On the first leg of my trip, I hit an unexpected cold front. Since I was only a couple of hours away from Zion National Park, I decided that that would be the best place to wait it out for a couple of nights since it was much lower in elevation than where I was, and thus, warmer. The next day I made the best of it and spent the entire day hiking around Zion Canyon, warming up at Weeping Rock, where this photo was taken, then moving on to Hidden Canyon, The Emerald Pools and finally, after a nice lunch and break, heading up Angel’s Landing.
To put it simply, don’t let the weather ruin your day, or especially your entire trip. Sure it may rain for a bit, but rain is always moving on and leaves plenty of dramatic weather and scenery in its wake. Some people pout in their tent, some people pack up and go to a hotel. Personally, I love finding intense weather because the photo opportunities are endless and all of a sudden, familiar sights look completely different. Allow the weather to open up the possibilities that its there for. See the familiar sights in brand new ways. Marvel at the drama heavy clouds with sunlight poking through can bring. “Bad” weather isn’t just nourishment for the ground and vegetation of the area, it’s nourishment for your photography. Even if you’re not a photographer, getting out there and smelling the rain, watching water pour over cliffs, seeing creeks and rivers rise and flow with more power, it’s there for you to witness to get you back in touch with the whole reason you’re probably taking a trip out there. It gets you back in touch with nature in ways only dramatic weather can provide. Live it up because the next time a storm comes through, it’s going to look completely different. That’s the beauty of storms and big cold fronts: they provide an unending beauty that’s new and unique with each incoming storm.