The American Southwest
A weekend trip through the desert.
For the last 5 or so years, I haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving too much. I typically used the time off to go somewhere new as often as I could. This has brought me to places like the Banff area of Canada, Toronto, Barcelona, Paris, and most recently: Arizona and Utah. (By recently I mean 2021, so I’ve been slacking the last few years.)
Even though this was a brief weekend trip some years ago, I wanted to write about it for a few reasons. First, I haven’t done much in the last few weeks thanks to weather and would like to write about something. Second, this trip was a great one that I would like to share. Lastly, I would like to relive it myself and maybe even spark another trip out there soon. So without further ado, here’s my mini road trip of Thanksgiving 2021.
The trip started early on Thanksgiving morning. I left Colorado Springs and headed south beyond Pueblo, enjoying a sunrise on the way. I shot what I could from I-25 exits while the light was good, but it wasn’t much. The only picture that I’m still fond of is the photo below of the frosted grass and trees in front of the pink glow of the hidden sun. Once the light was a little less golden I shifted full focus back to the drive, which soon became necessary.
La Veta pass had apparently received a bit of snowfall overnight, which never even crossed my mind. Approaching the pass the road suddenly had slushy snow patches that caused my truck to kick out about while going around 50 mph. I was now officially hyper-vigilant and definitely worried. I figured it would only get worse from there and it did, at least on the way up. Thankfully, this pass is rather tame and once on the back side things were relatively clear. Even though this was the last of the snow I’d see on the trip I was now on alert for any other passes I would encounter while traversing southern Colorado.
Once officially on the other side of the pass I still had soft light looming and couldn’t help but notice Mt. Lindsey, 14,048 feet tall, looming over the valley through a thick layer of cloud cover at its base. The pastel blue of the sky and yellowed browns of dried grass tufts are always a favorite of mine. The bright top and bottom layer of this photo add a surreal contrast to the gloomy middle layer of dark cloud which ultimately results in an image I very much enjoy, even with its simplicity.
Stops were quick, as I still had a long way to go for the day. Despite all of its beauty, Colorado was not the objective of the day so the camera was seldom used after this shot. Driving through the vast remains of what once was Lake Alamosa, I looked to the Northeast at the Sangre De Cristo range while on the phone with my fiancée (girlfriend at the time) and pointed out that she might be able to see the other side from our house.
On the other side of the dried lakebed was my next ascent, Wolf Creek Pass. Despite my previous snow encounters, this pass was mostly dry. Had this pass been too snowy, the trip may have been reconsidered because this is quite a different beast than La Veta. Beyond Wolf Creek Pass, you eventually reach the town of Pagosa Springs. All I know of Pagosa Springs is that an aerospace professor of mine from Virginia Tech lives there. Even though we weren’t too close, I still hoped to cross paths with him while stopping for gas.
My stops in Pagosa Springs were again short-lived. The next portion of the drive is fuzzy, at least up until I got my first sighting of the San Juans from relatively close as I approached Durango. The massive snow capped peaks were enticing and I could’ve been convinced to change plans pretty easily if it meant exploring the area. Sadly, I would have to continue on and come back another time (which I still have yet to do, much to my dismay).
Not too long after Durango, the mountains began to fade into desert. This transition always fascinates me since the desert is such a foreign environment to me. I officially began to feel like I was now properly on the trip I had begun some 7 hours earlier. After the town of Cortez I was on a very spotty video call with the rest of my family celebrating Thanksgiving. With the call freezing more and more I eventually said goodbye and noticed Mesa Verde National Park to my left. Even though it’s more of a historical park, it was still tempting. Being this close to adding another national park to the list really had me weighing my options, but urgency prevailed and past the turn I went.
Now I was almost out of Colorado. The soil was becoming more and more red, while the mountains grew smaller and smaller behind me. Signs of the Four Corners Monument began popping up, but sadly it was closed. Before I knew it I was cutting one of those corners through New Mexico for a very brief moment. This is still the only minute I’ve spent in the state to this day, as just a brief path to Arizona. An hour or so later I was finally approaching my first real stop of the trip, Monument Valley.
