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Bryce
I am playing catchup as I have had limited access to blog or type with precious battery power. Bryce was basically what I expected. Zion was a tough act to follow. I had only planned to spend one day/night there, but because I was so exhausted from too much activity and the strenuous Angel's Landing hike I needed an extra day to just relax and take it easy. I did take a lot of photos, but found it difficult to get really great shots at Bryce. The lighting dynamic range was often too wide to capture as I wished, the angles were not just right and part of the second day was driving alot to see the various areas along the 16 mile or more drive. Most were not as impressive as the main sections near the entrance. I did not hike the first day, I caught up on some things and met some interesting people that I spent time talking/socializing with, one of which was even from Durham and working at the campstore. Small world indeed. I compared trip notes with a man from Germany (currently living in LA), who was seeing many of the same places and also doing alot of photography, and we each suggested other places to see and visit. In trying to find the astronomy talks and stargazing centers, I also stumbled into another Bryce employee who was also lost in the pitch black star filled night trying to find the same thing and we teamed up to located the telescopes and shared alot of intersting conversations along the way. It was nice to finally have some interesting company on the long solo journey and get some insights into seasonal working and share some snarky humor too.
Finally, after weeks of waiting I was able to see the Milky Way Galaxy at Bryce, far from the polluted city skies. What an amazing site. Now I can get just a little incling what it must have been like for the ancients and native americans to stare at the beautiful star filled night sky. I hoped to get some long exposure photos done, but got too tired and cold late at night after the activities to give it a go, knowing it is a trial and error kinda process. I may try tonight at Capitol Reef. Now proclaimed the best stargazing site in the Continental US according to the Ranger at the Visitors center.
I had pretty good weather at Bryce. Just a little of the shadowing rain that I can't shake, but nothing severe. IT does get cold there after midnight, but I kept warm in my sleeping bag. Bryce was somewhat reminiscent of the Badlands, but on a bigger scale maybe and you could not drive through it like you could in SD, which is a really cool experience. You can see for over a hundred miles in places though. Sadly I had the most obnoxious campers nearby. One foreign couple with a child that just never would stop crying/whining and they never seemed to try to stop it. A family of five with 3 kids, 5 bikes, 5 chairs, 3-4 tents and buttloads of stuff packed in and on top of their king sized SUV. I saw their pack laid out the day I left and don't know how they ever fit all that crap in one vehicle. Then hordes of kids running and screaming like mad. It is becoming epidemic lately with crying and misbehaving kids everywhere. Not to mention the tour busses that pour into the parks and clog everything up immediately like a flash flood of senior citizens.
I am playing catchup as I have had limited access to blog or type with precious battery power. Bryce was basically what I expected. Zion was a tough act to follow. I had only planned to spend one day/night there, but because I was so exhausted from too much activity and the strenuous Angel's Landing hike I needed an extra day to just relax and take it easy. I did take a lot of photos, but found it difficult to get really great shots at Bryce. The lighting dynamic range was often too wide to capture as I wished, the angles were not just right and part of the second day was driving alot to see the various areas along the 16 mile or more drive. Most were not as impressive as the main sections near the entrance. I did not hike the first day, I caught up on some things and met some interesting people that I spent time talking/socializing with, one of which was even from Durham and working at the campstore. Small world indeed. I compared trip notes with a man from Germany (currently living in LA), who was seeing many of the same places and also doing alot of photography, and we each suggested other places to see and visit. In trying to find the astronomy talks and stargazing centers, I also stumbled into another Bryce employee who was also lost in the pitch black star filled night trying to find the same thing and we teamed up to located the telescopes and shared alot of intersting conversations along the way. It was nice to finally have some interesting company on the long solo journey and get some insights into seasonal working and share some snarky humor too.
Finally, after weeks of waiting I was able to see the Milky Way Galaxy at Bryce, far from the polluted city skies. What an amazing site. Now I can get just a little incling what it must have been like for the ancients and native americans to stare at the beautiful star filled night sky. I hoped to get some long exposure photos done, but got too tired and cold late at night after the activities to give it a go, knowing it is a trial and error kinda process. I may try tonight at Capitol Reef. Now proclaimed the best stargazing site in the Continental US according to the Ranger at the Visitors center.
I had pretty good weather at Bryce. Just a little of the shadowing rain that I can't shake, but nothing severe. IT does get cold there after midnight, but I kept warm in my sleeping bag. Bryce was somewhat reminiscent of the Badlands, but on a bigger scale maybe and you could not drive through it like you could in SD, which is a really cool experience. You can see for over a hundred miles in places though. Sadly I had the most obnoxious campers nearby. One foreign couple with a child that just never would stop crying/whining and they never seemed to try to stop it. A family of five with 3 kids, 5 bikes, 5 chairs, 3-4 tents and buttloads of stuff packed in and on top of their king sized SUV. I saw their pack laid out the day I left and don't know how they ever fit all that crap in one vehicle. Then hordes of kids running and screaming like mad. It is becoming epidemic lately with crying and misbehaving kids everywhere. Not to mention the tour busses that pour into the parks and clog everything up immediately like a flash flood of senior citizens.
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