Sunday, May 22, 2011

Canyonlands NP & Dead Horse Point State Park

We arrived at our next home away from home - Dead Horse Point State Park Utah, about 2:30 today.

The park is situated at the end of a long promontory with drops on either side over 2000' straight down.  At one point this land mass is only as wide as the road.  Imagine driving down a road with a 2000' drop on either side and you get the picture.

Well the park got its name due to the fact that they used to corral horses on the point by putting a fence across this narrow portion - effectively trapping the horses at the end.   For some reason unknown - one time the person who corralled the horses at the point never came back and the horses died of thirst.  Sad but true.

Anyway - this is our campsite at Dead Horse.


The front license plate has been a real crowd pleaser everywhere we go.


This is the view from Dead Horse Point - about a 1/2 mile from the campground



This is todays self portrait


Here are the doodles getting all dramatic as we return to the truck


After settling in to camp we drove the few miles over to Canyonlands National Park - The Island in the Sky District for you Canyonlands Junkies.

The scenery in this part of the country is just mind-blowing and the camera lens does not do it justice but I keep on trying none the less.

Storms over the desert



Lastly - Kate shot this picture of me last night while I was blogging.


The process of putting the nightly blog together entails first culling thru a hundred or more photos and trying to select a few that can represent the day.

Then those pictures must be processed by photo editing software to reduce the size so that:
 (1) I can upload them quickly with my connection & 
(2) so that others who might be following this blog on slower connections can download them without too much trouble.  (We have one person following this blog & doing their own blog from a sailboat currently in Greece)

None of the photos are color enhanced - only reduced in file size which actually cuts down the quality from the original a bit.

Finally - after all the pictures are ready - I then have to wordsmith all this witty commentary and put it all together, upload and publish for all to see...  and hopefully enjoy.

All this takes about 90 minutes or so.   Mostly because I am usually typing with one hand and holding a nice cool Gin & Tonic with the other.

From all the positive comments that we have been receiving from everyone it sounds like you are enjoying the ride so that makes me glad.

Tomorrow we leave the doodles back in camp and we are going to Arches National Park to spend the day on a number of short hikes.  It promises to be another great day!



4 comments:

  1. Enjoying the ride INDEED we are....Your photos of the canyon and the storm are great. I think the photo size you are working with is perfect and the centering on the blog (blogger default) works very well also. I know this takes time and effort, but it is very entertaining back here in PA. Soo we will be doing the same as we return to cruising life. Thanks a bunch...
    Hayden

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  2. Hopefully you'll get this one. I'm enjoying the ride...

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  3. Yes - enjoying the ride and hoping for an early retirement! It's great to read about (and see) the great times you are having on your adventure! We still want you to tell us stories when you get back :-)

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  4. Great photos! Really enjoying being along for the ride through your terrific blog. Can't wait to see what's coming up next on "The Admiral's America"!

    Love,
    Paul

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