IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Death Valley Trip 2013 | Day 2
Sunday, February 10, 2013

After a good night of sleep my alarm woke me up before the sun was expected to rise. When I got out of my tent I noticed that some thin clouds had moved in overnight and the sky was completely overcast. I had originally planned to spend some time photographing Little Finland this morning, but with the overcast skies I decided to cancel those plans. Instead, I had a little breakfast, packed up my camp and started driving towards my next destination- the Falling Man petroglyph site.

On my way to the Falling Man site I drove right by Devil’s Throat, so I stopped for a quick look. It’s a giant sinkhole in the desert floor. This is not a good photo, but I’m posting it up anyway since I bothered to stop here.

Devil’s Throat by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When I made my plans to spend the first weekend of my trip in the Gold Butte region I really thought that the Kohta Circus petroglyphs were going to be the highlight of my visit. I was wrong. I had a lot more fun exploring the area around the Falling Man petroglyph. Not only were there petroglyphs to be found everywhere I looked, there was also colorful sandstone all over the place. It was like walking through a colorful maze searching for rock art around every corner! I spent more time in this area than I had anticipated and look forward to returning again in the future.

A photo of colorful sandstone in a small alcove reminiscent of scenes found at the Valley of Fire.

Color by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

To access the rock art I had to first crawl through this passage in the rock. The petroglyphs lead the way.

Petroglyph Passage by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Death Valley Trip 2013 | Day 1
Saturday, February 9, 2013

It’s been an unusually long and cold winter this year in Grand Junction. That’s why I’m glad I started planning my first trip to Death Valley a few months earlier. It would be nice to get out hiking and camping in temperatures that were a bit warmer than back at home. Though my main destination on this week-long trip would be Death Valley, I planned on spending the first weekend exploring a few locations in Nevada. On Saturday morning I left home bright and early and started my drive west.

As I approached Salina the sun started to come up and painted the clouds above a pink hue. I pulled over for a quick photo over the interstate.

Salina Sunrise by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A layer of fresh snow that fell overnight coated the landscape and caught my attention.

Fresh Snow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When I reached St. George I needed to get out of the Jeep and stretch my legs a bit. I drove over to Anasazi Ridge along the Santa Clara River and hiked to a few petroglyphs.

Two large rectangular-bodied bighorn sheep.

Two Big Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Moab Area Rock Art XXII
Saturday, December 1, 2012

On Saturday I drove down to Moab to meet up with Marty again for some hiking and exploring. He’s going to be moving to Grand Junction at the beginning of the new year, so we wanted to get at least one more hike in before he got busy with the move. Over the last year Marty had come across some new rock art sites while out exploring the area, so today he was going to show me some of them.

I managed to time my drive to Moab so that I was near the Fisher Towers at sunrise.

Fisher Silhouette by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Highway 128 through the Richardson Amphitheater at sunrise.

128 by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I stopped along the Colorado River as the early morning light was striking the cliffs on the other side.

Colorado Morning by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I’ve driven the River Road to Moab many times over the years and have never seen a bighorn sheep along this stretch before. That would change this morning since this guy was standing on the shoulder of the road as I approached. I pulled over and changed my lens to get this shot before he climbed back up into the cliffs to join the rest of the group.

Climbing Ram by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

On Saturday morning I was up and driving towards the Abajo Mountains well before the sun was ready to come up. My destination for the day was Fable Valley. I wanted to squeeze in a quick dayhike before snow would make the roads impassable and I wouldn’t be able to return until the spring. I had heard there was a specific pictograph panel I’ve been searching for hidden in the canyon and I hoped to find it this year.

There were some clouds and storms in the area as the sun came up. I happened to be driving in Indian Creek Canyon at the time and stopped to take a few photos.

Morning Storm by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Great spotlighting.

Bridger Jack Spotlight by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Indian Creek Canyon Road by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Veterans Day | Monday, November 12, 2012

After spending a great weekend exploring The Paria Plateau it was time to start our drive back home. Before we left I thought it might be a good idea to finally check out Upper Antelope Canyon. I’ve seen plenty of photos from this well-known location but have always avoided it because of the large crowds of people that visit. I was hoping that since this was the “off season” it wouldn’t be too busy. Was I wrong! There were quite a few different groups of people in there. I was expecting there to be other people in the slot canyon, so I had prepared myself for it and wasn’t too bothered by it. I just planned to take most of my photos looking up out of the slot where other people wouldn’t get in the shot. However, what really frustrated the hell out of me was that many of these people were taking pictures with their point and shoot cameras that used a red focus-assist light that ruined most of my shots. Upper Antelope Canyon may be one of the most beautiful slot canyons in the world, but I highly doubt that I will ever be returning. It’s just not worth it to me.

Here’s a few of the photos I was able to get while I was in the slot canyon.

Enter by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Light Stripe by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Upper Antelope by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr