Slot Canyons in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Update ... again

I'm 90% there on the trip home. Am presently setting up flights home from Crimea to Albuquerque. This will probably be my last flight out of Crimea as the western sanctions have made it almost impossible to get money from America. We've lost Western Union, VISA/MasterCard and SWIFT. There's not much left except maybe carrier pigeon. Unfortunately, we need money to live and that comes from the US so we've made the very painful decision to relocate, at least until the sanctions ease, to a relative's house in the eastern part of Russia. Ulan-Ude is just south of Lake Bikal, near the Mongolian border. It's a wild place, with lots of mining and logging. My wife has a cousin living there so we're taking up residence with her until further notice. Not sure how my asthma will take to all the dust but we'll find out when I get back. I'll be returning to Simferopol for a short visit with my relatives and to see how our flat is faring then on to the east. Oh joy...

Oh, dates of travel ... March 28-29 on the trip to ABQ and June 2-3 on the trip back. 2 months in the states and lots of things to do. Will be running the whole time. Have to wedge in some doctor's visits to see what's up with my blood chemistry (which is all over the place it seems) and to clean up the ever messy financial situation. Not sure yet how these off items impact my main agenda but we'll adjust as needed. Since I'm wandering I don't need to really have reservations and the road's always there leading to the next place. I'll update my trip map when I know more.

Slot Canyons in Vermilion Cliffs NM

I didn't win the Wave lottery (had a 1 in 100 chance) but I'm still determined to hit Vermilion Cliffs during my trip and maybe stop by the BLM office to see if I can get a second chance. If not I'll find other parts of the area to explore. There's lots of beautiful scenery to check out so it's not a lost cause.

One of the most amazing parts of that area is the slot canyons. Over 10 miles of wildness and are they spectacular. Not as well known as Antelope Valley in AZ but still a great place to hike and take photos. I have literally dozens of shots in the hopper and each one is better than the last. I like this one because it looks like an animal (maybe a camel or an elephant laying it's trunk against the rocks). It's amazing the shapes one gets with fast running water and sand. Just watch out for the rain as these canyons can fill up very fast.

This is a 3 image HDR, run through the usual treatment with PhotoMatix and Lightroom.

Slot Canyon/Vermilion Cliffs - 29mm(1.6 crop),f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC-BY-NC 4.0

Vermilion Cliffs Excitement

Trip Delayed...

Due to some family issues my trip home has been delayed for a few weeks. I'm now intending to leave around February 17th and return to Crimea at the end of April. That's a few weeks shorter than I'd planned but sometimes that happens. I'm in the process of developing my itinerary and will post it to this blog and my trip map when it's finished. I won't be rushing all over the west like last cycle but will concentrate on Southern California, Arizona and some spots in New Mexico. Still a very aggressive schedule but not nearly as much driving. I blew through 10K miles last time and that was far more than I'd expected. All those side trips to find a McD for internet access and getting out of town to find a place to sleep really piled up the miles. I'm hoping I won't have to do that as much this time as my schedule has me working at night and sleeping during the day. I would expect I can find many places to sleep when the sun is shining and won't be hassled by the cops as much. We'll see.

Vermilion Cliffs Excitement

I applied for a permit to get into the 'Wave' at Vermilion Cliffs but was unsuccessful ... over 650 applications representing almost a 1000 people fighting for 10 slots. The odds were just too against me. I may, if I'm in the area, swing by the BLM office there and see if I can get in during the daily lottery. They have 10 spots open for that and I'll probably have better luck as you have to be physically present for the drawing ... and the office is really out of the way. We'll see.

Anyway, I really like this area even without the Wave as it's truly spectacular. I spent a day last cycle wandering the slot canyon network (over 10 miles of canyons ... dwarfs Antelope Canyon big time) and took a huge number of pictures. I've only posted one so far and that's a shame as there are so many beautiful formations to record. I may go back even if I don't win the lottery just to wander the right branch of the canyon heading south ... I didn't even touch that one during my last trip. Hopefully it won't rain again and I won't get stuck in the mug like I did last trip. You really need a big tire off-road vehicle to make sure you can get in and out on the crappy dirt road they have there. Sometimes the BLM takes the 'wilderness' designation a bit too seriously and that causes big troubles. Every year some people die in the 'wilderness' because they can't find their way back out due to a lack of trail markers. If you don't have a GPS tracker it's really easy to get lost up there. And some people shouldn't even go there as their health isn't good enough to endure the strains of hiking the steep terrain.

I took this image on the dirt road south of the parking lot for the Wave. I really love the colors in this part of the Great Basin. You can see a large pallet of minerals in the many colors (and layers) in the lower half of the image. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was low in the west (over my shoulder) so the colors really pop. And it's like this the entire 30 mile drive! You want to stop every 100 feet and take pictures. I only saw one car in the entire time I was making the drive. If you are in the area I highly recommend you take the time to see this. You can park in any of the trail heads and walk in as far as you want. Just be aware of the heat (especially in summer) and the potential for rain as some of the canyons can fill up with runoff very quickly. You won't be disappointed I promise.

Vermilion Cliffs Excitement - 93mm(1.6 crop),f/22,1/13 sec,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Damn, that was close...

