In November, I had the good fortune to be able to go out to Moab, Utah and photograph three of the most beautiful places in the country — Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. I spent four days in the area, and at no point was I bored. The scenery in the parks was just absolutely amazing.
Arches National Park
The first place I went was to Arches National Park, which is a short ride away from the main area of Moab.
Arches is dominated by huge sandstone structures that have formed and been eroded over vast amounts of time, creating the namesake arches that the park is named for. It’s very awe-inspiring to see these massive rocks jutting up out of the ground and rising up, sometimes over 100 feet, into the air above. You get the feeling of being very small when you’re standing next to the arches and sandstone rocks.
I could have easily spent the entire week at Arches, but there were other locations I wanted to visit as well. Below are some of my pictures from Arches:
Canyonlands National Park
If Arches, with its enormous sandstone structures is about the heights, then Canyonlands is about the depths, with some wonderful overviews of the canyons of the area.
Truth be told, I only got to visit one part of the park — the Island in the Sky. There are other parts that I didn’t get to and that, someday, I’ll have to go back to to photograph.
Canyonlands has some amazing views of where the Colorado and Green Rivers have carved through the rock to create these impressive canyons. Below are some of the shots I took there:
Dead Horse Point State Park
The last place I got to visit while in Moab was Dead Horse Point State Park.
Legend has it that this park got its very strange name from the fact that cowboys in the 1800s used this area as a natural corral. However, because of the harsh conditions here, the horses often died of exposure.
The main attraction here is Dead Horse Point Overlook. The overlook features a hairpin bend in the Colorado River, When viewed at sunrise, when the warm rays of the sun light up the red rocks just right, it is absolutely beautiful.
Below are several photos (including a panorama) that I took of the overlook.
One Last Shot
After I left my Airbnb on my last day, I drove along Utah Route 128, also called the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway.
There were some beautiful views of the Colorado River along the way. I wish I could have stopped more often to take more pictures, but had I done so, I would have probably missed my flight home. This view, however, was so beautiful, that I just had to go for it.
So, What Do You Think?
So, which shot is your favorite? I’d love to hear what you think. Let me know in the comments.