Geology Tour Road by Moonlight

I've blogged about Geology Tour Road in Joshua Tree National Park at least once before, but it was quite a while ago. Anyway, about two weeks ago I had been working hard on my "project" all day and needed a break. I decided to take the Jeep out for a spin in the Park after dinner... no particular destination in mind, but hoping to catch some good sunset shots. The sun was still a little high for as I wound my way through the Park, and on a whim decided to take the turnoff for Geology Tour Road. It's 18 miles of dirt road, and too late in the day to get it all done before dark, but I know the road well, it was a beautiful night, I had plenty of food and water with me, and figured I could turn back at any time. I also knew it was going to be a full moon. The only danger: no cell reception in the Park, so if I got stuck or had mechanical problems, I'll be spending the night in my Jeep!

I didn't see a single car on the trail as I zipped along non-stop, and was almost to the half-way point by about 7:15. By now the sun was low on the horizon, casting long shadows, and I knew sunset wasn't too far off.

I knew where I wanted to be come sunset, and it was still about 15 minutes away, so off I sped.

I decided to set up my camera gear by this weirdly-shaped Joshua tree, and was pretty happy with this sunset shot. At this location, I had huge desert vistas, I didn't see another human being for hundreds of miles around me in any direction, and there was absolute stillness as the sun set. After taking this shot, I remember thinking "I wonder where the moon is?" Turning around 180 degrees, I was greeted with this beautiful moon-rise. And just as the moon cleared the distant mountain, a bunch of coyotes started to yip... very cool! Almost like they were waiting for it too!

The rest of the evening was spent driving around and hiking around taking shots of Joshua Tree by moonlight. I really enjoyed it, and planning on spending many more summer nights in the Park!

One of my favorites from the night... "chasing the moon" shot.

I used Photoshop to reduce the exposure on the moon (keep it sharp) an increase the exposure on the foreground
 for better overall exposure balance.

If you're curious about this drive, I found a nice 6-minute You Tube video that highlights some of it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6jU4sJAuZM  The first part of the road is smooth and easy, but 4WD is recommended for the second half. You could probably get by with a high ground clearance vehicle.

We're heading back out to the desert this weekend to work on our project. Hope to share some photos with you. Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click the link to check our great skies from around the world! Have a great weekend!!