I have been to many places in the southwest given that I live in the region. It surprises people sometimes when I tell them I haven’t been to certain places that I “should have” gone too long ago. Last year it was Zion after a few years of putting it off. This year while on a week long trip returning to Zion, I kept the thought in the back of my mind that Bryce Canyon National Park was nearly two hours away. I have also told myself that the only time I would truly go out of my way to Bryce Canyon was if there was snow on the ground. During the middle of the week, a day starting out to be gloomy turned out to be one that provided some of the most unique photographic opportunities I have had in the desert. A storm brought snow to Zion’s high country as myself and two of my friends wandered the parks east side where fall colors and falling snow contrasted the mixing of seasons in the desert. Just outside the park, there was nearly three inches of snow on the ground. I knew that the temps would drop greatly that day throughout the southwest and that the potential for snow at Bryce was a pretty good possibility. The very next day, my friend Scotty and I packed up and headed to Bryce Canyon. This was the first time I had ever been to this park despite passing the turnoff on multiple occasions. We went to almost every viewpoint to see the possibilities and how much snow was still present between the hoodoos. Thankfully, there was still plenty of the white powder contrasting with the vibrant orange hoodoos that make up this landscape. After checking out the views, it was decided that Inspiration point would be our sunset shoot. We arrived under wonderful looking skies that looked to be as promising for a stunning sunset. We waited, and waited for the colors to emerge, and while they didn’t explode like we were hoping, I enjoyed the subtle colors of the clouds. The sky contrasted quite nicely with the landscape below and showed the remains of the recent snow spread throughout the maze of hoodoos. It’s rare that a named inspiration point actually lives up to it’s name, but this one surely did. Perhaps it was due to seeing this place for the first time, but I surely cannot wait to go back when they get even more snow.
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