Sunset View Point - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
Here are a couple more scans from my spring break trip, this time from the relatively under-appreciated Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I say under-appreciated mainly because I’d simply never heard of the place or imagined how a canyon in the middle of Colorado could be impressive enough to deserve a national park designation. Having just come from the Grand Canyon two days prior, needless to say I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I was wrong. The sheer thousand-foot drops were different from the more gradual progressions of the Grand Canyon, and even more visually stunning because of the fresh snow and warm evening light. You can see some digital shots of Black Canyon here.
Devils Lookout - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
Delicate Arch - Arches National Park, Utah
I’m just now getting around to scanning film from my spring break trip to the Western U.S. This was shot on Ektachrome 100VS and scanned on a Nikon Coolscan IV ED. I retained the black frame that appears naturally when scanning slide film. I’ll be updating a few more slides to this blog over the coming days, but you can see all of my digital shots here.
While this particular rock formation is probably the most photographed in the entire park, it involved quite a hike to reach and a constant battle with the fast-changing light. On top of that, hanging onto the ledge of a rock face while battling 30-mph winds and 40º temperatures made it seem pretty badass.
Panoramic view from second overlook
When I go to Great Falls Park along the Potomac River, it’s usually for a hike along the rocky and (occasionally) streneous Billy Goat Trail or a stroll down the historic C&O Canal towpath, a 200-mile gravel road connecting Georgetown to Cumberland, Md. Both of these are on the Maryland side of the Potomac. The Maryland side has some designated overlooks of the falls themselves, but I’ve been told they pale in comparison to the views from the Virginia side. Following three days of rain, we were bound to see a ton of water.
On June 20-21, the Potomac River gauge at Little Falls was at 5.6 feet, or about 30,000 cubic feet/sec., according to the USGS. Normal flow is about 3 feet and 5,000 cf/s, which means we saw the falls at about six times their normal discharge (see graph here). The NWS warns that at above five feet, the “river is at hazardous levels for recreational use.” Unfortunately, on the same day we visited, two swimmers (breaking the law) south of the falls drowned in the current.
For more photos of Great Falls, check out my Flickr set here or click here for a view from the Maryland side.
On our drive back from Manchester, we took a detour through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near the Tennessee/North Carolina border. While not the same types of mountains and vistas I experienced over spring break in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, a pleasant drive through a tranquil and natural setting helped ease the adjustment back into normal society following the four days of craziness that was Bonnaroo. For more photos from the Smokies, check out my Flickr set here.
