And guess what? For a change there is also some green in the pictures! Sometimes I wonder if you are thinking… is it really all so red where we are? It has been… red and more red… dust… it is also red, and after last week it will take me months for it all to be cleaned unless I get a hold of a super turbo powerful vacuum. How did you like the Gallery?… I have to ask because I only received one comment~e mail regarding it… In these hard times do I expect for zillions to be sold? Not really… I just think it is nice for them to be "out there"… It is a no cost venture, besides my "proofs", and no inventory, besides many work hours on Suz part and mine, and someone might just find a hole on their wall some day to fill. They are expensive as this was all new to me, that was my first impression, but as I found out later on, they are very reasonable considering the quality of the prints and comparative pricing.

This was Bluff we left a few days ago and it seems so much has happened. I have grown fond of Bluff, actually will have to return as my green coffee beans are waiting for me now, a bit late but they are safe! This above was our last Sunset there… and the camping was nothing to complain about, it felt like home, including the Petroglyphs right behind us.

Maybe it was the Ancient Spirits creating a Peaceful Space right were we slept, protected well from the winds and water near by. Bluff which I consider a hub to many destinations such as Monument Valley, The Valley of the Gods, Moab, the beautiful sights of the Gooseneck, Moke Dugway, Muley Point… and Colorado eastbound.

We returned to Needles yesterday with an early start going southbound on 191. Cold a bit but determined as I knew the winds had died down. Again westbound on 221, the main road which in itself even if Needles was not a destination is so worth riding or driving on. Riding is always better as I can pull off just about anywhere! This one stop was not too safe, but with no traffic it was alright for a couple minutes! I could not resist.

The views are spectacular and, as I called BLM today, I found out that all the fenced land, mainly on the right, westbound, and gated with a sign "please close gate" is free access for camping! And that is exciting as we will go back tomorrow to find one trail on which "White Elephant" can navigate a bit to set up camp for next week sometime, some day. It will be much nicer than the "Hamburger Campground" area we tried in the sandstorm on "Lockhart Basin" trail.

It really, even with BLM maps, takes some doing trying to find good, safe and free camping, with a neighbor maybe a mile or so away! Needles is about 65 miles from here, not a long ride, but again as night time approached I wish we were camping there, near by and did not have to make that ride back.

We stopped a lot on 221! This one point was an entrance that made me realize after reading the little yellow sign on the gate that it just might be BLM land! There was also a couple from Ontario with mega cameras (they are in the business) stopping where we would and vice versa! We actually lost them while in the Park, they let me look through some lenses I was curious about… the wish list is only growing now!

Spirit, the big ham, is always ready to pose for a picture, this time sandwiched between a couple vertically challenged flat rocks. He went in a bit too far and could not turn around, had to back out and back in! We had all day, one of those days, just relaxed and even a bit of hiking around, the sun was not even up high noon when we traveled that road. We also stopped at "Newspaper Rock", more Petroglyphs, these very well preserved. It use to be a BLM campground till recent floods and is closed now for camping.

Real nice to look at. The whole day was a Gift it seemed like with no weather to fight, no time to keep but the awareness of the sun above as changing the landscape continuously throughout the day and the knowledge that we were going to see a new area such unlike the northern entrance of Canyonland.

Walked upon my first sight of cactus flowers blooming, we are now seeing purples, yellows, reds, whites… it is a good sign and hope that they survive any possible frost. We finally made it to Needles, a totally different atmosphere than any Park near Moab. I think by now all the Rangers are familiar with Spirit, a few even stopped us… not for speeding… but to take his picture! It is so relaxed and is more a destination with much hiking than the quick come and go and snap and shoot a picture of the Arches for so many. Two campgrounds are available, they have been filled to their maximum occupancy for a while.

Totally different geology than the Island in the Sky, too many picture opportunities truly as all is so reachable unlike Canyons that you can only look from far. The Needles themselves however, the whole area of pikes is only reachable through a 11 mile hike… where of course being National Park, dogs are not allowed. I will have more pictures of Needles next time… we had also stopped at "Hole in the Wall" in the morning, a fun place to walk around but turned down the Tour of the 5000 sq ft home build in the rock as they do not allow to take pictures… no pictures… no go! This one below was my favorite picture of the day!

Till next time… have a great day, come and visit! Utah is beautiful…

You be well and stay well…   Ara & Spirit

Have you checked the T-shirts? "Throw the Dog a Bone!"… T-shirts… Mouse pads… Photography…

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Ara Gureghian   853 Vanderbilt Beach Rd #245   Naples, Fl 34108

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.