IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Lunar Eclipse, Sand Flats & Mill Creek
Saturday, December 10, 2011

I left my house early on Saturday morning so I could photograph the lunar eclipse just before the sunrise. I didn’t plan on going to any specific location, so I figured that I would stop somewhere between Grand Junction and Moab, since I was headed back to Moab again to search for rock art with Marty. As I drove west on I-70 I was able to watch the eclipse as the earths shadow grew larger on the full moon. When I reached the Yellow Cat exit I decided to get off the highway and take a side road to find a place to take some photos. It was pretty cold out this morning and my hands were freezing. I tried to keep my gloves on as much as possible, but kept having to remove them to change the settings on my camera.

From the Yellow Cat area I was able to get this shot of the almost fully eclipsed moon over the Book Cliffs. I tried to get a photo when it was closer to the Book Cliffs, but the haze in the atmosphere made the moon pretty much completely disappear shortly after I took this photo.

Eclipse Over the Book Cliffs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After packing up my tripod and warming my hands up in the Jeep I turned around to head back to the interstate and continue my drive to Moab. Just before the sun was up I took this photo of the two-track I was on as the sky turned pink.

Morning Two-Track by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Driving back to I-70 on the Yellow Cat Road with the La Sal Mountains in the background.

Yellowcat by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

D1 & D5 Loop
Sunday, December 4, 2011

After spending Saturday in Moab, I decided to stick close to home on Sunday and go for a hike in the Devils Canyon area near Fruita. I’ve hiked here a couple of times before, but still haven’t checked out all the trails in the area.

Many of the main hiking trails in the area are old roads.

Old Road by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

An interesting sandstone formation.

Sandstone by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Unusual erosion.

Strange Rock by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

After spending the last two days exploring Utah, I decided to stay close to home on Sunday. I have wanted to revisit the petroglyph panels in Big Dominguez Canyon, so I headed over to Bridgeport in the morning and started hiking. I had a later start than usual and was surprised to find that no one else was parked at the trailhead when I arrived.

Shortly after leaving the trailhead and following the railroad tracks, I reached the bridge over the Gunnison River.

Bridgeport by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I took a few photos of the shadows created by the bridge as I crossed.

Bridge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Bridge Shadows by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

I went on many awesome adventures in 2011 and posted many trip reports and photos from them here and over on ADVENTR.CO. Here are my top five favorite trip reports from the last year.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

After a great long Thanksgiving Weekend I headed back to Moab with my friend Jackson so that we could hike and search for some new rock art panels. I had high hopes of finding many new panels and was not disappointed!

Shortly after starting our hike we came across this excellent panel. There are a few very interesting figures found here.

Mill Creek Man Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I really wonder what that seven-legged figure in the middle could possibly be?

Anthropomorphs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This anthropomorph has very large hands and an even larger headdress.

Mill Creek Man by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr