It has been several months since I last revised my blog, primarily because I, like everyone else, was sitting home and waiting for a chance to travel once again. After being fully vaccinated, I finally decided to bite the bullet and hop on a plane to one of my favorite places, Moab, Utah. Moab, tucked between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, must surely be one of the most beautiful places anywhere. It felt wonderful to be traveling again. Although I have now been coming to Moab for 30 years and have visited there perhaps 12-15 times, driving into Moab never fails to fill me with a sense of wonderment that is always so inspiring. If one drives down from Salt Lake City, the usual route, there is about 200 miles of very little to see. Suddenly, it is as if the ground literally erupts on either side of you about 10 miles north of Moab, as Arches National Park begins to surround you. I can still vividly recall the first time that I made that drive, it was mind-boggling. At that time, in 1981, Moab was an abandoned uranium mining town with almost nothing going on. There were only 2 or 3 motels, a few restaurants that were little more than greasy spoons, but surrounded by all this astonishing beauty. The invention of the mountain bike, however, changed all that, and by 1991, the town had become the mountain bike capital of the world and Mob literally exploded in many ways. But it is still incredibly beautiful and should be visited by everyone at least once (although it is already getting quite crowded!).
My trip was completely uneventful, a good thing during these stressful days. I had some concerns about my photo skills before I went, but these proved to be a non-problem, and the images that I was able to make on this trip were well beyond my expectations. In particular, one sunrise in Canyonlands was especially dramatic and rewarding, as can be seen in the attached photo. I wish that I could have spent more time there, quite frankly, as the image-making was going so well. Hopefully, I will be able to get back on the road very soon. I think it is now possible, thanks to vaccination, to travel with much reduced fear.
Sunrise Over the White Rim, Canyonlands National Park, Utah April 2021