Photographing Factory Butte near Caineville, Utah.

For Christmas this year, my family generously pooled funds and bought me a ticket to attend the Outsiders Photography Conference that would be held March 4th through 6th in Kanab, Utah.

Time marched forward, and prior to the conference weekend, I put a request in at work to take off some extra days around the conference date. With the isolation of the COVID years and the lure of Utah attractions advising me, I knew I wanted to have some extra time in that state.

I tried to do some planning, and when Wednesday, March 2nd, rolled around, I was ready to hit the road.

My aspiration, outside of enjoying the conference and learning from the presenters at it, was to visit quite a few national parks before and after it, largely with the goal of also practicing some photography in the beautiful places.

The places did not disappoint.

My week (plus one) of wandering took me from Albuquerque to the Petrified Forest National Park and the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

The sun sets beyond the Bryce Canyon amphitheater.

After my three pretty intensive days in Kanab conferencing, the road called again, and I spent some time at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and then I took the scenic byway, Highway 12, from Bryce to Torrey, through the wondrous features around the land area that comprises the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern-central Utah. I then spent time in Capitol Reef National Park, and exploring the unique landscape in the Upper Blue Hills area off of scenic route 12, before taking scenic highway 95 south from Hanksville to Blanding before I pointed my truck southwest on 550 in New Mexico and headed for home.

I left the conference with a legal pad full of notes and some inklings of where I should stretch myself next with a camera. I enjoyed the mix of speakers who gave us insights on doing landscape photography across a broad spectrum. We even had a nice little snow on Saturday in Kanab.

Southern Utah is so full of scenic destinations, many of which are close to Kanab, and I certainly wish I had had more time to see what was local to enjoy. But I so love a national park.

And I also so love a good road trip.

My intent is to cover the semi-details and the highs and lows of each leg of the trip in future posts- but here, I just wanted to say thank you to my family members for giving me such a wonderful gift. The getaway was refreshing in and of itself. The beauty all over Utah was invigorating. And the education received over that weekend will definitely make me a better photographer.

Pano view of Glen Canyon and the Colorado Rover from the Hite Overlook off Route 95.