WeeLing Travel Photography : Utah

Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Glen Canyon Dam and Carl Hayden Visitor Center

Introduction:

Carl Hayden Visitor Center located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area ( covering 1.2 millions acres) in southern Utah and northern Arizona surrounding Lake Powell.It exhibits the history of Lake Powell, the treasure in Glen Canyon including dinosaur bone and foot print.

Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to generate power via hydroelectricity, water reservoir for southwestern United States, and provide recreation opportunities.It is a Concrete thick arch-gravity dam with a crest width of 25 feet 1,560 in height.Construction completed in 1964 after 8 years of construction. Lake Powell took 14 years to fill to full pool. The lake has a storage capacity of 26,214,900 acre·ft , making it the second largest man made reservoir in the US behind lake Mead.

Attractions:

Tours of the dam, exhibits, video shows, a relief map of the entire Glen Canyon area, bookstore. Potential Junior Rangers are invited to come earn a badge.

Operating Hours:

Summer hours (call for days) 8 am – 6 pm MST;

Winter Hours (November through February) daily, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm MST;

Rest of year open daily 8 am – 5 pm MST;

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day

Contact:

Phone: 928-608-6404. Tours of the Dam: 928-608-6072

Location: Highway 89 on west side of Glen Canyon Dam

Fees:

Admission is free

Tours of the dam are $5

Nearby attractions:

Map

References:

http://www.utah.com/lakepowell/visitorcenter.htm

http://www.desertusa.com/colorado/GlennNRA/du_gcnra.html

http://www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_National_Recreation_Area

Glen Canyon Dam

The green Colorado river

The generator

Glen Canyon Dam

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States.

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Introduction:

Bryce Canyon National Park loacted in southwestern Utah. It's famous for worldly unique geology, consists of a series of giant amphitheaters along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Besides that it's unique for it's "hoodoos" the pointy spines all over the canyon, formed by erosion of the sand/ rock by melting snow. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m). The park covers 35,835 acres (55.99 sq mi; 145.02 km2). Bryce canyon 7.4 magnitude night sky, making it one of the darkest in North America. 7,500 star can be observed with naked eye during the night because of no light pollution here.

Attraction:

Hiking, photography, birds watching , natural arches, canyons, rock climbing , horse riding , star watching

Animals:

Mule deer,bobcats, mountain lions, black bears, elk, pronghorn, Utah Prairie Dog, the California Condor,the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, jays, ravens, nuthatches, eagles, Great Basin Rattlesnake, Short-horned Lizard, Side-blotched Lizard, Striped Whipsnake.

Popular hiking trails:

Easy and moderate Trails:

Mossy Cave (one hour, State Route 12 northwest of Tropic)

Rim Trail (5–6 hours, anywhere on rim)

Bristlecone Loop (one hour, Rainbow Point)

Queens Garden (1–2 hours, Sunrise Point)

Moderate trails:

Navajo Loop (1–2 hours, Sunset Point)

Tower Bridge (2–3 hours, north of Sunrise Point)

Strenuous hikes:

Fairyland Loop (4–5 hours, Fairyland Point)

Peekaboo Loop (3–4 hours, Bryce Point)

Campgrounds:

North Campground and Sunset Campground

Contacts:

Phone: 435-834-5322

For Maps and Brochures by mail, please write to:

Information Packet Request

Bryce Canyon National Park

PO Box 640201

Bryce Canyon UT 84764-0201

Admission Fees:

$25 per private vehicle.

$12 for individual entering by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, or non-commercial group

Admission is for seven days and includes unlimited use of the Shuttle.

The National Park Service has designated the following fee free days for 2012:

Martin Luther King Jr Birthday weekend - January 14-16

National Park Week - April 21-29

Get Outdoors Day - June 9

September 29 (National Public Lands Day)

Veteran's Day Weekend - November 10-12

The waiver does not include other fees such as camping. As these weekends may be extra busy with traffic and parking congestion, visitors are encouraged to ride the park's free shuttle when available.

Reservations for camping and lodging are recommended. Camping fees are in addition to entrance fees, and are charged per night. Campsite reservations fill up fast; reservations can be made up to six months in advance.

Nearby attractions:
Glen Canyon Dam
Antelope Canyon
Horseshoe Bend
Zion National Park

Map:

View Larger Map

References:

http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon Entrance

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon snowy cliff

Me at the freezing Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon

at the Bryce Canyon rim

Bryce Canyon cliff

my name

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Zion National Park, Utah, United States.

Introduction:

Zion National Park is located in the Springdale, Utah, United States. It covered a total of 590 km2, which is 24 km long and up to 800 m deep. Located at parts of Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park's unique geography allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. The unique life zones includes desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest consists of canyons, buttes, mountains, mesad,rivers, monoliths,slot canyon and natural arches. It take about 3 hours drive from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Attraction:

Hiking, canyoneering, climbing, biking, photography, birds watching , natural arches, canyons, rock climbing

Animals: Rock Squirrels, Cougars, Mule Deer,Coyotes, Jackrabbits, Whiptail ,Gray Foxes, Collared lizards, Pinyon Jays,etc.

Popular hiking trails: The Narrows, The Subway, Angels Landing, and Kolob Arch.

Rock climbing trails: Moonlight Buttress, Prodigal Son, Spaceshot, Touchstone.

Contacts:

Phone: 1-435-772-3256

Fax: 1-435-772-3426

Address: Zion National Park, Springdale, UT 84767-1099

Fees:

WEEKLY PASSES

Weekly passes may be upgraded to annual passes within 7 days of purchase.

Private Vehicle: $25. Valid for 7 days.

Motorcycle: $12. Valid for 7 days.

Admits one individual on a private, non-commercial motorcycle to Zion National Park including both the Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyon areas. Any passengers pay the per person fee not to exceed the private vehicle fee of $25.

Per Person: $12. Valid for 7 days.

Admits one individual with no car to Zion National Park including both the Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyon areas. - typically used for bicyclists, hikers and pedestrians. Youth 15 and under are admitted free.

Nearby attractions:

Map:

References:

http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/hours.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park

Click on photo to ENLARGE

The magnificent view of Zion National Park Valley from a cave with melting snow waterfall fall on the right.The weather is still cold in the spring ( April ) but not cold enough to prevent the snow from melting. In spring there are many waterfalls around the park because of warm weather melting the snow.