Does Peace Have a Chance?

Sign on the wall from our trip to Syria last year,

East of Torrey

Not all make it

South of Torrey

 

Last year I came through this forest south of Torrey in the middle of October and all the leaves were gone but there were many Aspen groves and you knew it would be colorful earlier. This year we hit it at the perfect time.

Hanksville, Utah

The road from Hanksville Utah to Torrey has to be one of the best drives for photographers. Of course, there are several roads in this area are great and the drive south of Torry takes you through some large Aspen groves that can be colorful this time of the year.

Road to Johnson, Utah

Poles and Storm on Road to Johnson

Johnson, Utah

Johnson Utah is another ghost town north of Moab. The town was used in several western movies. Just north of town there are some great panels of pictographs.  

Cisco, Utah

Cisco is a ghost town NE of Moab. A road to the east goes to a landing on the Colorado River and although the town was mostly deserted there were a number of fishermen launching boats and river runners taking rafts out.

Moab

Rain North of Moab

Deer at Arches

Arches early and late

Double Arch Early Morning

Arches after sunset

A large bike event had left no motel rooms in Moab so we stayed in Green River. Hoping to catch great early morning light at Double Arches we left Green River at 4 AM and by flashlight hiked to under the arch to catch the light before sunrise. The light we waited for never came as clouds covered the eastern sky and the diffused light didn't give the contrast we wanted on the monochromatic rock formations. At the end of the day we did get some good light about a half hour after the sun went down.

Arches National Park

Just north of Moab is Arches National Park with a lot of large stone arches and monuments. To the south you can see the LaSal Mountains which also have large colorful Aspen groves and this morning had a dusting of snow.

Dead Horse Point

Our first stop in the Moab area was Dead Horse Point. It has been many years since I had been at this great overlook. Then you could drive right to the edge and have unobstructed to photograph from. Now there is a stone wall along the edge, platforms, shade structures, and even a visitors center along with a admission charged. 

Last Dollar Road

The Aspen were at their peak fall colors on Last Dollar Road.

Silverton to IrontownIrontown

Irontown

Silverton Reflection

I've stopped at this pond outside Silverton to photograph the reflection many times but the fall colors gave it a new look. While we were walking around the buildings of Irontown two deer were also walking around the ghost town and we saw them several times. They were not concerned by our presence.

Ophir

Ophir, Colorado

Colorado and Beyond

Top of Ophir Pass

When I left Silverton the first week of September there was no snow and the Aspen had only started to get their fall colors so now was the time to go back. Starting in Santa Fe with a friend who is also a photographer we left on a scouting trip to Moab. The goal was to plan a future trip for photographers leaving from the studio in Santa Fe then returning to process and make prints from the photographs using some of the processes Don teaches in his studio. Our first stop was Silverton Colorado and we arrived at the peak of the fall colors. This photo is from the top of the Ophir Pass jeep trail. On our way to Moab we will take Last Dollar Road from the Telluride Valley.

Checkerboard Cars

So today we have these checkerboard cars driving around town. Three of them are Range Rovers and one is a Jaguar. They are certainly heavily camouflaged, the Range Rovers even had there interiors covered. The windshield has both a Range Rover and a Ford label and a Death Valley " Car Test Pass". Maybe after the heat of Death Valley they wanted to try the cool weather high in the mountains. All had New Jersey plates. These test vehicles are said to have over 500 HP. Think if I talked nice they would let me take them over great local jeep trails? Come on, 500 Hp over Black Bear Pass.  Wasn't Jaguar and Rover sold to Tata Motors in India a few years ago? 

Bus on Kendall Peak

Went back up Kendall Peak with some friends to check out this old bus. It was right outside a large mine shaft and must have been used to live in as someone had taken out all the seats and added wiring for 110 volts. In the brush nearby there was an old four cylinder generator that must have supplied the power. The jeep trail up here is a twisted, rocky, and steep so getting it up here was not easy. It must have been here a long time as the tires have been mostly chewed up by the Marmots. The roof has some rocks on it and is dented in apparently from avalanches.   

The bus itself is very interesting. The body is made of aluminum and was powered by a flathead  V8 Ford engine, the same engine that powered Ford cars until 1953. The frame, which you would expected to have heavy rust, was in great condition and appeared to galvanized to protect it from corrosion. The bumper appeared to be thin strips of nickle and the space between them and the body was taken up by thick pieces of oak. The radiator and dash were also framed in oak wood. On what would be the curb side you could still make out the words "Danville City Lines". There is no manufactures plate viable anywhere but it would be interesting to know the make and history of this bus.

 We have a big hot rod meet in Lake Havasu every fall and there are always a couple small old buses that have been turned into hot rod motor homes. While this one is beyond hope there must be others like it that could be turned into an interesting vintage Ford powered motor home. It would sure look cool.

Old 100 Boarding House

The old boarding house is thousands of feet above the mill below. Miners would live up here and work in the mine year round. The ruins in the foreground is a tram tower and the miners would ride the tram buckets up to the mine. Today it is a long and difficult hike to get there.

Stars above Kendall Peak

On a clear night the view of the stars from 9500 feet is great. I decided to try and photograph them from camp. It would have been better to get out to a dark canyon but it was cold so just took it from camp. An exposure longer than 30 seconds would have shown star trails even with the 16 mm lens used here so I turned up the ISO to get this. The light from town did show up in the northwest face of the mountain at 30 seconds.

Blown Safes

Safe one

Safe two

In the side and top of these two safes you can see where the outer wall was drilled through and dynamite was used to blow them open.

So after we used the last of our dynamite to blow the safes we collected the loot and headed to the Caribbean.  Just kidding, with all that loot you don't really think I'd really tell you where we are headed.

Mill Truck

This International Truck sits outside the Mayflower Mill in Silverton. The mill has now been open to self guided tours after the Historical Society has restored it making it safe to walk through.

More Waterfalls

Waterfall

Living at a lake on the Colorado River I am always in sight of water even while living in the desert but here in the mountains you are really aware of water in the form of streams and waterfalls. Every trail takes you across streams and every gulch has numerous waterfalls. A real antidote to the dry desert.