Flew to Salt Lake City Utah on a Monday morning, rented a 4x4 (2015 Chevrolet Tahoe fully loaded-NICE!!!), and drove the 200+ miles to Burr Point just outside Capitol Reef National Park. Loaded up my pack and headed down the canyon toward the Dirty Devil River. I knew ahead of time the weather would be changing for the worse, however I had to give it a try to see if I work it out. The plan was to hike the 18 miles or so south down the Dirty Devil and enter the remote Happy Slot Canyon (rivals Antelope Canyon in Arizona). Had a difficult time climbing down the cliffs from Burr Point and the days light left me.

I set up my tent and camped high up on a cliff drainage and the temperature dropped drastically. Must've been in the teens that night. The thermometer on the Tahoe had said 30 degrees or so earlier. Woke the next morning and headed out to Professor Creek near Moab. Hiked into Professor Creek in through to the narrows and back in a few hours and set up another camp near the Colorado River at Potash. The next morning I headed up to the "Island in the Sky" section of Canyonlands National Park and got some great shots of Buck and White Canyons with a few "selfies" as well. Drove back to the Moab area and took Highway 128 to Onion Road. Hiked up the Onion Creek Canyon Narrows and out again in a few hours.

I then shot over to the Colorado River near Fisher Towers and captured a decent sunset shot. Camped again near the Colorado River at Potash. Woke early the next morning and drove out to Arches National Park and tried to hold the camera still at Balanced Rock for some early morning photos. The thermometer on the Tahoe said 19 degrees and the wind was howling!!! I came prepared for the cold weather but, wow it was COLD!!! Grabbed some nice day photographs in the area and then headed to Delicate Arch for the sunset. Hiked up to Delicate Arch in record time and captured a few sunset shots in the wind and cold. I've been to these areas of the parks many times in the past and it was especially nice on this trip because the weather kept all but the diehard photographers away.

Drove back to Salt Lake City on Friday, stayed in a nice hotel near the airport and woke up early in the morning for the first flight out back to San Diego. In all, I slept in my tent for two nights, the back of the Tahoe for one night, and in a hotel for two nights. Beautiful trip despite the weather and having to reroute my itinerary. The next trip to this area will be in Spring and I'll try again for Happy Canyon and the Halls Creek Narrows.