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Been to Utah yet?
If not, why not?
Is is, without doubt, the most beautiful state ...

"Virgin River sunrise"

[Photos have been processed, mostly to reproduce the scene faithfully and sometimes to add artistic touches. Best viewed on a high-res, widescreen, wide-gamut display. For iOS devices, long-press for 'Load 4K option'.
Please feel free to share, with proper attribution]

I fell in love with Utah from the moment I first set foot there. It's different. The people are very nice and and super-polite (more about that towards the end). The towns are beautiful. And the landscape is unlike anything I've seen anywhere else.

"Martian"

Consider Mesa Arch in Canyonlands for a second. If it's your first time and you arrive before sunrise, you have no idea what's in front of you. And then first light hits and boom, this jaw-dropping scene reveals itself.

"Mesa Arch"

Take a few (very, very) careful steps towards the edge of base of the arch and have your mind blown

"jaw meet floor"

Let's rewind for a second and start with Zion NP, considered Utah's (and perhaps the country's) premier national park experiences. The pale blue Virgin River carving its way through the towering red cliffs of the canyon provides one stunning vista after another.

"This is Zion"

I don't know whether it's because nature has healed or there are fewer visitors but I see a lot more wildlife - deer, elk, etc - in the national parks now. In Zion, it was sunrise and I was pretty much by myself and I had quite a few deer encounters.

"Early Bird"

The scenery is so special by itself and then you run into a view like this and it's just magic ...

"Early Bird II"

Rise early enough and you'll be rewarded with a stunning display where the soft light of the rising sun bathes the canyon summits in a deep orange hue that is perfectly complemented by the natural colors of the landscape.

"first light"

I will never forget this scene - it made me feel so insignificant - standing there surrounded by these sheer, dark rock cliffs rising 2000 feet straight into the sky and lit up by the moon. The wide-angle capture does not do justice to the scale.

"The Great White Throne"

[Bonus Shot: Found some blue birds nesting by the bank of the Colorado river in eastern Utah. Don't know what they're called but they're so beautiful.]

Speaking of the Colorado River ....

"red cliffs sunset"

"icy Colorado"

Back to Canyonlands: The view from Dead Horse Point, particularly at sunset, is one of my favorites. The magenta hue and the glow in the image below, are from the setting sun. There is a point to the south of here (not shown) where the Colorado does a full u-turn.

"dead horse"

La Sal mountains, as seen from Dead Horse Point

"La Sal vista"

And then there are the insane arches around Moab ...

"the big arch"

Finally, right at the border with Arizona, in Navajo Nation land, is the familiar but really, really weird landscape of Monument Valley. I say "familiar" because so many movies and TV have been filmed here.

"MV sunrise"

If you're ever in the area, do not skip Goose Neck State Park, where the Colorado does some truly head-spinning twists and turns ....

"Goose Neck Bend"

I never realized that the roadrunner/coyote setting was actually based on real life places such as ...

"Mexican Hat"

I'm very proud of this photo. We were on the open road at dusk when my wife noticed a silhouette in the distance. I prep-ed my zoom lens and fired away as soon as we realized what it was and caught the magnificent creature just when it looked up.

"one shot"

[Bonus Shot II: Horses grazing on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona]

I can keep going, I have so many photos to share. In Utah, a photographer never runs of inspiration. And I will, إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ. Meanwhile, I'll end for now on a couple of captures of Zion's star attraction, The Watchman

"The Watchman I"

"The Watchman II"

[as a supplement to this photo series, I offer this interesting thread that appeared on my TL and sprang to mind as I was putting this together] https://twitter.com/RachelRizzo/status/1339389929982345216?s=20