Ming-Tzu Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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spooky action wrote:
I just got back from my trip. All I can say is I wish I had more time in Zion (and that the Narrows was open - it closed 2 days before we got there!). Suffice it to say that I will definitely be going back for the Narrows, the Subway, and some of the eastern parts of the park.
Here is what we did over 2 nights and 2.5 days and a few comments for anyone reading this thread in the future: (short version - Wednesday: Riverside Walk and Weeping Rock; Thursday: Bryce Sunrise, Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop, Willis Creek Slot Canyon; Friday: Angel's Landing.)
Wednesday - Got into Zion midday, ate lunch and took the shuttle to Riverside Walk and then Weeping Rock, both super family friendly and you get two giant waterfalls right off the bat which make for great family photography opportunities, especially Weeping Rock. We spent about an hour and half there alone. Afternoon was nice because you get the sun illuminating the waterfall and then a nice sunstar opportunity after it dips behind a mountain.
Thursday - Woke up at 4:45 AM and drove out to Bryce to catch the Sunrise with the family. In a word: Spectacular. I positioned myself to the west almost perpendicular to the sun to get a pano with both a sunstar and hoodoos lighting up at 20mm. I got a great pano with that, but if I had to do it again, I would have posted up opposite of that spot, a little down Queen's Garden trail with the sun behind me and focused more on the hoodoos.
After pancakes, we hiked the Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop combo - again, spectacular, especially with snow in many places. I did this with my 28 lb son on my back. Not ideal for photography but I really didn't have many issues and came up with some of my favorite shots of the trip.
After the hike we still had plenty of time to drive back to Zion and get another hike in. Instead, we drove to a little slot canyon - Willis Creek Slot Canyon - in the opposite direction. Very remote, pretty and easy for my 6 year old girl to hike in and out (she also did the Bryce hike earlier in the day without any issues). Another great photography opportunity - though this time was a little tougher setting up the tripod with my son on my back.
Even after Willis Creek, we still got back into Zion with time to do the Canyon Overlook trail if my family had been up for it. I would definitely recommend mixing in Bryce even on a short trip. It is too great not to.
Friday - I hiked up Angel's Landing alone at sunrise. Amazing hike and obviously photogenic. My family was done by this point and we headed back to Vegas.
Monday - I snuck in 2 hours at Valley of Fire to shoot the firewave, which I have yet to process. VOF is completely underrated in my opinion and well worth the short trip from Vegas.
I'm not on upload and sell, so if anyone wants to see some of the photos referenced above, I posted a few of them that I have processed so far on photography-on-the.net. Here's a link: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1478130 (If this is inappropriate I'll take it down).
Thanks again to everyone for the advice. It was really helpful in planning and executing the trip.
Josh
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Appreciate the detailed itinerary. I am going to the area next month with some family (e.g. adults, kids, etc.) and wondering where in Bryce did you go to catch the sunrise? I am staying about 90-120 minutes away from Bryce so wondering if it's worth the RT in case the family wants to stay in the hotel while I do it solo. Hmmmmmm
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