Visiting Bryce Canyon National Park in the Middle of Winter – If you follow my photography and adventures, I’m sure you already know that I absolutely love the deserts of the southwest and even after all these years, I still get excited any time I head west on I-70. Most of the time, I’m out that way during the spring or fall when temperatures tend to be much more pleasant, but I had also tried a handful of times to line up some trips to coincide with a winter storm. There is something special about the desert when it’s blanketed with a fresh coat of snow – the brilliant white exhibiting an extreme contrast with the orange, reds, and yellows of the desert. 

I had witnessed some dustings, but I had yet to time a trip with a good snowfall for this colorful event. 

A few weeks after striking out on fresh snow in Zion National Park, I saw a winter storm warning lining up perfectly for Southern Utah again and more importantly, lining up with my days off. Watching the storm projections, it looked like some of the higher elevations in southern Utah were just going to get walloped.  

I had always wanted to see and photograph the orange and red hoodoos of Bryce Canyon contrasted with a sublime freshcoast of white snow… Like Zion, the park was empty, quiet, and absolutely beautiful, but this time, we struck the lottery with the white stuff.

Like I said, we hit the lottery. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a successful long-weekend of photography.