このこうえんは、くるまで6じかんのところにあります。- This park is just six hours away

by car. 🚗

I am having a hard time now.  A year without virtually any in-person contact with people other than my daughter is taking its toll. I feel tired and unmotivated a lot of the time. I am not a social butterfly, but I certainly do need at least a small amount of human interaction. I miss the talk and banter with colleagues and friends and the occasional meal and drink with someone.

To distract myself, I like to retreat to memories by way of my photos.

Today, I decided to share a small selection of photos I took in May of 2016. I cannot express how much I love traveling around the American West. This trip took me to neighboring Utah and two national parks. I explored Canyonlands National Park for the first time and I returned to nearby Arches National Park to hike a few trails there. I wanted to include both parks in this series, but I discovered so many photos from Canyonlands that I really want to share that there is no room for anything else. I might have to do a second post sometime later on with the photos that did not make it this time.

It was such an enjoyable solo trip. Just three days total and I was very busy exploring from dawn till dark. It was before the arrival of the summer heat and the skies were just unbelievably beautiful. I took a lot of pictures, but many of them did not turn out that well. I guess I was just too awestruck by the views to concentrate. But see for yourselves...

Forget American cities. If you come to America, I would highly recommend a driving tour of the desert southwest. There are many fabulous national parks, stunning vistas, canyons, mountains, beautiful lodges and interesting history. There is enough to see for many weeks of travel. In fact, I have yet to visit some of these wonderful places myself.