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입력 2008.10.21 10:13 수정 2008.10.21 10:13 댓글 0개
epa01526277 An undated University of Utah handout photo made available on 21 October 2008 of geologist Winston Seiler with some of the dinosaur tracks he identified for his thesis as a University of Utah master's degree student. The impressions near Coyote Buttes North, Utah, USA, once were thought to be potholes eroded by water. But Seiler and Marjorie Chan, chair of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, published a scientific paper in the October 2008 issue of the journal Palaios identifying the abundant impressions as comprising a large dinosaur "trample surface." There are so many tracks they wryly refer to the site as "a dinosaur dance floor." EPA/UNIVERSITY OF UTAH / HO EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Coyote Buttes is a section of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), spanning extreme south-central Utah and north-central Arizona, south of US 89 halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. It is divided into two areas: Coyote Buttes North and Coyote Buttes South. Visiting either of the Coyote Buttes areas requires purchasing a hiking permit.
The Coyote Buttes area is an exposure of cross-bedded aeolian Jurassic Navajo Sandstone.[1] The variable coloration of the sandstones is a result of various iron oxide pigments within the layers. A dinosaur trackway or trample surface is found in the area and provides evidence of a variety of dinosaurs.[1] The area includes dramatic swirling erosional rock formations such as The Wave.
The Wave and Buckskin Gulch share the Wire Pass Trailhead on House Rock Valley Road.
The dinosaur trackway within the area is a site of 0.75 acres (3,000 m2) that has densely packed dinosaur footprints within the area. The trackway contains more than 1,000 footprints which were made approximately 190 million years ago.[2] Tracks of three genera of Eubrontes, Anchisauripus and Grallator are present along with a Sauropodomorph that has not been identified.[1]
Coordinates: 36°58′04″N 112°00′41″W / 36.9677632°N 112.0112907°W / 36.9677632; -112.0112907
The Wave is located in the Coyote Buttes North area of the Arizona Strip. There are two great photographic locations in Coyote Buttes North (The Wave and The Second Wave) and numerous minor ones including Top Rock Arch, Melody Arch and the Grotto, the Hooters, The Alcove, Sand Cove, and Fatali's Boneyard. The Wave is best photographed midday so as to minimize the extensive shadows, the other areas listed above are best photographed mid-late afternoon.
The South Buttes also has many good features and is well worth visiting, as is the White Pocket and Edmaier's Secret. It can be difficult to get a permit to see the Wave. During the best months (April, May, September, October) there can be over 150 people applying for the ten daily permits. In the other months you usually have less than a 50% chance of getting one at the daily lottery. Your chances are better if you're going alone, or in December - February. If you do not win the lottery I suggest you get one for Coyote Buttes South, or go to the White Pocket which is east of Coyote Buttes South. I know of one person who was lost overnight in Coyote Buttes South, so use a GPS, mark the trailhead, and stay with your party. While a two wheel drive vehicle is adequate for the North Buttes, four wheel drive is required for the South due to deep sand. See the Information link above for more details about Coyote Buttes and the Wave.
How could visitor safety at The Wave be best improved? | |
Sedona is one of the premier hiking and mountain biking destinations in the southwest. For those planning a visit I have added KML and GPX files for over 100 Sedona hikes to the Sedona maps page. The files can be downloaded to your GPS or phone and used to help navigate while hiking.
Aztec, New Mexico is the home of Aztec Ruins National Monument, a 450 room ancient pueblo site. Aztec Ruins is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, of which there are only 21 in the United States. The Aztec area is also home to over 300 arches, perhaps the largest concentration of arches in the US outside of Arches National Park. If you are visiting the four corners area Aztec merits a stop, perhaps in combination with the Bisti Badlands, the Durango area, or Mesa Verde. A gallery of images from the Aztec area can be found here, and maps, directions, and photo tips can be found here.
I've added a gallery of images of raptors including Barn, Eagle, Western Screech, and Saw-whet Owls, a Peregrine Falcon, and a Harris's Hawk in flight. Images were shot at Arizona's Raptor Experience in Chino Valley. Most images were shot with a 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens. Subject distance was about 30 feet, f/8, ISO 800. Shutter speeds ranged between 1/1250 and 1/2000 of a second, needed to freeze the motion of the high speed hawk. Leg bands and tracking transmitters were removed from some of the images using Photoshop.
