Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

iCe · 12:57 PM

I'm in the planning stages of a little summertime excursion. My initial plan is to meander through NM, UT, and WY with the ultimate goal being Yellowstone NP. So far I've I've only preplanned the "to" side of the route. Max travel time will be around 2 weeks... give or take a tad. I might have a seat open if someone wants to tag along... however... I am not one for schedules and "having to get there" on these kinds of trips and I'm not shy about traveling my way

which can wear out a normal person

The "to" route, so far, goes something like this (with stops as needed for photography.)

Night one- Clayton, NM... I'll do a 12 -14 hour day the first day just to get clear of Texas in one day. I don't expect to shoot much in Texas.

Remainder of the trip - open ended agenda

Preliminary stops:

NM

Capulin Mountain cinder cone (might skip this since I've seen it about elevnteen times... might not... I like that place

)
Taos (probably spend a day here depending on the number of tourists)

CO

Pagosa Springs
Mesa Verde. This could eat up a few days... or just one... hard to say.

It gets a little fuzzy here. There are some sweet roads out of Cortez to Delores / Telluride or Dunton.... Not to mention the fact that I could bypass the UT segment on the "to" side of things and meander up through the Rockies in CO... so the next section may describe the return leg... unless I decide to run over to WA and OR

UT

I might have to do the Canyonlands segment on the return leg. I've been to the Needles District and Island in the Sky but I would like to see them again...

Needles District - Canyonlands NP
The Maze - Canyonlands NP This is optional. The Maze is pretty remote. I'm not sure if I want to deal with carrying camping gear... not to mention it's a road trip in itself... but damn... the photo ops there are supposed to be a-maze-ing

Islands in the Sky - Canyonlands NP

Flaming Gorge
I might take a little time to run over to the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport

while I'm in the area... probably not

WY

Jellystone

It occurred to me that I might be biting off too much for a two week trip. I don't want to be in a hurry at any point so I may have to make some adjustments to the plan... The goal is to see as much of Yellowstone as possible. Camping is a possibility... I don't know if I want to jack with hauling gear or not... I guess that I could extend out to 3 weeks... maybe...

Anyone have any thoughts? Too much? Not enough?

zepp · 05-25-2007, 06:21 PM

Are you selling lens along the way to help pay for the gas? :)

iCe · 05-25-2007, 06:32 PM

Nah... but that is something to consider... One way... so far... the trip is 1,800 miles... at around 350 miles ($80 at $3.50 gallon) per tank that's about $400 one way just for fuel... but that's with the truck I'm driving now, which isn't mine and doesn't have any cost to me associated with it(but I can't just drive it willy nilly anywhere so a trip like this one is out of the question for my "free ride"). My new pickup is supposed to be here in late June or early July. Supposedly the Duramax gets about 19 mpg and diesel is cheaper than regular gas... at least it was... though not much... All told, fuel could be as much as $800 for the round trip... but I don't think it will be that bad... obviously if fuel prices keep marching up my trip will get cancelled... at least the Yellowstone part... that would suck...

WLPelzmann · 05-25-2007, 06:36 PM

Sounds more like 3 weeks worth of stops for me.

You might want to consider Great Sand Dunes NP, on the way from Santa Fe to Pagosa Spgs.

The ruins at Chimney Rock are a good stop - west of Pagosa Springs, just off Hwy 160.
Nice panoramic views from the top.

jchooper12 · **Michael -** 05-25-2007, 06:38 PM

My brother runs the Red River Fish Hatchery just north of Taos, swing by and you can see how they raise the trout for NM rivers.

iCe · 05-25-2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WLPelzmann

Sounds more like 3 weeks worth of stops for me.

You might want to consider Great Sand Dunes NP, on the way from Santa Fe to Pagosa Spgs.

The ruins at Chimney Rock are a good stop - west of Pagosa Springs, just off Hwy 160.
Nice panoramic views from the top.

Yeah... that's the problem, if you want to call it a problem, with a trip like this one... If I plan for two weeks I'll want three weeks

I may have to forgoe planning

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchooper12

My brother runs the Red River Fish Hatchery just north of Taos, swing by and you can see how they raise the trout for NM rivers.

I think I remember seeing that place when I was in Taos last year. I'll keep it in mind.

DEMDeepEllumMusic · 05-25-2007, 07:15 PM

Ok after Taos I would head west to Chaco Canyon and skip Mesa Verde, better anastazi ruins, less crowded, easier to find camping spot and on the way over you can go through and see that huge caldera that is just outside of Los Alamos,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_Grande and then on the other side of the town is Bandeleir National Monument http://www.nps.gov/band/ both can be great photo ops. I've driven by Valle Grande before when it was still the private ranch and have been wanting to go back and visit the new park there.

If you do decide to go to Mesa Verde there is a smaller site called swallows nest.

iCe · 05-25-2007, 07:30 PM

Good point Paul... Mesa Verde was pretty crowded last summer. Chaco is definitely a favorite of mine I spent most of a day there last year. Even if I didn't stop the route from Taos to Chaco looks pretty good.

zeroendless · 05-25-2007, 07:39 PM

Sounds like an awesome photography venture you'll be heading, Mike.

I wish i could do something like that for photo trip. Spontaneous, wild and tons of storage... LOL.

iCe · 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeroendless

Sounds like an awesome photography venture you'll be heading, Mike.

I wish i could do something like that for photo trip. Spontaneous, wild and tons of storage... LOL.

If I get to go it will be...I haven't nailed down a departure time yet. It's contingent on when my pickup is delivered + some break-in time (though a trip like this would break it in). At this point, the passenger seat is open

and there should be quite a bit of room for gear in the rear seat area. It's only a couple of weeks... there will be plenty left for work

I've worked my cajones off this year so I figured I would reward me.... but I don't want to get too cocky... work has a way of screwing with my reality

I figure that it can't hurt to plan.

Paul- Thanks for the idea. The route improved because of it.

iCe · 05-25-2007, 08:34 PM

Tentative...

engstrom · 05-26-2007, 12:03 AM

Not that you don't have enough suggestions, but have you considered taking I-10 to southern NM and hitting Cloudcroft and the Salado Canyon? Heck, you could even stop by the VLA on your way up north.

whodunnit · 05-26-2007, 04:18 AM

Man I would love to go, but I probably couldn't swing 3 weeks of vacation at this point. 2 would really be pushing it. And even if I can I couldn't go until August. Can you wait till August? My work has a way of screwing me out of weekends, so I can't imagine an actual vacation. I dare to dream....

iCe · 05-26-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whodunnit

Man I would love to go, but I probably couldn't swing 3 weeks of vacation at this point. 2 would really be pushing it. And even if I can I couldn't go until August. Can you wait till August? My work has a way of screwing me out of weekends, so I can't imagine an actual vacation. I dare to dream....

I don't know if I could stand being around you for three weeks

(For those of you with a

look on your face... Brandon is my nephew... he would keel over from shock if I was nice to him

)