Friday, 11 July 2008
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Western USA Road Trip Picture Diary: Day 5 - Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Day 5 - Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Trip duration: 15 days (May 9th to 23rd)
Total distance: 9000km/5560milesDay 5 part 3: Canyonlands National Park, Utah
One of Utah's famous landmarks. Like a camel's back emerging from a sea of sand.I gave chase to the sun
As its golden rays sank
Faster and faster into the landI broke into hurried runs
Losing myself to scenes so grand
This amazing park... Canyonlands
Lands, unexplored
Wild, echoing roars
As the wind blew ever more
Over barren rocky floors
Caution: MINI cooper obsession moment...I found myself in heaven, as the pavement unmarred by frost or trucks snaked in front of me. Each turn so smoothly crafted to fit the amazing landscape. I was in love, every corner was another game of balancing the weight of the car, placing just the right amount of pressure across the wheels, feeling the tires bite into the road, feel them scrub as the speeds increase, listening to their gentle howls of protests.
An empty road
A Mini CooperA heaven on earth
Caution: more motor head crazy obsession moments...I found myself unable to stop, the roads egged me on. "Faster, harder", they shouted. As the little Mini roared, from one bend to the next, its wide stance generating g forces almost equal to that of gravity.
Then the photographer in me saw this cliff's edge, a perfect photo opportunity to show off the amazing roads at Canyonlands National Park. Not wanting to waste any time, not wanting to miss the amazing sunset that was about to come, I ran up the hill, hurriedly took some pictures, and dived back into driving heaven, grinning from ear to ear.
1st gear, feel the car accelerate, grab second, as the tires momentarily lose traction while the clutch re-engages, 3rd, now entering a corner at speeds that made my brain press against the inside of my skull, a dab on the brakes, shifting the weight to the front. The rear's coming loose now, but an instinctive twitch of the steering wheel points the Mini straight at the exit of the bend, carving a perfect arc...
Heaven
On the edge of the cliff
A mere thousand foot drop
My mind flew over the top
Flew over these beautiful rocksWondering...
Why I am so lucky
To have seen the lot
Why I am so lucky
To have been on top?
The canyons are beautiful
A golden orange sea
As the sun's ray washes
Over You and meBeauty in the eye of the beholder
And beauty is all I see
As I'm here with You
Just You, and me
Standing still
Watching another sunset
Spires of rocks
Sighing as the earth rests
The rocks didn't know it
But I thought they looked the best
Of all the rocks Utah
I loved this sunset more than the rest :)
Desert trees kissed the sun goodbye
Waving their arms
Saying "Bubye, life giving eye"No human follies, no wicked lies
Here's a land of quietness
My ashes shall lay here, after I die
A thousand channels carved, over a million years
This open canvas, the rain's souvenirs
The earth gave the day's last sigh
One last breath
Beneath the skyThe haze mesmerizes the photographic eye
One last photo
A golden goodbye
Crusts
Cycles of decay
Lust
Here photographers play :D
Be her rock, be her anchor
Be that comforting shoulder
For when her tears wandersA constant force
Through winds and thunder
Be there for her
Even as the sun goes under
The sun kissed the land
Golden rays down to the last strand
Melting my heart and my hands
In awe at the day's end
Clouds lit up the canyon walls
Today's sun is no more
In just one day so much beauty I saw
A perfect day, I couldn't ask for more...So much beauty
I'm too luckyI saw
As the day light faded away...End of day 5. I had to drive for another 3 hours that night, dodging stray cows and wild bunnies to get to a motel with internet (must chat with Li-Ann :P)
Coming soon - Day 6: Capitol Reef National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park. Plus a picture of little lambs!
Go back to previous road trip entries....
Day 1: Montana
Day 2: West Yellowstone
Day 3: Yellowstone National Park 1
Day 3: Yellowstone National Park 2
Day 4: Yellowstone/Salt Lake City
Day 5: Salt Lake City
Day 5: Arches National Park
Day 5: Canyonlands National Park
Day 6: Capitol Reefs National Park
Day 6: Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 7: Cedar Breaks National Monument / Zion National Park
Day 7: Nevada desert and Death Valley
Day 8: Central California and Giant Sequoia National Monument
Day 8: Monterey California sunset
Day 9: San Francisco Sunrise panoramas and wallpaper
Day 9: San Francisco downtown Part 1 of 2
Day 9: San Francisco downtown Part 2 of 2
Day 10: Alcatraz, San Francisco
Day 11: California Coastal Redwoods
Day 11: Northern California Coasts
Day 12: Oregon and Washington
Day 12: Wayne's house
Day 13: Pike Place Market, Seattle
Day 13: Vancouver sunset and night shots
Day 14: Interior BC and Squilax Hostel
Day 15: Suqilax Hostel and Alberta
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Comments (7)
Nice pictures/writing~! What camera/lenses do you use?
The pic of the mini cooper by the side of the road...
Thought it was a toy, it looked so small.
@moolgishin - Hey thanks for the compliments :) Isn't photography fun? :D
For these pictures, I used a Canon 40D, most of the pictures (including the small Mini Cooper one) were shot with a 45mm f2.8 Tilt Shift lens. A couple of the shots I used a 12-24mm f4 and a 200mm f2.8 (with or without a 1.4x extender) on tripod.
Your pictures are awesome too, subscribed :D
I've never had the desire to see the Canyons. Heat, dirt, and rock don't appeal to me. But you've made them beautiful, and now I wanna claim the experience, too.
love the stratas in the cliffs (* V *)/
think my favorites had to be the third-to-last and the one with the mini on the side of the road. it looked so unreal, like a toy set. one couldn't know if it was all plastic and sand or not!
thought it wasn't being sent! coolll. made my day. ;] it's gonna be the second-best piece of mail sent to me this month! let me know if you need anything.
i absolutely love the vibrancy in these pictures. You made the earthy hues seem rich, especially when set off against the blue beyond...
most of the rocks seem to be flat tipped don't they?
my favorite is the third from the bottom, you take amazing pictures!