The Castle
We got our wish for clear, blue skies this morning. As we were carrying our gear out to the Explorer, I looked up and saw the resident flock of turkeys heading for our campsite. They passed on each side of the motorhome like we weren't even there. They didn't seem to have any concern about the upcoming Thanksgiving feast day.
One of our favorite fall shots is the Fremont River and the surrounding cottonwoods in front of The Castle. The cottonwoods along the river were at prime or slightly past, so today was a good day to get the shot. We had the area to ourselves as we walked along the river looking for the best angle. We settled on a spot that included an "S" curve in the river with the cottonwoods upriver beneath The Castle.
The main petroglyph panel in Capitol Reef was only a couple of miles down the road, so it was our second stop. There are some great petroglyphs here, but they are very difficult to photograph. Barriers keep visitors at a distance, and the petroglyphs are on very light-colored sandstone. Morning sunlight definitely was not the best time to photograph them. Even with a polarizer, the petroglyphs were very indistinct.
We returned to camp with a brief stop to photograph the barn and Gifford House. The isolation must have been difficult for this family, but looking past the barn and across the pasture reminded us what a beautiful place they lived in. "The Gifford farm lies in the heart of the Fruita valley, a desert oasis described by Wallace Stegner as '...a sudden, intensely green little valley among the cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold, opulent with cherries, peaches, and apples in season, inhabited by a few families who were about equally good Mormons and good frontiersmen and good farmers.'"
We relaxed during the middle of the day while we waited for moonrise at sunset. Since it was a gorgeous, warm day and we had a free afternoon, we got cleaned up and Carol gave me a haircut. Now, I'm really stylin'!
Sunset at Panorama Point
Moonrise was supposed to be at 5:30, but by 5:00 the sky was completely overcast in the east. We drove up to Panorama Point, but it was obvious there would be no moonrise today. We still had high hopes for a good sunset because the clouds had cleared in the west. While we were sitting in the Explorer watching the sky, a photo tour arrived and walked up to a point that overlooked the main canyon. It looked like a great place, so we joined them. It wasn't until we were ready to walk back to the Explorer that Carol asked the leader what his name was. He said, "John Shaw." At first, Carol wasn't sure if she believed him, but it really was THE John Shaw. I've now seen Ansel Adams at Yosemite, Moose Petersen at Yellowstone, and John Shaw at Capitol Reef.
Besides seeing John Shaw, we also got some good sunset shots. We had warm, sunset light on the canyon walls and the Waterpocket Fold, as well as some interesting clouds right after sunset. The moon didn't show until long after we left, but it was still a pretty good evening of shooting.
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