Juniper Tree
Arches National Park - July 2009

Most visitors show up at Arches to photograph the arches. I added this stop to our Colorado-centric itinerary to photograph this particular tree. I'd photographed it three years earlier – a grab shot in near darkness without the benefit of a tripod – and in the years since I'd been waiting for an opportunity to shoot it again.

Arches National Park - July 2009

We arrived at the park in late afternoon. I wasn't sure I would even get an opportunity to shoot the tree before dark. Ideally, I wanted to hike out to the tree, shoot it, and be ready to head to Colorado the next morning.

Juniper Tree II
Arches National Park - July 2009

By the time we arrived at the trailhead it was clear that I would not be racing the sun to get my shot. I would be racing a giant storm, complete with thunder and lightning. The wind was already starting to pick up as we headed down the trail. Locating the tree turned out to be easier than I expected; I set up as quickly as I could and began shooting.

The irony of the situation was not lost on me. My first attempt to shoot this tree was limited by my inability to keep the camera from moving in the dim light. Now I had a tripod to keep the camera steady but the wind was blowing so hard it was the tree that was moving. The best laid plans... Despite all this, I was able to get a few shots that I liked including the opening image and this near silhouette of Aboriginal Boy.

We knew it was time to go after a wind gust nearly took out my tripod with 5D Mark II and a brand new tilt-shift lens still attached. I was about ten feet away when I saw the tripod start to tip. I was in full sprint when I caught it about halfway to the ground. With the blood still drained from her face, Darla remarked that she didn't think she had ever seen me move that fast. Major disaster barely averted on the first evening of our trip.

We were back at the camper not a moment too soon. The storm was on top of us and it was pouring rain as we climbed inside. Good times.

Sunrise Over Canyonlands
Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

We spent the night at the Island in the Sky unit of Canyonlands National Park. This area is just a short drive from Arches but sits at a significantly higher elevation. The passing storm had cooled things off enough that we could sleep comfortably at this elevation without the need for air conditioning.

It wasn't just the search for a comfortable place to sleep, however, that brought us to Canyonlands. Mesa Arch is a place I'd always wanted to photograph at sunrise. This seemed like the perfect opportunity...at least until I hiked out to it and discovered a couple German photogs parked right in front of it. They'd already been there an hour staking out their shot.

As things turned out, I didn't miss much. Sunrise was briefly colorful but ultimately disappointing as the sun disappeared into heavy clouds. I ran out of time looking for an alternate location to photograph the big event and ended up with this rather pedestrian shot. Meh. Along the way, I encountered a rarely seen, gigantic scorpion. I didn’t realize it was rarely seen at the time. In retrospect, I should have focused on photographing the scorpion instead of the sunrise – although that would have been easier said than done.

Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

In summertime, the light here gets very harsh very quickly. By the time the sun re-emerged above the clouds it was too late to capture great light. All that was left was to enjoy the beautiful views.

Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

Mesa Arch
Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

Darla and Lewis were both back in the camper sleeping when I made my first trip out to Mesa Arch. They were indifferent to missing the rising sun – but not to missing the giant scorpion! We walked back out to Mesa Arch and spent quite a bit of time looking under rocks hoping to find another one. We didn't find any scorpions but we did find the arch temporarily free of other admirers.

Family Photo at Mesa Arch
Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

Mesa Arch II
Canyonlands National Park - July 2009

Juniper Tree Redux
Arches National Park - July 2009

So much for leaving in the morning and moving on to Colorado. After spending the rest of the morning in Canyonlands we decided to stay in the area another day. We retreated to a Moab RV park to wait out the hottest part of the day poolside and then returned to The Tree in the evening. No storm this evening – in fact, no drama of any kind. I ended up liking the shots I had captured the evening before better.

Darla and Lewis Under Delicate Arch
Arches National Park - July 2009

Delicate Arch is one of the icons of the National Park system yet Darla and Lewis had never seen it up close. Even though the one-and-a-half mile climb can be beastly hot in the summer, Darla wanted to rectify this situation.

Despite an early start, it was not long before the temperature began to rise and The Boy, initially indifferent to the idea, developed a definite opinion on the relative merit of our little expedition. "Why are we doing this?" he wondered aloud more than once in a plaintive tone.

”For the view,” was not an explanation he was inclined to accept. At six years old, he had already seen plenty of beautiful places and knew it was possible to get to them without all this unpleasant sweat and effort. Despite his vote of no confidence we continued on and, with plenty of breaks and plenty of water, we all made it to the top.

Anyone who has actually visited Delicate Arch understands how dramatic it is the first time you see it in person. The arch is huge, yet at no point along the trail do you catch sight of it. Then you round a corner and there it is in front of you, perched at the edge of a precipice. It is a breathtaking sight – but would Lewis even notice?

My question was answered in short order. The Boy’s first reaction was stunned silence, as if he could not believe what he was seeing, followed with a loud, “Oh, my!”

Arches National Park - July 2009

Every other time I’ve been up to Delicate Arch it has been at sunset and I’d always been focused (no pun intended) on photographing Delicate Arch until it was completely dark. This visit gave The Boy and me a chance to climb around on some of the other formations up here.

Arches National Park - July 2009

Arches National Park - July 2009

Enjoying the View
Arches National Park - July 2009

The Boy and The Dad on Delicate Arch
Arches National Park - July 2009

Mission Accomplished
Arches National Park - July 2009

Having bagged Delicate Arch, it was time to head back down to the camper and then off to Colorado’s Grand Mesa.

Next image set: Canyonlands RV Park, Moab, Utah