IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 22, 2012

On Thanksgiving Day I got out of the house for a few hours and headed over to Devil’s Canyon for a nice dayhike. One of my friends had tipped me off about the location of a petroglyph in the area, so I decided to try and find it.

I had no problem finding the petroglyph I was looking for.

Round Man by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a wider view showing the damage that was caused when someone tried to steal this petroglyph in the past. Thankfully they were not successful, though they left a scar that will never go away.

Damage by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After finding the petroglyph I hiked the loop trail up Devil’s Canyon.

Devil’s Canyon 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
 

The 2013 City of Grand Junction calendar has been out for a little while now, so I thought I’d make a quick post to show off my photos that were chosen. Each year the City of Grand Junction creates a calendar that they send out to everyone in the city. This is the first year I have submitted photos for use in this calendar since I didn’t have many local photos that I thought were good enough to submit before. I made an effort over the last year to concentrate on making some local images so that I could finally submit a few. They ended up choosing two of my photos for the calendar, so I guess the extra effort paid off.

I have a small photo of a Ute petroglyph panel in Big Dominguez Canyon for the month of February, which is nice since my birthday is also in February.

The second photo they chose is one of my favorites from this last monsoon season at the Colorado National Monument. Even though this photo is at the very end, it’s the only other full-sized photo in the calendar besides the cover. Plus, if anyone is looking up a city phone number they will see it. 😉

If you do not live within the city limits but would like to pick up a copy of the calendar, you can also stop by and get one for free at City Hall.

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
 

Since I’m pretty sure my camping season is over for this year, I thought it would be fun to share photos of some of my campsites. I ended up camping 41 nights this year which is well over a month spent sleeping out in the backcountry. I’m looking forward to trying to beat that number in 2013. Two of those nights were spent sleeping out under the stars on my Tent Cot without the tent part setup, which was a first for me.

Muley Point, April 2012

Big Dominguez Canyon, April 2012

Peekaboo, May 2012

Gray Copper Gulch, June 2012

Cottonwood Canyon, July 2012

Stevens Gulch, July 2012

Paradise Divide, July 2012
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