Zion National park – Page 2 – Kelly Guymon Photography

The Last Super Moon of 2020

Last Thursday night was the last super moon of 2020. It seemed like a good idea at the time to go out and get photos of it. In retrospect, next time I will go to higher elevations for reasons you will soon discover. I asked Siri when the moon would rise that night, and it said 21:03 (or 9:03pm). I thought that would be fantastic, so I grabbed my equipment about 8:45pm to set up everything to capture the moon. It wasn’t too much longer before it got dark. I checked my astronomy app for the position of the moon, and sure enough, it was just coming up over the horizon. I knew I had time to kill, so I decided to take a couple of star shots before the moon came up. According to my app, the bright star in the center is Antares.

After about a half hour, I realized that I was going to be there a while, because I’m looking at a 2,000 foot cliff waiting for the moon to come up over the horizon and peer into this deep canyon. Finally, I was rewarded for my wait. Three hours later, the moon started its rise over the cliffs about 12:30am, way past my bed time, but the wait was absolutely worth it!

The moon was illuminating the trees on the top of the cliffs just before it came up.

Slowly, but surely, the moon made it from behind the cliff, and it was an amazing sight to behold. Check it out!

I went to bed not long after, basking in the pleasure of seeing the last super moon of 2020 rise over the cliffs of Zion National Park. I found out later that the super moon peaked at 6:30 that morning. It was tiring but fun. Enjoy!

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: astronomy, landscape, nature, Photography, solitude, wildernessTags: Antares, astronomy, cliffs, full moon, Moon, night photography, supermoon, Zion National park Leave a comment

PFTA: Reflections

In the Fall of 2016, I went to Kolob Reservoir which is just outside of Zion National Park to look at the fall colors. The lake is surrounded by Quaking Aspen and pine trees. This was taken from the dam.

It is my wish that everyone can take a few minutes or more every day during this time of stress and uncertainty, and reflect on the blessings, the positive things and have hope for a quick return of some normalcy in life.

If we really think about it, do we want more of the same rat race we had before the shutdown? Or do we want to remember the things we’ve learned during this quarantine to become better people, better family and neighbors, and cherish that human contact we are all craving in this time of separation?

Enjoy

April 23, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: hiking, landscape, nature, Photography, solitude, wildernessTags: fall colors, Kolob Reservoir, nature, peace, photography, reflections, solitude, water, Zion National park Leave a comment

PFTA: Watcher in the Brush

On a beautiful fall day in 2014, it seemed like a good idea (at the time) to go into the mountains to chase elk. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect for such an activity. Up on the Kolob Terrace section of Zion National Park, it was easy to go off into the wilderness to go look for elk. Something to remember, this is the fall, and during the fall is rutting season for the elk. Coming into a clearing with beautiful vistas of lower Zion and the plateaus in Arizona off in the distance, I decided to stand on this boulder to look over the scrub oak and photograph this view.

If you look closer, there is a watcher in the brush. He was looking at me very intently and I was starting to get a bit nervous, because he’s only about 30 feet away and the only thing between us is the brush. I spoke to him and told him I was only taking his photograph, and he settled down. I got a little higher up on the boulder and realized he had a lady friend there on the ground and I was interrupting him. Oops…

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: hiking, landscape, nature, Photography, solitude, wilderness, WildlifeTags: Arizona, elk, hiking, Kolob Terrace, nature, peace, photography, scrub oak, solitude, Utah, vista, Zion Canyon, Zion National park Leave a comment

FOTD: A Step Back in Time

Now that everything is closing around us, and everyone is encouraged to stay indoors, I thought it would be a good idea to go through my archives and showcase images that I’ve never shown or haven’t shown in ages.

This is a wonderful image taken back in October 2007 of two old, dilapidated fishing cabins near the shore of Kolob Reservoir just outside of Zion National Park, Utah. At one time I had edited this image to have a metallic embossed feel to it; however I still like the original image better. This is also my submission to a photo challenge from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

Enjoy,

Kelly

March 24, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: hiking, landscape, nature, Photography, solitude, wildernessTags: Cee's Fun Foto Challenge CFFC, clouds, fall colors, hiking, nature, peace, photography, solitude, tree, weather, Zion National park 4 Comments

Shutdown Day One

Zion Lodge officially closed today until May 21 for COVID-19 concerns. The next eight weeks are going to prove interesting, not only here but pretty much everywhere.

For now, Zion remains open with many NPS services curtailed or closed; however, it’s advisable to practice social distancing and proper hygiene and self isolation for infection concerns. I see too many automobiles from out of state, such as Washington, and California, the two most common besides local plates, so it’s only a matter of time before the virus gets here. It would be nice if people would treat this crisis more seriously instead of going on extended spring break vacations.

That being said, I can understand people wanting to get into the Great Outdoors instead of being cooped up in their homes all day. If you’re going to do outdoor activities, please be responsible and do it in small groups under five and avoid crowded trails.

I may be stoking the desire to get to the national parks for awhile, but please do so if it’s in your own back yard if possible. There are many open spaces that can be enjoyed in quick trips instead of driving across states to visit us here. If your state or city advises you to stay home, please do so.

Enjoy and be safe, Kelly

March 20, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: hiking, nature, Photography, solitudeTags: covid19, fog, Lady Mountain, nature, solitude, storm, Zion Canyon, Zion Lodge, Zion National park 4 Comments

More beauty today

Let’s look at something beautiful and happy while cooped up indoors. Luckily we’re still in operation here in Zion, but many restrictions are now in place. Cars can now drive into the canyon, but the weather scared many away today. They just missed out on waterfalls and snow capped mountains. I took these after work today.

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: landscape, nature, Photography, snow, solitude, winterTags: clouds, fog, Lady Mountain, nature, peace, rain, snow, solitude, spring, waterfall, winter, Zion Canyon, Zion Lodge, Zion National park Leave a comment

A Bit of Beauty

With all the gloomy news right now, we deserve a little beauty to take our minds off the doom and gloom. I just took this as I was walking home from work today. It was snowing this morning (on Friday the 13th, in the desert? Go figure..), and it’s been raining all day.

Enjoy!

March 13, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: landscape, nature, Photography, solitude, wildernessTags: clouds, employee falls, fog, peace, photography, rain, solitude, Utah, water, waterfall, zion, Zion Canyon, Zion Lodge, Zion National park 1 Comment

Hello Again…

I ran into a couple of old friends tonight while shopping, and they reminded me that it’s been a while since I last posted. My apologies to you my readers and followers that it has been a long while since my last post. I’ll be diligent to make them more frequent.

Anyway, on Monday morning as I was walking to work, I looked up to admire the cliffs at sunrise, and noticed they were surrounded in fog and clouds. So I grabbed my phone and took these photos. Enjoy!

March 4, 2020 by Kelly Guymon Photography Categories: landscape, nature, Photography, solitudeTags: clouds, fog, Lady Mountain, nature, peace, photography, sunrise, Utah, Zion Canyon, Zion Lodge, Zion National park Leave a comment

Frozen Friday

Woke up this morning to new snow at Zion. It’s been an absolutely gorgeous day. (I tried to post this yesterday, but the internet wasn’t cooperating.)