A Trip Out West

Three years ago, my family drove to Denver, Colorado to assist a church in reaching out to their community. On that trip out west, I took a lot of pictures and shot some video.

I’d love to share some pictures and one video of the natural beauty out west, some of which I have never shared. If you’d like to see them, keep scrolling.

Driving over the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. There was snow in July.

Words cannot adequately express how vast it is in east-central Utah. Interstate 70 is visible in the center of this picture, winding its way through the desolate landscape.

This rock formation in Arches National Park is in one of the first scenes in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

One of the many massive rock formations in Arches National Park.

Just trying to take it all in at the Arches National Park. You cannot adequately feel the immensity of this place unless you visit it. The incredible views and the massive rock formations easily humble visitors … but that’s part of the joy.

The hike to the iconic arch in the center of this picture would have been long and hard … and it was over 100* with no shade. So, we opted for a picture from a distance.

Something about standing on top of a massive rock feels powerful.

Making our way back to the entrance of this massive park (Arches National Park).

To put things into perspective, if one of my boys was standing next to the massive rock formation on the right of this picture, he would be so small that you probably wouldn’t be able to see him.

After spending the night in Green River, Utah, we headed west to Salina before heading south to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive on interstate 70 between Green River and Salina is one of the most desolate sections of interstate in the United States. For 107 miles (an hour and a half drive with a speed limit of 75-80mph), there is not one single gas station, restaurant, hotel, or even a toilet that flushes. It is utterly desolate. If you run out of gas, break down or, heaven forbid, have a wreck, you’re in serious trouble. But, the views are breathtakingly beautiful! I wish that I would have taken pictures along that stretch of road.

The smiles are big because they were getting their first views of the Grand Canyon.

The seats, with the breathtaking views, were always filled. I would’ve loved to have sat in one of those seats with my Bible or a great book and just spent an hour or so reading.

Of course, we had to do a family picture soon after arriving.

Breathtaking views! The drop on the other side of the railing was hundreds of feet.

I could stare at this picture all day. Even better, I would love to go back and just spend some time taking in the beauty of God’s creation.

One day, I’d love to go on a hike down inside this Canyon.

I once thought that the Grand Canyon was simply a hole in the ground. Then, I took my family. We couldn’t stop smiling. It was incredible!

I took a video while on a trail at the Grand Canyon. The view at the end is incredible!

As we left the Grand Canyon, we passed the Vermilion Cliffs. I thought that we had finished with the amazing scenery … but, I was wrong. If you look closely enough in the next picture, you will see the highway making its way through this deserted plain with a beautiful view out the driver-side windows. (You’ll have to look closely, though. The cars are not nearly as large as the period at the end of this sentence.)

Pictures don’t do this part of the country justice. You have to go visit for yourself.

After seeing all of the previous sites, I just couldn’t be impressed with much else. Here, we visited the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

Well, we couldn’t help ourselves. We had to get our kicks on route 66.

We visited some other sites on the way back such as the site of the Oklahoma City Bombing. But, I wanted to use this post to show some of the spectacular natural wonders out west.

If you ever get a chance to take a drive in western Colorado, Utah, or northern Arizona, go! In my opinion, it was well worth our time!