Day 2: Wowoowwwwww

That’s a direct quote from Alexandra (my daughter) after I shared a video of my last stop today, Moonscape Overlook.  And that really sums up my day.  I went to three primary photo locations today, and each one was amazing.  I kept thinking, “Wow, this place is incredible.  This is going to be tough to beat.”

As I mentioned in the previous post, I got up very early.  I hadn’t yet written my blog for Day 1, so I headed back to Hanksville (about 26 miles) where I could get cell service. I parked at a gas station, and worked on the blog.  However, I didn’t get to finish it as I wanted to be at my first photo op, Little Egypt, at sunrise.  

 

The sun was just below the horizon as I parked the van in the parking area. I was getting my camera gear together, and I happened to turn around and saw that the sun had just broke the horizon, illuminating this small valley with incredible golden light.  I quickly finished getting my gear together and immediately started capturing images.

 

Little Egypt (I have no idea why it’s called that) is an area with very unique geologic structures, as you can see from the photos.  It is supposedly similar to Goblin Valley State Park which is just north of Hanksville, but smaller and less visited.  This chilly morning I had the place all to myself. 

 

Next stop was Leprechaun Canyon, which was down the road a few miles.  Leprechaun Canyon is a slot canyon, of which there are many in southern Utah.  Slot canyons are narrow canyons that are carved out of the rock by wind and water over the centuries. Some are so narrow that special skills or gear is required (not to mention being thin and not claustrophobic).  Some are not even passable at all.

 

Dead tree at start of hike into the slot canyon

I didn’t get too far in this slot canyon. The first obstacle was a rather large boulder that had wedged itself smack dab in the middle of the path.  I was able to navigate past this, but I had to put my camera backpack on the top of the rock and literally crawl underneath the rock.  The next obstacle was when the canyon narrowed at my shoulders.  The only way to advance was to “walk” on my knees, which I did.  Now the canyon was getting extremely narrow.  It appeared I wouldn’t be able to go any further unless I dropped my backpack and left it.  Even then, I probably wouldn’t get very far without some really crazy antics (remember that “being thin” thing?).  So that was it.  Nonetheless, I got some amazing pictures at this spot in particular, and I’m looking forward to hiking another slot canyon.

 

Inside the slot canyon - black & white

Inside the slot canyon (looking up)

Narrow passage

The rock I had crawl under!

But the pièce de résistance was yet to come: Moonscape Overlook.  Moonscape Overlook, or Skyline View as it is sometimes called, is not far from Hanksville.  It’s accessible via a gravel road, part of which was a semi-rough two-track (I discovered later there was a better, albeit longer, gravel road I could’ve used…of course there was!).  I had seen pictures of Moonscape Overlook (which I’ll abbreviate as MO to save time), but I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see in person.  WOW!!!  Or in my daughter, Samantha’s words: “Holy Mackerel!! That’s amazeballs!”

The 2-track road (a good section)

One of the annoying Asian dudes (actually one of the landscape photographers I follow often puts a person in his photos to provide a sense of scale)

The deep shadows of MO

MO is so named because of the moon-like geologic features made of bluish-gray rock.  When I arrived at about 3:30, the shadows were starting to get long, making for some cool compositions, so I took a bunch of shots.  Since sunset was still a couple hours off, I decided to grab a folding chair (and a beer) and soak it all in.  The sun was warm, there was no wind, and aside from the occasional chatter of a couple other photographers some distance away, there was absolutely no sound!  Truly spiritual!!

 

As the sun dropped further, the shadows became much longer, and eventually the valley far below was completely in shadow, creating that moon-like landscape I was waiting.  While I would have liked some clouds to get some textures and colors in the sky, it was still an incredibly beautiful sunset.  All told, I took over 500 photos of MO! 

 

By the way, I mentioned the two photographers.  There were actually a number of other people that showed up at MO (including two annoying Asian dudes with a drone who were obsessed with taking pictures of themselves), which really surprised me considering the place is not that easy to get to and not that well known.

Sunset at MO (note the moon).  I took this with my iPhone, but it turned out remarkably well.

Anyway, I headed to my camping spot near Factory Butte, which was nearby, so I could grab some sunrise shots of the butte (or “FB”).  After dinner I grabbed a few night images. I wasn’t able to capture the Milky Way because of the nearly full moon, but the moon illuminated the landscape almost like daytime.  Very cool!

The campervan under the moon.

Interesting ricks near where I camped.

Sorry for the long post this time.  Next up: FB followed by the adventures down Dance Hall Rock Road!