Outdoor Photographer

[Rob]

A co-worker just brought in the October 2011 edition of Outdoor Photographer. There is an article there about a photographer who traveled Highway 89 through Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana photographing the outdoors (surprise, surprise)

All traveling was done in his Honda Element and TEARDROP trailer. If you don't have access to the magazine try http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/a-photo-highway.html. There is also a small inset article with contacts for Camp-Inn, Little Guy, and So-Cal. I don't suppose James Cowlin is a member of this site, is he? You can see other photos of his at http://www.jamescowlin.com/.

[Wolffarmer]

Nice article and links. Thanks

Just got on the network at work.

Better get back to work

Randy

[Steve_Cox]

Thanks for the link Rob. Looks like another trip for the "bucket list".

[S. Heisley]

Beautiful scenery.

I don't know if James Cowlin is a member here but I'd bet our member, Goramsey, has met him!

[DMcCam]

Boy that would be a great trip! And it's just on the other side of Nevada too! Wonder how many members would like to join in on that road trip?

Thank you for posting it Rob!

Dave

[goramsey]

Beautiful scenery.

I don't know if James Cowlin is a member here but I'd bet our member, Goramsey, has met him!

Hey,

I haven't met the couple as yet. But I have followed their travels on their site. Good stuff. Heck of a fun highway to travel. For sure.

Cheers,

Gary

[TENNJIM]

Thanks Rob. Beautiful article. Some info on the trip was posted on the forum earlier in the year. I don't remember if it was James Cowlin or info was maybe provided by goramsey. BTW-Gary has posted some beautiful photography of portions of Highway 89 area scenery in southern Utah as well.

Jim B / Utah

[Corwin C]

I look at articles like this and can't help but think of all the stuff that he missed ... I don't have to go very far away to find any scenery or environment that I want, and each one postcard beautiful and dramatic. 30 minutes to 10,000' Alpine forest ... an hour to desolate desert ... an hour to vast grassy plains ... hour and a half to sand dunes ... two hours to palm trees ... red rocks, salt flats, volcano cinder cones, virtually any color of dirt that you can imagine (red, orange, golden yellow, green, blue-grey, and purple), vast scenery, trees so thick you can't walk through ... what do you want to see?







All of these pictures were taken about a week ago (28Sep2011), and are less than 10 miles from my house.
Man am I lucky ... ... just wish I had the time (and the tear) to go camping!

[SonofT@B]

Corwin,

You are one lucky man to live where you do. But then I guess I am too...I'm 5 hours from the Georgia coast, 15 minutes from Lake Lanier and 45 minutes from the north Georgia mountains.

I think Americans sometimes forget the wonderful and very beautiful variety we have here in the United States.

Thanks for your great photos.

[Hndbskt]

I look at articles like this and can't help but think of all the stuff that he missed ... I don't have to go very far away to find any scenery or environment that I want, and each one postcard beautiful and dramatic. 30 minutes to 10,000' Alpine forest ... an hour to desolate desert ... an hour to vast grassy plains ... hour and a half to sand dunes ... two hours to palm trees ... red rocks, salt flats, volcano cinder cones, virtually any color of dirt that you can imagine (red, orange, golden yellow, green, blue-grey, and purple), vast scenery, trees so thick you can't walk through ... what do you want to see?







All of these pictures were taken about a week ago (28Sep2011), and are less than 10 miles from my house.
Man am I lucky ... ... just wish I had the time (and the tear) to go camping!

BEAUTIFUL!!! We stumbled on part of the Skyline Dr. in the Manti LaSal NF just north of you last year. Need to come down in the fall for a trip in the next few years. Your pictures reinforce that Fall is a beautiful time to visit. I am thinking late September, does that sound about right for catching the color?

[Corwin C]

BEAUTIFUL!!! We stumbled on part of the Skyline Dr. in the Manti LaSal NF just north of you last year. Need to come down in the fall for a trip in the next few years. Your pictures reinforce that Fall is a beautiful time to visit. I am thinking late September, does that sound about right for catching the color?

The Skyline Drive is awesome, the views and vistas are incredible, but too busy for my taste. It seems to get more and more traffic every year. Even the parts that were jeep trails a few years ago are getting more and more traffic. I find it interesting how people will gravitate to a spot, visit it to death, force the Forest Service/BLM/State Parks/National Parks to make restrictions and "improvements" and then move on to the next spot because it isn't what it used to be. I've seen this with Skyline Drive, Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon, Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase / Escalante, the Paria River, Moab, the Paiute ATV Trail, and the list goes on. When visiting southern Utah, don't be afraid to visit the "road less traveled." I honestly believe that the best that we have to offer isn't in any travel brochure and it will take some pressure off of what is in the brochure. I dislike crowds and tend to avoid them whenever possible, yet I have absolutely no problem finding a somewhat private place without having to go very far out of my way. Be prepared, leave no trace, and use some common sense because mother nature can be unforgiving, but take the opportunity to venture out on your own.

