Dean Hebert Photography

 With flights into Las Vegas so cheap, it makes a great launching pad for a trip around the Grand Canyon. After picking up the rental car we headed to one of our favourite destinations, the Valley of Fire. Always looking to explore new sights we drove to the Seven Sisters for a lunch stop. Then it was on to the CCC Cabins where we investigated the tiny homes built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. From there it was a short drive to Elephant Rock.

 With our sight-seeing done for the day, we drove to St George. 

 The next day I thought we were going to Red Cliffs, but instead we ended up at Snow Canyon. Serea and I spent the afternoon exploring the entrances to several laval tunnels and a trail around a small prominence.

There was no time left for Red Cliffs so we drove on to Zion. This was a big mistake as we had too little time to even scratch the surface of what this park has to offer. On the plus side, this early in the season you can drive your own vehicle up the canyon. We only had a bit over an hour of daylight to see everything and it wasn't enough time!

 We spent the night in Kanab before starting day 3 at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. I've wanted to photograph dunes forever but I couldn't find what I was looking for.

 Next on the list was Grand Staircase-Escalante.

 We made one stop at the Toadstools trail and wandered through this alien landscape for over an hour.

 Our final stop for the night was Page. We checked-in to our hotel and then went for dinner. Afterwards, I decided to checkout Horseshoe Bend. It is literally minutes outside of town.

 I've heard that it's a popular location, but I wasn't expecting the steady stream of people hiking the short trail to the rim. Once there, I grabbed the last opening and setup my tripod. Then I waited for the sun to hit the horizon. I'm glad I went for sunset as the next day dawned overcast.

  With better planning and a bigger budget we would have spent the next day going through one of the local slot canyons and getting amazing photos of these unique locations. Instead we headed back to Horseshoe Bend and explored some of the surrounding landscape. I took shots of the bend from several angles. With a long day of driving the next day, we turned in early.

 And what's a trip around the Grand Canyon without stepping to the edge and looking down. I'm not sure how many times we've been there, but in no way has the canyon lost any of it's breath-taking ability.

 With more of this stunning area still waiting to be explored, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we're back.