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Shooting the "Mighty Five" Parks in late September
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Jul 4, 2019 11:50:13   #
Kennyg36 Loc: Atlanta
 
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other place along the route) and has some helpful spots/places to shoot established Sunrise/Sunsets. Flying into Grand Junction, CO and will arrive mid-morning. Basically i'll have a half day+ at the Colorado National Monument. Hoping to shoot sunset there and drive to the Arches that night, wake up there and shoot the sunrise Then ditto to Canyonland, Staircase, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ending it in Vegas for some Night Street-lights photos. My plan is to take the entire day shooting at each park.

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Jul 4, 2019 12:14:44   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
At Arches, I've sat in a queue at the entrance for 20+ minutes mid morning. You might need to account for being inside the park at night to be in position for sunrise the next morning at Arches (and all these parks). Given the distances, you might want to double-check how realistic the distances (and roads of travel) of your proposed itinerary, even if the weather was perfect for a week+ at all the locations.

You might also want to double-check the due-dates for a new federal budget as September 2019 might include a government shut-down given the current state of affairs. Add some candidate and excellent Colorado / Utah State Parks as fallback plans.

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Jul 4, 2019 12:39:18   #
Guyserman Loc: Benton, AR
 
Kennyg36 wrote:
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other place along the route) and has some helpful spots/places to shoot established Sunrise/Sunsets. Flying into Grand Junction, CO and will arrive mid-morning. Basically i'll have a half day+ at the Colorado National Monument. Hoping to shoot sunset there and drive to the Arches that night, wake up there and shoot the sunrise Then ditto to Canyonland, Staircase, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ending it in Vegas for some Night Street-lights photos. My plan is to take the entire day shooting at each park.
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other plac... (show quote)


Lots of luck driving to and seeing each park in a day. I wish you the best.

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Jul 4, 2019 12:39:32   #
htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
 
The Federal fiscal year starts October 1, so they shouldn't be shutting down things in September. That said, there is nothing too crazy to rule out in today's political climate.

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Jul 4, 2019 12:48:24   #
Ob1 Loc: Utah
 
Have a fun vacation but you will be busy. In all Utah parks arrive by at least 5 am to ensure proper set up time and to be able to arrive at you destination. Here are some suggestions: Arches- windows go through the north window and look west. Take a picture with turret arch in the center of the window. You will have to climb some rocks but this can be done and makes a fantastic image. Delicate Arch arrive at the trail head very early because it will take you at least 1 hour to walk to the arch and set up. Take water with you you will need it. During the day you can photograph the other arches. Pine tree arch is my favorite. You can do the fiery furnace walk but you must get a permit at the visitor center. Canyonlands- Mesa Arch is a must, you must be there 4:30-5:00 a.m. to set up your tripod. There will be many photographers. Zion- the rock amphitheater behind the first bus stop is best early morning and then Canyon overlook. Best hike in the park is Angels Landing but they are now issuing tickets and will take you most of the day.

As you can tell you will have some very early mornings. I spend the hot part of the days scouting where I want to shoot a.m. and p.m. One park a day is very ambitious but can be done have fun and you will get some amazing photographs.

Have a great trip!

Brad

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Jul 4, 2019 15:36:17   #
fbeaston Loc: Vermont
 
I would second CHG_CANON's advice ... one of the reasons I typically travel "off-season" are the lines to get into some of these parks. And some of the drives between those parks can consume a fair amount of time making scouting time a challenge. I do agree that you may wish to do it mid-day like OB1 suggested. If I read your post correctly, 1/day sounds ambitious (& I just finished going to most of those places) but maybe it can be done. I wish you luck. The best sunset place we found in Escalante was a place called Sunset Arch ... but it's a 40 mile, dirt road drive & a hike over unmarked territory.

PS: One of the best things about my just completed trip, was while we didn't dally long, you don't typically get everything right the 1st time, so planning 2 days was helpful ... & we also bumped into sights we hadn't planned on ... e.g., on the way from Escalante to Canyonlands, we drove through Capital Reef (one of the most beautiful parks I've ever seen) ... so my advice is leave some room for surprises.

PPS: Apologies for repeated edits, but I should have recommended Green River Overlook at Canyonlands & in Escanlate, Sunset Arch is quite close to Sunrise arch (which we didn't shoot), but if you planned to camp, you could get in & do Sunrise at night & if it doesn't work out, try Sunrise arch in the morning.

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Jul 5, 2019 07:07:45   #
steve49 Loc: massachusetts
 
Should be a good time to be out there. Lot of driving though.

I've been to these parks ( not Rocky Mt ) plus Kodachrome Basin and Dead Horse.
Beautiful all.
From here you would be better off going for 2 or 3 stops in a week and returning another time.
I think all the Parks are open 24 hours a day... cause people camp in there.
You can get into the Parks at any time of day/night in my experience.

