Zion-Fall 2010

My first day back in Zion turned out to be hazy, with crummy light. Often times, it's better to just exclude the drab sky and focus on other points of interest. I used my telephoto zoom to make these massive cliffs look close together.

The next day was brilliantly perfect for photography. Alas, my plans for the day were thwarted, due to weekend traffic and intense road construction near the long tunnel. Parking was at a premium and most of the turnouts were clogged with the idle road construction equipment. I kept driving until I reached the east entrance, then turned around and finally found an empty space to park. Luckily, all of this higher terrain excited my camera eye.

I spied this "slot canyon" from the highway and decided that it wouldn't be difficult to approach it from a mile away. The reflected light makes this picture so compelling, and the canyon was so narrow in one spot that I had to take my backpack off and squeeze through sideways. I also had to do some tricky rock climbing in my attempt to go as far up the canyon as I could.

These higher elevation parts of Zion offer a lot more places to hike than around the cliffs of Zion Canyon. It is also noticeably cooler, while still being exceptionally beautiful.

The texture of this particular rock is reminiscent of a lakeshore as the water level goes down. Sandstone erodes into tiny specks of sand, and over thousands and thousands of years, you end up with these wonderful, everchanging textures.