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In 2014 and 2015 I took a road trip out west. The intention was a photographic road trip. I went by myself taking my time doing what I wished which included getting up hours before dawn so I could be in the right place before sun up. After the golden hour, I spent the day scouting and shooting with the digital camera. Then a final evening session with the sun set. I incorporated these into daily logs with music attached. This is day 4 of photography days. I think this is about where I figured out how to manage the photos in photoshop. The three days before need reworking, when my eyes get back to normal-ish. The early tracks need some help too. This one is not too bad, Could use some editing on the lead.



This video begins at Oljato, Utah more commonly know as Monument Valley. The day begin with Brigham's Tomb with a cloud nestled on top. It was a really cold day spitting snow. Sunrise was a treat as you will see if you watch the video. The next stop was what is now called "Forest Gump Point", that point where he stops running as says he wants to go home. The course leads down John's Canyon Road paralleling Goosenecks and the San Juan River. Some 1,000 ft down. Don' slip. The next stop was a little piece of terror called Moke Dugway, a road that snakes its way up the side of a mesa. Snow on top. That lead to Arches Nat't Monument. I didn't get out. It was snowing harder. I wandered down a highway to Hall's Crossing some 25 miles down a two lane highway, only to find that the ferry on Lake Powell onlyl ran on Satrudays. Back I went. Did not see a single car or soul either way. The sun was kind on the way back gifting a really nice and long sunset, of which I took advantage.

Hope you all enjoy this one. I will eventually redo the first three and the remaining couple weeks.

I’ll save this until I get home so I can watch it on a decent screen.

Fantastic images & music, Marty

Great photos Marty so awesome! great soundtrack too well done!!

Thank you both for the ear and time to listen.

Brilliant. Awesome stuff really, high end stuff man, its the full package Marty. Photo's and music quality is top draw. A great experience id say, too.

Couple of the shots look like Mordor, others like Mars (apart from the cloud and blue skies). Looks like a fantastic place. The natural terracing in the rock outcrops are really cool. Bet there's some interesting fossils to be found out there.

Thanks much Ivan and Dolly.

One of the shots reminds me of the castle shots in "Young Frankenstein". It was a weird morning. I did not even notice the cloud over Eagle Mesa till the sun finally hit it. I turned to head back to the truck and was greeted with that view. Yeah, the area is all sedimentary rock with high iron content. Here the sandstone is fairly massive and bulky and coarse. Very little macro scale layering. But yeah, I did name on of the shots "Extreme Layer Cake". The shots toward the end are taken from the tip of Cedar Mesa at what is called Moke Dugway. This the the single track dirt road that traverses the side of the mesa. 1000 ft Below is Goosenecks State Park. Valley of the Gods, Mexican Hat and Monument Valley the distance. The geology here is to put it simply, complex. But I don't think there is any fossils here. The rock here is rust red. Everything is rust red. The brain tries to normalize the red which makes other non-red things look really weird, like skin. Everyone I ran into looked like just half past dead. It took me a day before I figured out what was going on. There are Navajo tales of places with evil spirits requiring cleansing rituals. I suspect that the brain adjusting to the red is the basis of the tale.

I really want to go back. I did not l make it to Capitol Reef, Staircase-Escalante, Arches. I have an idea that a week on a pontoon boat on Lake Powell would be really cool. I did make it to Page, AZ and Glen Canyon dam, Bryce Canyon, Kodachrome Valley. I am stll working on the videos for some of these places. Zion is also here as well as a lovely little place called Duck Creek. All this is about an hour to two hours away from Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. Lots to see.

Do, treat yourself go back, great for the soul that.