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Visiting the most popular arch in the US.

If you've been to Utah, or have seen a license plate from Utah, then you have probably seen the famous Delicate Arch.

If you haven't been there in person, but you would like to, you'll want to be prepared for the hike! If you aren't used to hiking, walking or running, I recommend getting some exercise in before your trip to help get your body in shape. Not only is it 3 miles round trip, but heading to the arch is mostly up hill with very little shade. Parts of the hike towards the end can be scary but it is well worth it. Not in shape, or don't have time to prepare? That's, okay, just take your time and don't rush it and you'll be fine.

If you want to hike up to the arch, make sure you are at the correct spot in Arches National Park. There are two areas to view the majestic arch. If you do not want to do the moderately challenging hike, there is another view point area that you practically drive right up to. That one is known as Lower Delicate Arch View Point. There's also a shorter steep 1/2 mile round trip hike to get a little closer called Upper Delicate Arch View Point.

If you want to walk right up to the arch, then you'll want to go to the Delicate Arch Trailhead. There are two parking lots so if one is full, go on to the next one. They can fill up fast so I recommend going early, especially if it's a hotter day.

When you first start the hike, you'll come across this cute little cabin that is part of the historic Wolfe Ranch. After that, you will walk along a foot bridge that crosses over a creek. It was dry when we were there but I've seen photos of it with water. Probably after they've had a lot of rain in the area. Rains can come fast and suddenly so make sure you watch the weather as it can be dangerous hiking in the desert during a downpour. It floods easily as the ground does not soak it in.

When you reach the switchbacks section of the hike, this will tell you the majority of the rest of the hike is all up hill. There is an elevation climb of about 550 feet. If you are not used to hiking, you will want to take your time.

.....to see the rest of this full blog with photos, please click here: Full Blog

To see video on the hike to Delicate arch, here's the link: Hike To Delicate Arch

To see the Photos, click here: Delicate Arch Photos

Hope you get the opportunity to visit this beautiful park. More blogs and videos coming soon on Utah and Arches National Park.

Take care and be blessed!

If you love to hike, this one should be at the top of your must hike list.

Wow...just wow! This has to be my favorite hike ever! It's also one of the longest hikes we've taken. If you don't hike much, or haven't been to Moab, Utah, you'll want to do your research to be prepared for this one. I started walking a couple miles at least once a week a couple month ahead.

It is a pretty rough gravel road as you drive to the parking lot and you'll want to drive it slow. The parking lot is small and limited to 28 spaces. It was full when we arrived on a Saturday afternoon and cars were parked all along the side of the road a mile plus from the parking lot.

There is no internet service so you'll want to make sure you download an offline map to track where you are so you don't get off trail, or get lost. There are various apps out there. We used All Trails. It is very easy to get off track even following the creek. There are several points we stopped to see which direction to go and one time we discovered we had roamed off the trail for a little bit but did get back on track without knowing.

There is so much to see along the hike like the scene here: Professor Creek Large Rock With Hole. There's a cool large rock with a big hole in it. The rock is probably 4 foot tall. You also see lots of different mesa mountain rock formations and cool junipers and other trees that have fun characteristics to them.

The trailhead is on public land but neighbors private property so you'll want to be respectful of the landowners. This is a day use only area so you are not allowed to camp or sleeping in the vehicles. A sign sits at the beginning of the trail pointing the direction with the beautiful Adobe Mesa in the background!

Located in the backcountry desert of Moab off of the beautiful Scenic Byway 128, this just over 9 mile round trip hike takes you through beautiful desert landscapes into the Mary Jane Slot Canyon where you are surrounded by majestic red orange rock canyon walls. The Professor Creek runs along the whole route. Some websites claim it to be 7.5 - 8 miles. According to our All Trails map, we walked just over 9 and didn't even get to the end.

Make sure you bring lots and lots of water with you! Plan on 3-4 hours. We both had 64 oz of water and there wasn't much left when we got back to the car. We also packed a lunch and snacks.

It can get really hot in the summer. We went in early May and it was in the upper 80's which wasn't to bad as we are from the Ozarks and are upper 80's feels like 100 because of the humidity and there wasn't much humidity there. The temperature does cool down when you reach the canyon area.

Mary Jane Canyon---wow! That sunlight can make those orange red canyon walls glow! It can also get dark in the canyon pretty quickly. It was around 4pm when we were there and it was getting pretty dark as the canyon is deep so the shadow of the walls make it shaded.

There are lots of little waterfalls and rapids along the creek.

This is a hike where your feet will get wet! We counted over water 100 crossings. We purchased some water proof socks because we were worried about the water being too cold in May but since it was a pretty warm day, the cool water felt good so we didn't even wear them.

At the end of the trail, you'll find a large waterfall. We didn't go all the way to the end for this hike as it was getting dark in the canyon and we were told you had to swim to get to the waterfall as it was chin deep. I didn't want to risk my equipment getting wet so we stopped about 1/4 - 1/8 of a mile away. I also wanted to make sure we made it back in time for me to get to my planned sunset spot and we had a 45 min drive to it plus the hike back. If the waterfall is the only reason you want to take this hike, do some research to see how high the water is at the falls. You're more likely able to get to the waterfall if there hasn't been much rain in the area. Regardless, I still think this hike is worth it rather you see the falls or not.

The hike took us just over 4 hours round trip. Took about 3 hours to get to where we turned around because of all the stops and photo taking.

If you love hikes and beautiful scenery, this is one you'll want to take.
Here is a video we took of our hike at Professor Creek. Here's a behind the scenes video. Professor Creek Hike To Mary Jane Canyon Moab Utah

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Full Blog

To see the Photos, click here: Professor Creek Photos

Hope you get the opportunity to visit this beautiful park. More blogs and videos coming soon on Utah and Arches National Park.

Take care and be blessed!

Our hike to my favorite Arch in Arches National Park.

Double Arch in Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, is in my opinion a must see if you visit this beautiful park. I would have to say it was my favorite out of the multiple arches we saw.

It is located in the windows section across from the North and South Windows.

It's an easy 1/2 mile hike round trip that starts out with pavement and changes to dirt. There are a variety of rock formations to see on this hike including the Cove of Caves and Parade Of Elephants. One of the rock formations in the photo below reminds me of a side profile of President Lincoln!

The parking lot sits in the middle of Double Arch and North and South Windows so you can park, and enjoy both trails. We went in early May and they were having unseasonable cooler weather with it being 30's in the morning and 50's in the day so we made sure to wear layers. It can get really hot in the summer months. Bring lots of water no matter the time of year you go.

Not only can you walk up to this stunning rock formation, but you can also climb up in it. They just do not allow you to climb up to the top of the arches as they are fragile. They are the tallest arches in the park and really is mind blowing how large they are. They are 144 feet and 112 feet tall.

When you climb up into under the arches and turn around, you'll see a beautiful view of the Turret Arch, and North and South Windows which is on the other side of the parking lot. It's also really cool to just lay down and look straight up!

In one of my photos you can get a perspective of their size as you can see my husband standing inside and below one of the arches taking video (video below).

The rocks are called slick rock so make sure you wear good shoes with a grip to climb around on them. They can get slippery if wet. They have a gritty sand feeling.

It can get crowded in the summer so they have a system where you have to go online and register for an hour time slot you would like to enter the park. They call this a timed-entry system. Once you enter you can stay as long as you like. Or you can arrive before 7am or after 4pm and you don't not need to have to register. Currently this is what their website says: Timed entry reservations are required for visiting Arches between 7am-4 pm, April 1 - October 31. Please check out the Arches National Park website to get the up to date information.

Here is a video we took of our hike to Double Arch. Here's a behind the scenes video. Double Arch Hike Arches National Park Utah

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Full Blog

To see the Photos, click here: Double Arch

Hope you get the opportunity to visit this beautiful park. More blogs and videos coming soon on Utah and Arches National Park.

Take care and be blessed!

Boat tours can give you ideas on places to see while on vacation.

In the heat of the day while visiting a beach destination, it is a good time to do something that cools you down, or gets you out of the sun. Yes, the water cools you down, but it can get really crowded during the day in the summer months. Besides shopping and visiting sites around the area, I like to take at least one boat tour.

The majority of the boat tours in Destin leave from the Harbor area. If you park at the HarborWalk Village shopping area, keep in mind there is a fee to park. It was $20 last time we were there in 2023.

If you go to the Harbor Boardwalk, I recommend getting there early or staying after your boat tour to walk around and visit a few shops. You might as well since you paid the parking fee! They also offer variety of food options with beautiful water and wildlife views. They also have lots of fun activities and entertainment for kids and adults of all ages.

There are a lot of boat tour options to choose from, so take a look at all of them and decide which is best for you. It just depends on what you're looking for in a tour. Some are focused on parties and fast rides, while some focus on wildlife and giving an informational tour on the homes, businesses, and sights to see in the area, and then some offer sunset cruises taking you to the best spots for viewing sunsets.

