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The Green River from the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah.

How is this for an amazing campsite? !   There are two camp sites in this area, unfortunately, we had the site next to it which wasn’t as close to the river, but still very nice.   So, as these people slept in, I quietly used their tents for my photo.

This was definitely one of the nicest campsites on the trail.  On-line, I had trouble finding much information on the different campsites – so we checked them out on this trip and will do a write up on the best camp sites along the White Rim Trail when I have more time, probably once I get back to Alaska.

Here is more information about the White Rim Trail.

Star trails above our tent along the White Rim Trail, Canyonland National Park, Utah.

We just got in from 3 really fun, and productive days along the White Rim Trail,  so I thought I would do a quick post.  The star tails are the result of a 25 minute long exposure – I lit our tent with my flash light, and then stumbled out of the scene in nearly total darkness.

I really enjoyed sitting there and watching the stars and seeing shooting stars.  It has been awhile since I have spent a night under the stars – I do most of my camping and backpacking during the Alaska summer, a time stars don’t show well, if at all.

Here is a lot more information about camping on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands.

Janine stands in the lower arch of Double O Arch, Arches National Park, Utah.

I realized I have posted a number of photos from Arches National Park, but none of them included an actual arch.  So here is two for one photo.  Visiting Double O arch requires about a 5 mile round trip hike through some wonderful country known as Devils Garden.  With must see detours to Navajo and Partition Arches, the hike ends up being about 6 miles.

Yesterday we picked up a rental jeep and are heading out for three days on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park.  We found out last year that the limited number of camping sites along this amazing road fill way in advance, so we made back-country campsite reservations last Spring.  We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time – everyone raves about this area, I should have an update here Monday night or Tuesday morning.

See more Arches National Park photos.

Courthouse Wash, Arches National Park, Utah.

Hey, there are even a few fall colors in Arches!  This was at sunrise yesterday morning.

See more Arches National Park photos.

A train leaving Moab, Utah.

Last year when we pulled into Moab I saw these tracks along this beautiful hillside and thought that would be a perfect setting for a train photo.  But, I only saw one or two trains during the couple weeks we were here, and was never in a position to get a photo.  This year I noticed a train leaves Moab about the same time everyday, making this photo much easier to obtain.  Evidently, the train is hauling uranium tailings from along the Colorado River to a more permanent site.  It is a Department of Energy project – not sure why our government is taking on this job and not the original mining companies – they probably took the money and ran.

We had a great sunset last night, but I just couldn’t seem to find the right position or  composition, so I came away with nothing.  I feel like a let one get away – great sunsets don’t happen that often around here.

Rafting on the Colorado River, near Moab, Utah.

This looks fun!  While growing up in Alaska, I did a ton of rafting – I miss that.  We just found out that you can rent kayaks and rafts in Moab for not much money, at least compared to what rentals cost in Alaska.  I don’t know if we will have time, but it is tempting!

Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area (WSA), Moab, Utah.

I spent two evenings hiking around trying to find a nice vantage point to photograph this very unique region – this was the best vantage point I could find.  The 24 Hours of Moab was held on the other side of this area.  I guess you could say, it was behind Behind the Rocks.

I thought it would be a fascinating area to explore, but these things are huge, I don’t see any way in there without doing some serious climbing with ropes and stuff – something beyond my capabilities!  I was reading about the area on the BLM website, and I thought this summed it up well:  “There are extreme topographical constraints to foot travel within this WSA”

This was captured with a 100-400 at 400 from 655 meter away on the opposite side of the Colorado River.  The exposure was a 20th of a second @ f/11 and a ISO of 100.

Pua Sawicki at the 2009 24 Hours of Moab.

When we left Pua Sawicki well after dark on Saturday night, she was well on her way to another National Championship, and more importantly, a world record for distance traveled by a women on a mountain bike in 24 hours.  She once rode 281 miles in a race, but it wasn’t sanctioned by the Guinness Book of World Records – this race would be.

We got up early Sunday morning and immediately checked the on-line results, and were shocked to see her current lap taking much longer then normal.  We kept an eye on the computer and finally saw she rolled in about an hour later then normal.  We hoped she just had a mechanical problem, and would start knocking off fast laps again, so we jumped in the truck and hurried over to the race so we could be on site before sunrise.  Our worst concerns were realized when we arrived only to see her support tent empty of workers and gear, we knew then her race must be over.  Her husband Ron later confirmed that she had gotten very sick during the night, and finally had to drop out.  Bummer!  Pua and her husband are super nice people – we hope they have lots of future success, I’m sure they will.

Since we were already at the race, we went ahead and photographed other riders.  The steep hillside pictured below was the scene of many dramatic wrecks.  I felt a bit guilty standing there and photographing such mayhem, at least at first.  But it became easier, when,  every rider had the same response – they would turn to me and ask if I got it!  Thanks to the soft sand, we didn’t see anyone get hurt.

Kakkan Creager of team Quadruple Gnar goes head over wheels during the 24 Hours of Moab, in Moab, Utah. Team Quadruple Gnar won the men's 18 and under championship.