Arches National Park, Utah

“Arches National Park contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches. This National Park is a red, arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks, and arches. The 73,000-acre region has over 2,000 of these "miracles of nature."   Utah.com

As I’ve mentioned, frequently, US national parks are not my favorite. Not because they aren’t beautiful and incredibly photogenic but because my dog Lakota isn’t able to hike with me. Lakota is my best and most devoted friend and I refuse to put other priorities ahead of him.

Many of the most famous photo op locations are down trails where Lakota isn’t allowed. I don’t mind really because there are plenty of landscapes and other interesting things close to the roads to photograph so I focus (pardon the pun) on those.  Some might consider this a handicap but frankly, some really interesting stuff gets overlooked because it doesn’t have a name or found on a tour map. And, let’s be honest, the famous stuff has been photographed ad nauseum. Oddly enough, this situation has proved to be a blessing in disguise.

What follow a few of my favorite photos of Arches National Park in Utah.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

 

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

You can see the entire gallery at my website:  ARCHES NATIONAL PARK



©Kinsey Barnard Outdoor Photograpy

Monument Valley Arizona/Utah

As far as photography goes this is a tough time of year here in the Rockies. The splendors of winter have faded and left a certain barren landscape whilst we await the wonders of the new life spring will bring.

Monument Valley

So, I'm going back to last winter at this time when I was shooting in Monument Valley which straddles Arizona and Utah. I don't think there is a more colorful desert anywhere. No matter in what direction you look there is some kaleidoscopic something to see and to shoot.

Monument Valley

The sky and the clouds are truly incredible. The sandstone desert is capped by the most intense blue and the clouds are pure, well purity. They are big, boisterous and beautiful. I'm quite partial to the clouds in Montana's Big Sky but there can be no doubt those in the Monument Valley give them a run for the money.


Monument Valley by Kinsey Barnard

There's something else I like a lot about Monument Valley. It's still some what primitive. The valley belongs to the sovereign nation of the Navajo and it is their intention to keep it primitive for as long as they can. I believe that will be indefinitely. If you come with the right kind of vehicle you can travel the desert to your hearts content. Koty and I put in I don't know how many miles just going up and down the dirt roads.You can see for miles and miles and miles .....

Looking Down the Road

As mentioned many times, patterns in nature fascinate me no end and there is no shortage of that kind of thing to see in Monument Valley. As they say, you can't make this stuff up! If you are into this sort of thing the sandstone designs will knock your socks off. Mother Nature just keeps coming up with extraordinary designs. One commenter thought the image below looked like sharks teeth. I think she's right.


Monument Valley Designs by Kinsey Barnard

The main event is the Tribal Park where you will find the biggest, baddest monuments. This area is quite crowded. You can take guided or self guided trips around the loop road. I recommend you take one of the park jitneys unless you have a car you're not too concerned about. Most of the road is just fine but the first quarter mile down into the park or so is a real goat track.

As for accommodations go there are really only two choices. You can go upscale at the relatively new The View hotel which is within the tribal park and sits on a bluff overlooking the valley. Even if you don't stay here you should stop in for "The View".

The other option is Gouldings Lodge. Before The View it was the only accommodation in Monument Valley. It played host to John Wayne and John Huston and is steeped in the history of the valley.


Stagecoach by Kinsey Barnard.

The Lodge is a little frayed around the edges but I think it's part of the charm. The view from here isn't too shabby either. You'll have the opportunity to see some awesome sunsets from your balcony. Even if you don't stay here you might want to stop in to check out the museum.

Whether you are interested in photography or not I can pretty much guarantee you you will have an eye popping time in Monument Valley. It's truly a natural wonder.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

THE PA'RUS TRAIL - ZION NATIONAL PARK

We've been working mighty hard the past couple of weeks so we decided to take it easy. We went back to the Pa'rus Trail in Zion Cayon for a good morning walk. I think if one walked this trail everyday they would never tire of it.



The Virgin River, which is the river that runs through this section of the park, was looking particularly beautiful. It was fuller and clearer than it was when we walked it earlier. I cannot begin to tell you what a great time of year this is to visit this park. I'm half tempted to come back and spend the whole winter some day. The park is open year round and I'll bet after a snow storm there is a whole other kind of beauty to be found.



The Pa'rus trail may be a little tame and we certainly don't care for asphalt trails but you must admit this is a beautiful trail and it really provides a lot of people with a lot of pleasure they might not otherwise experience. If we did come back here for an extended stay I'd probably have to abandon Koty a time or two and try some of the people only trails. There are numerous day care facilities in the area. He would probably disown me but, oh well.



Some people have been wondering how I get the vibrant colors. Well, truth is I don't do much of anything special. The colors here are just that vibrant! This park is a color lovers' fantasy island! In point of fact, with some of the photos I have actually had to try and drain a little color.



After lunch and a siesta we decided to take another walk. We first tried Sand Hollow State Park but they wanted $10.00 dollars to get in. We passed on that. We ended up walking the asphalt trails in Coral Canyon which is basically just a big housing development. I took the above picture because I wanted to show you how steep the trail was and it's for bikes too! Gads, I couldn't imagine riding a bike down that thing. If your brakes failed or you squeezed too hard it wouldn't be pretty!



