IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Thursday – Sunday, January 3-6, 2013

We’ve had a very cold start to the year so I’ve been staying close to home more than I usually do. Since that’s the case, I’ve been spending my free time trying to make some more unique images of locations I’ve photographed before, plus I’ve been trying to find some new locations around the Grand Valley. Here’s a few photos from the past couple of days.

I drove up to the Independence Monument viewpoint after work on Thursday and stuck around after the sun had dropped below the horizon so I could catch the Earth Shadow above the Book Cliffs.

Island Earth Shadow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Then I stayed a little longer for a photo of Independence Monument in the twilight with the lights of Grand Junction in the background.

Independence Monument Twilight by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

On Saturday morning I was up early to photograph the sunrise photo along the Colorado River in De Beque Canyon. As I was taking a few photos in the early dawn light a man with a dog approached me. At first, I assumed he was out for a walk along the river, but then he mentioned to me that he and some friends were hunting ducks nearby and would be shooting right over the area I was in. I decided it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to stick around, so I hiked back to my Jeep and got out of there so that I could find somewhere else to watch the sun come up.

Dawn in De Beque Canyon along the Colorado River.

Winter River by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Sunday, December 30, 2012

This is it! My final trip report from 2012. I sure hope 2013 is at least as good to me as 2012 was.

For my final trip of the year I had the urge to get out snowshoeing again, except I didn’t want to just head up onto the Grand Mesa again. I wanted to try somewhere new that still wasn’t too far away from home. I realized that I hadn’t made it to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park all year and I know they have some snowshoe trails near the Visitor’s Center, so I thought it would be a great place to check out.

I left my house bright and early and arrived at the park well before sunrise. Let me tell you, it was cold and windy! I hiked around until I found a view into the canyon I liked and waited for the sun to come up.

Black Canyon Dawn by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The Gunnison River far below.

Gunnison River by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When the sun broke free of the horizon, it lit up the rim of the canyon.

Black Canyon Sunrise by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Friday, December 28, 2012

With the full moon out tonight, I thought it would be fun to head up to the Colorado National Monument again and try to get a few photos of the canyons and spires lit by the moonlight with the city lights of Grand Junction and Fruita in the background. Thanks to an inversion, the temperatures in the valley were pretty cold but, it was much nicer up on the Monument.

Looking down Wedding Canyon towards Fruita. Independence Monument dominates the foreground.

City Lights by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the Pipe Organ, Sentinel Spire and Window Rock.

Window Rock Night by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I really like this one with the snow, shadows and faint stars.

Winter’s Embrace by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Christmas Eve | Monday, December 24, 2012

On Christmas Eve it snowed all day which is a little unusual for the Grand Valley. When I got out of work, I thought it would be a good idea to drive up to the Colorado National Monument and take some photos in the snowstorm. I knew the road on top was closed because of the weather, so I went in via the Fruita entrance so I could at least drive to the Independence Monument Viewpoint. Some may find these photos boring and bland and much different from my typical ‘colorful’ images, but I was trying to create something more unique from these locations that I frequently visit and photograph. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the following images in the comments section.

As I drove up the snow-covered switchbacks, I had to pull over and stop for a photo of Balance Rock in the snow.

Balance Rock Snowstorm by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

My first stop was at the Independence Monument Viewpoint.

Tracks by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Independence Monument in the snow.

Independence Monument Snowstorm by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday & Sunday, December 15-16, 2012

Each year Amanda and I take a trip to Arches National Park around Christmas time. It’s become kind of a tradition for us. This year we planned the trip two weekends before Christmas because of Amanda’s work schedule closer to the holiday. Some years we only go down for a day trip, but this year we got a hotel room in Moab and spent the full weekend.

On Saturday morning we left bring at early from Grand Junction so that we could make it to the park for sunrise. Unfortunately, the sky was very overcast this morning, so there wasn’t a sunrise. Instead, we decided to stop and hike the Park Avenue trail when we arrived. It’s been a few years since I hiked this short trail, but Amanda had not hiked it before. We started at the bottom and hiked to the top before returning the same way. It was pretty cold and windy out, plus we got rained on a few times, but we did have the trail to ourselves.

Looking back at The Organ from the slickrock wash this overcast morning.

Organ View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The Organ with Balanced Rock on the horizon.

Organ & Balance by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Next up we stopped at the Courthouse Wash bridge and hiked up to Ring Arch. Neither of us had been here before, so it was nice to visit a new arch this trip.

Ring Arch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr