I arrive at the Mesa Arch parking lot an hour before the sunrise. Thinking that I would be the only guy crazy enough to be out there on Thanksgiving morning. Much to my surprise, there were already several other cars in the lot. I could see someone at the car next to me preparing his gear for the hike out to the edge of The Island In The Sky and Mesa Arch. As I prepared my own gear, he passed by commenting “don’t you have anything better to do on Thanksgiving?”. I simply replied, “I can’t think of anything that I’d rather be doing!”.

In the complete darkness, I donned my headlamp and made my way to the trailhead. The hike out to the arch is only about a quarter mile or so on a well established trail. But in the darkness, with my poor vision and a totally inadequate headlamp, I soon was stumbling disoriented through the desert towards the 1000 foot cliffs on the edge of The Island. It was then and there that I promised myself that I would invest in a better headlamp when I had the chance.

As I crested over a small rise, I could see the lights of other photographers already out at the arch which at least gave me a beacon to head for. And soon after arriving, I was jockeying for a position to set up my tripod and wait for the upcoming show.

I had been to Mesa Arch several years ago, but had arrived later in the morning and missed the actual sunrise. The spectacle as the sun rose was absolutely beautiful! All that could be heard was the sound of camera shutters being released as the entire underside of the arch began to glow a bright orange!

After the show, I made my way to the only campground in the Island In The Sky and secured my spot for the next two nights. From there I drove out to Grand View Point and made the several mile round trip hike along the edge of the cliffs out to the point. The views from here never cease to amaze me. The vastness of the area is overwhelming! And the cliffs that you walk along are literally 1000 feet tall. One misstep out there would be all she wrote!

From there I ventured out to the Upheaval Dome area and did a bit of off trail exploration. I was able to find what I am sure is a rarely, if ever, visited location which provided some very interesting views of Canyonlands with the Green River snaking its way through the canyons by landmarks such as Candlestick Tower and Turks Head. As well as provided me with some quality time to sit in God’s cathedral and contemplate one of the worlds wonders and reflect on all that I have to be thankful for.

After that I made the hike to the top of Aztec Butte to explore some granaries that the Ancient Ones had left behind. Before 1300 A.D., there were many Anasazi Indians living within the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park. They generally lived in the canyons below the mesas where water was more abundant. Particularly along the Green River. But they also made frequent trips to the mesa tops for the purpose of gathering food. There is still a great deal of evidence of their existence on the Island in the Sky. And one of the best places to see these remnants is on Aztec Butte, where the Anasazi’s built a number of granaries for storing the food they had collected.

With the sun dipping low to the horizon, it was time to make my way out the edge of the cliffs once again. I chose the Green River Overlook area to enjoy the sunset and catch some wonderful warm light being cast upon The Island.

For my last day on The Island, I decided to capture the sunrise back out at Grand View Point. This provided some nice views from the cliffside to the east with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

The balance of the day was spent exploring the renowned 4 wheel drive trail called The White Rim Trail. I had always wanted to explore this Jeep trail and drove it as far as Lil Tig felt comfortable taking me. The different perspective of being a 1000 feet down from the top of the Island In The Sky Mesa was very interesting and I look forward to the day when I can actually take a more suitable vehicle deeper into this amazing area.

Another evening out around Green River Overlook for sunset rounded out what was a wonderful Thanksgiving adventure.

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SuzAnn and I got a very early start, well before dawn, in order to make it up to Payson Lake in time for sunrise. It was a beautiful crisp and clear morning with almost no breeze. This provided great mirror like conditions on the lake to capture the golden reflections of the “Quakies” on the distant shore.

We spent the balance of the day meandering the loop and taking in the sweeping vistas that are dominated by Mt. Nebo (11,928′).

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Secret Lake lies in what is called the Albion Basin and is located just above the Alta ski resort. The Albion Basin is know for its wildflowers in the summer months. The lake is a short hike of less than a mile from the trailhead and gains only about 300 feet or so of elevation.

Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it to the lake in time for the sunrise color which splashed the clouds overhead. But instead found ourselves just making the trailhead at that time…it’s all good…just means that I’ll have to make another trip up to this beautiful location again to try and catch the color being reflected in this pristine alpine lake.

Just for your information, the swan at the end was taken later in the day at another location…

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It was a quick weekend trip which was highlighted by a visit to Shoshone Falls. Shoshone Falls is on the Snake River and is 212 feet high and 1000 feet wide. At this time of the year, the river is running at its lowest and breaks into 5-6 separate falls. But in the spring these falls can span the entire 1000 feet as one continuous waterfall.

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SuzAnn and I, on a spur of the moment idea, decided to head up to Yellowstone over the Fourth of July weekend. We made a big loop, up through Idaho, all around the park and back down through Wyoming. Although I have visited the park on numerous occasions, I found it to be more beautiful than I had remembered. The trip was like one straight out of a National Geographic documentary. Full of fantastic scenic mountains, bubbling and steaming geothermals and wildlife.

The first day was spent making the drive north out of the Salt Lake area, up through Idaho. On the northern part of the drive, on US20, you begin to get views of the Teton Mountain range off in the distance to the east. I found this to be very interseting, as I have been to the Tetons many times, but had never viewed them from the west. They are every bit as dramatic as the eastern side! The hour was getting into the late afternoon, so we decided to take a spur road to find a place to camp for the night and check out some waterfalls that SuzAnn had located on the map. And were we ever glad we did! Upper and Lower Mesa Falls are quite a sight.

The following morning we up before dawn, in hopes of catching a sunrise nearby in Island Park. We did manage to find a spot down some dirt roads along side a quiet river to capture a number of images as the morning show started. We then made our way into the park via West Yellowstone. This too was a treat for me as I could not recall driving this stretch of road before.

Upon entering the park, you are graced with beautiful mountain scenery as the road follows the meandering Gibbon River. Passing hot sulpher springs that run down into the water creating this steamy otherworldly look the mountains. A bit farther down the road, we were fortunate enough to see a Bison herd grazing along the side the river. We even got the chance to witness two bulls sparring for the position of Alpha Male!

The next stop was at Gibbon Falls. A magnificent large cascade. Here I ventured out on to the edge of the cliff to capture some birds eye view shots down to the falls. Apparently you are not supposed to climb over the barricade, because I got in some trouble with a very stern ranger who said that they didn’t want to see me get hurt. Awww…now that’s no fun!

We then made the choice to secure a campsite and pitch the tent so that our nights home was ready and waiting whenever we got tired. After getting our home set, we made the big loop around the northern section of the park. Stopping at Twin Lakes to photograph the vibrant yellow flowers of the Lily Pads in bloom before exploring the formations at the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.

We finished our National Geographic loop adventure with wildlife sightings that include Pronghorn Antelope and a Black Bear! As we were headed back to our camp, an afternoon thunderstorm moved in and persistently rained well into the evening. So we retired to the tent to wait out the rain…

As the sunset hour approached, the storm began to break. Tired of the confines of the tent, we decided to go out for a walk down to the nearby Gibbon River and stretch our legs. And what a fine idea it was. The air was cool and fresh, and the moisture laden grasses still held the drops of rain that had recently fallen. There is nothing like a good sunset immediately following a breaking storm. Given the right conditions and drama of the clouds, you can end up with one beautiful sunset…and that is exactly what we ended up with. Hanging out in the wet grass by the riverside until every last bit of color fell from the sky…an experience that will be etched into our memory banks forever!

The following day was spent beginning our trip south. We explored the geothermal areas aroung the Geyser Basin and then made our way to Yellowstone Lake where we set up camp for the next night. We had a particularly enjoyable time in the evening as we hiked out to Gull Point for the magic hour light.

On the last day of the trip. we drove down the east side of the dramatic Teton Range, through Jackson, weaving our way back into Idaho past Bear Lake and south to our home in Utah…

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