August 14-16, Zion National Park, Bryce National Park
First, last (previous last) night. I tried various settings with a tripod in a very dark spot near our cabin to achieve photographing stars. This was more dangerous than I imagined. I brought a flashlight (actually bicycle headlight in case we got stuck somewhere after dark. Riiigggight.) but employees heading to their accommodations on bicycles without any lights kept zipping by. And I was not the only one out there trying to get stellar photos, but evidently I was in the bike path. Here is the amazing part. I know that the earth rotates. All the time. When I used the telephoto (zoomed in) lens, even though my camera would not allow an exposure longer than 8 seconds, the stars photographed as streaks. If you want to know the settings and method I used, let me know and I'll tell you rather than bore the entire audience (if it isn't too late already). Shooting stars were showing off when my shutter was open but I was focused on such a small portion of the sky for eight seconds at a time and it was late so I have none to show but they were cool. More dark nights coming up, I'll keep trying.
No, I did not bump the tripod. My camera takes three timed shots and you can see the stars in different positions in each shot as they move across the sky.
Since we had to check out of our cabin we were forced to get going on our bike excursion early. We have determined that best way to tour Zion is by bike. There are no cars on the road and a shuttle rolls by about every 10-15 minutes. Cyclists are supposed to stop when a bus comes by because they will not pass you if you are moving. We started downhill from our cabin and after rolling past magnificent scenery. The last part of the ride is on a bike path. It's easy to load your bikes on the front of an up canyon shuttle which takes you to the top so you can roll down to your cabin. There were three small uphill sections and downhill was gentle following the Virgin river, unlike down the volcano in Maui.
Definitely competition for the Aspen bike path. Throw in shuttle rides up hill, less traffic, right outside your cabin door, no threat of rain plus spectacular views and it may have Aspen beat.
This does not answer the age old question which begins "Does a bear . . .?) but now we know about an Elk.
We went a little out of our way on the way out of town to stop by an orchard with pick your own organic apples. All of the "low hanging fruit" had been picked but there were plenty left for me. We figured they must be fresh and they were (are) delicious Gala's.
Leaving Zion on the way to Bryce we had to pass through a construction area which was still in the park. The views just kept getting better. Again we had to deal with those annoying drivers following us. Luckily traffic was stopped at various locations due to the construction so we could shoot-em-up there.
These shots can not begin to describe the beauty of the area.
And the cost to take in this magnificent scene is simply the price of admission to the park and a windshield.
Then on to Bryce Canyon which is really Ruby's Canyon because Ruby cut a deal with the government when they wanted their park to include some land and a lodge that Ruby had built. You can thank Ruby for everything you want to see, eat, drink, or sleep near Ruby's Bryce Canyon. Ruby was a rancher, not a vegetarian so we should have brought our own vittles.
Bryce has magnificent views and we took in a guided tour. We learned all about Spike the guide's son who just got back from his second tour in Iraq as a Blackhawk pilot and lives in Hawaii and his daughter who lives in Salt Lake City and Spike bought his house for $38,000 and it has three bedrooms and two and a half baths, two car garage and a carport and Spike delivered Pepsi for 30 years . . . And oh yes, this viewpoint is fairyland. Can you see Snoopy, and Foghorn Leghorn, and Marge Simpson?
Fairyland.
Snoopy (he is in the above Fairyland photo too). I suppose Waldo is out there too. I'd like to know what they were smokin' when they saw that stuff but there wasn't any on our bus.
Here is our favorite wildlife photo from Bryce. It was very nice of our little friend to pose for us.
There's good eatin' in Moab so let's go. We're trying to figure out how much of this scenery you can see before you stop "seeing" it. I have to admit there are some very scenic views on the Pennsylvania Turnpike too (Western Pennsylvania, certainly not between King of Prussia and Bristol). We got some good shots traveling at 80 but they have a few scenic view stops where you can take a picture without worrying that the camera will blow out of your hand.
Moab to follow.
Regards,
Steve & Laurie
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