Strange but true, a new arch with a span probably exceeding 40 feet was reported just 2/3 of a mile from The Wave. Dick Kent, of Centennial, Colorado recently sent me an image of the arch together with the 1996 trip log from his visit to the arch. The arch appears to be unreported, at least to me and many of my friends. The arch is quite elegant and reminds me of Cobra Arch, but is larger. I assigned the arch an identification number (NABSQNO) of 12S-409531-4095398 based on its UTM coordinates. The top of the arch can be seen in Google Earth. Despite being less than a mile from The Wave I believe the arch was unknown because access requires hiking up the apparently uninteresting wash you cross on the way to The Wave, and gaining 600 feet of elevation, all off-trail and mostly in sand. The arch can only be seen when you’ve hiked to within 200 feet of it.
While the official designation of the newly reported arch is 12S-409531-4095398, I refer to it as Dicks Arch for its discoverer. The area around the arch is quite photogenic and contains a great deal of "lace" rock. Unfortunately Dicks Arch only gets good light mid-day. I am not sure if the arch is in the Coyote Buttes North Permit area. The arch can be accessed from the top of the "sage field" that is crossed on the way to the Wave. Once on top of the sage field proceed due south for about 1.5 miles to the arch at 37.00038, -112.01676. A kml file of my track can be downloaded here and a GPX file here. The hike to Dicks Arch is about 2.5 miles one way, and is largely off-trail over rough terrain. Elevation gain is 700 feet from the WP trailhead. The hike is significantly more difficult than the hike to The Wave, and should only be undertaken by experienced off-trail hikers. Strong hikers may wish to explore the area around the arch more thoroughly, and may be able to gain the ridge that overlooks The Wave from the west. The view to the east from this ridge should be spectacular. Because the area is so remote there is a good chance you will see wildlife, I briefly saw a herd of mule deer near the arch. While I often see deer on House Rock Road, I have never seen deer near The Wave before.
More images of the new arch can be found here.
Death Valley is the largest National Park in the lower 48 states. It is my favorite winter US destination with pleasant temperatures and easy hiking. Many of the best photo opportunities in Death Valley require only short hikes. These include the Mesquite Dunes, the Racetrack, Zabriskie Point, and Badwater. Death Valley's Furnace Creek area is only about two hours from Las Vegas, and Stovepipe Wells is only four hours from Los Angeles. There are three lodges within the park and many campgrounds. This makes it easy to stay within Death Valley most of the year. Exceptions include holiday weekends, and during rare "superblooms" of wildflowers. In short, Death Valley is an easy park to visit with short hikes, pleasant temperatures, and many great photos to be had. And Rhyolite ghost town and the Alabama Hills are less than 90 scenic minutes away. If you haven't visited Death Valley give it a try this Fall or Winter, you'll be glad you did.
I've included a gallery of Death Valley photos here, and maps of Death Valley and shooting tips here.
I rarely get my best photos the first time I visit an area, and often even the second isn't productive. Recently I visted High Heel Arch for the third time. This arch is best late afternoon and near the summer solstice, so I planned my trip accordingly. I went on August 5th, a day with good clouds. High Heel Arch arch suffered a partial collapse in 2014 which greatly improved its looks. It's best side faces north-northeast and the arch should be visited as close to the summer solstice as possible. The arch looks very fragile and I expect it will not last much longer. A gallery of images can be found here. High Heel Arch is about 1/4 mile outside the Coyote Buttes North permit area, and can be visited at any time. Directions to the arch can be found on my Coyote Buttes North maps page.
In the same vein, I visited Margaret Arch for a third time a few weeks ago. I stayed to sunset and hiked out in the dark. Margaret gets light until about ten minutes before sunset, and, like White Mesa Arch at sunrise, gets a beautiful rosy color then. Images of Margaret can be found here.
