Postcard from the Goosenecks

Last time, in my postcard from Mexican Hat, I briefly mentioned Goosenecks State Park. It’s an interesting place with a great view. I’ve never shared any photos of the place, because, quite frankly, my few pictures of the place were terrible.

The original images are the perfect example of why you never shoot at midday and you never shoot into the sun. I have worked hard to clean up this photo to make it presentable for viewing, but it is definitely not on my masterpiece list. I show it to you only because I want you to see part of the incredible views at this Utah State Park.

I stopped here briefly to eat lunch while on my way to Canyonlands National Park further north. I was amazed by the view and so sorry that I didn’t make it here at a better time of day, photographically speaking.  The river you see here meandering through the 1,000 ft. deep chasm is the San Juan River (I incorrectly identified it in my last blog as the Green River…sorry).  The river meanders back and forth, flowing for more than five miles while progressing only one linear mile toward the Colorado River. From this viewpoint, there is another gooseneck off to the right…just could not fit it all into the lens.

As I said, the only way to photograph the scene was to shoot almost directly into the sun, which accounts for the flares you seen in the photo. Still, it was a nice place to have lunch.