I really don't think you can go wrong on which cruise you choose. They are all fun and typically the staff is very friendly, informative and entertaining. My favorite part about the cruises, is getting to watch the dolphins play with the waves! While we were in the harbor, we got to see a baby bottlenose dolphin swimming with its mom. It was so sweet!

When we got out into the open water of the beautiful emerald gulf coast, they picked up the speed and cranked up the music and that's when the dolphins like to play! When you do a boat tour, I recommend going early in your vacation. This is because you will learn about different things to see and do at the destination that you may want to add to your to do or must see list while you are there.

Most importantly, just enjoy the tour and have fun. Treasure those memories and moments as vacations way to often seem way too short.

My husband took a few videos of our boat tour with his phone. You can also see me in part of it capturing the dolphins playing. Here's a behind the scenes video. Destin Florida Dolphins And Boat Ride

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

To see the Photos, click here: Destin Florida

Thank you and be blessed!

A rainbow appeared while I was taking photos of a Destin Florida sunset.

While capturing the sunset along the East Pass of Destin, Florida, a rainbow appeared kind of behind us on the beach side of the big rock jetty. We were standing on the jetty facing the sunset and water side and my husband hollers that there is a rainbow behind us.

I almost missed it! It was the perfect touch to the already beautiful partly cloudy sky. The sun was casting beautiful soft coral, pink and purple colors on the clouds. I was able to capture a panorama scene to show the beach, water, and rainbow.

My husband took a short video of it which is below if you'd like to see it.
Here's a behind the scenes video. Destin Florida Rainbow Sunset Video

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

To see the photos Photos, click here: Destin Florida Rainbow Sunset Photos

Thank you and be blessed!

Can't go wrong with a Florida sunset, especially one along the Pensacola Bay.

I love to visit Florida! Just look at my website and you'll see I have more photos of Florida, then I do my own state (Missouri). The ocean waves, expansive view of nothing but water, and the swaying palm trees sing to my soul. It gives me chills to look out at the ocean and brings me closer to the Lord as I like to say.

We usually stay somewhere right on the coast. This time, we spent a night in Gulf Breeze, Florida which sets between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach when we were on our way to Destin. We were hired to take photos of a vacation rental. I don't typically travel to the same location twice (too many places to see) but it had been 25 years since we had been to Pensacola Beach and that was before I started doing photography professionally so I wanted to get some good photos.

Instead of staying on the coast, this time we chose a location that had the perfect spot for sunset. As I was looking for a place to stay, this leaning sailboat shipwreck on the Pensacola Bay captured my attention and I knew that was the spot! It was right off of the main highway which heads to Pensacola Beach.

When we got there, I was really impressed. The sunset scene was beautiful and it was much more quite than Pensacola Beach which was really crowded when we were there in late April. I selfishly prefer to have the beach to myself!! That is why I'm usually up early in the morning for photos when it's not so busy.

At first I was slightly disappointed there were not any clouds in the sky, but then the color quickly exploded and it was perfect! I loved the leaning sailboat and the simple sky kept the focus on the subject! A leaning palm tree and a dock in the background that was partially still damaged from hurricanes, all made for an overall perfect setting. Light changes fast at sunrise and sunset so i moved around quickly to capture different angles.

As the sun fell below the horizon, you could see a sliver of the moon high above the bay, and the horizon glowed golden orange and yellow as the sun went out of sight. It was so nice to have this beautiful view right from our hotel!

We worked our way around the bay to get close to the boat dock pier area and found one of those cool directional signs pointing to different places and how many miles away they were. Made the perfect silhouette during blue hour with the dock.

The boat dock also provided a wonderful silhouette subject with it's posts sticking up out of the water in the areas where it was damaged. I'm not sure how long it's been like this. I do know they had a big hurricane the year before which we could still see damage in the area from it when we were driving around.

While I was taking photos, my husband took some videos with his phone for a behind the scenes view.

Here's a behind the scenes video. Gulf Breeze Florida Sunset

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

To see My Gulf Breeze Florida Photos, click here: Gulf Breeze Florida Photos

Hope you enjoy and if you're looking for a place to stay that's not right on the crowded gulf coast beach, you might look into staying somewhere in Gulf Breeze. Be blessed!

Our first few stops in the beautiful state of Utah.

Boy were we happy to finally see the Welcome to Utah sign after a 16 hour drive from Ozark, Missouri! We did split the drive up into 1 1/4 days to help give us a little break.

We entered Utah at the border of Colorado and Utah on Highway 70 near Cisco, Utah. The large welcome sign full of stickers from travelers greeted us in the middle of a desert landscape. There was a rock pile, known as a Cairn below the sign. Cairns are common in Utah to help navigate through trails as often it can be hard to tell where the trail is and phone service is very spotty. As you can see in the photo, the sign is in the middle of a desert landscape terrain.

