IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Monday, December 26, 2011

Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year I was off from work on Monday. What better way to spend the day than searching for more rock art near Moab? However, this was no ordinary Moab rock art trip; this time Marty had received permission from a friend of his so that we could access some petroglyphs from his private property.

After finding a way down the snow covered slickrock to this point, we started the climb back up the other side. If this ladder weren’t here, we never would have had a chance. Even with the ladder, there were still a few other sections that were kind of tricky to climb up for us.

Keep Out by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Marty took this photo of me climbing up from the ladder. It was still tricky to climb up the crack from this point.

Climbing by Marty, on Flickr

Marty admires the first large panel of petroglyphs we visited. There were a ton of them here!

Admiring the Big Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Arches National Park
Sunday, December 18, 2011

For the past few years Amanda and I have kind of made it a tradition to head over to Arches National Park near the Christmas holiday. This year we were able to get down there the Sunday before. The first thing we do when we get to the park is drive over to Devils Garden and hike over to Landscape Arch, just to make sure it’s still there…it is! 😉

After hiking to Landscape Arch we also visited Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Sand Dune Arch, Broken Arch and the Windows section of the park. We love visiting Arches in the middle of the winter since there are so few people there. Usually the trails are covered with snow and ice which can make things slippery, but because of our warmer winter there wasn’t much snow or ice around this year.

I decided to process most of the images from the day in black and white. It’s something a little different for me, and also something I need more practice doing. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below.

Fins in the Devils Garden area as we hiked to Landscape Arch.

Fins by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The view through Pine Tree Arch.

Pine Tree Arch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

In the warmer months, Sand Dune Arch is usually crawling with people. We had it all to ourselves today.

Sand Dune Arch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Hidden Valley & Moab Rim Loop
Saturday, December 17, 2011

On Saturday, Marty and I set out to hike the Hidden Valley and Moab Rim Loop. We had both hiked Hidden Valley before, and driven the Moab Rim trail in our Jeeps, but we both had wanted to hike the whole loop in one shot. Not only so we could enjoy the scenery on a nice winter day, but also so that we could revisit some rock art sites and hopefully find some new ones.

There was a layer of snow on the ground in Hidden Valley, but once we got up above the pass there wasn’t much of it.

Hidden Valley by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There are many excellent petroglyphs found in the Hidden Valley area, but this figure is one of my favorites.

Inside by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A wider view of the panel.

Inside Out Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

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