The timing of the peak for fall colors around here vary quite a bit depending upon rainfall, temperature, etc. etc. The end of September to mid October in "normal" years, but it can vary by a few weeks in both directions. Some years the colors are bright and vivid, others they're more subdued but still beautiful. Occasionally, an early frost will come along and nip the leaves as they start to turn, making them go straight from green to brown, but every time I've seen this, it has been localized, leaving other places untouched. Another factor is the relatively extreme elevation variation that we have here. My house is at 6000' elevation, I can drive 15 short miles (about 10 miles as the crow flies) and be well over 10,000' elevation. This makes it possible to drive for 30 minutes and go from summer to spring or even fall to winter for that matter. It seems that every year, the colors at a specific elevation will "POP" and be more spectacular than the rest.

Come on over and visit a while. Every season has its own beauty, so don't limit yourself to any one season. Depending on what you like, late spring and early summer have fields of ever varying colors of wildflowers, winter has the pristine white of untouched snow and unparalleled views of the nighttime winter sky, late summer has wild berries, brilliant hues of green, and wildlife in their prime, and fall obviously has it's own colors. Any time you visit, there will be stuff worth seeing.

[Hndbskt]

BEAUTIFUL!!! We stumbled on part of the Skyline Dr. in the Manti LaSal NF just north of you last year. Need to come down in the fall for a trip in the next few years. Your pictures reinforce that Fall is a beautiful time to visit. I am thinking late September, does that sound about right for catching the color?

The Skyline Drive is awesome, the views and vistas are incredible, but too busy for my taste. It seems to get more and more traffic every year. Even the parts that were jeep trails a few years ago are getting more and more traffic. I find it interesting how people will gravitate to a spot, visit it to death, force the Forest Service/BLM/State Parks/National Parks to make restrictions and "improvements" and then move on to the next spot because it isn't what it used to be. I've seen this with Skyline Drive, Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon, Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase / Escalante, the Paria River, Moab, the Paiute ATV Trail, and the list goes on. When visiting southern Utah, don't be afraid to visit the "road less traveled." I honestly believe that the best that we have to offer isn't in any travel brochure and it will take some pressure off of what is in the brochure. I dislike crowds and tend to avoid them whenever possible, yet I have absolutely no problem finding a somewhat private place without having to go very far out of my way. Be prepared, leave no trace, and use some common sense because mother nature can be unforgiving, but take the opportunity to venture out on your own.

The timing of the peak for fall colors around here vary quite a bit depending upon rainfall, temperature, etc. etc. The end of September to mid October in "normal" years, but it can vary by a few weeks in both directions. Some years the colors are bright and vivid, others they're more subdued but still beautiful. Occasionally, an early frost will come along and nip the leaves as they start to turn, making them go straight from green to brown, but every time I've seen this, it has been localized, leaving other places untouched. Another factor is the relatively extreme elevation variation that we have here. My house is at 6000' elevation, I can drive 15 short miles (about 10 miles as the crow flies) and be well over 10,000' elevation. This makes it possible to drive for 30 minutes and go from summer to spring or even fall to winter for that matter. It seems that every year, the colors at a specific elevation will "POP" and be more spectacular than the rest.

Come on over and visit a while. Every season has its own beauty, so don't limit yourself to any one season. Depending on what you like, late spring and early summer have fields of ever varying colors of wildflowers, winter has the pristine white of untouched snow and unparalleled views of the nighttime winter sky, late summer has wild berries, brilliant hues of green, and wildlife in their prime, and fall obviously has it's own colors. Any time you visit, there will be stuff worth seeing.

Thanks for the info. I understand your feelings. People just have to limit the reproducing urge!! We drove just a short 5 mile segment of the skyline drive just west of Price, UT, last August, there were still patches of snow and wildflowers were just coming out.

[Corwin C]

Thanks for the info. I understand your feelings. People just have to limit the reproducing urge!! We drove just a short 5 mile segment of the skyline drive just west of Price, UT, last August, there were still patches of snow and wildflowers were just coming out.

It's not even that there are too many people, but it often seems like they all try to smash into the same corner of the world at the same time. And there's too many of them that don't understand how simple and easy it is to go places and see things and enjoy the great outdoors without leaving damage in their wake.