Next Adventure: Art at the Grand Canyon and Beyond

Trip Preparation.

When I choose a location for travel I search for inspiration on the web.  It's not hard to find.  For the second year in a row, I'm visiting the Grand Canyon for the Invitational, Plein Air Festival. And I love to surf the websites of the participating artists.  While at the Grand, I too will be painting and making photographs, although not part of the Invitational, but I aspire to be invited someday soon.  I'll be hanging out at the Ten-X campground south of Tuscayan near the South Rim.

And the Art of the National Parks book is a terrific, inspiring informative read.  Last year, at Zion National Park's Invitational plein air festival, the authors spoke and showed a terrific slide show of some of the work in the book, as many of the artists featured were present.

I will be at the Grand for 5 days and then I'm participating in the Escalante Canyons Arts Festival in Utah.  My camera is my traveling art studio for the week,  and right now I'm building some drying racks for my oil paintings.  The organizers have reserved some group camp sites at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.  Photography, painting and travel go together for me.

Today's Inspiration

Here are some artists who inspire me, and trigger my need to "Get Out and STAY out"

Erin Hansen's Website

©ErinHansen

©ErinHansen

©ErinHansen

Matthew Higginbotham, painter

©MatthewHigginbotham

©MatthewHigginbotham

©MatthewHigginbotham

I will be "on the road" for about three weeks, Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante Canyons, and then Capitol Reef National Park.  I love all three of these locations for early fall photography and this year I will practice oil painting too.  Join with me as I share the adventure and new imagery on my blogs.  And since I have a new hip, I will do some hiking in all three locations.

My Website Link

Grand Canyon Photography, 2014

Here are a few photos from my 2014 trip to the Grand Canyon

OOH la laaa, the clouds

By hanging around the canyon for a few days, I enjoy the changing light,
the shadows, and the warm/cool colors.

This view of O'Neill Butte and the South Kaibab trail seduced me as
it was lit be the sunrise.

I was thrilled by the clouds, which allowed me to include quite a bit
of the sky in the image.  Cloud shadows are my favorite subjects.

The sunlit O'Neill Butte really stood out
against the shadows of the inner gorge from Yaki Point.
This year I hope to hike the South Kaibab trail, visible
to the left of the saddle.

Capitol Reef Fall Photography, 2013

Autumn in the Orchard, Capitol Reef

Looking towards the Henry Mountains, from Strike Valley Overlook

Intro to Snowbirding in Southern Arizona

Snowbirding = Flying South for the Winter

Roper Lake State Park and Mount Graham.
This photo show the campground cabins along the lake.

Sunrise over Roper Lake, Arizona

I've read quite a few blogs about "Snowbirding" in Arizona, Southern California, and Mexico.  I follow a few blogs and learn when and where folks "full time" in their RVs. Living in Durango, Colorado is awesome, but for the winters, I plan to be a snowbird, and needed to scout some ideas.

Cherry Baby and Saturn with morning rainbow. 

In January I met up with some friends for a few weeks of camping in Southeast Arizona.  This is their second year of retirement, they spent last winter in and around Southwest New Mexico and Southeast Arizona. The names of the locations they explored in 2014 really intrigued me; Bisbee, Tombstone, the Chiricahua Mountains, Cochese Stronghold.  And as this is the first year of my extended travel with part-time retirement, I decided to rendezvous with them at Roper Lake State Park.

My friends have a classic 12 foot camper and tow it with their Toyota Tacoma.  A sweet set up.  Our rendezvous location was Safford, AZ, Roper Lake State Park. With a clearing storm coming through, the sunset and sunrise were photographically inspiring.  The campground was quiet and in the Gila loop I paid $15. for the night; no hookups, but water spigots and hot showers too.  Roper Lake has three loops for camping and can supply up 30-50amp service.  The campground even has a hot tub!  What a deal.  Here's a map of the State Park.

My friends' rig, sunrise at Roper Lake State Park

Day One: Durango to Bluff, UT (121 miles)

Day Two: Bluff to Holbrook, AZ (200 miles)

Day Three: Holbrook to Safford, AZ (215 miles)

I was solo, and often am, so the third day was kinda long for me, as the travel from Show Low to Globe was through the mountains, the Apache Reservation.  There were lots of hills with signs suggesting that vehicles towing trailers check their brakes for the downhill.  I certainly followed those suggestions, and stopped when I felt a bit overwhelmed by the drive, rested.

On this trip I learned that I can tow for 250 miles per day,  I prefer just around 200 miles.

I'm a newbie at towing my camper, took driving lessons and have been on many familiar roads, but when the travel includes mountains, and unfamiliar routes, I see I need to take my time.