As I drew closer to the iconic Monument Valley, the isolated buttes (basically “small” plateau remnants in the desert) began popping up. I couldn’t help but take photos of any subject I could find for scale since they were so few and far between. It was flat, remote desert and towering rocks. Not a lot going on as far as compositions go beyond the most minimal. The shack and RV in the photo above offered my first real opportunity. The road stretching into Monument Valley proper made it easy for me as well. The lighting was harsh, but the pastel nature of the desert doesn’t mind.
With the exception of the two above photos and the lodge and truck photos below, monument valley was mostly a minimalism type of subject. The photos themselves aren’t the best because it is a tough place to shoot from the limited viewpoints and time I had. I didn’t want to sit around and wait for light or drive around too long and find unique angles. I soaked in the view and shot what I could but again, I didn’t want to stay too long. After an hour or so I was back on the road and headed to Page, Arizona.
The drive to Page was uneventful as far as photos go. I love driving through remote areas and just soaking in the environment, no matter where it is. In Page I had dinner, got some gas, and gathered my thoughts. By this time it was dark and it was a successful day in my mind, but it wasn’t quite done. I now had to drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. My intention was to sleep in the bed of my truck somewhere in Kaibab National Forest just outside of the park.
The drive was longer and busier than expected, at least for the first portion. Once I had entered the national forest area I was surprised by the elevation gain. I had left Page at 4000 feet and finally pulled off onto a gravel road tucked in the forest at around 8800 feet. In my mind the Grand Canyon was surrounded by flat desert, but there’s actually a massive rising plateau along the north. Thanks to this plateau, it was also much colder than I had anticipated.
In the bed of my truck, I had a mix of foam pads and blankets as well as some pillows. As far as clothing goes, I really just had a hoodie for warmth. I was certainly not the most prepared for a 20 degree night. Despite this, I had enough to get through the night with mixed sleep. I was pretty cold all night, but never to the extent of feeling in danger. I had enough warmth to get by, but I was surprised for my first time ever sleeping in an overlanding style. Worst case scenario, I could always hop back in the cab and start the truck to warm up if I really needed it.
My cold night was short, as was my time at the Grand Canyon. I wasn’t hiking in or driving along the rim or anything intimate within the canyon. My only intention was to shoot the sunrise. Since I was cold I “woke up” early and drove to the rim earlier than I typically would for a sunrise. I took a short “hike”, if you could consider it that, to a view point and spent some time alone in the dark. The canyon was nothing but a sea of black with faint touches of moonlight along some higher ridges.
Sunrise here was a beautiful experience. The north rim has far less visitors so I was alone the majority of the time. I watched the sky slowly light up as the shade gradually lifted from the canyon below me. As time passed, the canyon was revealed to me, and I was becoming more and more amazed at what was unfolding in front of me. The height of the walls were slowly revealed and eventually I could see the bottom, which had taken longer than I had anticipated.
While the sun was rising I had primarily focused my camera on shadows. The way the shadows morphed as the sun slowly rose was constantly transforming the canyon. The photo below shows a line of ridges all catching the first glimpses of light. It’s a very minimalist and dark shot but the contrast works well. The canyon was filled with little pockets of small compositions like this. Light is key in the canyon, and I was told years prior that once the sun is high in the sky it is almost impossible to shoot here. The photo below that gives a look into what these ridges looked like without the contrasting light.
The final picture I shot at this spot was of this little tree not too far out from me. Even in something as grand as the Grand Canyon I can’t help but shoot the more intimate scenes. The background separation given when the background is a canyon wall miles away certainly helps for subject isolation, and morning light helps give the image the pop it needs.
After this initial viewpoint I planned on heading back up to Page but I decided to drive west a little bit and check out one final viewpoint on the way out. This was an interesting drive that resulted in seeing (what I assume was) a large aspen grove. The white bark really caught my eye and I was able to use the light to my advantage here as well. This helps add a bit of interest to the photo since otherwise it would just be a mess of white aspen with no clear direction. I also found a contrasting tree in another spot to mix it up for a second photo.