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Jul 5, 2019 08:24:40   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Good morning. I've been to and photographed in the places you list, except for the Colorado National Monument.

Consider lodging to support your itinerary. Moab, Utah, becomes sold out, or near so, during the summer months. Lodging can become expensive there. I suggest you first make sure your lodging suits itself to your travels. When photographing in ANP and CNP, I stay down the road in Green River, Utah, for adequate lodging.

That said, in the places you list, you will find yourself amid some of the finest, most dramatic landforms on the planet, all very appealing to the eye. You will experience natural values par excellence. The monsoon season produces interesting skies. Your schedule, however, appears tight.

Enjoy!
Kennyg36 wrote:
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other place along the route) and has some helpful spots/places to shoot established Sunrise/Sunsets. Flying into Grand Junction, CO and will arrive mid-morning. Basically i'll have a half day+ at the Colorado National Monument. Hoping to shoot sunset there and drive to the Arches that night, wake up there and shoot the sunrise Then ditto to Canyonland, Staircase, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ending it in Vegas for some Night Street-lights photos. My plan is to take the entire day shooting at each park.
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other plac... (show quote)

Erosion, Green River Overlook, CNP
Erosion, Green River Overlook, CNP...

Peak, on Way to Needles District, CNP
Peak, on Way to Needles District, CNP...

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Jul 5, 2019 08:26:00   #
mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma
 
Inspiration Point at Bryce for sunrise. Do bring warm clothes. Dead Horse Point State Park, it's a mini Grand Canyon. On your way to Las Vegas, stop in to Valley of Fire State Park, wonderful petroglyphs! Look for "Newspaper Rock". Do not rely on your cellphone for directions as cell service is VERY spotty. We used a Garmin because it's satellite based. Have a map as backup.

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Jul 5, 2019 08:27:39   #
wds0410 Loc: Nunya
 
I'll second all those who are cautioning you on seeing all those parks in one day. Ambitious to say the least. There is so much to see in each park that one day is not going to do any of them any justice. IMHO, much better to scale back and do two or three max in a week.

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Jul 5, 2019 09:12:32   #
Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains
 
Kennyg36 wrote:
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other place along the route) and has some helpful spots/places to shoot established Sunrise/Sunsets. Flying into Grand Junction, CO and will arrive mid-morning. Basically i'll have a half day+ at the Colorado National Monument. Hoping to shoot sunset there and drive to the Arches that night, wake up there and shoot the sunrise Then ditto to Canyonland, Staircase, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ending it in Vegas for some Night Street-lights photos. My plan is to take the entire day shooting at each park.
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other plac... (show quote)


If you have the time a short side trip to Kodachrome Basis State Park might be worthwhile. It's near Bryce and, although not as spectacular, has some interesting rock formations that are somewhat different than the national parks you mentioned.

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Jul 5, 2019 09:28:09   #
AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!
 
That's a very ambitious schedule, and I hope you manage it. I've done trips like that when I had little time and knew that would be my only chance to even be close! So my advice is to go for it, get what you can get and don't forget to occasionally just stop and enjoy.

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Jul 5, 2019 10:16:16   #
Photec
 
Ambitious? To say the least! Several years ago I did these 5 parks in 3 weeks, and was totally rushed! I don't think I would have been able to "photograph" any one of those parks in a week. There are just too many outstanding shots available in every direction, and they all take time to get to and wait for the "light". Basically, shooting all in a week will essentially be drive to the park, shoot a couple of "I was there" snapshots, and take off for the next park. I wish you the best of luck, but once you are out there I think you will find, as I did, all you will have time to do is to possibly figure out in which order you want to go back, for taking your time to relax and photograph the parks over a period of time. Good luck and have fun. P.S. Don't forget to go to "Hell's Backbone". I think that is what it is called.

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Jul 5, 2019 10:58:18   #
DaveJ Loc: NE Missouri
 
That is a lot to cram into a few days. Are you sleeping in car? I visited most of your sites in Fall 2016 and when I do it again (possibly this fall)I would want to have much more time than you have allotted for each area. Best of luck. Great area to visit.

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Jul 5, 2019 11:08:12   #
frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.
 
Kennyg36 wrote:
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other place along the route) and has some helpful spots/places to shoot established Sunrise/Sunsets. Flying into Grand Junction, CO and will arrive mid-morning. Basically i'll have a half day+ at the Colorado National Monument. Hoping to shoot sunset there and drive to the Arches that night, wake up there and shoot the sunrise Then ditto to Canyonland, Staircase, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ending it in Vegas for some Night Street-lights photos. My plan is to take the entire day shooting at each park.
Looking for anyone here that’s been (or other plac... (show quote)


Paul and others have given you some good tips .... The one I have no seen mentioned is Zion, the narrows. The line into the park will be VERY long .... You'll be pressed for time to see (hike into) the narrows. You will Wade the reindeer to get there, so wear water shoes.

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