I won’t say much because I think the photos speak for themselves, but I will say this. I went to Utah in heart of my busy season… I left two weddings to edit at home, and came home to six shoots in seven days. For me, this wasn’t easy. But there was a bigger goal in mind. I was looking for some clarity. Clarity amidst months that have been jumbled with photo shoots, weddings, stress, and the daily rigors of life.

Let me tell you, anyone that needs to get away – Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon are the places to do it. Hiking seven miles in Zion (West Rim and Angel’s Landing) up 1,400ft. elevation and five miles through the hoodoos and switch backs of Bryce Canyon made me forget about everything in life that was stressing me out – and even let me forget about that bronchitis I happened to get the day before I left for vacation!

I’m probably the worst person in the world to hike with since it literally went like this… Jill take 2 steps, stop and take a photo of something. Jill take 2 more steps, stop and take a photo of something. And so on, for 12 miles. Sorry guys! But I have to send a special shout out to my roommate Emily’s family, Brian, Cheryl, and Becca for being amazing hosts, even better guides, and such fun company. Especially Brian for snapping some amazing photos, and I can’t forget about Emily… my photographer prodigy 🙂 Ben, I’m sorry you couldn’t make it out with us but thanks for letting me use your backpack 🙂

I sent some of these pictures to my family that day…. they were not happy. And Danny definitely didn’t think it was cool. But it was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Take a look at the gorgeous views….

Bryce Canyon was utterly breathtaking. Filled with hoodoos (link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_%28geology%29), winding trails, and fairly green for being in the desert… I’ve never seen anything like it.

We spend our last day in Utah at the cutest little town at a delicious breakfast place called Xetaca, which was in the middle of the desert with mountains in the background. We also stopped and saw Joshua trees and hunted for arrowheads (well, Emily and her brother hunted for arrowheads while I stayed perfectly still trying to stay away from bushes that snakes were hiding in).

After becoming one with nature for a few days… Emily and I headed over to Vegas for a nice change of pace. A view of the strip (and Belagio fountains) from our windows, plush amenities after “roughing it” in the desert, and laying by the pool with my girlfriend (without our brother boyfriends, sorry guys – love ya!) was exactly what I needed.

The whole trip was such an experience and I can’t wait to go back next year to rappel down those canyons 🙂