Wild Zion
This blog post is the third in my series of posts relating to new fine art prints I am introducing of Zion National Park with the theme Wild Zion: Celebrating out of the way and less traveled locations in the park. It is from the west side of Zion National Park, but not down in a canyon.
Instead, it is up on a hoodoo covered ridge with a gorgeous view of the peaks of Zion. You can read more about this day’s adventure in my earlier blog post titled: Monsoon Season in Zion. This post will focus specifically on the fine art print titled Three Wise Men of Zion.
Dawn in West Zion
Because my previous post covered the entire hike, including where this was taken, I will use photos from another hike to this area to tell the story of this location. The previous hike took place in the late afternoon, but this more recent hike took place in the early morning.
At dawn, before sunrise, west Zion takes on a beautiful soft look. The clouds are often subtle with some color but not overpowering. Up on the rocks, strange looking trees with much of their roots showing dot the area.
Just as the sun starts coming up, the tip of the peaks across the plain in Lambs Knoll light up turning orange in the early sunrise light. The distant mesas of southern Utah also light up softly.
West Zion - A Land of Hoodoos
Outside of the main canyon of Zion, rock outcroppings are often topped with many hoodoos. These hoodoos are not like in other areas of Utah where a vertical column stands, topped by a cap rock. Instead, composed entirely of the same kind of sandstone, they take on a conical shape, or possibly a cone with a flat top.
Some are smaller, like the ones on top of the sandstone hill in the photograph above. Others can get considerably larger, like the ones in the photographs below. All take on beautiful warm colors in the early morning.
In some places, the hoodoos just seem to pop up everywhere.
Continuing further on the hike, a wonderful scene came into view. Rains filled up a depression forming a pond in the sandstone. It must have water a significant amount of the year because the edge is lined with reeds. It makes for a wonderful reflecting pool to catch the reflection of the sunlit hoodoo behind it.
Three Wise Men of Zion - The Fine Art Print
This is one instance where I have photographs of the same scene shot at different times of day. The photo below is from the early morning hike. In this photograph, the light is soft and there are only a few clouds in the sky. The distant peaks of Zion are visible, but backlit.
But in the late afternoon the peaks of Zion light up brilliantly. Note also that this afternoon shot was on a day with quite different weather, including monsoon storms around the area. The brilliant peaks with storm clouds building overhead makes for a more dramatic look than the morning shot above. So, this is the one I decided to produce. It is truly amazing how the same place can look so different. The fine art print below, is available for purchase here.
Why I love it. The peaks of Zion really show off nicely when afternoon light illuminates them. In this print, the rays of the sun can be seen shining obliquely onto the peaks. One of the best views of the Zion peaks I have found is from the west side where this photo was taken.
Additionally, the hoodoo covered ridge is a wonderful place to explore, providing so many options for photographic compositions like the three hoodoos lined up in this composition. Are they truly wise, or are they so fascinating that they just look that way?
Note About This Hike
It should be noted that this particular set of hoodoos are only viewable by hiking off trail. Off trail hiking is doable but can be dangerous if you are not prepared. For that reason, I do not share information about off trail locations. However, there are some nice hiking trails in west Zion including these two:
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