nature and landscapes Untitled

August of '99, I was only a couple years out of high school. Just for the hell of it, a couple friends and I borrowed my parent's mini van and left Pennsylvania on a trek across the country to go mountain biking. We took turns driving and wound up at The Badlands, SD in less than 24 hours. It was amazing spending hours on the flat plains of the heartland, to see the world just drop off into jagged rocks and canyons. We briefly stopped at Mount Rushmore, before heading across Wyoming to Boulder Colorado. We did some biking there before spending a few days in Crested Butte doing the same. It was my first time out west, and I was completely amazed by the scenery. It was in complete contrast to anything I'd ever seen before. We then started our harrowing journey to Moab, UT a mecca for mountain biking. We took a "shortcut" through a mountain pass that was going to save us 150 miles. After over 30 miles on a dirt road we came to a fork that wasn't on the map. We naturally did what anyone would do, and took the road that was more traveled. A few more miles down the road we passed a fire watch tower that explained why the road was worn so heavily. We took a vote, and decided to keep going. This turned out to be...  a decision were were all going to have to deal with. After another couple miles the road amounted to nothing more than a jeep trail. To make it worse, it had two very deep ruts in it from when someone with a much bigger, and better equipped vehicle last traveled down it in the mud. This must have been quite some time ago, because now the ground was hard and dry. So we continued down the goat path for another 30-40 miles, straddling the ruts because falling in one would certainly have lead to us eventually making the news. At last, we saw the first sign of civilization, a cow. Courteously, it moved to the side of the cow path so we could pass. After a quick photo op with it, we trudged on. After 10-15 more miles, we finally came to a couple occupied houses, and a paved road. We literally got out and kissed the ground.  We stayed in Moab for a few days mountain biking at Slick Rock, and exploring nearby Arches NP.  It was around 110 deg F, but we took the 4 mile walk to Delicate Arch.  I took this photo with my friend's girlfriend's beat up old 35mm point and shoot camera, that we had to fiddle with each time for it to turn on. After visiting the arch, we headed home. 

After the adventure that got us there, and the truly awesome scenes we saw, I decided to take photography more seriously. I splurged on a SLR. They say a photo is worth a thousand words. While to others this is just one of millions of mediocre photos taken of the same arch, to me it is where it all started.

Take a moment to read my associated story! Comment about your

adventures, and let me know what you think of my photo.

Best regards,

Charlie

It's great to have stories like that.  Give it another 30 years, and the story and photo will be even more meaningful to you.  Great rugby photo as well!

Thank you both! 

Stephen - I have been following your stuff on here for a while. You have some fantastic work with very vivid colors. I hope to one day be at that level. Thank you so much for stopping by, it means a lot!. 

Charlie

That's a great story, Charlie.  And, considering the circumstances, a great photo of Delicate Arch.  Now, where is the picture with the cow?