Thanks for the Shiprock link, that is perfect. I try to be very respectful the wishes of the locals and I am thankful they let us photograph their treasures. Are there any particulars I should be aware of regarding shiprock?
Don't climb on it.
"I wish I could help you with finding a guide, but my only experience with a guide left my wife and I stranded overnight in the desert south of Monument Valley."
That is terrible! Did you both make it out OK?
We were fine, but my wife was a bit upset. It was a cold night with lots of creepy crawlies. The guide's jeep broke-down and he was unprepared with no radio, water, signaling device, or radio/phone. We were the last tour of the day and no one discovered that we had not come back at our expected time. I had my Camelback with me along with waterproof matches, a little food, a strobe, and signal flares. Yeah, I was prepared but I was in Search and Rescue for almost 14 years. I wasn't worried because I knew we would be found in the morning when they discovered that a jeep was missing.
In the end we were picked up in the early morning before sunrise. When the tour guide's company got a phone call from a relative that he had not returned home that evening they sent a couple of guys out to look for us. We could see them driving aimlessly all over the desert so I fired a flare. They saw the flare and came right to us. Was the flare necessary? Probably not but it sped up the recovery and it made my wife feel better. And for those of you that are reading this I wouldn't have launched a signal flare if I felt their were chances of starting a wildfire.
I have walked up to the visitor center before sunrise by leaving my car at the gate. This was in April 2006. Otherwise I could not have captured any sunrise or sunrise photos. Can I not do the same thing at night to get some night shots of the mittens? Are there any vantage points I can work up the road with a telephoto? We have already booked our hotel so camping is not really an option. Perhaps I would be open to this if there is a next time around as I have realized for me to photograph some places that I would like to shoot I will have to get used to camping and treking.
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[a href=\"http://www.navajonationparks.org/]I would discuss your options with the Navajo Parks & Recreation Department.[/url]