Last but not least, I've made a few miscellaneous enhancements to the site. First, a small map appears on each gallery page showing where the photos were shot. Since GPS accuracy is typically 10-30 feet do not expect perfection, but the map should give you a good idea where each photo was taken. Second, I've added the time an image was shot to the photo data. For most photos time is given in Universal Time (UT), formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). UT is seven hours ahead of Arizona time all year round, so if the photo data shows a time of 00:40:56 it means 40 minutes, 56 seconds after midnight in Greenwich, England, or about 5:41 PM in Arizona. Since I only started setting my camera's clock to UT in 2012, only rely on the reported time for photos taken since then.
While my photography and health have never been influenced by smoke present in the Page Area, smoke has impacted both in other areas covered by this site. Smoke from wildfires burning near Flagstaff often impacts my home town of Sedona. Current wildfire information is available from the US national Incident Information System (InciWeb.gov) website. I have added links to this system to the Information menu item above. InciWeb provides quick information about both prescribed (i.e. set by management) fires and wildfires including their location, size, % contained, area closures, and prognosis.
I have also added links to air quality / smoke forecast maps. These links were also added to the Information menu above. By default these air quality forecasts display ozone levels, you will need to select "1Hr Average Surface Smoke" to display smoke forecasts. Visibility in areas shown in red on the map is under five miles and smoke levels in the red areas are unhealthy. Smoke level forecasts for particular cities are available via the Point Data tab in the link above. The following table correlates smoke levels with visibility and health impact.
Air Quality | Visibility in Miles | Particles µg/m3 |
Good | 11 and up | 0 - 38 |
Moderate | 6 to 10 | 39 - 88 |
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 3 to 5 | 89 - 138 |
Unhealthy | 1 ½ to 2 ¾ | 139 - 350 |
Very Unhealthy | 1 to 1 ¼ | 351 - 526 |
Hazardous | < 1 mile | over 526 |
Smoke levels are generally highest in canyons / valleys, and at dawn. There were several days this past June when I could not see Courthouse Butte at dawn from my Sedona home less than a mile away. By mid-day most of the smoke had cleared. Based on the table above Sedona air quality was hazardous at dawn. If you must be outdoors on days like this I suggest you wear a P95 or P100 mask. This is especially true if you suffer from asthma or other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
At long last I made it to little known Margaret Arch. Margaret Arch was reportedly discovered by Barry Goldwater and was renamed in 1988 in honor of his late wife. Margaret Arch is unremarkable from a distance, but spectacular when seen close-up from its northwest side. My photos do not do it justice as the arch's best side was in shadow. A 4x4 and permission of a local Navajo leaseholder or local guide is required to visit the arch. A two mile round trip off-trail hike is also necessary. Margaret Arch is best shot at sunset and is a good night photography location. A bit of Margaret's history, shooting recommendations, and a map and directions can be found here. Margaret is a fun trip to unexplored territory and you will almost certainly have the area to yourself.
In Margaret Arch's vicinity is Navajo Stand Rock. Navajo Stand Rock is excellent at both sunrise and sunset, and requires no hiking. A 4x4 is required, as is local leaseholder permission.
Finally, I've added a few images of the June full moon (the "Strawberry Moon") setting inside of White Mesa Arch. The full moon appears inside the northeast side of White Mesa Arch only in June and early July. As always, to capture the full moon setting (sun rising) you should plan to shoot the day after the moon is totally full, so that the sun has already risen and the moon is still above the horizon. My shooting location is shown on the maps page.
I've added many new locations, shooting recommendations, and photos to the Arches section of this website. New locations within Arches National Park include Eye of the Whale Arch, Tower Arch and the Marching Men, and the seldom visited Covert and La Boca Arches. Locations added outside the park include Delta Pool, Faux Falls, Secret Spire, Corona Arch, and Fisher Towers. Delta Pool sits high on a mesa and access is not obvious. Well, no longer. On the Arches Map page you can find GPS coordinates of and a route to a crack near the mesa top which makes access easy. I've also added new images of Mesa Arch and False Kiva, and provided the route to False Kiva.