By the time I had reached the overlook, the light was almost too harsh. I was able to manage the photo below focusing on this lone spire before it got too bright. This spot was also beautiful and I’m glad that I gained a second perspective of the canyon in my short time there. I will definitely go back and spend more time there someday when I’m not trying to cram so much into such a short time.
After this viewpoint it was time to head back up to Page. On the way out I actually spotted some bison, which I never expected to see here at all. Apparently, there’s one singular herd that was brought here a long time ago and they just like to chill in the north rim area. It really caught me off guard, and they were far away, so this is the only photo evidence I have. In addition to the bison, I also shot cows once I was out of the national forest. I could actually see the scenery while driving this time and I was blown away by the red walls of the Vermilion Cliffs. The cows were really the only option I had to give some sense of scale.
The drive back to Page was beautiful, and I was grateful to be doing it in daylight this time around. I had to get back to Page quickly because I had a tour scheduled for a slot canyon. Not the famous Antelope Canyon, but the calmer and less influencer infested Antelope Canyon X. From what I had read, this was the way to go. The tour was much more casual and equally as beautiful.
The tour started with everyone meeting at a small shack off the remote highway. All that was visible in the immediate area was flat desert, some off-road guide vehicles, the shack, and some cones. After checking in with the guides, the group waited around for instruction and eventually we all got back in our cars and followed a guide vehicle single file down a crude road. A few miles of this took us to a very remote dirt lot. Once we all parked our cars we walked a bit further and could finally see a slope descending from the flat desert all around us. We finished listening to instructions from the guide and headed down the slope into the canyon.
I immediately felt the air get colder and the light turned softer and dimmer as we relied more and more on reflected light. I couldn’t help but notice all of the texture on the walls around me. The main canyon was much more open than what you would think of when picturing a slot canyon, but those stemmed off of the main section. I focused a lot on these textures and tried to find subjects within them when possible. Cracks here were my friend.
The first actual slot canyon we went to was darker than expected and I was initially surprised. I had seen so many photos of these canyons and they were always bright orange with obvious sweeping lines but this canyon was a little less polished than those. I still shot the photo below and figured this would be as good as it would get, and I knew I could make it work.
The second section was more what I was looking for. Things were much brighter here and the sweeping lines I had expected were now fully on display. I shot countless angles, looking up, down, close, wide, you name it. I ultimately settled on the textures above and the classic views below. It’s such a beautiful balance between the sides complementing one another, pushing and pulling the pathway between. I could almost visualize the water carving these shapes out and leaving these crazy formations.
Tours are the only way to see most of these canyons, at least in the limited time I was spending there. This meant that time in the canyon was limited. We headed out and drove back towards the highway, again in single file behind the guide truck. It was now midday and I still had a lot to do, so back to Page I went.
I had one final item on the to do list for Arizona. Even though I had driven past it multiple times already, I was headed to Horseshoe Bend. As I understand it, this used to be nothing more than a dirt pull out on the side of the road and a quick hike that would bring you to the river. Due to its proximity to Page, and it’s obvious beauty, a lot of people visited every day. This prompted the construction of a full sized parking lot, a paved path to the bend, and a gate to pay parking fees to.
Paying to park and “hiking” with hundreds of people to the overlook certainly kills a lot of the charm, but once you reach the overlook and get a good view below you forget about all of that. I truly did not expect the sheer scale of this scene. Pictures do not properly portray how tall these canyon walls are and how far down the river is below you.
Weaving in and out of the other visitors, less than half paying attention to the stunning view only feet away, I found the below spot where I could frame the bend up. I had already shot the classic photo, up at the beginning of this article, and I wanted something at least marginally different. For a scene like this, as famous as this, I tend to take this approach often. Get the shot everyone gets, then look for the perspectives you haven’t seen. In this instance, there’s only one viewing area and shooting it this way makes the most sense. Managing to find something to set up a frame wasn’t easy given the nature of the scene, but thankfully this worked out.
