Leaving Escalante at 5:30am, it was a balmy 26°F. I'm not being sarcastic! The difference between 18°F and 26°F when one is starting the car, is noticeable and appreciated.
In the darkness, along the road toward Bryce Canyon, I saw 'glitter' in the trees ahead. Two dozen pairs of little deer eyes watched me approach. By the time I got close enough to put down my window and give them a good morning greeting and thank them for their wisdom and self control 20' feet from the road, they were no longer in the headlights and were barely discernable as anything but deer silouettes.
Five minutes later, an owl (supposedly wiser) did a low fly-by in front of the car. I braked in time to spare his life and he flew off into the pre-dawn open space, all feathers still intact but perhaps a poop left on the road?! It's nice to be back in areas so rich in wildlife.
Bryce Canyon sunrise: 12°F and blowing like the Dickens! Despite gloves and hand warmers, the cost of early morning photography here was PAIN - like fingers shut in the door, pain! It took a good 15 minutes to become bearable in the car but an hour later they still felt bruised and tender.
I ate my breakfast of fruit and cereal and drank my coffee at Farview Point. Elevation 8819'. Crazy cold. Blowing long since fallen snow up from the ground and into the air again. So pretty... and so inhospitable! I listened to Pandora and watched the clouds fly by at a clip. Beautiful!
At 11:50am the temperature had risen to 18°F. The wind was still howling at something close to 35mph. Each picture was a hard fought victory at the cost of significant core body temperature. As most humans tend to do, I too shall value the pictures according to what I paid for them, rather than how pretty they are.
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