These are my favorite shots from Zion, but they were also the hardest to prepare. All three were shot in HDR, which means, in turn, that I had to decide which “interpretation” I wanted to use since my software always presents several possible combinations.
To further complicate matters, none could be taken in a single shot because my wide-angle lens wasn’t wide enough and Photoshop created distortions no matter how I put them together.
I was impressed with Zion the moment we entered the eastern entrance, but I wasn’t quite ready for the tunnel that led down to the main section of the park. See that small hole in the center of the photo? That’s a window in the tunnel.
Since you’re not allowed to stop in the 1.1 mile tunnel, it was impossible to get a picture from there, so you’ll have to take my word that it was a memorable tunnel, even more so if you’re slightly claustrophobic.
After the tunnel it’s a rapid drop into the valley below.
The campgrounds in the park were full, and I got one of the last camp sites in a nearby campground, probably because I was camping in a pickup not a bus-sized RV. It was by far the most expensive campground we stayed in our trip, but it was acceptable because the setting was beautiful.
Not only were there upscale shops,
but there were restaurants where you could eat on the patio at the end of October.
Walking back to our camper after dinner we could look over the top of buildings and see mountains glowing in the sunset.
Even if it was short-lived. In the few minutes it took to get to a better viewpoint, the glow was already half way up the mountain.
Still, if we had camped somewhere else we might not have seen it at all.
I have a love-hate relationship with Zion. I fell in love at the park entrance.
Though I had already seen more red and white rock on this trip than I’d seen in my entire life, I wasn’t ready for the views that greeted us before we even reached the long tunnel that leads into the main part of the park.
The views were so fabulous I couldn’t decide what to focus on.
It was hard to miss a great shot no matter how you chose to frame them. This was one of my favorites, though, reminding me of bonsai.
These Bighorn Sheep near the park entrance certainly caught my attention, too.
I wanted to take a lot more shots, but I had to stop in the middle of the road just to get this shot, and there wasn’t a place to pull off the road for a half mile or so.
Unfortunately, the park seemed like a textbook case of people loving a place to death. We ended up camping outside the park and walking to the park entrance where we had to wait for three shuttles before visiting the main part of the park. I had to work hard to get a shot of anything under than mountain peaks that didn’t include dozens of people.
If we hadn’t been on such a tight schedule, I would have loved to spend a day or two exploring the land between Mesa Verde and Zion. Heck, we might spend a week or two visiting the areas on our next trip. There were way too many temptations to pull off the road and take photographs.
We had barely gotten out of Mesa Verde when I spotted this formation right across from the Ute Indian office (which happened to be closed).
We stayed overnight in Page Arizona and headed out for Zion, but I couldn’t resist stopping briefly at the Glen Canyon Dam.
If I had known a little more about the dam I would definitely have taken a shot from the other side of the dam, which is much more dramatic.
If I hadn’t read the sign, I would have thought this was a river, not Lake Powell.
I was fascinated by the sandstone rocks that looked like they must have been sandblasted for centuries.
I finally pulled myself away from the lake, but it was just a few minutes out-of-town when I had to pull over again and grab a shot of this ridgeline which dramatically rose out the middle of the desert.
Next up, Zion and even more dramatic rock formations.