Southern Utah News has reported that the Arizona/BLM Resource Advisory Council (RAC) has tabled further consideration of the 2015 Draft Management Plan for The Wave. This plan would have replaced the walk-in lottery currently held in Kanab with an on-line lottery. The total number of permits granted would have remained the same. Reportedly the plan was put aside as the BLM did not provide sufficient information for the RAC to vote on it. Local opposition to the proposed plan may have been a factor as well, as the walk-in lottery contributes as much as $6.9 million to the Kanab economy. There are many arguments both in favor of the current system and in favor of an on-line system and I expect that some version of this plan will reemerge in the future. More information about the shelved plan can be found here, and the Southern Utah News article here.
In mid-April I revisited Cape Solitude and was greeted with much better conditions than those of my first trip. Arizona is in the middle of a dry spell so the Little Colorado river was running turquoise, and the light in April is much better than in November. The trip to Cape Solitude requires either a a three hour drive over a very bumpy rocky road, or a 2-3 day backpack. If you choose the drive as I did you'll need high clearance 4WD and should either go with another vehicle or at least a satellite phone or Spot as this area is rarely visited. I suggest you also check the color of the Little Colorado river before embarking on the trip, it should be turquoise. The best way to do this is to call one of the rafting companies in Lees Ferry, or one of the Grand Canyon flightseeing companies. The new images of Cape Solitude can be found here.
The view of Reflection Canyon from the rim is one of the most spectacular in the southwest, and shooting it has been on my bucket list for some time. Last fall Gary Ladd told me of a possible route to the rim from the main channel of Lake Powell. The route would require a two mile round trip hike, instead of the usual sixteen mile off-trail waterless hike from Hole in the Rock Road. Reflection canyon is best seen at low water so I booked a boat trip for mid April when Lake Powell water levels are normally at their lowest. To keep costs minimal seven people were in our group, and we campled on shore. A pontoon boat with a speed of 30 knots was used for transportation. On April 14 we hiked from the lake to the Reflection Canyon rim without much difficulty. While conditions were far from ideal (soft light, windy) and our time was limited we got many good images as seen here. Our Lake Powell map has been updated to show the route to the rim from the lake, and to show the overland track.
During this trip we were on the lake for a total of five days and got many other good images. Our Lake Powell gallery has been updated to include these. To view the new images click on one of the new images buttons found on the right side of each gallery thumbnail page.
Grand Teton National Park is one of the most visited US National Parks drawing nearly three million visitors a year. Despite the crowds it is one of my favorite US destinations, especially in late September when the aspen are changing color and the crowds have started to recede. The imposing Teton mountain range stands lies nearly 7,000 feet above the valley below, and is best shot at sunrise. I've added a gallery of images of the park here, and a map showing various shooting locations here.
I've added many new maps to the site including Sedona and the Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. Topo maps are now available for all Arizona and Utah National Parks. All topo maps on the site are now decollared, and I've created merged USGS 24K topo maps for all areas. The maps distributed by the US National Park Service at entrance stations are now available in geocoded format so you can follow the NPS map on your Android or iPhone as you drive through the park. Instructions have been added on how to decollar maps and how to merge them, and on how to create geocoded national park maps. Finally I've added some notes on creating maps for Garmin devices and discussed the limitations of Garmin custom maps.
The Recapture Pocket is a small area of badlands and hoodoos near Bluff, Utah, reminiscent of Goblin Valley. The badlands are rarely visited except for locals, and there are currently no images on Google Earth of the area. I've added a small gallery of images here, and a map with travel directions and some shooting locations here.
In mid-November I finally visited Cape Solitude. Appropriately named Cape Solitude lies on the east rim of the Grand Canyon. It overlooks the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers 3,000 feet below. It is rarely visited since the normal route involves a two-three day backpack over waterless terrain. Well, there is a largely unknown alternate route via a long drive followed by a moderate hike. This route is described on my Confluence Maps page, and some images taken on a cloudless day can be found in this gallery. Cape Solitude should be visited by every desert rat. The great Edward Abbey wrote of the cape: "There comes a day when a man must hide. Must slip away from the human world and its clutching, insane, insatiable demands." and "Tonight and tomorrow and for the next few days I am going to walk the rim of Cape Solitude, along the palisades of the desert, and save myself." What more can be said.
