Sunrise at Red Canyon, Utah

On the way into Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, coming from the west, you’re initially greeted with an unexpected surprise. Most people aren’t familiar, or aren’t even expecting Red Canyon, a section of the Dixie National Forest that provides a small, but beautiful slice of what’s to come. Skirting the western edge of the Colorado Plateau, it offers a brief glimpse of the surprises and sights that await farther east.

I was out camping in Red Canyon and as is the case almost always while camping, I got up and out of my tent at first light. I began climbing up some of the nearby hills and sat and admired the scenery for a while as the sun eventually began to rise. I was able to catch Earth’s shadow before it did so, creating a nice palette of pastel colors across the landscape.