So much has happened over the past 4 months. I feel bad for not being able to keep up with my blog... Out of all dramas, please allow me to share the following two stories.
"Morning at Mesa Arch"
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Talking about craziness, I got up at 3:30 AM this morning because some Canadian guy told me yesterday that, if all possible, I should try to catch the sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. My hotel is close to the Arches National Park, so I had NO idea where this Mesa Arch is. The guy said -- oh, it's easy. You drive on highway 191 all the way up until you HIT another highway, then you turn left.
So, I got up at 3:30 AM in the morning, left the hotel at 4 AM, and got onto highway 191. There was nothing but me and the darkness, I mean total darkness in the mountains. I did not HIT another highway until 35 miles later, I HIT I-70. Had I continued, I would have ended up in Colorado...
In the dark, I pulled out the only map I had and tried to figure out where on earth I was. The truth is -- I never thought I would get lost, as the Canadian guy told me so clearly that you HIT the highway and you turn left. So, I turned back, in total panic, as I did not want to miss the sunrise. Two things went through my mind on my way back to find that "highway": 1) you can't change your past, but you can only control your future and 2) be safe!!!
The happy ending story is: I did find the "highway" (if you call that a highway) and I barely made to the arch right before the sunrise at 6 AM.
The reason the whole world is going to Mesa Arch for the sunrise is because the rising sun would light up the bottom of the arch. Well, guess what, the sun was covered by clouds this morning, so it did not light up the arch at sunrise... All other photographers quickly left in disappointment. I stayed around a bit longer trying to see what would happen to the arch. For a while, there were just me and a million mosquitoes and the arch in total silence... but in the end, for a brief moment, the arch was indeed lit up by the rising sun.
"Morning at Mesa Arch"
Friday, September 23, 2011
The story of the day is – I could have caught an amazing sunrise over the glaciers at Columbia Icefield, but I didn’t. I actually got up at 4:30 AM to be ready for the sunrise. I drove in the total darkness again, arrived at the pre-selected location I picked out yesterday. In the dark, I was off a bit from the selected location, so I had to jump through the little glacier creek to get to the middle of the river bank to set up my tripod… I wanted to be able to capture the sunlight and its reflection from the glacier river.
The sad ending of the story is – the sun did rise, but the clouds quickly moved through the area and covered the sunlight. I was at the wrong side of the mountain, so I missed the whole thing, which lasted for only about 8 minutes… If there were a few times in my life that I wanted to kill myself, this would be one of them. I could have stayed at the top deck of the hotel and caught the amazing pink clouds hitting the glacier, but I didn’t. Instead, I drove out far trying to get the pink clouds and its reflection in the glacier river… and I got NOTHING – absolutely NOTHING!!
If, within the next month, you ever see a picture of pink skies over a glacier mountain from me, it means I drive back from Banff to the Icefields again to capture it – it’s about 2.5 hours drive and I need to get to the hotel top deck by 6:30 AM – so, do your math!
Talking about stress, I increasingly feel that I am far more stressed during my vacations than when I am actually contributing to the capitalism – pretty unbelievable concept when you think about it...
......
The next morning, I did get up at 3:45 AM. Drove 2.5 hours in the dark and captured these images at sunrise at Columbia Icefield.
"Morning Glow"
"Magic Clouds"
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