In early November I took another tour of Lake Powell, this time for ten days. The tour was once again led by Gary Ladd. We visited several new locations and revisited some of the older locations in better light. New locations include the Dominguez Butte area which is best shot at sunset, the hoodoos near Cookie Jar Butte, a very deep alcove off Fiftymile Creek, Rainbow Bridge Creek, and some good viewpoints of Navajo Mountain. The gallery can be found here. Image previews in the gallery have been increased in size to reflect the trends in monitor resolution over time. The revised maps can be found here. Highly recommended.
Going forward I will provide topo maps in Avenza PDF Maps format. PDF Maps is an excellent GPS and map app available for both the iPhone and iPad, and for Android devices. Oruxmaps formatted files and KMZ files will continue to be supplied. I've also found a simpler more reliable way to make decollared USGS topo maps using G-Raster, and a better way to convert GeoTiff files to various mobile formats using MAPC2MAPC. Instructions on how to make and use the maps on this site can be found here, or via the menu Maps Using the Maps above. Almost all smartphones and tablets now contain a GPS, and numerous free maps are available for navigation, so give up your old handheld GPS and move on to a more modern way of navigating.
I've added many new images of Eggshell Arch taken a few days before Thanskgiving, which is close to optimal. Unlike last years trip the sky was clear which led to an even stronger glow under the arch at sunset. Eggshell Arch is in the Navajo Nation and permission of the local leaseholder is needed to visit it. Many of the images included sunstars either above the arch, or within it, so I also added a tutorial on how to shoot sunstars.
I've added many new images of White Mesa Arch taken at sunrise, and a few images of nearby Margaret Arch and Navajo Stand Rock taken mid morning. White Mesa Arch is great at night as well, here it frames the Milky Way Cygnus Rift. White Mesa Arch is in the Navajo Nation and permission of the local leaseholder is needed to visit it.
The comment period for the proposed Paria Canyon/ Coyote Buttes regulations has been extended until October 16 per this article in the St George News.
Quick update - one lane of US 89 A is now open with flaggers directing traffic through the area. For more information see this article in the St George News.
US 89A is closed between Marble Canyon and Jacob Lake due to a landslide yesterday. Access from the south to Wirepass trailhead, Coyote Buttes South, and The White Pocket via House Rock Road is not possible. To visit these areas you need to drive in from the north via US 89 and House Rock Road. Cliffdwellers Lodge on US 89A is also temporarily closed since it is inaccessible.
Crews are now working to remove mud and boulders from Highway 89A. There is no estimated time for when the road will reopen. The closure is expected to remain in place until at least late Monday morning. For more information and updates see here.
The Ah-Shi-sle-pah gallery has been updated. I've added images of the Milky Way taken at Valley of Dreams East, and new images from spectacular Valley of Dreams, a truly otherworldly place. For information on shooting the Milky Way see this page.
The White Pocket gallery has been updated to include new images from a recent trip taken as a storm cleared. There was quite a bit of water present, and the water pools had many tadpoles. Most of the new images include either The Swirl or The Citadel. I've been hearing from several sources in Kanab that permits will be required to visit the White Pocket in the future, so if you wish to see it on your terms I suggest you go now.
I've also revised my White Pocket screensaver with new or updated images. The screensaver is available for Windows based PCs here. I've also added a Coyote Buttes North screensaver. Unlike most screeensavers both have been customized to exactly fit over 90% of the Windows PC monitors in use today. Displayed images fill the screen without the presence of black bars (pillar boxing) or cropping. Both screensavers are free for non commercial use.
If you're in the Four Corners area consider visiting Shiprock and Royal Arch. Royal Arch is 25 miles from Shiprock; both can be shot in one day. Shiprock photographs best near dawn. Royal Arch can be shot from a distance and is best at dawn, or close up which is best from mid afternoon on. A private passenger car is sufficient for Shiprock; high clearance 4WD is definitely needed for Royal Arch. Royal Arch is rarely visited and the road is heavily rutted so I suggest you go wih two vehicles, a GPS, and good maps. I've added a gallery of images of Shiprock here, images of Royal Arch here, and a map with directions to both here.
