Utah

Utah has a lot of parks. The photos here are of only a small fraction of those parks, but they do offer a somewhat thorough sense of the gorgeous landscape that is everywhere in the state. Truly, it is impossible to take a picture in Utah and not to capture something beautiful in the process.

These photo albums contain pictures from two summer trips to Utah: one in late June 2016 and one in late June 2018. Given the enormous size of the state, these photos were taken during assorted day hikes, when Joe and Kelly scrambled to see as much of Utah as possible.

If he has anything to do with it, Joe’s retirement celebration will happen here—in The Maze. Since (somewhat unfortunately), he has at least twenty-five years of work ahead of him before he will be able to retire, he has plenty of time to prepare and to sharpen his off-trail hiking and survival skills.

Take your time with these photo albums. They display some of the most remote and quiet country in the Continental United States. Despite the rugged desert terrain, the feeling in these parks is always serene and contemplative.

To paraphrase Balzac somewhat loosely: in the desert, God is there, and man is not.

Enjoy this stunning nothingness.