My next strategy for something unique was to avoid the wide lens. I pulled out the old 80-200mm and really liked a minimalist, more abstract composition of the shoreline. This shot gives a slightly better understanding of the scale of this place but still, not really. There were kayakers in the river, but I hadn’t shot any photos of them due to their position. If I wasn’t surrounded by so many people I may have waited for a shot to line up but I wanted to soak in what I could and head out quickly.
With the hoards of people long behind me, I was excited for the remote drive north. I stopped for a rather late drive-through lunch at the same Mcdonalds that welcomed me to Page just the night before and proceeded along Lake Powell and beyond. The next objective was Zion National Park.
The drive was relatively short and scenic but, again, the camera stayed idle. When I was nearing the park, I noticed that this is what I expected from the grand canyon. I was in a relatively flat desert area with not much around but I was allegedly close. Before I knew it, I had begun descending and the hills around me began to grow into canyon walls and the entry station was in view.
I didn’t know much of Zion prior to this trip beyond Angel’s Landing, The Narrows, and a tunnel somewhere. Coming in from the east entrance, you don’t get the grand views right away. It’s a beautiful canyon but you have to make your way into the park before you hit the tunnel. It was in this section that I saw some mountain goats right alongside the road and shot a quick portrait of this guy below. (Some would say too quick as the focus clearly is a little off.)
I continued on and soon was at the tunnel. Entering the tunnel was a task for later though, as the trailhead to a short easy hike was just before the east tunnel entrance. I found a parking spot (somehow), and began up the short trail quickly since the sun was beginning to set.
I didn’t have many expectations for a mile or so long hike but it was surprisingly enjoyable. After making way along (and under) the canyon walls, I had finally reached a view of the main valley. I was instantly mind blown at how open it was since what I had driven through so far was so vastly different. My eyes were instantly drawn to the snaking road loaded with cars.
I shot some photos during golden hour, resulting in one emphasizing the road and the golden light which I really enjoy. The light really helped add depth to the photo and the road stood out against the shaded hillside.
Thankfully, the sunset was a good one, and even though the canyon was dark I still really enjoyed the two photos below. Similarly to Horseshoe Bend, there’s only so many ways one can shoot something like this in these conditions so I just made sure to get the road and the sunset as best as I could. I ended up with two photos, one wider and one a bit more intimate.
I also noticed some more sheep behind me as the valley grew dark and took a photo of them on the ridge with the subtle glow of the pink sky on the rocks.
I hiked back down, hopped back in my truck, and headed through the tunnel. It was much longer than I anticipated, but the dramatic exit wasn’t quite as exciting now that it was fully dark outside. Exiting the park and driving through the popular town of Springdale took forever due to all of the traffic, but I was eventually through and in the clear until the town of Hurricane.
Hurricane was a short stop for food and a phone call now that I had service. I headed about 20 minutes or so back towards Springdale where I pulled off into BLM land. I found a section where I saw other cars and campsite and pulled to a random open space and hopped into the back of my truck for another (much warmer, thankfully) night of sleep.
The details are a bit fuzzy, but I believe I woke up around 5:30-6 am. The first shuttle up towards my objective left at 7 am, and even though I was there early, I was on the second shuttle since there were already enough people to fill the first. The only thing I remember from the shuttle ride was passing Moonlight Buttress and the driver mentioning that Alex Honnold had climbed it in the movie Free Solo. This was the first time I had any real context to a climb like that, and I could barely see the top of it through the shuttle window.
After a few stops I hopped off and shot the photo below of the creek. It’s a simple photo but I’m still fond of it. The fall colors were still lingering in the canyon, which was something I didn’t even consider. This, however, was not the morning’s focus. I was instead heading up Angel’s Landing.
I didn’t know too much of this hike, but I did know that it was pretty intense with a couple thousand feet of exposure, sometimes on either side of you. I wasn’t too worried about being underprepared since there were so many other people on the way up with me already, and I had enough water so that was good enough for me. It was pretty steep, especially up the section with 21 switchbacks, famously referred to as Walter’s Wiggles.
Shortly after the wiggles there was a bit of a natural rest stop about three-quarters of the way up. From here you could see the final stretch, which was definitely living up to the hype. I headed on up and it was no longer paved, and quickly became much more of a scrambly hike than a leisurely (although steep) one. With eroded rock, and chains to hold onto, and far falls alongside you, this section was beautifully fun.