I must say the landscaping around here is exceptionally beautiful. The above is some type of grass that is used a lot and I find it really lovely. Not that this photo does it any kind of justice but you can at least get the idea.

That's all we did, a couple of walks and a lot of relaxing.

You can see all of our trip so far in high resolution at TRIP GALLERY.

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey

©Kinsey Barnard

THE KOLOB CANYONS - ZION NATIONAL PARK

We took a drive up to Kolob Canyons. It is part of Zion but you have have to drive north on I15 to access it. It rained most of the day so we did get a lot of photos. I an still fascinated with the red roads! They are so darned pretty. :)



And, the color! My goodness the color. It's truly unreal! Mother Nature really went wild with Her palette down here!



The drive is only about five miles into the canyons but as my photos would indicate it's a drive well worth taking.



It was a pretty short day for us. The Kolob Canyons being about all we took in for this day.

You can see all of our trip photos in high resolution at our TRIP GALLERY

Happy in Hurricane

In the night and early morning we had quite a storm blow through. It cooled things off so that was welcome.

We took our time packing up for the twenty minute drive over to Hurricane. Once here we were so happy we made the move. The digs are 300% nicer than the ones in St. George. We have a little concrete patio and lots of grass. Road noise is at a minimum.

I declared this a day off, had lunch and took a nap. After the siesta we took a walk to check things out. We went from one end of town to the other which is mostly on the main drag. It looks like Hurricane has been through a whirlwind of development but is now suffering the consequences of a slowing economy. Many businesses are no more and the only visitors to the empty spaces are tumble weeds. Still, I can see why people would want to winter here. The weather is mild, in winter, and has an awful lot to offer the out door enthusiast. Hurricane is only about 17 miles from Zion National Park so it's very handy if that is your destination. Here's the Wiki on it.

We'll be heading out to Zion to hunt for photo ops.

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey

Snow Canyon - St. George Utah

Want to skip the jabber? Just scroll down to the photos.

Last night was the pits. The racket from the highway was deafening. How people can stay in places like this is beyond me. But, I guess things are relative and most people don’t live in a serene forest, as do we. But, golly, I just wonder how people cope. Are they even aware they are coping?

Well, after an evening thrashing around to the tune of eighteen-wheelers, the first order of business was to check out RV parks closer to Zion. So, away we went into the sunrise. We found a nice park in a place called Hurricane. It is twice as quiet, has a nice lawn at your door and is ten bucks cheaper. Not to give the impression I’m a cheapskate, really I’m not. But if I’m paying top dollar, by RV standards, I expect a little something. What I am beginning to understand is, the “little something” means different things to different people.

Apparently, a lot of folks are happy to be camped out on a freeway if they have social activities, are close to shopping, can get junk food easily and have clean showers/bathrooms. I, on the other hand, travel in an RV so I don’t have to use public facilities, could care less about social activities and just want a little quiet and privacy. The main reason I went with the motorhome was because so many motels put pet owners in smoking rooms. Cough. Cough! And, you need reservations. Boo. Hiss.

At the place in Hurricane we spoke with a nice gal, Becky, and she gave us the scoop. We found a lovely little space with shade. We were ready to move right in, but, when we checked in with the place in St. George they said they needed 24 hours notice. I ain’t paying for two places so I said fine we’ll move to Hurricane tomorrow.

Now, remember how I always say every cloud has a silver lining? First, I never planned to stay in St. George at all. We left a week early because of the weather. Then I got stuck in the RV Park from hell. Then I was a little miffed when I found out I had to stay another night. But, we got out the map and found Snow Canyon. Wow, what a beautiful place. Looks a lot like Sedona. We spent the day hiking and photographing. It was awesome and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it! So glad for all this “misfortune”.

Ciao for now,

Koty and Kinsey Learning the RV ropes!







If you'd like to see these and the rest of the days' shoot in high res visit our Trip Gallery. To see just the Snow Canyon Photos enter "Snow Canyon" in the search box

©Kinsey Barnard

St. George, UT - 80 Degrees and Snowing

I took the above picture of this stately old cottonwood from the roadside near Fillmore. Even though it was way across a field you could see it was a very special old tree. And the colors. Mmm, mmm.

We made very good time coming down the I 15. These straight stretches down the Interstate go so much faster. I wish I had planned this portion of my trip better but then I had no idea I was going to have a week to kill. When we passed 9, which goes out to Zion, we should have taken it and gone to Virgin and gotten a space there. Instead we are in a hellhole in St. George. It’s the smallest space I’ve ever been crammed in and to top it off it’s $43/night! There are motels around here for $24.95!!! They say it’s so expensive because it’s the only RV park in town. Yikes! I don’t even like “in town”.

And, St. George, it’s amazing. Granted I haven’t been through here for thirty five years but my gawd the place is huge! I should have known I was in trouble when I saw those signs along the highway advertising an outlet mall.