This site has been redesigned so that it functions properly on tablets and mobile phones. The site has been tested on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Windows 10 Microsoft Edge. I have no easy way to check functionality under Safari. If webpages appear to be incorrect I suggest you try one of the following: refresh the webpage, upgrade your browser to the latest version, clear your browser cache, try Google Chrome, or contact me.
The BLM has issued a draft business plan containing changes to the Coyote Buttes permit system. Changes include:
Permits for ten people per day would be issued via an on-line semi-annual lottery. One lottery would be held on December 1st for the months of January-June, and one on June 1st for July-December. Lottery applications would be accepted during the two months prior to the lottery date. The semi annual lottery would go live for the July-December 2016 period.
The walk-in lottery would be replaced by an on-line lottery held two days in advance of the permit date. Permit for ten people per day would be issued via this two day lottery. The two day lottery would go live March 15, 2016.
Permit fees would be increased to $12 per person for both Coyote Buttes North and South. An additional fee of $6 per permit issued would also be charged.
The total number of people allowed into each permit area would remain at 20.
Many more details can be found in the BLM press release . Comments can be made via email to blm_az_vcnm@blm.gov .
I've added some photos of Point Hansbrough and a nice bend in the Colorado River taken from just south of Tatahatso Point. Tatahatso Point is part of the Navajo Nation and is on the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. I've also added some new photos of The Confluence showing the turquoise Little Colorado mixing with the brown Colorado rivers. The map of the confluence area has been expanded to show access routes to the East Rim, a good overlook of the Little Colorado, and the Hopi Salt Trail. The Hopi Salt Trail can be used to access the Little Colorado from the rim.
With the Arizona Monsoon Season coming and its associated dramatic weather now is a good time to start planning a trip to The Confluence and the East Rim.
Some time ago Randy Langstraat emailed me that High Heel Arch partially collapsed. His report on the collapse and some very good photos appear on his blog here. I recently visited High Heel, the arch is significantly more photogenic now than it was before.
I also visited the close-by little known Moby Dick Arch. Despite the fact that it has an estimated forty foot span the arch does not seem to appear in any arch catalogs or on the web. For now I'll credit Victor of the excellent Rocking V Cafe in Kanab with its "discovery" and have accepted his name.
Locations of both arches appear on my Coyote Buttes North maps page, and a few images are in this gallery. Both arches are just outside the Coyote Buttes North permit area and can be visited anytime.
I received this paraphrased email from the Grand Canyon Trust recently:
On May 12, new Navajo President Russell Begaye took office. The next day he issued a firm statement against Escalade. Begaye’s vice president, Jonathan Nez, added “any attempts to pass legislation to proceed with the development would be vetoed by the president.”
Save the Confluence family members expressed relief and thanked the new leaders for ending their “nightmare” under the Ben Shelly administration: “We believe ‘the two mighty’ rivers, the Colorado and the Little Colorado, have spoken.” They concluded that “while the president’s stance is being recognized as good and welcome news, we will remain cautious of the Navajo Nation Council.”
Amazing Eggshell Arch is, in my opinion, the most beautiful arch in Arizona. It is nearly as spectacular as the better known spans of Delicate Arch, Mesa Arch, and Rainbow Bridge. Eggshell arch lies in the Inscription House chapter of the Navajo Nation and is on private land. If you wish to visit the arch you must get the permission of a local leaseholder, as I did. Navajo Parks and Recreation permits are not available for this area.
The arch is best photographed at sunset. From late November through January it is bathed in a red glow similar to the glow Mesa Arch gets at sunrise. I have heard Eggshell arch referred to as Thanksgiving Arch as Thanksgiving is a very good time to photograph it.
I've added a gallery of images of the arch here. I have not included a map showing the route to Eggshell. Visiting Eggshell without permission may subject you to legal or other action. It is also dangerous due to the confusing array of very rough sandstone / dirt roads in the area, and due to the presence of mountain lions.
