US South West Road Trip

I have always loved rocks and stone and hence longed to travel to the US south west. Towards the end of April 2011 I headed south on a 3 week (solo) road trip. I had been researching my trip for at least 6 months, and had a very long wish list of sites to see. My primary destination was S Utah, and my first stay was Arches National Park in the SE where I camped for three days. The scenery was absolutely stunning!

These towers of sandstone are really impressive and are commonly in long rows. Sometimes with pathways between them! 

One of the many sandstone arches for which Arches NP was named.

 This photo was taken from my camp site before sunset. The shadows from the trees were so cool.

 This is a portion of the area in Arches named "Wall Street".

 The gigantic "Double Arches".

Nearby was my next destination for one night of camping on the high mesa of Dead Horse Point State Park with spectacular views of the Green and Colorado Rivers below.

US SW Road Trip

I have always loved rock and stone and headed out around the end of  April 2011 for a grand (solo) road trip to the US south. My first destination was Arches National Park in SE Utah where I camped for three days. The weather was nice and sunny...warm days but really cold nights. @ an elevation of 8,000 feet the freezing and windy nights really caught me off guard! I bought a cheap tent in Moab from a crappy store. The first night in the Arches camp ground I forgot to tie the cord around the tent pole crossover. The wind was so strong that it was flattening the tent! After fixing/modifying/pegging and weighing down the tent I managed to brew up a pot of Tim Horton coffee with my new propane stove. Mind you, I had to do it on the tailgate of the truck with numerous pieces of windbreak/plywood etc.encircling the stove. I had put on about 5 layers of clothing and dragged out my new "girlfreind" as I jokingly called "her" to spend the night under the stars with. (Skywatcher 10" computer-controlled Dobsonian telescope. Complete with loads of eye-pieces, accessories and a portable power supply to run it. Too bad I forgot to bring any usable and current star-charts!) The scope and mount took up about one third of the area in the back of my canopy truck! I set it all up and tried it out for a while with little success. As my hands and nose got colder and colder the scope was getting pretty sand blasted. Not good for any expensive optical electronic device. I had to wrap her up in a tarp as best I could and shut her down for the night. Into the new tent I crawled. I layed there for about 45 minutes listening to the deafening roar of the tent flapping in the cold wind and tried some ear-plugs. No good. "Ok...guess I have to sleep in the truck tonight." Problem was I had brought sooooo much useless stuff! (Two folding chairs, Elliots' bicycle, etc.,etc.,etc.) After starting up the engine and sitting in the cab with the heater blasting for 15 minutes I reclined the front seat and eventually caught a few zzzzs! What a start to my trip heh!? I loved every moment of it. Even the "Iced (frozen) coffee" in the morning.

Bobs Favorite Sunset Photos

California sunsets are as unique and amazing as the state. There is just some kind of magic in the air that says; This is California! I extracted this image from a video I took while driving (yea I know) out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

This is a profile of the terrain in Canyon Lands National Park in SE Utah.

Arches National Park/Utah. The sandstone formations here are incredible. The contrasts and colours at sunset really adds a formidable and beautiful depth to the structures.

"Just another sunset somewhere" near the end of a days drive in the US.

TheLindsay4 in Maui/2011. Taken on the walk down to the beach at Ekahi Village in Wailea.

"The Gateway". Standing in this spot really makes me feel centered in the Universe. Behind me stands the great Haleakala, the lush grounds of the complex, and the pathway which leads down to the wonderful main swimming pool of Ekahi Village. Through the gate and down a few stairs lie the beach... which is the thresh hold of the ocean. The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet. The atmosphere the skin. As our world turns and the sun sets, here...am I.

We stuffed one last evening trip to Black Sand Beach in Makena Landing and took 23 gazillion pictures of this tree and a lovely sunset.

The sunsets from the lanai at our condo were awesome!

"What about Bob?"

Hey...how's it goin eh?

 I have been inspired by my son Elliot's blog page. It looks like a great way to share some pic's and thoughts. I have always wanted to make a music video set to photos and videos from my travels. This may be a good beginning!