Chesler Park Sunset: The Needles of Canyonlands

Chesler Park at Sunset:  The grassy meadow surround the sandstone towers is gorgeous.

Chesler Park is a very special place.  Of all the locations I have visited, this is one of the most difficult to reach.  That difficulty is part of the reason it is so special.  If you are here as the sun sets, you basically have this wonderful meadow and collection of spires to yourself.  The "park" is never crowded because there is no easy access to Chesler Park.  Several miles hiking is required.

Armed with a precious camping permit at Chesler Park campsite #4, my daughter and I hiked in from the Joint Trail.  We set up our tent and camp between 2 wonderful round boulders and I started to wander around the meadow preparing for sunset.

The golden hour can be prolonged more than one hour in the right conditions with clouds and changing weather patterns.  The golden hour can also be shortened to 10 minutes when the skies are empty of clouds.  Such was the case on this night.  No clouds in any direction could be seen.  The sun set through the clear blue sky.  Only as the sun was reaching the horizon did the colors change to a golden orange hue.  I'd been taking photographs for quite some time and realized they would all be useless after seeing such wonderful light at the very moment of sunset.  This is my favorite photograph of Chesler Park.  The sun had already stopped shining on the grass but was still touching the tallest spires.