The Alabama Hills is a land of potato shaped boulders and myriad arches near Lone Pine, California. Over 400 movies and TV shows have been shot in the Alabama Hills. Mount Whitney is just to the west of the Alabama Hills and towers almost 10,000 feet above them. Many of the Alabama Hills arches frame Mount Whitney and Lone Pine Peak, also to the west. If you're planning a trip to Death Valley or the Eastern Sierras you should include the Alabama Hills in your itinerary.
I've added a gallery of images of the Alabama Hills here and a map here.
If you're in the Death Valley area you should also visit the Rhyolite ghost town. I've updated my Rhyolite gallery with many new images and the maps page has some new shooting suggestions.
If you're planning a second trip to The Wave, or are a strong hiker with good navigation skills able to do nine or more offtrail miles in a single day, you should think about visiting Top Rock. Top Rock is the area above the cliffs just east of The Wave. It has many unique features including four beautiful arches and an alcove whose walls are decorated with spectacular colors and patterns. Hiking up Top Rock is easier than it looks. Top Rock can be climbed via an easy scramble up the ramp near The Second Wave (0.3 miles one-way) or you can hike up from its east side (1.2 miles from The Wave). My actual tracks for both are available on the maps page here.
Top Rock is best visited mid afternoon to sunset. Visit Melody Arch first, then Hourglass Arch, and finish with Top Rock Arch and The Alcove. You might want to leave Top Rock about two hours before sunset, giving you time to shoot The Second Wave in best light. For the best images of Top Rock Arch and The Alcove you'll need to stay until the sun sets below the cliffs to the west. If you stay this late you'll need to hike out in the dark.
I've updated my Coyote Buttes gallery and maps pages to include more information about Top Rock including new images of Hourglass Arch, Melody Arch, and The Alcove. I've also added several new images and GPS coordinates of lace rock on the west side.
Grand Falls, part of the Little Colorado River, is a unique waterfall in that, when running, it is more a river of mud than one of water. Grand Falls is also known as Chocolate Falls or Muddy Falls. It is best shot in the late afternoon during the few days each year when it flows. Grand Falls typically flows during snow-melt season in late March / early April, or a few days after a heavy rain. It is dry and uninteresting most of the year. Your best of getting a good image of the falls is to go 2 - 3 days after the USGS flow gauge on the Little Colorado River in Winslow registers a flow exceeding 400 cubic feet per second. Winslow flow can be tracked here or you can register for an email or text alert here. I've added a gallery of Grand Falls images here, and travel directions and more detailed flow statistics here.
This from the Arizona Dept of Transportation - "Two years after a landslide ripped apart a 500-foot section of US 89 and split the communities of Bitter Springs and Page, the Arizona Department of Transportation anticipates reopening the highway to traffic on the afternoon of Friday, March 27, barring any potential weather delays or mechanical breakdowns during the paving process, which began today."
Google Earth Pro licenses, formerly $395 per annum, are now free. Google Earth Pro can be freely downloaded here. During installation you will be asked for a username and license key. Use your email address and the key GEPFREE to sign in. One of the features in Google Earth Pro that was not in Google Earth is the ability to make aerial movies from folders and tracks. I've created medium (864x480) and high resolution (1080p 30fps) videos showing the hike from the Wirepass trailhead to The Wave so that hikers can get some idea of the terrain they will be traversing. The medium resolution version is on the maps page and the high resolution version can be downloaded by right clicking here. I've also added a tutorial showing how to create a smooth video from any GPS track.
Wupatki National Monument contains a number of 800-1000 year old ruins. The ruins photograph well and Wupatki gets good light year round making it an excellent destination for photographers. Wupatki is a better sunrise than sunset destination, especially in the winter months when the red rock of the ruins contrasts well with the snow on Mount Humphreys. I've added a gallery of Wupatki images here, and a map showing the locations of the six ruins open to the public here.
The Hopi Clown is a rarely photographed rock formation in Tohachi Wash, about 20 miles northeast of Wupatki National Monument. Tohachi Wash is in the southern section of the Adeii Eichii Cliffs, an area also known as Red Rock Cliffs. A Navajo Nation permit is required to visit the Hopi Clown.
