IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Arizona Strip & Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 4
Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Since there weren’t really any good places nearby to photograph sunrise, we slept in a little later on Tuesday morning. After a little breakfast we packed up camp and took the rough Jeep road to it’s end where we would start our hike. Our destination for today would be to the top of Flag Point in the Vermilion Cliffs of the Grand Staircase. Jared and I had wanted to try this hike last year, but were unable to squeeze it in. From what I understand, most people that have made this trek hike up from the base of the cliff and are able to find a way up, however we thought that we would try to hike from the backside. It was probably a longer hike, but it involved less steep climbing.

The view towards Kanab from the top of Flag Point.

Flag Point View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After visiting the point we started hiking along the rim in search of a dinosaur track site.

Rim Hiking by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Jared taking a photo looking back at Flag Point.

Leaving Flag Point by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Arizona Strip & Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 3
Monday, October 8, 2012

On Monday morning we got up early and wandered over to The White Pocket again to catch the sunrise. We arrived plenty early to try and catch the pre-sunrise glow, which was amazing!

There’s sometimes an amazing glow that really brings out the colors in the sandstone about 10-20 minutes before sunrise. You can see it with your eyes, but a long exposure really brings it out in your photos.

Radiate by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Interesting shapes and lines in this formation and nice clouds in the sky. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions.

Awake by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

White Pocket Butte lights up with alpenglow right before the sun comes up.

White Pocket Alpenglow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Arizona Strip & Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 2
Sunday, October 7, 2012

On Sunday we had permits to visit Coyote Buttes South. I spent a few hours in Coyote Buttes South back in February, but was looking forward to exploring more of the area today. We woke up extra early this morning so that we could get over to Cottonwood Cove before the sun came up. Aside from one small patch of clouds at sunrise, the sky was totally clear all day, so I spent much of the day searching out intimate scenes that showcased the unusual and colorful sandstone found here.

My first destination was at this very interesting rock known as Half & Half. I wanted to get a photo of this one in the soft dawn light.

Half by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s that one small patch of clouds we saw in the morning over another colorful and strange rock.

A Few Clouds by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When the sun finally came up we made our way over towards the Control Tower.

Control Tower by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Arizona Strip & Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 1
Saturday, October 6, 2012

On Saturday morning I left home to begin my annual fall trip to Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip. I met up with Jared in Moab so he could load his gear for the week into my Jeep and then we continued the drive south. Our destination this evening would be another visit to The White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. As we were driving, we realized that it was exactly one year to the date that we first visited The White Pocket. We didn’t plan it out this way, it just happened by coincidence.

After a quick stop in Page for some dinner we arrived at The White Pocket just a few short hours before sunset. We grabbed our cameras and started exploring this wonderful area. The light was just starting to get nice when we arrived and it only got better throughout the evening. Except for a short time close to sunset when one other person showed up for a little while, we had the place to ourselves.

If you love strange sandstone formations, this is the place for you!

Swirl by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a long ‘wave’ bathed in warm afternoon light.

Long Wave by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Great views all around…

White Pocket View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Stud Horse Point, Water in The Wave & The North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Labor Day Weekend | Friday – Monday, August 31 – September 3, 2012

The phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ has long been used to describe rare or absurd happenings, which is definitely how I would classify this extended weekend trip. As an added bonus, this weekend was also host to a Blue Moon on Friday night, which won’t happen again until 2015. A few months ago I scored another set of permits to Coyote Buttes North, and after asking Amanda if she wanted to go again (she declined since she knew she would probably be working that weekend), I asked Jared if he would like to come along for the weekend. He was up for the adventure, so we planned the weekend around our trip to The Wave.

I only worked a half day on Friday so that we could leave a bit early and make it down to the area in time to catch the sunset. Jared drove down from the Salt Lake area to meet me at my house so he could load his gear into my Jeep and drive down with me. Once the Jeep was packed, we hit the pavement and started driving south. Very quickly into the drive I noticed my Jeep was feeling pretty bouncy whenever we hit a bump. It turns out one of my rear shocks was bad and causing this little issue. A bad shock is far from a reason to cancel a trip, but I did have to drive a little bit slower on the highways than I would have liked…just to be on the safe side.

As we reached Page after our long drive, a storm was approaching the area over the Vermilion Cliffs and creating some scenic conditions. We found a place to pull of the road and take a few photos. There were crepuscular rays filtering down through the clouds over the Vermilion Cliffs.

Rays by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Rain was falling in the distance and lit up by sunlight.

Rain by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

We grabbed a very quick dinner in Page and tried to continue to our destination on Stud House Point for the sunset, but along the way we started seeing a lot of interesting light and lightning from the approaching storm, so we made a detour to the Wahweap Overlook so we could take a few photos.

Light striking the bands of cliffs in Lake Powell.

Layers of Light by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr