Photo Safari Noobs

So we crawl, some of us more reluctantly than others, out of bed and his the road. The more reluctant of us missed the continental breakfast so we had to make a quick stop at McDonalds on the way out of town. Between this picture and coffee, I’m awake!

We headed out to Lake Powell and stopped on this dam that this lady swore was Hoover Dam. Hawkins didn’t have the heart to tell her that although we didn’t know where we were, we were most definitely not at Hoover Dam.

Just past Lake Powell and Glenn Canyon Dam we stopped for gas. This place had no 91 octane, no ATM and was half full of office supplies and indian chotchkies

I have never taken a picture that so looked like a postcard

These two wouldn’t let a guy wizz in peace

Then we found this desert party hot spot. I guess there isn’t a lot else to do around here

Then we moved on to Four Corners. It’s pretty much exactly how I remember it. Plaque set in concrete and otherwise nothing else really going on. I don’t know what these two are doing now, I’m just photographing it

I have been far and wide across our fair country, not to mention some other countries and this is, by far, the tackiest thing I’ve ever seen.

todd Todd Huish

Officially, it’s still day 1. We left Kanab this morning, and began hurtling towards Four Corners (the only place in the US where you can be present in four states at once, as the natives living on the reserve will eagerly remind you as they reach for your $3/person entry free)… to see a plaque.

On the way, we came across a group of abandoned buildings. Opportunistically, we stopped and took a peek. The floor had clearly seen better days, but as long as you kept to the beams it seemed safe. enough.

John in the abandoned building

From there, it was a quick stop in Four Corners to split up into the different states and strike various and sundry suggestive poses while the camera fired away on a self timer, and then on to Durango, our destination for the evening.

About 30 miles outside of Durango, we happened upon a poor trading post that had recently suffered an attack of giant Native Americans. Understandably, the post was temporarily closed while they recovered. We would not be so easily deterred.

A giant arrow. It missed.

Our venerable transport

Once the air cleared (of John’s little gifts, not the arrows), we high tailed it. This is basically what it looked like the rest of the way (granted, it wasn’t very far). Sure, the mountains changed a bit, and the foreground was varyingly blurry, but that’s the gist of it.

On the road.

And now, time to crash and get ready for sunrise. Right guys? Todd? C’mon. It’s not that early.

andrew General

Andrew and I woke up early while Doug and Todd slept until about noon. While waiting for hibernation to end, Andrew and I took a walking tour of the town. 15 minutes later we were back at the hotel. We headed downstairs for continental breakfast where we got to make our own waffles. That was a first for me. Normally at a hotel they make breakfast for you, right?

When I saw the sticker (pictured above) on the window of our hotel, I questioned Doug on why he chose this hotel. We did get a nice discount, so who am I to judge?

Here’s some shots from our tour of Kanabe, UT. Oh, be sure to stick around for a shot of Doug tea-bagging Todd.

john John Hawkins utah

Day One is in the books. We started out more or less on time with a target of Page, AZ before we crashed. I ignored the TomTom and jumped off the I-15 a little early, which took us directly through the hairpin turns of Zion at night. Even in the dark, Zion is pretty gorgeous.

Todd made the awesome call of stopping to try out some long exposure shots of the brilliant night sky. Thanks to Todd, John and Andrew, I learned a lot about my Canon 30D and long exposure photography. Thanks fellas! Photos below.

Todd and Hawk are their usual snarky selves. Andrew, who I just met today, is already breaking my balls; which means he’ll fit in just fine to this motley crew.

Tommorrow should see us through Page, AZ, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Four Corners and Durango, CO. Weather and time permitting, we may make it into Telluride, CO for the night.

Love to Kelly and Finn. Thanks for letting me go for a few days. I miss you guys already.

Peace,

Doug

PS: 10 Geek Dollars to the first post to nail the title quote in our comments!

Todd and Blackbird II

My God Its Full Of Star!s

Zion Tunnel in Ghostly Non-Focus

Sharper Focus - Pattern Study

doug Doug Daulton kanab, Long Exposure, psn09, stars, zion

It’s crazy late or I would post more words but I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. We’ve made it from Vegas to Kanab on the first day. We had a slight detour and went though Zion National Park by accident. Let me tell you, if you want privacy, Zion at midnight is the way to go. We parked just off the road for about half an hour and not a single car came by. We made good use of that time to take some pictures of the stars. I can’t believe how many stars you can see out here!

We popped out the other side and crashed at ye olde Best Western of Kanab which was fantastic at $50 for the room and it comes with free wi-fi! Take that Vegas.

todd Todd Huish Long Exposure, night, utah, zion

Our first stop on the photo safari was in Zion National park. The only problem is that at 11:00 pm, it’s pretty dark. So instead of taking photos of the beautiful landscapes, nature and occasional wildlife, we turned our cameras towards the sky took some long exposure shots of the stars.

Here are a couple shots. You’ll notice something that looks like a shooting star in one of the shots. I wish I could tell you that’s what it was. It’s actually a plane flying through my shot. Cool nonetheless.

More soon.

john John Hawkins Long Exposure, stars, zion

Todd suggested that we pass through the “Four Corners” where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet. So, I’ve updated the itinerary below. I figure we’ll make it to Kanab, UT or Page, AZ tomorrow night, Telluride, CO on Thursday and pull into Denver around 6PM on Friday. If you’ve made this run before, leave us a comment with sites to see along the way.

Peace,

Doug

doug General

I had a dream and in that dream Bob Barker spoke to me from beyond the grave Hollywood Hills and it sounded a little something like this….

You’re going to Denver, Coloradooo! (audience cheers wildly at our good fortune) You’ll be staying in the fabulous Courtyard Denver Downtown (by Mariott). Located right in the heart of downtown Denver you can walk to a Rockies, Nuggets, Broncos or Avalanche game. If sports isn’t your thing, and I know it isn’t, you pansy, you’re also within walking distance of the Performing Arts Center. (did Bob Barker just call me a pansy in my own dream?! What the hell -Todd) You aren’t going to be walking the 1.1 miles to the WordCamp event though, that would count as exercise, wouldn’t it? You know it wouldn’t kill you to take a walk every once in a while. I’m dead 85 years old and I get more exercise than you do….

That’s when I wake up in a cold sweat. Nothing like getting hassled by Bob to get the adrenaline pumping.

Priceline kept us from staying 15 minutes away in the Motel-6. I don’t know when I got all snobby. I’d even be willing to pay more for the better hotel but, for the same price, I think anyone would take a Courtyard over a Motel-6 any day.

View Larger Map

Edit: Hey, guess what? Bob Barker isn’t dead. Whoops. Thank you Devin for the heads up. I always assumed that the only way he was leaving “The Price is Right” is on a gurney.

todd General, Todd Huish

When my Mom found out I was heading to Denver, she says to me, “I have a friend who works at a Starbucks in Denver. You should stop by and say hello.” After a quick bit of Google mapping, I found that his Starbucks is 1.4 miles away from where we are going to be for WordCamp. So, why not stop in and say hello and maybe take a picture or two.

This got me to thinking, “Where else should we stop along the way?” We already know that we plan on stopping to take photos, but why not let our rabid fan base (hi mom) help us out with some suggested places to visit along the way. Do you know of a place on our route that would be cool to photograph? Do you have a friend who wants to offer us free coffee or food along the way? Do you work somewhere along the way and want to give us free food or drinks?

Leave us a comment and tell us where. We’ll do what we can to stop in and say hello. Don’t be shy if we break out the cameras. You WILL be photographed and you WILL be on the site!

john General places to go

Colorado Cruisers by COAF

Because this photo safari is mostly in the mountains, during winter, the expedition vehicle is my 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser (FJC), which is well suited to the conditions. The FJC community is rich, active and very supportive. When building up my first FJC (2007 Special Edition … totaled … another story altogether), my local FJC club and the national FJCrusier Forums were great resources. So when planning this trip, I naturally asked for feedback in the national forums. They did not disappoint.

Shane from FJC Magazine reached out about doing a photo shoot and covering the expedition for the April Issue. Lix10 gave some great advice on the route and possible wildlife along the way. Finally, Coaf volunteered to set up an off-road run with us as well. It sounds like we could have some pretty cool photo-opps along the way.

This is shaping up to be a good thing … a very, very good thing. I don’t know about the rest of the crew, but I am hoping I get something worth submitting to the Aperture Nature Photography Workshops. Learning from Scott Bourne and company at Yellowstone would be amazing.

Peace,

Doug

PS: Here is the updated route.

doug Doug Daulton