Ancient stone monoliths resembling temples dot parts of Southern Utah.  Some are even relatively famous.  As I can, I add these giant rocks to my portfolio.  Lately, I had an opportunity to visit some I wasn’t counting on.  Check out what I came back home with.

It was high time that I pulled out my camera and started taking more landscape photos.  So, when the opportunity presented itself to go someplace normally unreachable for me, I capitalized on it.  I drove out to Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park.

The ride out to Cathedral Valley is not something you should do without 4-wheel drive and high clearance on your vehicle.  The road is relatively maintained but there are steep parts where you could easily get stuck without a pickup truck or an SUV.  Also, there’s open range land out there so expect lots of cows in the area.

After making the approximately 17 mile trip in on a relatively low speed, we finally made it to Cathedral Valley and first laid our eyes on the ancient stone structures referred to as temples.  You get a good wide view of them as you drive up.  They are rather distinctive against the surrounding mountains and cliffs.  So, you really can’t miss them.

Once we arrived, I took some time to get the lay of the land.  Then I grabbed my camera and started scouting for a shot.  Since I don’t know if or when I can return, I needed to capture something usable right then and there.  So, I carefully planned where I wanted to shoot from.

I arrived just in time for the beginning of golden hour.  This limited my scouting time.  Thankfully, I found a couple shots which worked out for me.

On this trip, the Temple of the Moon seemed to work best for me.  I even managed to squeak one out at twilight/blue hour.  All my shots of the Temple of the Sun left something to be desired.  It happens.  If I do get the chance to return in the future, then I’ll definitely try for more shots of these ancient stone temples.

So, what do you think of these landscape photos from some of the inner-most recesses of Capitol Reef National Park?  Do you want to visit Cathedral Valley now?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.