And, hot?! It was 80 degrees when we rolled in. Too hot for this bumpkin. Too hot for Koty too. First thing we did when we got set up was turn on the air conditioner. This is when it started to snow. Regular readers know we have had some varmit troubles back at the ranch. Mice and squirrels have been giving us fits. Well, I guess some of the pesky critters figured out a way to get up in the ceiling (I suspect they came through the air-conditioning unit on the roof which I haven't gotten a storage cover for but will now). Anyway, when I switched on the unit that’s when it started to snow. Whatever they use for insulation, I think it’s a styrene board, started raining down from the overhead vents. And, wouldn’t you know it the worst of it came from the vent over the bed. Well, that took a good while to clean up.

We took a nice stroll into the historic part of downtown where they had closed off the street for a little Halloween street fair. Everyone was having a great time in the warm evening air. Lots of kids out in costume and having a ball. Everyone also, made a big to-do over his royal highness as usual. I think I’m a little jealous. Four nine years now people have been coming up to us and saying how beautiful my dog is. In all that time no one ever said that about me. If only my mother were still here she used to tell me all the time! ☺ I miss you mama!

Good news! Koty seems to be getting back on track (pardon the pun). I’ve been giving him a natural digestive aid that I get from 1-800-PETMEDS. I’d never tried it before but it seems to be doing the trick. Koty has always been a finicky eater and suffered with a delicate gut. If you have a pup with similar problems you might want to try it digestive aid. It’s handy whilst traveling because it’s a liquid. You can just put it in the waster bowl. At home we have had real good luck with an enzyme and probiotic powder, which we also get from Pet Meds. It really keeps him in the pink and it also natural. Enzymes & Probiotics Powder.

I have made special gallery for our 2008-09 Winter Tour. If you want to see full res photos or just catch up.

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey

©Kinsey Barnard

Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake

This morning we took a drive out to Antelope Island State Park. To get there you cross a causeway that should be surrounded by water but it wasn’t today. You had to go nearly three miles out before you hit water. The ranger at the park entrance said that the lake was at historic low levels. They aren’t sure why as the snow pack last year was pretty good. You can’t fool Mother Nature but she sure as heck can fool you. But, when all is said and done, Mother Nature will let you know how it’s going to be. Scientists amuse me with all their figuring.

The Great Salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. It is 75 miles long and 28 miles wide covering 1,700 square miles. It’s a big’un! The island was originally a private ranch. The Fielding Garr Ranch was settled in the mid 1800’s and remained in private hands until it was sold to the state in the 80’s. The ranch/island is approximately 28,000 acres. Now that’s my idea of a proper ranch. The wildlife here consists of antelope (prong horn), mule deer, big horn sheep and buffalo. We did see some buffalo and some pronghorn way off on a ridge. Other than that no animals around that we saw. Here’s the Wiki on it.

I have found buffalo particularly difficult to photograph. The one below I was just playing around with. I have only one shot of a buffalo that I think captures some of the awesomeness of this elegant creature. Buffalo March

We had a great morning walk and Antelope Island is certainly worth the price of admission, $9.00.

Koty barfed in the back seat. His tummy is still upset darn it.

Below are a few photos of what we saw.









Ciao for now,

©Kinsey Barnard

Dillon, MT to Ogden, UT Pineview Reservoir- Day 2

It didn't get anywhere near freezing in the night. Something of a surprise. We got up early and were on the road by 8:00am. At this time of year all there is for light is the morning glow. I must say that from the junction of US 90 and Interstate 15 (about 65 miles north of Dillon) to Idaho Falls the road is straight and pretty boring. So, I put Clem on cruise control and let Koty drive. I took a nap. Nobody seemed to notice.

We made pretty good time. Pulled into Ogden just after two. It occurred to me that maybe we should spend two nights instead of just over nighting. I've never actually stopped and looked at the Great Salt Lake and we are about a week ahead of schedule so as long as the weather is holding might as well dawdle.





The weather surely is holding. It was around 70 when we arrived. After getting everything setup and a snack we needed to stretch our legs a little so we drove out to Pineview Reservoir. Not all that picturesque but easy to get to and a good trail along the reservoir. To get there you drive through a narrow, windy canyon, Ogden Canyon, along the Ogden River. There would have been some great photo ops except for there was no place to pullover. I hate it when that happens.



Koty could care less whether or not where we go is photogenic. As long as he's on the move he's happy. He's off his feed again. This always happens when we take off and I always worry until he adjusts and starts eating. The boy has a fussy gut.





All along the trail were these plants that had gone to seed. I don't know what they are but I suspect some kind of thistle. I thought they were quite intriguing, in a very natural way, so I had to try a few shots. I really love to photograph plants. They are such intricate works of art.



I also enjoy shooting lines and contrast. Along our path we came across a boat club and these empty boat slips. Everybody gone home for the winter.

As they day started to dim we headed home. A pasta dinner for me and a boycott for Koty. One thing I don't much care for about these RV parks is their proximity to freeways. Gads what a racket! I woke at 2:00 am when the shower started to leak. Drop. Drop. Drop. It seems to be leaking behind the faucet so all I could do was go outside and turn off the water. I love Clem but boy they sure put chintzy plumbing in her. I've already had to replace both sink faucets for leaking. Needless to say they weren't replaced with Winnebago parts.

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey