Fantastic Once in a Lifetime Luck in the Virgin River Gorge

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

January 8, 2015: On I-15, between Littlefield, Arizona and the Utah state line.

To me, the Virgin River Gorge is a jaw-dropping spot.  I-15's four lanes twist their way through the gorge, the highway elevated above the Virgin River.  This portion of I-15 cuts through the Arizona Strip, a remote portion of Arizona, more accessible to Salt Lake City than to Phoenix.

To photographers and tourists, the Virgin River Gorge is a challenge.  The challenge is, the gorge is so narrow the highway lacks shoulders or pull-off's.  So, there is no stopping or even slowing down to capture a photo in the gorge.  I find the inability to photograph this spot depressing.

However, today I was graced with good luck.  I had he opportunity to view the gorge and take photos that few tourists ever can.  Personally, I did not care about the uniqueness or whether others had been able to photograph here.  I only cared about me being given the opportunity to photographically capture one of the most captivating spots I have ever passed through.  

So, how did this lucky opportunity arise?

I woke up about 6:30AM.  I tried to take a shower in my Virgin River Hotel and Casino room.  I was frustrated over the lack of hot water.  You may not know this about me, but I love the hot shower.  I am one of those persons that comes out of the shower lobster red.  But not this morning…I had to subject myself to the cool water of the room’s shower and then race to get dressed.

I topped off my gas tank and ice chest at a gas/food market immediately next to the highway interchange.  Sure I cannot drive without gas, but more important is my precious life elixir Coke will not remain cold if my cooler is not topped out.  The price of ice I do not recall; the price of gas of course keeps a spot in my mind and journal as gas prices are falling at the moment.  The gas did seem like a bargain at the $2.40 range.  I would find out in a couple of days that just a few hundred feet (in other words not even a mile) south of the highway exit I kept using to get on and off I-15, gasoline was about $1.97, about $0.50 gallon cheaper than across Pioneer Drive from the Casino and right next to the highway.   

I left Mesquite, Nevada around 7:15 AM for Cedar City, Utah.  I was interested in seeing if there was any way to get any pictures by driving through the I-15 gorge.  I took Hillside Driver east out of Mesquite.  Hillside generally runs parallel to I-15 for a few miles east of Mesquite.  As a historical side note,  Hillside Drive was US91, the historical route from the Utah Territory to the Las Vegas Valley of the Nevada Territory.

A Hillside Drive turnoff (Scenic Road) takes you on a five-mile drive towards some hills and across a small slice of the Virgin River.  The narrow slice of this typically scenic river was remarkably unscenic and therefor I did not even stop for a picture.  

I drove back to Hillside Drive and headed north/east.  Hillside veers away from I-15 for a few miles as the two roads become separated by some rocks known as the Virgin Moutains until I-15 becomes visible again and Hillside prepares to cross I-15 at Littlefield, AZ, heading north into an ancient Joshua tree forest.  I got on the 15, heading north towards Salt Lake City, well really Cedar City.  I accelerated up to the 70 mph or so local speed, turned up the music and prepared to drive through the gorge.

But not this morning.  It was not very long before I was slowing down to a stand still.  I was stopped behind a parked escort truck.  

I was indifferent at the moment as to whether or how long the delay would be.  The unique opportunity this moment was posing did not immediately hit me in the face.  But then, I was like...huh?  How long will I be here?  Who cares, it is picture time.  I unpacked my camera and got out of the car.

Looking up the North Side Wall of the Gorge

Llooking back towards Littlefield and looking south. You can see how the Gorge is in the shadow.

I heard some noise.  Though hard to see, there is a rock slide going on.

Hard to see worker up on he top of the southern wall of the Gorge.

Easier to see man hanging from the gorge

Here Comes Everyone Else - Off to St. George we go!

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Pavin' the Way - To the Sky Deck at the West Rim - Grand Canyon!

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

I recently read somewhere that the final portion of Diamond Bar Road between Dolan Springs and the West Rim of the Grand Canyon has finally been paved.  I don't remember where I read it, but an article was published on line by the LA Times and may have been picked up by the OC Register Sunday travel pages (Sunday is my only newspaper day).

We once tried to go to the Skywalk, but never actually made it there.  The unpaved Diamond Bar Road was just too rough to drive.

Views from Diamond Bar Road

                                                            Views of Dolan Springs

 

Though the drive is probably much more reasonable due to the new paving, it is unlikely we would ever try going back.  The reasons being that the West Rim and the Skydeck have bad reputations. The facts that:

1. it is quite expensive to actually go out on the Skywalk; AND
2. you cannot take your own camera or camera phone onto the Skywalk; AND
3. therefore requiring you to buy expensive photo packages if you want a remembrance is just too much for many people to swallow. 

Yes, the tribe needs the money.  Yes, other native American sites charge fees.  Monument Valley, UT charge admission fees ($20/vehicle of 4) and commercial photography fees ($50).  Sky City/Acoma Pueblo, NM, charge for camera permits ($13) whether personal or commercial.  Skywalk prices far exceed these other native American sites.

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However, if you are in the area, I suggest you taking the Willow Beach cutoff, just south of Hoover Dam on US93.  Just before the road breaks to the right and the parking lots and boat launches, a non-descript turn-off to the left is visible.  Take that turn, fight the rough road, and drive slowly along the wash.  If you are lucky you will get to see bighorn sheep herds roaming around or a lonely burro hiding from the sun.

Good luck!                                    

The Less Dramatic Colorado River Crossings

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

I recently wrote about the Colorado River crossings in the Page, Arizona area of the Arizona strip.  Those river crossings consisted of dramatic steel arch bridges spanning hundreds of feet above the river.

In the Colorado River areas south of Las Vegas (Hoover Dam); down through Laughlin, Nevada; Needles, California; Lake Havasu City and Parker, Arizona; Blythe, California, and down to Yuma, Arizona.  We face a totally different environment as the river is fairly level with the terrain, but for the man-made levees used for flood control. 

These two bridges attach California with Cibola, Arizona and the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  I will write more on the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge at another time.

Crossing the Colorado River at Cibola, AZ

Looking North Up The Colorado River From Cibola, AZ (California on far side)

Crossing the Colorado River at Oxbow Lake, CA

Looking Up the Colorado River From the deck of the Oxbow Lake Bridge

 

 

Trolling Oxbow Lake, CA

Geograstrotrivial Question about the New York and Arizona Strips?

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

Question:

What is the difference between a New York Strip and an Arizona Strip?

Answer:

1.  The New York strip is cut of steak obtained from the short loin area of a cow.

2.  The Arizona strip is that portion of the State of Arizona north of the Colorado River.  Due to the Colorado River Valley being generally defined by the Grand Canyon, crossing the Colorado River in northern Arizona is pretty much limited to only one area, around Page, Arizona, at the Glen Canyon.  The Grand Canyon isolates the around 8,000 persons living in (on?) the Arizona Strip from their 5 million neighbors of the State of Arizona.

CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER IN THE ARIZONA STRIP

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge 

The Glen Canyon Dam Bridge was originally built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to facilitate transportation of materials for the Glen Canyon Dam, which lies adjacent to the bridge just 865 feet upstream. Carrying two lanes of US89 across the Colorado River, the bridge rises over 700 feet (210 m) above the river and was the highest arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1959.

The Shadow of the Glen Canyon Bridge at Glen Canyon Dam

700 Feet Above the River

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Navajo Bridges

The first Navajo Bridge opened in 1929, but is now limited to pedestrian and equestrian traffic and some random native-American vendors.  The new Navajo Bridge opened in 1994.

Ironically, despite the 450+ foot height of the twin spans over the river, a river-level ferry crossing at Lee's Ferry was the only river crossing prior to the building of the bridge.

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The Arizona Strip

As access to the Arizona Strip is typically via Nevada or Utah, culturally, the Arizona Strip has much in common with the surrounding areas of Nevada and Utah.  For example, Since the area was first settled by Mormon Pioneers led by Jacob Hamblin in the mid-19th century, the Arizona Strip, and especially its largest community, Colorado City, has been one of the last strongholds of the nineteenth-century practice of polygamy, though this practice was disavowed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1890. Over the last century the region has been the subject of controversy because of the control minority polygamist Mormon offshoots exert within the region.

The Isolated Arizona Strip

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A Brief Description of the Territorial Evolution of the Southwestern States of the US

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

Except where otherwise attributed, maps used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, courtesy of "Golbez".  This article is adapted from multiple Wikipedia articles, including Territorial Evolution of the United States.

NOTE: Territorial changes in areas outside the southwestern United States are ignored for purposes of this article. 

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1.  The territorial growth of the southwestern United States begins in 1819, with the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty.  That treaty, besides including the terms under which the US purchased Spanish Florida, defined the borders between the Viceroyalty of New Spain (later Mexico) and the United States. Pre-treaty borders were highly irregular and the treaty simplified the borders.  The new US-Mexico boundary was to be the Sabine River (western border of Louisiana) and north from the Gulf of Mexico to the 32nd parallel north, then due north to the Red River, west along the Red River to the 100th meridian west, due north to the Arkansas River, west to its headwaters, north to the 42nd parallel north, and finally west along that parallel to the Pacific Ocean.

2.   On September 27, 1821, the Viceroyalty of New Spain declared independence as Mexico.

3,   On March 2, 1836, the Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico.  Texas' boundaries with Mexico were disputed at the time of Texas' claim of independence.  As shown on the map below, the actual territory of the Republic of Texas was much smaller than the disputed territories between the Republic of Texas and Mexico.

4.  On December 29, 1845, the Republic of Texas was admitted to the US as the state of Texas by the Texas Annexation.  The boundaries of Texas, though not set out in the Joint Annexation Resolution, included much of the territory that had been disputed between the Republic of Texas and Mexico.

5.  From 1846-48, the Mexican-American War was fought.  The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which marked the end of the war, redefined the US/Mexico border.  From east to west, the new border consisted of the Rio Grande northwest from its mouth to the point Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico (roughly 32 degrees north), then due west from this point to the 110th meridian west, then north along the 110th Meridian to the Gila River and down the river to its mouth.  In the US, the area north of this new national border was known as the Mexican Cession, and was unorganized US territory.

6.  In 1850, the California Republic was admitted to the US under the Compromise of 1850 as the state of California.  The changes in governance of Alta California to the California Republic to the State of California is worthy of a separate post to come soon. 


Additionally, the unorganized Mexican Cession territory was divided into the Utah and New Mexico Territories.  Much of what had been claimed as western Texas was given to the New Mexico Territory by Texas in exchange for forgiveness of Texas debt by the US government.

 

7.  In 1854, The Gadsden Purchase was signed by President Franklin Pierce.  The Purchase gave the US all Mexican territory south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande.  This strip was purchased for its perceived value in the US for constructing a transcontinental railroad.  

At this point, all territory that would become the lower 48 contiguous states was acquired by the government of the United States.

 

8.  On February 28, 1861, portions of New Mexico, Utah, and Nebraska Territories were formed into Utah and Colorado Territories.  The borders of Colorado Territory corresponded to the current borders of the state of Colorado.

 

9.  On March 2, 1961, Utah Territory was divided into Utah and Nevada Territories.  The Nevada Territory was smaller in area than the current state of Nevada and the Utah Territory was larger in area than the current state of Utah.

  

10.  1861- ; The US Civil War created conflicting territorial claims to/on the New Mexico Territory. 

The Confederate States of America claimed to split New Mexico Territory into New Mexico Territory (North) and Arizona Territory (South).  

On the other hand, the USA, split New Mexico Territory into New Mexico Territory (east) and Arizona Territory (west).  Furthermore, the eastern border the Nevada Territory was moved further east, increasing the size of the Nevada Territory at the expense of the size of the Utah Territory.

11.  On October 31, 1864, Nevada Territory was admitted to the US as the state of Nevada.  At the time of admission, Nevada did not have its distinctive south-eastern triangular portion, which would become Clark County and give Nevada access to the Colorado River.

12.  1865-66: With the end of the Civil War, Confederate States of America claims on Arizona and New Mexico Territories were dropped.  The state of Nevada was also given more Utah Territory land (eastern Nevada-Utah Territory border moved further east).

 

13.  On January 18, 1867, Nevada was given its south-eastern triangular portion, giving Nevada access to the Colorado River.  This land was from territory taken away from Arizona Territory.  This territorial swap finalized Nevada's current borders. 

  

14.  On August 1, 1876, Colorado Territory was admitted to the US as the state of Colorado.

15.  On January 4, 1896, Utah Territory was admitted to the US as the state of Utah.

 

16.  On January 6, 1812, New Mexico Territory was admitted to the US as the state of New Mexico. In 1907, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Lands were combined and entered into the Union as the state of Oklahoma.

17.  On February 14, 1912, Arizona Territory was admitted to the US as the state of Arizona; the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.

Order and years of Admission for the Southwestern States of the US

Texas (28th) (1841)
California (31st) (1850) 
Nevada (36th) (1864)
Colorado (38th) (1876)
Utah (45th) (1896)
Oklahoma (46th) (1907)
New Mexico (47th) (1912)
Arizona (48th) (1912)

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Not All Our Trips Are Worthy of Envy! Or: A Visit to a Roadside Trash-Heap!

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

When you often write about having visited exciting spots like Hawaii, Australia, and Paris, its a good idea to be remind everyone that those are the exceptions rather than the rule.  Most of our time is often spent driving from city to city in the American west through the waste lands of the Mojave and Colorado deserts.  These drives can either be at speeds where nothing is noticable, such as on the I-15 and I-40, or at speeds where everything is noticeable as you bump your way along a non-graded road or snow plow your way through loose sand.

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Where do we find the incredible "archeological treasure" shown below?  

Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada.  Yep, that is what they named this 278 resident, truck-stop, and small casino town, on the pretty empty 90 mile stretch of US 95 between the Nevada gambling meccas of Laughlin and Las Vegas.  I'm not being sarcastic about Laughlin; we like Laughlin.  Nice, clean, resort-style rooms in Laughlin are reasonably priced, have nice views of the Colorado River, decent food, and one of the few bars having my elixir of choice, La Fin Du Monde.  It was at the Aquarius, in Laughlin, that Joanie and I spent the night after my three-day torture session called the California Bar Exam (passed of course), and the last place and time we got drunk (July, 2010).  

The Aquarius Resort at Sunrise

Just keep in mind that back in April 2002, Laughlin was the scene of a deadly fight between two rival California motorcycle gangs, the Hells Angels and the Mongols. The fight broke out inside Harrah's Laughlin during the annual Laughlin River Run. Mongol Anthony Barrera, 43, was stabbed to death, and two Hells Angels, Jeramie Bell, 27, and Robert Tumelty, 50, were shot to death. Six members of the Hells Angels, as well as six members of the Mongols were sent to prison as a result of the event, and 36 other people had their charges dismissed.

We have written about this general area on several occasions before (Christmas Tree Pass; Willow Beach Big Horns.)

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Well, enough of the small talk...

This "dump" is apparently the ruins of a mine and the mine's support buildings.  We zoomed passed it one day on US93, thinking it was pure junk, but decided to come back the next day and check it out.  As can be seen by the position of the sun, this was late afternoon.

Looking Up Towards US93

Taken with a 10.5 mm

I like the barrel distortion produced by a 10.5 lens, though not enough to spend the $700 or so on the lens.  I tend to rent the lens from Samys Camera.

Sun Behind Ruins

Stairway to Nowhere

Sun Blocked

Wood Frame Construction

Messy!

Call the Roofer Please

Nice Coloring...I mean rust!

A Photo With Flare!

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