Image Description
The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park is one of the most remote
places in the lower 48 states. It requires hours of serious 4 wheel driving to get to this
area. The rule of thumb is that of all the people who visit Canyonlands National
Park, 90% go to the Island in the Sky District, 9% go to the Needles District, and only 1%
visit the Maze. But the Maze rewards you with incredible pictographs, unspoiled desert still
littered with native American artifacts, spectacular vistas, and the opportunity to die and
never be found if you screw up. Read The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey,
which ends in this area.
I had been in the Maze with a couple of friends for a few days, hiking and photographing and
getting to know the rattlesnake who set up housekeeping under my 4Runner (but that's
another story). Someone came past our camp and told us that bad weather was forecast, starting that
afternoon. In areas like this, a good rain can make the clay roads impassible for several days. Our
food and water were running low, so we decided to bail out while we had the chance. After several
miles in 4WD low gear, the storm arrived just as we reached the dirt road that would take us to the highway in another
couple of hours. I snapped this shot when we stopped for a quick breather before racing the approaching storm to the highway.
I like this photo because of the range of brightness in the monochromatic clouds, which already
obscured the tops of the highest mesas.
|