The Red Rock Cliffs area is very remote and there are no named roads within fifteen miles of it. To get there you'll needs a high clearance 4WD vehicle. I suggest you go in with more than one vehicle and do not drive in or leave at night. I've added the Hopi Clown to my gallery of Adeii Eichii images here, and travel directions to my Adeii Eichii map here. As far as I know this website is the first English language site with travel directions to the clown.
When in the vicinity of the Hopi Clown you should also explore/shoot the cliffs and formations surrounding Tohachi Wash. You could also shoot either Wupatki NM or Grand Falls depending on how you come in.
Many thanks again to my Belgian friend Rudi who provided me with GPS coordinates. I would never have found it without his help.
Update - I recently received an email which indicated that a gate on the road to Tohachi Wash will be locked going forward, and that the local leaseholder will post no trespassing signs shortly. For now the Hopi Clown is off limits.
White Sands National Monument contains the largest gypsum dune field in the world - 275 square miles. It is located in southcentral New Mexico and is less than two hours from El Paso, Texas by car. White Sands gets nearly 600,000 visitors every year and is very popular in the spring and summer months. Unlike the other major US sand dune fields ( Great Sand Dunes National Park and Death Valley NP), the sand in White Sands is perfectly white and very fine grained. Vegetation (grasses, yuccas, and occasional Cottonwoods) is common throughout much of the park and adds considerably to White Sands photographic appeal. I recently spent several days in the park photographing the cottonwood trees and yuccas and came away with many good images. I've added a gallery of images to this site here, and a map and some tips on photographing the park here.
With over two million visitors a year, it's hard to call Lake Powell a secret. However despite its dazzling beauty few professional photographers go out on the lake and shoot it. Gary Ladd, a resident of Page since 1981 and a well known Arizona Highways photographer, is one of those who regularly do so. When I found out he was leading a week tour of the lake this past October I booked it immediately. Despite imperfect weather I got some magnificent photos and had a great time during the week I spent on the lake.
The Lake offers almost everything a desert rat (photographer) could hope for: great crossbedding, weathering pits, slot canyons, waterfalls, alcoves, arches, magnificent backgrounds, and, of course, the lake itself with its ephemeral reflections and wakes, and its often green hue. The locations we shot at on the Lake are indeed secrets known to just a few, lasting only as long as water levels allow. I've included some images shot on the tour here, and maps and descriptions of the locations we visited here.
Horizon Arch is a photogenic arch close to the town of Escalante, Utah. The arch is also known as Kissing Dragons Arch. Visiting the arch requires a five-seven mile off-trail hike where the mileage depends on whether your vehicle can reach the closer trailhead. Good navigation and route finding skills are needed. I've added a gallery of images here, and maps and directions to the arch here. The arch is best shot at sunset and is worth visiting if you are in the Escalante area.
Many thanks to Michael Haudek who provided me with excellent directions to the arch. His website contains directions in German and some good photos of the area.
October is perhaps the best month in which to visit the Southwest; temperatures are pleasant, and the aspen and cottonwoods are changing. I spent a few days in Escalante the first week of October revisiting Dance Hall Rock, and shooting Sunset and Moonrise arches. It was too early in October for the cottonwoods on Dance Hall Rock to change color but I did get a few good images. Sunset and Moonrise arches are only a few miles from Dance Hall Rock. The iconic shot of Sunset Arch frames Navajo Mountain, shooting the arch from the other side yields a nice sunburst. Moonrise arch frames the full moon at sunset. I was there a few days before the full moon but still got a reasonable image. I've added directions to both arches here, and some images here. Finally I revisited Balancing Rock near Boulder. I shot this last year mid day, sunset yields much better color. The shadow of the hoodoo was not optimal in early October, spring or summer would be better.
Google recently introduced a new version of Google Maps, called My Maps. The old version of Google Maps ("Classic") is being discontinued. My Maps offers several advantages over "Classic" Maps including layers and improved stability. In view of this change all of the maps on this site have been migrated to "My Maps'. Other enhancements to this site include: