Day 2: Hiking Dead Horse Canyon

We woke up to gorgeous scenery surrounding our campground in Dead Horse canyon. We quickly got our cameras and climbed out of our minivan into the cold fresh air to photograph the sunrise. This was the first scene welcoming us into the new day.

Image: Dead Horse Canyon at sunrise. — We took the same photo of the canyon as last night. This time it is illuminated by the sunrise.

Image: Photographing Colorado River at sunrise — We quickly climbed down the cliff to take some wide-angle shots of the rocks brushed by the morning sun rays.

Image: Fisheye photograph of the Colorado River at the Dead Horse Canyon at sunrise. — Awakening of the canyon.

Image: Photographing Dead Horse Canyon at sunrise. — Taking some panoramic views of the canyon wall.

Image: Panoramic View of the Dead Horse Canyon at Sunrise. — Panoramic View of the Dead Horse Canyon at Sunrise.

As soon as we finished taking pictures of the canyon bathing in the sunrise, we packed our minivan to head out to a new spot for hiking in search of new photographic adventures.

Image: Ready to continue our exploration of the canyon.

We drove towards the entrance to Dead Horse Point State Park and parked our minivan. Our hiking starts with photos of the beautiful southwestern sky over the sandstone formations.

Image: Dead Horse Point State Park. — The Southwestern sky never ceases to impress us.

Image: Southwestern style bonsai. — The southwestern style bonsai is naturally created by drying the dead plant.

Image: Panoramic view of the Dead Horse Point. — Panoramic view of the Dead Horse Point.

We will be hiking this dry wash – a tributary to the Colorado River. But, first, we will find a flat area to set up for a quick breakfast.

Image: Dry wash – a tributary to the Colorado River. — Dry wash – a tributary to the Colorado River.

The wash is becoming more shallow as we approach the highlands.

Image: Dry wash at the Dead Horse Point. — Dry wash at the Dead Horse Point.

Image: Giant hole in the ground surrounded by hoodoos — The giant hole in the ground behind me is surrounded by a wall of hoodoo formations.

Image: Undulating landscape. — Undulating landscape

Image: Breakfast on the precipice — We found a nice breakfast spot under large hoodoo rocks at the precipice of a small gully. We took some shots of the hoodoos and prepared breakfast consisting of Ramen noodles and gunpowder tea.

Image: Hoodoos at the Dead Horse Point State Park. — The zoomed-out view from our breakfast table. This is our ambiance for today’s morning meal.

After the satisfying breakfast, we continue our exploration of the local nature.

Image: Vintage rendition of the hoodoo rocks. — Vintage rendition of the hoodoo rocks.

The vast expanse of the scenery and total quietude instill relaxation, tranquility, and oneness with nature. We named this picture “Tranquility”. After a little rest, we will continue to explore the endless beauty of this place.

One always has to take precautions and watch for prickly and spiny plants, and listen for the troubling warnings of the rattlesnakes. The desert offers plenty of dangers.

Image: Prickly pear cactus — Prickly pear cactus

Image: Prickly pear close-up — Prickly pear close-up

That tiny turquoise speck on the hoodoo top is me trying to capture the great scales of the magnificent Jurassic layers.

Image: Great Jurassic layers — Great Jurassic layers

These strange-looking smooth rock “pillows” seem not to fit into the otherwise red and rugged landscapes.

The desert plant life reflects the harshness of the environment.

Image: Autumn leaves in the desert. — Autumn leaves in the desert.

Many desert plants, however, manage to bloom and have berries just like this juniper bush looking quite happy in this place.

Image: Climbing hoodoo rocks was an exhilarating experience. — Climbing hoodoo rocks was an exhilarating experience.

Image: Photographing from the giant hoodoo top — Photographing from the giant hoodoo top

Image: Living on the edge. — Living on the edge. Oh yeah!

Image: Dead Juniper Root — The desert has plenty of twisted dead junipers

Image: Rocky silhouettes — Rocky silhouettes

This cliff is just within a few steps from where we spent our last night. Don’t go walking in the middle of the night. You never know where you may end up.

Image: Afternoon shot of the Dead Horse Canyon — Afternoon shot of the Dead Horse Canyon

Image: Overlooking Dead Horse Canyon with Mount Peale in the background. — Overlooking Dead Horse Canyon with Mount Peale in the background.

Just as we started heading out of this location to our new dinner and camping place, we spotted Southwestern bighorn sheep. Two of the males were competing over a female. We managed to take a couple of successful shots with a 500 mm telephoto.

Image: Southwestern Bighorn sheep - male competition — Southwestern bighorn sheep – male competition

Image: Fighting over the female. — Fighting over the female.

With the afternoon mist settling in the valleys, the distant mountainous landscapes became more mysterious. We continued using 500 mm lens to capture some intriguing shots of the remote vistas. The following few images serve as a great demonstration of the reasons why colors effect our perception of distance. This natural light combination conditioned humans to perceive blue color as distant and orange-red colors as closer and bigger.

Image: Mountain range view from the Dead Horse Canyon — Mountain range view from the Dead Horse Canyon

Image: Long views from the Dead Horse Canyon — Long views from the Dead Horse Canyon

Image: Photographing at the Dead Horse Canyon

Portrait

At the end of this most pleasant photo session, we decided to do a portrait session. We climbed down a rock protruding like a peninsula into the canyon. We had to walk on a very thin and uneven isthmus to get to that rock. Then we set up a tripod virtually on an opposite side of the rock on the surface that slants outwards, and installed our remote-controlled camera onto the tripod to produce these portrait shots. The shadow of the tripod can be visible in the bottom left corner of the photos. In spite of the care-free smile in the picture, I felt very uneasy not knowing what to worry about more, falling into the canyon or losing the camera that seemed quite unsteady on that slope.

Finally, the self-portrait session was over. We got into the minivan to search for a new camping spot. Our laid-back pet took her usual place on the dashboard, happy and all ready for the trip.

Supper

We arrived to a gorgeous new location on the edge of the canyon. We parked our car and prepared for our evening meal. As soon as we set up the dinner table on the precipice of the canyon, we saw how impressive this new arrangement was.

We finished supper just in time to take one more shot of the landscape illuminated by the evening sun. Competing against the relentless shadows quickly engulfing the area, we took this last photo of the day and started preparing for a relaxing night in the tranquility of this remote luxury. It was a wonderful day. The temperature was 55 degrees and it will go down to 35 degrees tonight keeping us comfortable in our sleep and refreshed for the next day.

Portrait

Supper

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