I had been wanting to shoot the Milky Way over Totem Pole at Monument Valley for some time. I learned it required working with a Navajo tour group to be able to shoot at night in the back country of the Monument Valley Tribal Park. Fortunately, I was able to find a guide willing to ride with me in my vehicle and on my schedule for a reasonable $100 fee. It was a 20 minute drive from the park visitor center then a hike through the sandy desert and scratchy brush to arrive at my location at around 9:30 PM. What an awesome place to shoot the stars!. Made me wonder why I hadn't done this sooner. The skies were perfect with minimal light pollution and the Milky Way band of glory blasting up over our heads across a totally clear sky. Such an awesome sight - it was just dreamy!! I finished my shots and we started back for the Isuzu and couldn't find it! We had parked on the sandy depressed road putting it far enough below the brush that our flashlights weren't hitting it. Took an extra 20 minutes to zig zag our way through the sand to find the road that lead us back to the vehicle. Next time I think I'll bring a pole that I can tie something reflective on for return navigation. Wish it wasn't so late in the astrophotography season - I'll look forward to spending a lot of time in Monument Valley next year I think. . Technical stuff; Sony A7Rii, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 at about 20mm, ISO 6400, (14) 15 sec exposures stacked to reduce noise. Edit in Starry Landscape Stacker, Lightroom and Photoshop
