Posted by Tom Kennon on October 31, 2009 at 2:50 PM
I had the good fortune to take a four day raft trip down the San Juan River in southeast Utah earlier this month and as an added bonus visit Monument Valley. We stayed at the new Navajo View Hotel in Monument Valley the night before our trip on the San Juan River. If you get a chance, spring for the extra few bucks it costs to stay right in the park. Some of the pictures in my gallery were taken from our hotel deck, including the one in this post. Every room faces the Mittens. Talk about a room with a view!
Our river trip was from Sand Island, near Bluff Utah to Mexican Hat, Utah. We experienced moderate whitewater and saw amazing ancient Anasazi ruins and petroglyphs and the night skies were incredible. Sorry if there are too many night shots in the gallery, I could not help it! Thanks for looking.
The picture in this post was taken in the predawn hours around 6:15am.
If you click on the first picture in the gallery you will get a larger view and you can uses the next button to browse to the next shot.
Posted by Bill Dark on October 31, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Wow Tom, what a trip! You captured many incredible views of the Mittens - the light was just perfect. I also enjoyed seeing the rafting sequence, and the petroglyphs are very interesting to look at. This is a trip I'd love to make some day. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by John Moore on October 31, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Amazing shot Tom. Well-balanced composition and I just love the colors.
Posted by Aaron Szabo on October 31, 2009 at 5:23 PM
That does sound like a sweet trip! I'd love to see some of these in print or at least not web quality... I want to go back to Utah so bad. The Forest Gump shot is awesome.
Hey Tom what a great adventure this trip must have been. There's nothing like the water and a great landscape together. Your images of the mittens with the great sky color and your milky way shot are some of my favorites. I also really like the campfire image actually. I haven't taken any campfire shots since my daughters were young and small. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Posted by Scott Bean on October 31, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Nice shot! I really liked all your night shots (and all the day shots too!). Inspiring me to get out and try some night shots!
Posted by Ken Bachman on October 31, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Nice shots, Tom. It looks like you had a great trip. What a great place for night photography!
I was at Monument Valley just a few days ago and wondered what the view would be like from the new hotel. When I was at the Goosenecks I saw a few rafts below through the snow flakes and when I was at the Forest Gump site, it was snowing so hard I couldn't even tell there were any mesas there even though I knew that they were.
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on October 31, 2009 at 11:58 PM
A real nice collection of images Tom. Even with just one taste of Utah's scenry, I know it's a place that I could shoot for the rest of my life. Great scenry around every turn. Thanks for sharing!
Looks like you got some great photos out there. I remember you talking about the petroglyphs at the gathering, those are always interesting to me. I dont think there can ever be too many night shots! Awesome view from your deck at the hotel.
Posted by Isaac Szabo on November 3, 2009 at 1:46 AM
Looks like you had a great trip and got a lot of nice photos. Love all the night shots!
Discussion
13 repliesOur river trip was from Sand Island, near Bluff Utah to Mexican Hat, Utah. We experienced moderate whitewater and saw amazing ancient Anasazi ruins and petroglyphs and the night skies were incredible. Sorry if there are too many night shots in the gallery, I could not help it! Thanks for looking.
The picture in this post was taken in the predawn hours around 6:15am.
Here is a link to my gallery from Monument Valley and the river trip: http://www.tomkennonphotography.com/gallery.php?gallery=sanjuanriver%202009
If you click on the first picture in the gallery you will get a larger view and you can uses the next button to browse to the next shot.
Great stuff!
I was at Monument Valley just a few days ago and wondered what the view would be like from the new hotel. When I was at the Goosenecks I saw a few rafts below through the snow flakes and when I was at the Forest Gump site, it was snowing so hard I couldn't even tell there were any mesas there even though I knew that they were.
Thanks for sharing.