Well, I made it to CDC, and here are some impressions.
I usually research fairly well, but I was naive about the setting - how close the canyon is to the town of Chinle, that locals live all around the two drives/canyons, etc. I generally prefer places where I can better escape humanity for the most part. I wasn't prepared for the vendors setting up at the overlooks and in the canyon (just a couple of those at this time of year). At one point I believe that an attempt was made at one of the overlooks to relieve me of my camera and tripod, but I caught wind of that.
Also, the camping wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as some other places, but the campground was quite relaxed. There were enough people there that you felt like someone would spot anything suspicious going on, but it was only about half full, so folks were somewhat spread out. If you read this and are going there with a bicycle, don't ride it in the campground! My wife was on her bike and moved to the side of the road to let a car go by, and immediately had 10-20 goatheads in each tire!
We did a jeep tour with Bobby VanWinkle, and it was fantastic. I don't think I would go to the canyon at all if I wasn't willing to spring for a tour. He took just my wife, cousin and I, and was willing to stop for me wherever I wanted. I don't know how helpful that was, because I was a bit overwhelmed, and could have spent an hour in any 1/2 mile stretch of the canyon, easily! So I had him give my wife and cousin the "standard" tour, and just had him stop in a few other places that he wouldn't ordinarily. At several of the standard stops I took a bit of extra time, and he was happy to educate and entertain the other two at those times.
Photographically I decided at the last minute to live dangerously, and shot entirely with ortho film, which I'd never used before, no filtration. That seemed to work out fine for all but one shot. Like I said, it was hard for me to determine what to photograph with such a limited visit. My best image was made by finding Timothy O'Sullivan's tripod holes at the White House Ruin (deepened by Ansel), the first image below. I think the general composition is a no-brainer that I could have stumbled into on my own.
I shot it on the way in and on the way out, and this one (on the way in) seemed to have better shadows. The second image is the other icon of the canyon, Spider Rock. When I get more images posted at my web page, I'll post here again for those who would care to look.
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