Just Another Day's End
We spent the day exploring a dirt and sand 4WD road called Henry Mountains Road - named for the Henry Mountains that are ever-present on the horizon. It is probably the most scenic road I have ever been on. Around every bend, over every crest of the desert floor - was a view more impressive than the last. We stopped the Jeep so often that it would take several days to fully explore this incredible road in the desert.
As the light was ending, we started the long drive back to our hotel in Torrey UT, just outside Capitol Reef. We guided the Jeep up the final steep incline and saw this beautifully lit scene in front of us. The sun was sinking fast and the clouds were moving even faster. I didn't think there would be enough time to set up the big camera, so I took an iPhone picture. The clouds were arranged in a perfect arc over the glowing golden butte in the distance.
After the quick phone snapshot, I raced to get out the real camera and tripod. I ran into the field, careful to cause no damage to the fragile plant life. I made several exposures but cursed my bad luck because the perfect arc of clouds had moved off to the left of the butte and lost their "perfect-ness". But, over time, I began to enjoy this version for its own unique qualities and the memory of that special light at the end of the day.
I titled this image... "Just Another Day’s End". While the final minutes of light were beautiful and seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime event to me, I was struck with the feeling that this is just a routine ending to yet another day here in the desert. This butte glows in the late golden light with a tapestry of clouds in the sky every day... for a million days before I got there... and for a million more after I left.