I was eventually at the top and the view was stunning. The light was already pretty harsh and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen so in all honesty, shooting the view was pretty pointless. Nevertheless, I show the photo below but I don’t really care for it. It certainly doesn’t do a shred of justice to just how insane the view is in real life.
The photo from the top that I enjoy a little bit more is this photo of a lone tree catching the first light to reach the wall. It’s a very minimalist composition, and it only works because of the light. If the whole wall was lit then nothing stands out, and the same goes for if nothing was lit. Timing worked out in my favor and I got lucky with the short window that makes this photo worthwhile.
The highlight of the hike for me was seeing a massive condor on the way down. Apparently they’re in the area frequently but this one was sitting a little ways off the trail. I shot probably 200 photos and ended up with 10-15 good ones of this condor alone. The shaded canyon behind allowed for a very dramatic contrast, and with the right lens I was able to get extreme closeups. Even though I had so many photos, here are the two I like the most. The first is a very simple closeup where I tried to really show off the contrast between the light on the condor and the shade behind. The second is a photo where I was able to shoot through the condor’s outstretched wing feathers to frame it up as if it were a vampire. I really like these because it almost feels like it was shot in a studio and the condor was specifically modeling for me. It’s rare with wildlife to get such easy photos.
Back down at the bottom of the canyon I embraced the deep shadows and shot the two photos below. In conditions like this where light is harsh, and the shadows are plenty, it’s best to just embrace the contrast. The second photo is a good example of having patience with photography. I knew if I waited long enough a bus would perfectly frame up within the tree, and sure enough it worked out.
The final shot of Zion I took was of a couple visitors on e-bikes heading through a tree tunnel. The way the light backlit the autumn leaves really made this photo for me. Like I mentioned previously, I didn’t even consider the possibility of fall colors at this time so this photo is a very appreciated surprise. Had the foliage been green I’m not sure I would like this photo as much as I do.
Even though I was only in Zion for less than 24 hours, I loved it and I’m excited to go back and explore more. Sticking with the theme of this trip, I was on the road again and had places to be. The next on the list was Bryce Canyon National Park.
I arrived right at the beginning of golden hour and drove through the park while pulling off at every overlook I saw. The hoodoos really do have an otherworldly feel and the landscape was one of the most surreal that I’ve seen. The shot below is from the short hike up to Rainbow Point. There’s not much to it other than focusing on the texture of the hoodoos below, each one looking like an alien.
The sun set quick, but thankfully (in this instance) the park is rather small. I was able to drive to the end, hike to rainbow point, and head back to catch the sunset at another overlook closer to the entrance. The photos below show how interesting of a sunset it was, with one thick layer of cloud illuminated.
Shooting this park was a challenge since there’s so much going on but I like to think I did it justice. I really tried to incorporate the sunset, the textures, the scale, and even the switchback trails that descend into the hoodoos in the final shot. It remains to this day the most unique landscape I’ve ever seen. I plan to head back someday and hike into the hoodoos for a more intimate experience.
At this point the sun had set, and I was sitting in a parking lot in Bryce Canyon National Park. The plan was to head to Capitol Reef National Park to sleep and then explore in the morning before heading back to Colorado and going home. However, I was pretty exhausted, and had read that Capitol Reef felt like more of a state park than a national park, so I ultimately decided to just head home that night. Looking back I wish I had went, but I will go back someday regardless.
The drive home was long and dark, and I had to pull over at a rest stop in the middle of the desert and sleep one last time. I shot a mediocre photo of the milky way and a random rock outcropping from the rest step immediately behind my truck minutes before I went to sleep. While this photo is nothing special, I figured I’d include it as a farewell photo. The drive home was uneventful but beautiful, and I was home in the morning after a long and eventful weekend.
If you made it this far, I truly thank you for supporting me. This was a long one, and I thoroughly enjoyed reliving the experience and I look forward to the next one. I also apologize for the long delay in posting but I hope it was worth the wait. Thank you.