The Wahweep Hoodoos have long been on my bucket list and conditions were good to make the 11 mile hike.  The trail head is just outside of Big Water and dumps you into the Wahweep Creek Wash which you follow all the way to the hoodoos. During the course of the day the only other living creatures I saw were long eared rabbits (scaring the shit out of me every time they darted out of the brush) and the coyotes that hunt them.

The hike up the creek wash (a quarter of a mile wide in some places) was relatively easy and beautiful in its own right.

After a couple of hours you arrive at what has been nick named Hoodoo Central, an area with dozens of hooddoos in all shapes and sizes. 

The self-timer on my camera will only go up to 10 seconds. The shot below required a full sprint to get into the frame and took more than one attempt to get right.  I wanted to give a sense of scale to the hoodoos.

I could have spent hours photographing but wanted to get back to civilization before sunset.  The nights here are about as dark as you have ever seen and I did not like the way the coyotes had been looking at me all day.

My flight to Las Vegas las night was delayed and I did not reach my hotel until 2 AM local time (5 AM my time).  I slept in before starting the three-hour drive to Kanab, UT which will be my base of operations for the next few days (weather dependent). The sky was overcast for all but 30 minutes of the day which made for generally uninspiring photography.  I ventured out to the ghost town of Paria where I found the best light of the day. When even slightly wet, the dirt roads in this part of the country become muddy and treacherous. It is very easy to get stranded and I was appropriately cautious not wanting to start my adventure with a tow truck rescue. I was very happy that I insisted on a true 4×4 with high ground clearance (Jeep Renegade) rather than the all-wheel drive SUV imposter that was waiting for me at the rental agency.

I am starting 2017 with a solo travel adventure to the US South West.  I am flying in and out of Las Vegas where I will be competing in a national over 55 soccer tournament on Martin Luther King weekend for a team representing Boston. Until then, I will be hiking, camping and taking pictures in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.  I will formulate and adjust my exact itinerary based on the weather.  I should be self sufficient down to temperatures of 10F.  Below that I will opt for a new destination or indoor accommodations. My gear includes a tent, sleeping bag/pad, clothing for 18 days, soccer kit for grass or turf, three cameras and tripod, computer, safety gear (GPS, personal locator beacon, first aid kit), hiking poles, waders, and warmth/rain/snow layers. I am pleased with the weight/volume of my travel gear which is comparable to what my sister brings when she visits us for the weekend.  My goal, cell service permitting, will be to post blog updates from the road.

The last day of the year saw our family scattered in all directions. Kyle took an early morning flight back to California, Nico and Karuna attended a Lettuce concert in Boston, while Maya and her friends attended a New Year’s Eve Party/sleepover. Jeanine is suffering from the flu so we stayed in for the evening binge-watching three episodes of The Crown. Caleb surpassed the number of household visits threshold requiring him to submit to a formal couples portrait for which he was an extremely good sport. Fiona and Sarinnagh are studio veterans and always happy to pose for a photo.