Fabulous, unspoled places...

There were certain targets I had seen doing my research, which were interesting enough to justify a lot of effort. Hope Arch, outside of Chinle, Arizona (site of Canyon de Chelly National Park) as well.  http://www.divexprt.com/HDRphotography/CanyonDeChelly/CanyonDeChelly.html

Hope Arch faces the morning Sun in a spectacular way:

It is easy to reach if you have accurate directions, which I found I didn't have. I wandered around in the desert for three days (well, seemed like) and there it was.

The best way to find Hope Arch is to spot the massive Edna's Needle from the road. The arch is the distance to Edna's again, and a bit to the right.

Hope is beautiful from any angle, including the West side:

That ramp is exceptionally tantalizing. In my case, I wanted to see the view from inside the Arch, looking southeast:

And southwest. Edna's Needle is telling me how to get back to my car.:

Having gotten my pictures, I started down like a happy teen-ager, until a ridge in the rock caught my foot. Ended up going down--head first. I remember seeing my Ipod flying through the air toward the rocks.

As I tell my friends, "All the wounds eventually heal, and you have the pictures."

I then wandered over to the Los Gigantes Buttes outside Round Rock. Eight miles across the desert, and:

Near Los Gigantes was another big butte whose name I have to find:

The clouds canceled my attempt to find Los Gigantes Arch. That cloudy sky bounces the sunlight around, and so is not good for the photographic effects I prefer.

Going North to a lake tomorrow if I can manage to climb out of bed.

More adventures!