Finally made it to Moab, the hub for all things outdoors in eastern Utah. As usual, the city is packed with tourists. Mountain bikes, ATVs, 4-wheelers, Jeeps everywhere and 4x4s of every make and model as well as outfitters and guides. The city has billed itself as the gateway to all sorts of outdoor adventures and people have flocked here in search of it.
We found a motel, and after talking the lady at the front desk down to a reasonable rate (sorta) we moved into our room and headed out for our photo adventure that awaited. We drove to Dead Horse Point State Park. This is such a gorgeous park that only in Utah would it be a state park.
Double rainbow over Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.
The sky was iffy, as it was the entire time in Utah. We’d been to Dead Horse on a previous trip and the weather alternated between clouds and rain and gorgeous God-rays and rainbows. According to the weather app on the phone, looked like much of the same. That is one of the greatest frustrations and joys as an outdoor photographer, you never know what you are going to get.
The view is so immense and stunning that even though you know what to expect you are still overwhelmed with the beauty. God does great work!!
We found a spot to set up the tripod and settled in to wait for the show to begin. I was fiddling with my graduated ND filter and taking a few shots to dial in my exposure when a man and his wife asked what kind of filter I was using. I told them about it and took a test shot so they could see the difference. By holding the filter over half the lens it made it easier to explain, a picture being worth a thousand words and all. You can read more here.
The sunset was awesome and I got my photograph. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Moab. We were about 10 miles out of the park when we heard a weird buzzing sound coming from somewhere on the truck. We found a pull off and looked under the truck. Amy said, ”that doesn’t look right.” And she was right, the driveshaft was hanging oddly and obviously rubbing against a strap as it turned, thus creating the buzzing. Time to call the tow truck.
Cell signal was nearly impossible to find but by standing absolutely still she was able to connect with the tow company on the 9th try. Amy was trying to explain to the guy on the other end of the phone where we were, but other than a cow crossing sign we couldn’t help him pinpoint our location. We finally got it worked out and settled in to wait.
A mere 3 hours later the tow truck showed up. The very friendly driver loaded the truck, apologized for the delay and regaled us with details of the multi-car wreck in town that had caused the delay as he whisked us back to Moab. He dropped the truck off at the shop and drove us back to the motel.
Now the real adventure - finding a mechanic in town who could/would do the work.