Wanted to visit Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Several people have told me what a special place it is. So, yesterday I drove my truck down Rt 89 to the dirt road that provides access to the trails and features of this area. Explored the road from north to south and then back again before the sun started disappearing below the western hills. Arrived late in the afternoon and didn't have time to register with the BLM for a camping permit so I just stopped at the northern entrance and parked my truck, intent on sleeping there until sunrise. It was a miserable night with wind and some rain but we got thorough OK. Around 6 I woke up and dressed for a cold day as there were overcast skies and lots of dark clouds. Can't say I was thinking about rain all that much as the West is in a drought. Found Wire Pass parking spot (this is also the entry portal for 'the wave' but you need a special access permit for that). Loaded up all my camera gear (a big mistake) and started hiking down the dry riverbed toward where the slot canyons were supposed to be. Walked for what seemed hours, with a very heavy camera bag and tripod bag weighing me down with each step but never got to the canyons. Knew something was not right but didn't have my brain working well enough to figure out what it was. Discouraged, I walked back to my truck and decided to wait an hour plus I dumped all the unneeded camera gear but my body, the wide angle lens and the tripod sans carrying case. At 10 I started walking again and, this time, the going was much easier. Roughly 1/4 mile past where I gave up there it was ... the first of a long string of slot canyons. Some were narrow while others were wide and very deep but each was a structural masterpiece. The camera was overloaded with images. Not that the going was all roses ... several places were blocked with debris which is not cleared (this area has been given the wilderness designation meaning almost zero interference with natural processes in the canyons) but those were minor compared to the drama unfolding before my camera. Tired but happy I reluctantly turned and headed back to my truck.

I'd had a hard night so decided to catch a bit of sleep before starting back to the main highway. The sky was cloudy but not in a really threatening way so I was surprised to awaken to the sound of hard rain hitting the truck's metal roof. I looked around and could see people frantically working to stow gear and get out of the lot. The dirt road, under these conditions, would quickly become a quagmire. With some trepidation, I started driving north and it soon became apparent the drive would not go well. About 4 miles from the main road my truck, a rear wheel drive pickup, started swerving violently and soon I was half on/half off the road. As most people had already left the park, I worried I'd be staying in this position for at least the night if not longer. However, fate smiled and a BLM ranger plus a big 4x4 came tooling up the hill and rescued me. The Jeep easily pulled my truck off the edge and towed me all the way to the main highway. The driver was such a good guy he refused any renumeration for his wonderful deed. And, the folks from BLM were more than helpful getting me back on my way.

Rain has been a scarce commodity in the West for some time so it was a big surprise when a huge storm swept thru the area and dumped a ton of water. The road into Vermillion Cliffs was just graded a few days ago and is now badly rutted and in terrible condition again. The folks from BLM tell me it will be 3 months or more before another grading is offered so anyone going in or out of the monument is in for some rough driving. We all had a good laugh about the coincidence with the repairs and the bad weather but it's unfortunate this happened. But it's also a warning to me ... don't take these dirt roads lightly. I'd planned to take another dirt road to the Grand Canyon's north rim but it too received lots of rain so that's off for now. I'll have to wait for May 15 when the paved road is opened. I can wait as I have no desire to spend many days stuck in thick, sticky mud and perhaps even hurt myself. No picture is worth that much risk.

Vermillion Cliff Slot Canyon

Most of us are familiar with Antelope Canyon, the iconic slot canyon just south of Page, AZ. My AAA atlas' cover photo was taken there. The most expensive photo every sold (don't get me started on that again} was also taken there. It's a beautiful place and well worth visiting if you have the chance. Vermillion Cliffs also has slot canyons ... miles and miles of slot canyons ... but they receive very few visitors. Why, you ask? First, it's Vermillion Cliffs, a monument administered by the BLM, not the Park Service. It has zero amenities and only the bare essentials for it's clients. No flush toilets (just crude chemical tanks that you look into as you sit and do your duty), no electricity, no running water (or water of any kind), no internet, no cell phone ... no anything so It only attracts the most hardy or foolish of us. The road in is not for the faint of heart. And the slot canyons are not well maintained and are in a very natural and chaotic state. Second, there are no guides so you have to figure out everything for yourself. There aren't any signs telling you which way to go. There's no one to even warn you if a flash flood is coming. It's all very primitive and you're definitely on your own. But, and this is the big positive but, there's no $100 fee, no guide telling you to hurry along so the next group can enter and no herd of people randomly snapping away while you try to capture a picture worth remembering. Oh ... and the canyon walls are basically only 2 colors ... vermillion (thus the name) and black. Antelope canyon is a bit more colorful. You decide which is a better bargain...

Vermillion Cliffs - 1mm (1.6 crop), f/18, various exposures, ISO 100, license CC BY-NC 4.0

The dynamic range in the slots was all over the place. Near the bottom you could barely see while the open top was ablaze with light. I did bracketed exposures (5 with 1 ev between them) to get all the shades and that probably wasn't enough. I then put these images through Photomatix and, as usual, I tried not to get too carried away with my sliders. Just blacks and whites and strength in the tone mapping. Then back to Lightroom for some final tweaking of clarity and vibrance. Now, I've got maybe 28 sets of pictures so there's a lot more to process. I quickly scanned the lot and picked a representative but interesting image to process. I'll do more as time permits and, if they're worth it, I'll post them here later.