I awoke at 6:00 AM, to the sound of my sister saying “Ok…now clench your fist…here it comes…you’re gonna feel a little prick”, then she stuck the needle in my arm! She drew who knows how many vials of blood and wished me a good and safe trip. Carlin works in the Blood Lab at The Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, and wanted to run some blood work on me now that I have been on cholesterol meds for several months.
It had snowed several inches overnight here in Alpine, UT, and I wondered if it was really a good idea that I head out on an extended trip at this time of the year. It was March 8th after all, and spring had not yet sprung here in northern Utah. I had been watching the weather forecasts for southern Utah for weeks. Waiting for the storms to break and overnight temps to reach at least a steady 25° or warmer. And the trip needed to be pushed up by several weeks for various reasons, so it was now or wait till who knows when.
To get me to my first destination in the early afternoon, I left the house at 9:00. I was headed for The Needles District in southern Canyonlands National Park. Some may recall, I was there on another extended trip I did last fall.
As I made my way south, I was glad to see the weather breaking. And by the time I reached Canyonlands, blue skies were appearing. The difference in season from last time meant instead of getting one of the last three campsites available, I was one of only about three occupied sites. After choosing my site, I began to set up the tent when three young lady rangers (rangettes?…I don’t know) showed up offering to help me set up the tent. One commented, “We know how hard it is to put one of those up by yourself”. Well how could a guy refuse an offer like that!
The main objective in The Needles would be Druid Arch. Last fall I was thwarted just a short distance from the arch by the onset of a thunderstorm. Lightning is a very real danger in The Needles later in the year, but I hoped I would not have that problem this early in the year. Wet slickrock (red/orange smooth sandstone) would be a whole different story though.
After camp was set up and I had my dinner of Ramen and canned chicken, I climbed the slickrock above camp to take some photos as the sunset approached. Amazing views of The Needles to the west and the La Sal Mountains to the east. I used my telephoto lens on many of the shots to compress the scene, giving the appearance that the mountains rise directly behind the desert scenery.
When the sun dipped behind Elephant Hill, I hurried down and quickly drove out to a spot on Elephant Hill Road that I had used in the fall, to capture the sun as it dropped beyond the horizon just to the north of The Needles.
After the sunset, I returned to camp to begin my trip journal and stargaze. You forget just how amazing the stars are until you get so far from any city lights that the only lights at night are the stars and moon! Absolutely fantastic!
