Oliver Moss

* I tried to do one of those photoshoots of my packing like are popular on some parts of the internet, but it turned out really bad. I'll try again for future trips.

* I love framed shots and tried to do more tree-y shots the express what it's like to be at the canyon, but they mostly didn't work. The canyon being clear made it look small and close. Making it less clear meant a blurry focal point. If I went again I'd use one of those poles to get more angles. I did have a monopod and it was worth the hassle, but I'd need a bigger, heavier spendier ones for some of the shots I'd like ... especially since I am not getting stupid close to that edge.

This was the best of the attempts:


* I wrote an article on taking pictures from trains that I am going to post on Imzy, and later on my website once I bother to get one.
(Update: RIP Imzy. Here is the rail photography gallery on my website.)

* Is just a wordpress site still the best for making a site about things? I've looked at some of those new website creation services places and sort of hate the themes available. So I am thinking wordpress, find a good host and a good domain name buying type site. I am out of many loops and hate futzing with things. I'd just go with Squarespace except, yeah, hate the layouts.

* There is a graveyard in Grand Canyon National Park, just a bit back from the rim. I did not expect to run into a graveyard while I was wandering:








That is all the odds and ends I can think of.

Here is the hard part, shaving my photos down to a small, manageable gallery. The Grand Canyon is hard to photograph and that makes me want to cling to every decent shot. When you are there, you are surrounded by professional shots, mostly taken from viewpoints that can't be legally accessed anymore.

I think it makes some people give up. The funny times are when people are overconfident in their cell phones. Because I was carrying a camera bag, everyone kept asking me, out of everyone, to take a picture of them with the canyon in the background. Pretty much every conversation went like this:

Me: Do you want me to use a flash to help deal with the backlighting? Or maybe you could stand over there?

Them: No, our phone will automatically adjust the lighting. Just press the button.

Me: Okay.

Then I'd hand them their shot where they were pretty much just silhouettes against the glare, neither them or the canyon visible. If you are going to ask the girl lugging camera equip around to take your picture, listen to her! I met a lot of people with Android phones who were sure it would take the perfect shot in any condition. Nope. It don't work with the Arizona sun behind you.

Especially the people who waited to specifically ask me to take the shot, they were obviously looking for me to bring some expertise to the party. Expertise they ignored. I should start saying 'no' but it's so awkward to do so.

Camera phones are awesome and can do a lot. I ain't dissing them, you just have to know how and when to use them. One of my top five fave shots from the trip was from my camera phone.



The run rays, the mistiness, the layers of canyon walls, the composition, the Colorado River reflecting light. I just relied on my sense of which camera I should use when and used my phone. I could not be happier with it. Actually I had a moment of irritation that my phone totally showed up my bag of gear with 3 lenses, hoods, 4 filters, cleaning supplies and that monopod I carried everywhere.



What struck me most about being there was the trees. I had an image of the canyon from all the typical photos all going for the grand views that it was pretty barren. The rim area is a sort of sparse forest with short trees. Hiking the rim path you are mostly in mottled shade, which is really nice. Coming up on the canyon, you can't see it until you are right at the edge.



The canyon is really, really big. This is actually an HDR photo, which means I took multiple pictures with different focus and settings and merged them. But everything is so big and far walls are so far that it doesn't do much.



Black and White is good for depth and clarity, though.

I intended to hike he Bright Angel train to a lookout point, despite dire warnings from the rangers about the steepness. Compared to Gorge hiking the steepness was not a problem. The altitude was, though. I made it 1.5 miles along the path and maybe 800 foot elevation changed before I turned around. The lookout point was 5 miles in. Someday ...

There were 4 rescue operations on the Saturday I was there. I am glad I chose to be a wimp. It sucked, but going 5 miles in was not going to happen. I did do some hiking of the rim trail instead.


Me nope'ing out of the canyon.

I was glad to have a room there. I'd explore in the mornings, then head back to my room for lunch and sun lotion and would hide during the most brutal part of the day. Most of the tourists have to leave around 5 or so each day. The park when the population starts plummeting is really, really nice.

The one thing I didn't bring on my trip was a flashlight. The Grand Canyon is a 'dark sky' park. I was new to this concept. There is no outside lighting to avoid any light pollution. The rooms of my hotel were all in little buildings scattered in the woods. Once it hits dark everything gets super dark. If you want to get anywhere, you have to walk the rim trail. So, this is how I wound up walking the edge of the canyon in the dark to get back from the bar at the Bright Angel lounge. The bar was a serious let down, but I am glad I gave it a try. I did have my cell phone, but didn't want to burn the battery and only turned it on when I needed it.

I did hit the hightlights. I went as East and as West and you can go. I poked around the Puebloan Culture ruins:



To keep this from going too long, here are a few more notes about being there:

* The public tram may be the environmental option, but it will give you an existential crisis about the worth of humanity.

