Sheep Camp

10 years ago dad and I set off on an adventure. We were headed out for the Grand Wash country. We ended up at the bottom of Grand Gulch. Now if you know that country you know that it is not passable in a truck(well at least if you care about your vehicle). There was a sheep hunter that was set up at the base of the canyon and had a canvas walled tent pitched. We visited with him for a bit and then headed on back down the road. We got to visiting and ended up in a place we had never been. There was a big pump, remnants of a wind mill, a sheep wagon and some tools laying about. We got out, milled around, I climbed up to the top of the wind mill and then we headed back on down the trail. It was kind of mysterious because if you know that country you know how huge it is and to have a operation setup there is kind of remote at best. Well we have always talked about going back and finally we did. Again we really just happened upon it because the turn that we were planning to make we missed, due to deep discussion, but we didn't feel like turning around so we kept rolling. After a few miles we found remnants of a faded trail and took it. As soon as we dropped of the edge of the knoll we dropped into the sheep camp. This picture was as we dropped down in. It was evident that someone was still working the place. There was a wheeler there, fresh tire tracks, the pumps were full of gas, and the sheep wagon had fresh food and was being slept in. However unlike the three bears we did not find Gold locks sleeping in the bed. Maybe that better though. So needless to say the mystery of the place is still, well mysterious, so dad and I have planned yet another adventure back out.

There are two things that I never get sick of. Pictures of the cactus's in bloom and pictures of Mustang. If I'm in view of Mustang I know I am in good country. Enjoy the pictures and I cant wait till the next time i get out here to shoot some more. I think that I am about to wear my camera out taking pictures of the beautiful desert in the spring.

Pakoon Country

Dad and I were able to slip out into the back country this last weekend. The wild flowers were everywhere. The rain that we have been getting the last couple of months has been great. This first picture is of Pakoon. The pond shown in the picture is where they caught the alligator. You can believe the story or not but just like the BLM boys founds out when they bought the property, its true. The story is that the feller won it in a poker game and just let it loose in the pond back in the 70's. When you use to go out there, back before he sold it, he had alligator crossing signs up and no swiming sings. Most people thought it was a joke but again it was not. When they caght Clem he was 8 ft 3 inches. Since the federal government has taken over the ranch it has really gone to hell. It really is pitiful to see my tax dollars so mismanaged and abused. It makes me sick to see what they are doing with the place but I will save that post for a different time. Anyways enjoys the pics and I will post the rest of the trip when I get more time.

A Little More Spring Goodness

These are the second half of my arrow canyon trip.

A Little Spring Goodness

This year has just been fantastic for the wildflowers. This was a little trip up Arrow Canyon. I have a few more that I will be posting up when I get a little time. Between kids, the fair weekend, birthdays, Easter and my day job life gets filled up quick.

Last of the Bryce Valley Weekend

Here are the last pictures of my Bryce Valley weekend. It was a great trip and I was sad to leave. However, luckily I get to go up a lot so hopefully the pictures will only get better. These pictures were taken on the way back up the trail. There are not as many pictures on the way back up cause the trail was treacherous and well pretty much I am out of shape. I got to wheezing so hard I couldn't event hold the camera still.

Navajo Loop

After pulling wire all day behind Big Arn at the cabin my idea of relaxation was to head up to Bryce and do a couple mile hike. Luckily though when I got up there the temperature was below freezing the wind was blowing so hard that you could hardly stand up. If you missed the lucky part in that sentance is was that I pretty much had the trails all to myself. On top of all that about a hundred yards down the trail turned to pure ice. If you have ever done the Navajo loop you know that the trail is pure switch backs so, that coupled with the ice, made for an interesting hike. The last three switch backs are always in the shade so they were not especially fun. However I just sat on my butt and slid down so it turned out ok. The trail was a pain but I think that it paid off. The pictures turned out great in my opinion. I know a lot of them look the same but I couldnt pick out my favorites so you get them all. For the ones of the trees I just laid down in the snow on my back and started shooting. One person did walk by and asked if I was ok but other than that it was great.

Chasin' Turkeys

Below that cabin and all through Cannonville there are Turkeys, lots of turkeys. Just before the sun went down I decided to hike down through the field and try and get a shot off at one (A shot being with my camera). Growing up I have hunted quite a bit, so sneeking up on an animal is nothing new. I still enjoy hunting quite a bit however, I have found that I enjoy shooting them with my Nikon a little more because I dont have to clean the animal after words and thats worth something. Guess there wont be any fresh turkey on the table tonight.

Red Canyon Part II

These are the last couple pictures from my trip through Red Canyon last weekend. The snow storm made for some fun shooting (I have to be careful to clarify which kind of shooting I mean in many groups that I run with). Tomorrow I will start posting the ones from Bryce.

Bryce Valley Weekend

This weekend we had some work to do on the cabin so I took full advantage of being up in beautiful country and brought my camera along. The weather this weekend was horrible under most circumstances. However I have found many advantages to bad weather......great lighting, interesting subject matter, and less people . It was snowing on and off starting from New Harmony all the way to Bryce Valley. I stopped at Red Canyon along the way and took some pictures. It was nice cause there was nobody out on the road and the snow was fresh so it made for some fun shooting. Oh and by fresh I mean it was snowing while I was taking pictures. I finally had to head back to the truck because it got so bad. These are just the first few in a long series of pictures from the trip. More will be coming over the next couple days. The hardest part is most definitely picking my favorites to post and share.