After visiting the sign, we stopped at Harley's Dome View Area which is the first pull over view point you'll see after the sign.

There was a small hike to another viewpoint there, but we only looked at it from near the parking lot as we were working our way to Professor Creek hiking trail and didn't want to get there too late the since it's a 9 mile hike!

It offered some beautiful landscape and valley views of the desert and our first sighting of the cool twisted juniper trees that I loved seeing in Colorado a couple years ago!

After that, we began working our way to Professor Creek. There were many beautiful stops along the way. We took Old Cisco Highway towards the Scenic Byway 128. We came across a railroad track crossing with the La Sal mountains in the background which had some snow covered peaks. (One of the reasons we went in early May was to hopefully capture some snow on the mountains.) I provided a perfect photo opportunity!

Getting to see the railroad tracks running through the middle of the desert makes you think of western movies which many, many have been filmed in Utah.

After Old Cisco Highway, we turned on to the Scenic State Highway 128. The road is just over 44 miles long and will take you through the sixth-longest natural rock span in the United States, world famous movie locations, lots of hiking trails, views along the majestic Colorado River and more. It's the first real showing and a taste of the natural beauty Utah has to offer.

It's such a beautiful drive that we stopped every couple minutes or so to capture it which ended up putting us behind getting to Professor Creek. So make sure you plan more time in this area so you can do some of the hikes too that we didn't get to go on.

My video below shows a peek view of this beautiful drive. We thought we took more video of it, but not sure if lost the file or if it didn't actually record!! Really wish it showed you more along this road but I did take lots of photos which I'm gradually adding to my website! We hope to go back to Utah some day to see more of the state and need to make time to go back to this drive to enjoy it more.

Here's a timelapse video of the sunrise. Travel Utah, Welcome Sign, Harleys Dome View Area, Old Cisco Highway, Highway 128

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

Hope you enjoy! Be blessed!

"Oh wow....that's crazy!", my exact words to my husband after I walked up to the overlook and looked down (way down) at Shafer Trail Viewpoint area in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. He was still walking up the hill and hadn't seen it yet. It was mesmerizing!

My next line was, "There is no way (I would drive that)!", lol. It's beautiful, but not a road for the faint of heart! Seems as I've gotten older, I've formed a little fear of heights. Something I never really had much of a problem with until the last couple of years. It was dark and before sunrise when we arrived. We got there early to capture a timelapse of the full sunrise (video below), along with photos of twilight, blue hour, and of course gold hour.

You may want to know why as a professional photographer, did I not choose to go to the famous Mesa Arch for my sunrise photo as many photographers do. This is because I'm a photographer that likes to capture different scenes and I prefer it when I'm the only one at a spot knowing no other photographer has captured that same moment at the same location. This location was perfect as my husband and I were the only ones there, so I know there are no other photos out there of this moment. Plus there are 1,000's of images of sunrise from Mesa Arch so I thought this would be different. We did stop by the Mesa Arch in the early afternoon to capture it.

Shafer Trail road is a challenging dirt road of switchbacks that descends 1500 feet down a majestic and massive sandstone cliff! My off angle photos show a little more of the depth. The road is just wide enough for one car but people drive both directions so if you meet a car you have to pull over at a wide point to let the other go by. The cars going up hill have priority so if you're going down, you'll be the one to pull over. They recommend only high-clearance 4WD vehicles with a low range gear (4LO). We got to watch a couple Jeeps drive the road while we were there. I believe these were individuals, but if you want to experience the drive but afraid to drive yourself, there are a few experienced tour companies that can give you that amazing experience of a lifetime.

It was a cloudy morning but there was a hint of haze in the distance which was perfect for a mountain sunrise. There was just enough break in the clouds to allow the golden sunlight to burst through. Through the haze in the distance, you can see the La Sal Mountain range. We were there in early May and it still had some snow on the mountain peaks. Every morning, there was more snow on the mountains then the day before, but it would melt through out the day as the highs would be in the 50's and 60's (a couple days got in the 70's) while we were there. Then it would snow again in the evening and night.

It was a chilly morning when we were there and the wind was crazy and got crazier throughout the day as it swooped through the canyons. That wind did make it a challenge for long exposure photos in the morning so it's a good thing I brought my heavy duty tripod. I'm glad we packed for all weather as they had a cold front in the area making temps about 20 degrees below normal. When traveling to the desert, no matter the time of year, it can be all temps. Even in the summer, the mornings can be chilly.