* The central point with the lodges, restaurants and where most of the people get dropped is the worst viewpoint of the canyon.

* Getting anywhere actually in the canyon is hard.

* Even getting around the rim/top is hard and the masses of humanity are stressed. I think it's the altitude. Your body has to work harder and the slightly more rapid heartbeat feels like you are in a stressed state. I wonder if people feeling the same things physically they do when stressed causes them to just boil over easier. It made it hard for me to sleep. No matter who tired or relaxed I was, as soon as I tried to lay down my system working harder would trip me out a little.

Oddly, this is likely the weakest of my travel posts. The canyon area was lovely and interesting, but I wasn't there long enough to adjust to the altitude and wore out super fast. I am glad I made it out to Hermit's rest. The bus drivers all told me that Hopi Point was better for sunsets, but having gone end to end of the South Rim made me feel like I didn't miss out. Also, the Hermit's Rest area was lovely. Great views, wildflowers, etc.

Speaking of altitude, I wonder what the elevation of Crater Lake is? Oh, poop. I am going to train for that trip a bit by going to Mt. Hood a few times. Though the places I can get to on Mt. Hood will actually be lower than Crater Lake. Topography is weird.

Anyway, here are two more of my canyon pics :)




Sunset at Hermit's Rest.

Part 6: The Southwest Chief

I passed through Williams on my way in and out of the Grand Canyon. It's a tiny town and almost everyone there works for the railway, hotels or restaurants. The vintage rail cars they run are refurbished and maintained there, often needing lots of custom parts. They run a steam train once a month, and it uses snowmelt and rainfall collected on giant tarps. What diesel engines they have use biodiesel. I think they mostly run electric, though.

I didn't think about the fact that I was mostly having a mass transit vacation when I booked it. But in Williams and at the rim, there are lots of reminders. They really want to reduce cars at the canyon and most people drive there.

The pushes for water conservation, recycling and reduced energy usage were great to see. When I was a teenager I did a summer program where I hiked Arizona, but also helped get fledgling recycling programs off the ground by hand sorting garbage in the summer desert sun. It was one of at least three recycling programs one two coasts that I was at the start of. I don't know how common this was, but I remember recycling as a thing adults couldn't be bothered to care about so teens literally sorted garbage until adults got the message that this was serious. I know it's been a while since I was a teen, but it was nice to come back to a very openly environmentally focused Arizona. As conservative as that state is, I was worried it would be treated like lib'rul politics. But the pushes to end disposable water bottle usage and reduce car usage where everywhere.

But I am getting ahead of myself!

The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel bills itself as an historical hotel. I didn't really expect it to be all vintage and old like the Belton Chalet, but I was initially disappointed to see that it was all new and some of the design looked institutional. I arrived at 4 AM and talked to the desk to check on my reservation and see about leaving a bag. They apologized that they couldn't put me in my room yet. I was surprised. In what world is checking into a hotel you are staying in that night at 4 AM a reasonable thing to expect? Turns out, they turn rooms over really fast. If people had been leaving on the train, they would have had a room for me already. At 8 AM I got a call that my room was ready. That was 6 hours earlier than I expected.

Some people arrived on my train who didn't have a room booked. They were going right on to the canyon. The hotel had wifi, showers and a large business center for them.

It took me a bit to realize, but that place may be the most authentic railroad hotel I've stayed at. Rather than being a preserved one from the past, it still functions as one! It's a way station between two railroads, taking care of all travelers, hotel guests or not. The service was top notch. Two handimen work continuously to repair everything. Maids worked all hours keeping everything spotless. People typically stay only one night, and the hotel fills up even in off-season. So there is a constant stream of people coming and going.

I was going to talk about the actual train trip in this post, but I went long because I am a dork for logistics and travel. The train to the canyon will be in the next post :)

Part 4: The Grand Canyon Railway

I have now done all of the Coast Starlight route. I've taken it between Portland and Seattle previously, so I get to say that without having had to leave from Seattle for this trip.

I've heard from a number of sources that this route is the 'most scenic'. I guess aesthetics differ. The train had some people who had flown to Portland or Seattle to do this specific trip. It's mostly farmland. More lush farmland than the midwest, but still farmland. The train is only at the coast for about an hour at the end, and the light is already low. It hits the mountainy part of Southern Oregon in the late evening. That part is nice, but it's nearly impossible to photograph. The speed, the light, the view coming and going as trees fall away or come back, it's definitely hard mode. So, I gave up on still photography and made my first ever gif.

Aaaaand my image host keeps turning my .gifs into formats that DW doesn't seem to support. It's this Instagram post. I've just spent like 20 minutes trying to fix this. Arg.

Based on this trip I wound up writing an article on train photography. I took a picture I was excited about because it turned out clear and sharp even going at full speed. Since there is nothing in the photo that lets you know it was taken from a train it just looks like a shot with meh composition.

( Cut for more images )