Wild-West Road-Trip: from the Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree

Wild-West Road-Trip: from the Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree


Published: July 12th, 2017

Sometimes, i think to myself, "how did we even get here?" It wasn't an accident. We made choices and plans to be where we are. Maybe they weren't all conscious choices with a direct goal or destination in mind, but we make the best choice at the time it's given and we just hope that wherever we end up will be the best place for us at that time.

I've only got one picture for you, tonight. It's a picture of our truck resting at the campground just outside of Joshua Tree National Park. I drove a very long way, today, and it feels like one of those times when you're tired and you know you worked hard for something, so you feel rewarded, but you're still tired... maybe even too tired to enjoy it.

How did we get here anyway? I-40 to Route 66 to National Treasures Road or something like that. It got a little hazy when part of 66 was closed and we had to double back to I-40 and catch the next op. The desert is hot, and it got hotter as we dropped at least four-thousand feet in elevation within five hours. At one point, my Snapchat filter listed the temp as 114* (oh, but it was a dry heat, I hear some of you laughing, lol).

Anyway, sometimes the road doesn't exactly take you the way you think you should have been going, but somehow you always end up where you're supposed to be. That's pretty much my whole life summed up. So, here I am. Sitting outside at 11:00pm enjoying the night sky and loving that it's cooler than it was.

To get this shot, I left the shutter open for thirty minutes, having stopped down to the appropriate aperture and ISO value. Because of the lengthy shutter speed, you can just start to see the star trails forming. I could have photographed for a much longer time and captured longer trails, but I just didn't. I don't know, maybe some other time.

Until then, thank you for reading and for keeping up with us! Take care:)

- Wayne



Post a Comment:

Related


Wild-West Road-Trip: The Grand Canyon

It’s the edge, that line between what you know and what you don’t. That boundary can be hard to see, but you feel it in your chest the closer you are. Evan asked me just the other day, “why do we even need fear?” This is why, I think. Because being fearless can lead to recklessness. Recklessness will have you over the edge before you even have time to realize what’s happening.

Wild-West Road-Trip: from Zion to the Grand Canyon

I truly love travel days. I love the anticipation of what we might see next and the time we spend on the road. Today, we crossed into Arizona and saw the Glen Canyon Dam on the way to The Grand Canyon. Nothing compares to seeing this for the first time. I'll talk about why on the other side of this link.

Wild-West Road-Trip: Zion National Park, II

A ranger-guided tour, some California Condors, more beer tasting, a dip in the freezing river, and a good hike to the Emerald Pools with my boys, and a half-dozen deer on the front lawn! What else could anyone need on such a great day?

Wild-West Road-Trip: Zion National Park, I

Our first day actually exploring the park was fantastic! We saw a few sights, I got my feet wet, snd the wildlife didn't seem to mind us getting close:)

Wild-West Road-Trip: Bryce Canyon and the road to Zion

On travel days, we all have to do our part to make sure that the camp is clean, organized, and ready for the road. Today, that meant washing dishes and getting the kids on board for some activities so Jen could do some laundry. I know it’s not glorious, but the logistics involved in keeping this machine moving are fairly involved.

Wild-West Road-Trip: Bryce Canyon

I’m going to say that Bryce Canyon was a little disappointing. It’s still a beautiful place, and we still enjoyed seeing the things that we could see, but I think there were several factors that made it difficult for us to love it the same way that we loved Arches and Canyonlands.

Wild-West Road-Trip: from Moab to Bryce and the Fourth of July Fireworks

What an amazing day of travel and fun! The highlight of my day was photographing the fireworks with Evan. Click through the link to see the whole day's happenings:)

Wild-West Road-Trip: Arches II, Moab Giants, and Canyonlands 4x4

We packed so much adventure into one day, it's hard to narrow it down to just the best moments. One thing is for sure: this view never gets old!

Wild-West Road-Trip: Arches National Park, I

Our first excursion into a national park with the RV included hiking to the Delicate Arch, plenty of water, and getting covered in that beautiful red-rock dust.

Wild-West Road-Trip: from Denver to Moab

Three-hundred and fifty-ish miles is what we did today, but we're at our first campsite for a few days and I'm thrilled with the way this has started.

Wild-West Road-Trip: Getting to know the RV

This blog post is all about day two from our trip and it's a general overview of the RV exterior.

Wild-West Road-Trip: Prep

How do you pack a camera bag for five weeks? My plan was to take everything, lol.