Hey Now, Howdy: How's everybody doing? I'd like to invite y'all in to check out some pics from my trip up to Southern Utah in March, 2008. Southern Utah is simply amazing, with grand vistas, and incredible natural features, from sandstone cliffs, arches & canyonlands, goblins, majestic zion, moab, bryce, capitol reef, the colorado river, & so much more. The more often I go there, the more I want to come back again soon..I've just scratched the surface in my jaunts up there, and there's so much I haven't seen. Here's where we're heading on this road trip: Dead Horse Point State Park, a little ways from Moab..2000 feet over the Colorado River, Dead Horse offers incredible views..sandstone cliffs, the beautiful La Sal Mountains rising up out of the slickrock, the river,Arches & Canyonlands, old mine tailings, and more..pretty damned spectacular! Then further on up the road, (and a couple of days after my run up to Dead Horse) we start climbing up Boulder Mountain..some of the most stunning views you'll find anywhere..100's of miles of gorgeous landscapes..reservoirs, the Henry Mtns., Capitol Reef, the Waterpocket Fold & San Raphael Swell laid out before your eyes..yeahha! You wind your way way up the mountain to about 9,600 feet up, then start dropping down to the town of Boulder (where I had some appointments)then it was time to go over the Hogback (sort of like being on a tightrope as you traverse this section of road) on the way down to Calf Creek down at the bottom of the canyon.. then we continue on to Escalante Canyon on the way to Bryce. Hwy 12 from Torrey to Bryce is rated as one of the top 10 rides in America, and if you haven't done it, you should! Along the way, I stopped in to see a few accounts in the small towns en route, then it was on to Bryce (unfortunately, no pics from there), then the following day, I headed for the Crown Jewel..ZION! Too bad I made it to Springdale after the Green Jello Parade was already done..as you may recall from last year jello parade pics, it is quite a hoot. Right after I checked into Cliffrose, I tweaked my back, and that was the start of 7 weeks of pain & feeling pretty funky (I still had 2 1/2 weeks to go on the road)..bummer! Well, the next morning I woke up & it was snowing! Snow is always a bonus in Zion..my back was starting to stiffen up, but it was too beautiful not to go out, so I grabbed my camera, and & went for a cruise down Zion Park Blvd, playing with my new fisheye for my Nikon D-40. The clouds were rolling in, enveloping Zion, dissipating enough to allow wondrous views of the shrouded cliffs. Zion feels so alive, bursting with energy. It's also great to have a bunch of really cool folks as friends that live up there..a big shout out to the ZION CREW!!! WOOHOO!! I bopped all over town, stopping to take pics every few minutes..a great day in Zion. The next day I got up & I was in full-blown spasm..yikes..got a massage that afternoon, and woke up the next day in even more pain, & saw a chiropractor in St. George, but I would be hurting for some time to come..turns out I've got spinal stenosis in the lumbar region (it's a narrowing of the spine), which causes compression of the nerves, and pain & discomfort..plus I've got some discs sliding in different directions..it sucks getting old..oy vey! The pain finally subsided about a week ago..hopefully, it'll stay that way for a long time! So, enough of my bitching..come on in & enjoy these pics..I think you'll discover why I love Southern Utah so much. Comments alway welcome..feel free to post em here, or email me: amdew1@aol.com ...Peace, Joel..all images copyright 2,008 Joel Tarantal..ENJOY!