhone. So stay tuned for part 2 to see some of those images.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 9

This is the final installment of photography in the area of Southern Utah known as ‘White Rocks’.

‘Rocky Slope’ give an indication of the environment one must navigate to photograph in this area.

‘Leaving White Rocks 1’ was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page.

And that’s a wrap,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 8

This is a continuation of multiple shoots in an area of Southern Utah known as ‘White Rocks’.

This first image on the Flickr Explore page.

To be continued,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 7

We returned to the area refered to as White Rocks in Southern Utah for an early morning shoot. I switched from the Nikon D850 and 24-70mm lens to the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z14-24mm for this shoot.

To be continued,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 5

More photography in an area known as White Rocks in Southern Utah.

This group of hoodoos seem to be looking about for the fallen head of the headless stump in the background.

There are many of these “Flat Top” hoodoos in this area and many headless ones as those flat tops eventually fall off.

The square shape of the head on this hoodoo looks as if it could have been purposely shaped. Getting this image with that georgeous sky behind it was a bonus.

Maybe those rocks in the foreground are from previous hoodoos here?

The creases and lines in these rocks remind me of baked rolls.

As the various layers of rock erode and collapse from a wall here, interesting textural features are created with lines, shapes and fractures.

The sunlight disappears well before sunset over most of this erroded valley, limiting the opportunity for golden hour light.

Shooting from “behind” these hoodoos, looking down and over the valley of their dominion, seeing that valuey as they see it.

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more White Rocks photography,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 4

More photos from Southern Utah, March 2025.

If one looks very closely, for a sense of scale, there is a photographer in the upper left of this image.

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more Utah landscape photographs,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 3

This post is a continuation of photography in Southern Utah in March 2025.

What’s on the agenda for today’s meeting? Maybe the weather, since that is critical to the formation of these rock features and for their survival.

Stay tuned for more Rocking the Rocks in Southern Utah,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 2

This post is a continuation of photography in an area of Southern Utah that is commonly referred to as “White Rocks”. There are many interesting rock features in this area.

I have to admit to cheating a little in the editing of this first image. In the original image there was a big rock where the two in the foreground are now. I found that single, large rock distracting, so I used Lightroom’s AI tool to break that rock into smaller rocks. This tool is often used to remove objects, but it can also modify objects. the tool creates three choices from which to choose at each activation and one can repeat the activation, if none of the choices are desirable. I could have completely removed that big rock, but that did not seem appropriate, so I chose this broken rock alternative, which I think fits better with the other rocks in the “Broken Circle”. Some will object to this blatant modification of a landscape, but I’ve finally gotten to the point of seeing such photography as much as art as in faithfully copying what nature provides. So I’m ok with modifications, within reasonable limits and we have to use our own judgment as to what is “reasonable”.

Geologist refer to these rock features as “hoodoos” or “toadstools”. To me the rock atop the pedestal in the foreground here looks like a toad. So Maybe this is a “Toad’s Stool”.

I titled this “Parent and Child”, but I can also see it as a dog with its tail sticking up. Some people’s pareiodlia may see it otherwise, but in the end it is another of natures marvelous creations, no matter how we perceive it.

This hoodoo, supported by many rock layers, seems to be looking down into the valley at those which lie below its lofty perch.

I made this second image of “Parent and Child” a few minutes after the first, composing from a different angle. Within those few minutes, the sky in the background had changed significantly due to the windy conditions, illustrating how a minor change in view point and changing environmently conditions can affect a photograph.

Just a pair of stylish, cartoon like hoodoos in Southern Utah.

A close up of the hoodoo with the pink bonnet in the previous image and a conversion to monochrome, give a completly different interpretation to this scene.

Getting into a position to make this image was not easy. Steep slopes with gravel size rock chips and thin layers of sand over the hard rock surface and other obstacles, made moving around treacherous and positioning awkward.

These hoodoos are the same one presented in individual photos. Grouping these into one shot, I’m imagining a father, child and mother in these rock shapes, all peering down into the valley below.

Another group of hoodoos that look like a family unit. Dad in the background, mom on the right, casting a sideways look at the child in a curious manner.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more Southern Utah landscapes,

Ken

Buckskin Gulch

This is a continuation of hiking and photography in Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch slot canyons in Southern Utah in March 2025.

Upon exiting Wire Pass Slot Canyon, we turned right, proceeding into Buckskin Gulch.

The numerous rocks strewn over the canyon floor in Buckskin Gulch give evidence of the violence of currents that periodically rage through this canyon.

The sky and canyon walls are reflected in this muddy puddle, including the upper portion of the wall with the glow of midmorning light. We were able to pass this puddle by using the rocks on the left as stepping stones, then making a big step to the right onto a large boulder at the far end of the puddle.

More pebbles and boulder in the pathway. This seems typical of Buckskin Gulch. Evidently, more water flows through this canyon than through Wire Pass.

The next puddle we came to was deeper and had no convenient stepping stones in it to facilitate passing without wading in the very cold water. This was an obvious turn around point for us, as we were not prepared to wade through the cold water. A small tour group turned around here, too; but one intrepid old fellow stripped down to his underwear and waded through. He moaned and groaned all the way through, then again as he apparently had to repeat the process at another puddle that we could not see around the bend here.

I made a number of images at this turn around puddle to capture the details in the canyon wall, the red, golden glow ahead and the reflections in the puddle.

It was a bit more awkward making that first step back across this first puddle, because of the location of the first boulder on the far side. I had to think about how to approach that first step, since a poor choice of step would put me into the cold water and maybe an unplanned cold bath. Once back on this side, I turned to get a parting shot with more of the canyon walls in this one. The dynamic range of light in these canyons creates a challenge getting a good exposure, so I bracketed several shots with different exposure settings, then combined those images into this one High Dynamic Range processed image.

After our shortened hike into Buckskin Gulch to the south of the Wire Pass exit, we hiked into the northern portion, which tends to be wider than the part to the south.

We soon came to another big, muddy puddle, at which we elected to turn around. Footprints in the mud attest to others wading on through the cold water. There was not as much water in this canyon the first time we visited here years ago and we were able to easily hike further into each of these portions back then.

After turning around here, we went back through Wire Pass, returning to the parking lot and then back to our campsite to plan the rest of the day.

Until next time,

Ken

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 11 – Strike Valley

We returned to the southern portion of Capitol Reef National Park to photograph Strike Valley in the late afternoon with the intention of photographing from somewhere along the switchbacks (numerous sharp turns on the roadway as it climbs steeply from the valley). There were no safe and suitable places to park along the switchbacks, so we settled for shooting from an area above the switchbacks.

Strike Valley View, above the Burr Trail Road Switchbacks, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

In viewing some of these photographs now, I’m thinking some could benefit from cropping portions of the sky, but when I edited these, I was wanting to show the big open sky. Maybe that was a mistake, but I’m not going to change these now.

More later,

Ken

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Tag: Western USA

Utah – March 2026 – Part 1 – Plan C

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Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 9

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Buckskin Gulch

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Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 11 – Strike Valley

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