Summer Sledding, White Sands National Park
We had driven hard across all of West Texas and parts of New Mexico to get to White Sands for sunset. Instead, there was a sandstorm. I love this family’s persistence in getting their sledding in, even though the wind whipped sand that stung your face.
White Sand 2
White Sands 3
Shiprock
Wherever you go in the Four Corners region, you can see Shiprock. It makes complete sense that the capital of the Navajo Nation is situated nearby. We nearly passed by it, until we overrode the GPS and headed out onto a dirt road to find a place to take this picture.
The Girl in Arches
We had driven much of the day to get to Arches for sunset, and were rewarded with amazing light. I had just sat down on a rock, smiling and exhausted, when I saw this little girl running in the light. I almost captured a perfect picture.
Arches Sunset 1
Arches Sunset 2
Dead Horse 2
Dead Horse 3
Celebrating America
I saw this woman on her rooftop while driving on the highway at a pretty high speed. Naturally, I put on the brakes and pulled into the Scenic Overlook.
The Road Between Hoback and Pinedale
The second road trip begins as the autumn leaves hit peak.
Flaming Gorge
Red Canyon
In Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area.
The Colors of Utah 1
Between Flaming Gorge and Vernal.
The Colors of Utah 2
Between Vernal and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
The Colors of Utah 3
Between Vernal and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
The Colors of Utah 4
Between Vernal and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
Grand Staircase-Escalante 1
Between Boulder and Escalante.
Grand Staircase-Escalante 2
Between Boulder and Escalante.
From Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon
The Man in the White Hat
Bryce Canyon.
Nature's Doorway, Bryce Canyon
From Bryce Point
Approaching Cathedral in the Desert
On the Escalante Arm of the Colorado, Glen Canyon National Recreational Area.
Waterfall in Cathedral in the Desert
Cathedral in the Desert
Entrance to Cathedral in the Desert
Dry, for the first time in 60 years.
In Davis Gulch, Glen Canyon
In Davis Gulch 2, Glen Canyon
In Davis Gulch 3, Glen Canyon
Hovenweap
Hovenweap National Monument, on the Utah-Colorado border.
Valley of the Gods 1
Between Bluff, UT and Monument Valley.
Valley of the Gods 2
Blue Hour, Monument Valley
Just Before Sunrise, Monument Valley
Under the Sliver of a Moon, Monument Valley
Sunrise, Monument Valley
Ancestral Puebloan Ruin, Monument Valley
John Ford Point, Monument Valley
Square Tower House, Mesa Verde
View of Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde
Long House, Mesa Verde
Long House 2, Mesa Verde
Long House 3, Mesa Verde
Outside Telluride, Colors of Colorado 1
Outside Telluride, Colors of Colorado 2
Outside Telluride, Colors of Colorado 3
Colors of Colorado 4
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park 2
Great Sand Dunes National Park 3
Great Sand Dunes National Park 4
Great Sand Dunes National Park 5
Great Sand Dunes National Park 6
Blanca Peak, Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado
And then we drove home…
On the first day of our 2022 Road Trip, we drove from Jackson, WY to Zion National Park, just in time to catch the last light of day.
Zion, that most crowded of National Parks, is empty in winter. We had the place to ourselves.
In Saguaro National Park West, in Tucson.
Saguaro National Park West at sunset.
Tucson mural.
The Egyptian Store on the Venice Boardwalk, Venice, CA
On the Venice Boardwalk.
Sunset, Malibu, CA
Cacti, Yucca Valley
Joshua Tree National Park
In Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Treet National Park
From Keys Point, Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree National Park
From Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park
Salt Creek, Death Valley
Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley
The Devil’s Golf Course, Death Valley
Road to the Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
On the hike into the Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Fire Wave Hike, Valley of Fire State Park
Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park
The Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park
Valley of Fire State park
Last look at Valley of Fire, final stop on Road Trip 3.
American Road Trips: 2021-2022
In late May, 2021, my wife Anna Bennett and I packed up our car and moved to Wyoming. We did not travel in a straight line. A nephew was getting married in New Orleans, so our path, as punctuated by places we spent at least one night, was DC-Ashville-Montgomery-New Orleans-Dallas-Alamogprdo-Jemez-Moab-Jackson Hole.
I had spent much of early 2021 working on a documentary project in black and white in one of DC’s historic neighborhoods. You can probably tell, as you look at these mostly color images, that I was eager to try something different. (The book project stemming from that work in DC became can be found here.)
The first segment of these images were all taken in White Sands National Park or the Moab region; later sets of images from two subsequent road trips were taken in Bryce Canyon, Great Sand Dunes, Zion, Saguaro, Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Park, so you’ll see that sand dunes and national parks have played an important role in our travels.
The hinge between each of the three road trips was our summer, early autumn and winter in Jackson Hole. I have not included pictures from Jackson Hole in a “road trip” gallery because we now live here. Go to the Mountain Town gallery for a sense of life in a small, gorgeous valley in the West.
In late September of ‘21, Anna and I left for Southern Utah and mostly Southern Colorado. It was a 13-day, 3000 mile trip and it was awesome. Even though I have a separate gallery on our journey to Cathedral in the Desert, I’ve included some of these images here because it was, in fact, the organizing principle for this particular road trip.
Then, in late January 2022, we headed out again, to Zion and Tucson, LA and Joshua Tree, Death Valley and, finally, Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It was an amazing nearly 4000-mile trip, and ending with Valley of Fire was mind-blowing.
We’ll keep updating this gallery with new pictures from new road trips, as time passes on.
For photographers: 98% of these pictures were taken with the Leica SL2 and the SL-Vario Elmarit-24-90mm lens. A handful were taken with the Leica M10r, the Leica M11, and associated Monochrom variants.