During sunrise, I walked around the area capturing different angles as each view offered a different perspective. There was one area where there were cool Utah Juniper trees roots right along the edge of the cliff. I love how the trunks of these trees twist around. They can make some really cool shapes and make great subjects or foreground subjects for photos.

If you're planning a visit to Canyonlands National Park, especially during the summer, you'll want to arrive early, or be prepared to wait in line to get into the park. One of the reasons we went in early May was to beat the summer vacation crowd, and to see some snow on the mountains. Even for early may, with the chilly weather and crazy wind, it got pretty busy through out the day. We stopped at the visitor center on our way out in the late afternoon and had to park on the street because the parking was full. There was a long line of cars waiting to get in too. So get there early. Also, the earlier you get there, the more time you'll have to explore this beautiful park.

You'll want to look at the Canyonlands National Park website for any road closings or if they change it to a timed entry system like they currently have at Arches National Park. If it gets busy enough, I can see them adding that to this park. This is where you have to schedule the time you plan to enter the park as they would only allow a certain number of cars per hour to enter. If you don't have a time slot, you'll have to go early before sunrise or in the evening.

Make sure you stop by the Shafer Trail Viewpoint, or the Shafer Trail Overlook (there are 2 spots to view it)! It's a view you'll never forget.

Here's a timelapse video of the sunrise. Shafer Trail Utah Timelapse Sunrise

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

We can really learn a lot by watching wildlife. Nature is truly amazing.

On New Years Day in 2024, we were hired to take real estate photos of a property in Joplin, Missouri, United States. It was a beautiful day, so after the shoot, we went up to Shoal Creek to see if we could capture any wildlife. During the winter, I'm not a big fan of landscapes with bare trees, unless there's snow on the ground so I usually focus on animals if there isn't any snow.

We got lucky and spotted some Canada Geese that put on quite the show for us. We got to see them fight and watch them silly selves clean off their feathers with their head upside down!

Some don't like Canada Geese as they do eat a lot and with that comes messes they leave behind. I like to watch them, especially when they are together as a family and how they interreact with each other. They mate with their partner for life.

They are very protective of their babies and their mate. During sunsets, they like to gather and watch the day come to a close like some of us do. They are more patient then we as humans are and they don't seem to worry to much about where their next meal is coming from. They appreciate family and being together with loved ones, something that we all should appreciate!

Here's a video I took that day. Hope you enjoy. To see more photos, from this beautiful day in Joplin, here's the link: Canada Geese Joplin

To see my full blog along with photos, click here: Blog

To see my video: here's the link:Canada Geese Video

Sometimes a photographer will see a beautiful scene, take the photo, then when they view it, it's not as great as they had hoped for. Then there are times where a photographer will see the potential in an okay scene that can be made into a piece of art that makes you say "Wow!".

On a beautiful late summer day, I was taking a walk at Nathanael Greene Park in Springfield Missouri, United States. Everything was still green because thankfully we had a wet summer. I came upon this beautiful willow tree across the pond. I love the looks of these beautiful trees. The way the wind gracefully sways through them... they are so wistful.

I took the photo knowing the landscape scene was pretty, but when it came to the colors it was almost too much green for me. I could see it's potential even though I wasn't 100 percent sure what I was going to do with it yet.

A tip to improve your photography: Before a photographer posts an image to their website, they should ask themselves, "Would I hang this up on my wall?" or "Who would hang this up on their wall?" If you can't say yes or answer who then it's probably something you need to put aside or transform it into something that will change those answers.

As I mentioned above, the photo was just okay, but too much green for me. It didn't really have any drama. I kept the photo and set it aside until I could come up with an idea that would make it art. Finally got some ideas to try something different (about a year later) and gave it a go.

A photographer acquaintance from one of my photography groups had mentioned how he changed the color of some objects in one of his art pieces using colored layers. I thought this was the perfect photo to try it on. I did the color changes in GIMP using different layers of red and orange. Then I used layer masks and brushes to put the color where I wanted it. I loved the transformation it was taking.

I then turned it into a painting using 2 different painting filters. I do this to make it unique. To make it even more artistic, I opened it in Corel Painter Essentials program, added some more painting techniques using my own hand brushes, and some 3D like texture. I wanted to keep the water somewhat smooth so I removed the texture from that area of the photo using a clone brush.

To finalize, I opened the photo in Lightroom, did some extra enhancements to color, hand light brushing, added tags and a description and the unique art piece was done. I believe it went from okay to wow and now I can say, "Yes, I would hang that on my wall."

What do you think of the transformation? Weeping Willow Landscape Painting