Destination, Gila Box Riparian Area.  Safford, AZ

The reason for meeting friends at Roper Lake was our plan to caravan to Gila Box Riparian Area, northeast of Safford, and just about 20 miles from Roper.

Gila Box, BLM site. 

Outside of Safford, Arizona

The first thing I learned while towing my rig to the Gila was that the campground hosts, Walt and Kathy, were going to be fast friends.  They met us at the entrance and escorted us up and down the tight curves to the campground.  The road is narrow, well paved, but there are a few blind curves so Walt and Kathy made sure no other vehicles were coming at us.  

Walt, collecting the trash left behind.  

On my last day, Walt and Kathy escorted
me out of the Gila and gave me walkie talkies
for the drive to town.

The Beauty of the Gila Box

The Gila River, near the "take out".

Gila River, the beach.  I sat here many times with my sketchbook, camera
and reading material. 

Barrel Cactus galore.

Prickly Pear Cactus right next to my campsite

Home-sweet-home for 12 days

I settled in to Site #9, and set up my camper to catch the morning sun and southern exposure, my friends at Site 10. A 30 watt solar panel proved perfect for two weeks of "dry camping".   One of the main reasons I chose a travel trailer is to unhook and be free to explore with my jeep.  My "clunker" mountain bike serves me for daily trips to the loo, and to exercise and enjoy the land.  As you can see, I like a "gravity" chair and folding table end table at camp.  At $2.50 per night (with America the Beautiful Pass) the Gila was the best bargain for front country camping.  We had the campground to ourselves, with spacious sites, great views and the river flowing nearby.  And having Walt and Kathy, Jim and Marianne (BLM Volunteers) onsite sure helped me to feel safe and comfy.

The campsites at Gila included sweet light, covered picnic
tables and fire rings.

Part II. Geo Cache, ATV tour and New Friends

5 Steps to Prepare for Camping, Travel and Photo Adventures

Preparation for travel and photography:

1. Get Inspired
2. Choose a location
3. Research online
4. Make reservations
5. Prepare camera gear
6. Get out and STAY out.

Get Inspired.

I love looking at great art and great photography; I visit galleries, museums, and "follow" artists online.  For this week's travel, to Arizona, my main inspiration is to see the Dale Chihuly Gardens and Glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.

A friend of mine visited the Chihuly exhibition and these are some of her beautiful images.

Chihuly in the Garden

Chihuly in the Garden

Chihuly in the Garden

More Inspiration

Photography by Jody Forster

Jody Forster, the Superstition Mountains

All Jody Forster images are screenshots from her work at Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe. ©Jody Forster

Jody Forster, Organ Pipe Cactus National Park

Jody Forster, the Superstition Mountains

Choose a location: Research, Make Reservations

For this trip to Arizona, I chose to camp at the Lost Dutchman State Park.  Located near Apache Junction, AZ in the Superstition Mountains, this location was reviewed by the Wheeling It blog I follow.  Nina from "Wheeling It" is a full-time blogger and helpful with her campground reviews and also posts wonderful photos.  Photographing the Southwest, by Laurent Martres, is a great resource too for "right time, right place" photo locations in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. In Volume 2, there are a few suggestions for photography at the Lost Dutchman.

Past photography excursions to Southern Arizona have included Saguaro National Monument, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and lots of trips to Sedona, Phoenix and Tucson.

Prepare Camera Gear

I recently sent my cameras in to Nikon for firmware updates and sensor cleaning.  I am camping at a location that will allow me nightly battery charging.  My gear will include:

1. Nikon D300
2. Nikon D5300 (brand spanking new), no, it's not full-frame, that purchase is in the near future.
3. Nikon 16-85 lens
4. Nikon 15-35 lens
5. Nikon 55-300 lens
6. Nikon flash
7. iPad with 32GB
8. iPhone 5
9. Rav Power to extend storage on my iPad to 64GB and charge my phone.
10. Tripod
11. Monopod
12. Reading materials on my iPad (kindle books)
13. Photographing the Southwest by Laurent Martres

Get out and STAY out

My motto.  So until I'm full time retired, I create long weekends.  The drive from Durango to the Lost Dutchman is 7.5 hours so I'm camping one night at Canyon de Chelly National Monument and will enjoy 1/2 day of photography at the Canyons. I called the Navajo Nation Parks service and checked on the campground for open sites.  The ranger was helpful and told me there's plenty of room these days.

Next adventure:  Chasing the Light in Monument Valley. I'm teaching a photo workshop from April 28 through May 1st, based in Bluff Utah and Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley.