Then the wind blew cool through the pinyons on the rim. There was a sweet tang of cedar and sage on the air and that indefinable fragrance peculiar to the canyon country of Arizona.
Zane Grey
Towering cliffs and deep deep canyons, delicate orange arches, slender pinnacles, balancing rocks … Stone doing what you would have thought stone could never do. And always that blue never-ending sky.
These are my memories of Arizona and Utah. But those memories are hazy as, unlike our first US road trip through California, I didn’t keep a detailed journal. California had been special, our very first road trip, so a year later we were back to explore Florida. That was fun but the West was calling, so the following year we returned again and found the magic we were seeking in the cluster of National Parks and other sights in these two stunning states.
As with California the photos are old slides, a bit grubby and scanned in a not very good scanner. Because of this, and because of the sparseness of my notes, I’ve compiled a video, inspired by Sandy’s week 2 post and Amanda’s contribution to the theme. I hope you enjoy watching it at least half as much as I enjoyed reliving the trip through these old images!
I visited Arizona and Utah in 1993
32 Comments
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Sue
Thought I left a comment, but not showing….anyway, FANTASTIC!
Sarah Wilkie
You did – see below ⬇⬇ I think this may be the first time you’ve commented on my blog and I needed to moderate the comments – you should find it OK now 🙂
Sue
Oh, I thought I had, but we’ll see!
Sarah Wilkie
This didn’t need moderating so I think you’re fine 😀
Sue
Cool!
Sue
Wow, how fantastic….old slides or not, I really enjoyed these, as I have never visited, and now won’t be able to due to my health. Those Painted Hills were something else! Thanks for the Virtual Trip!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue, I’m so pleased you enjoyed your virtual trip 🙂
wetanddustyroads
Wow Sarah, what a lovely video you’ve put together here! Those stone formations are just breathtaking beautiful (reminding me of some of the scenery we have here locally at the Cederberg Mountains).
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Corna 🙂 I’ve seen photos of the Cederbergs – they look beautiful too!
restlessjo
Looks like a fabulous trip, Sarah 🙂 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
It was wonderful Jo, I fell in love with the region!
Anna
I love this area of the USA and would love to come back and show the family. So many special places here.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anna – I reckon this would be a great place for a family trip and you’d enjoy a revisit too 😘
lisaonthebeach
Sarah, what a beautiful video! So well done! Photos, even older ones, bring back such sweet memories. I especially loved your video because I recognized several of the locations from our very recent trip to Utah. You did an awesome job!! ❤❤❤
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Lisa 😀 Glad I was able to remind you of your own trip!
Tracey
I really enjoyed that. Monument Valley is wonderful and you really did it justice. I remember driving for miles and miles to see it. In spite of the “age” of some of your photos, they are always beautifully composed!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for the compliment Tracey, and yes, Monument Valley is worth the drive for sure! It’s one of the places I’d love to go back to.
Forestwood
A professional looking presentation, Sarah. Very well done! I like the way the still pop up after the header. As for the sights, this sentence encapsulates my first impressions: “Stone doing what you would have thought stone could never do.” It is no wonder it is a popular tourist destination. Some of the shots reminded me of films I have seen over the years but that town from the Butch Cassidy movie, I haven’t seen. The town did look creepy and haunted. Did you ever see a film about two young men hopelessly lost in that area or I assume that area? The pair became so desperate and ill, one boy had to kill the other in order to survive. Shortly after that, the search helicopter found them. It looks like this could happen irl. The area appears so vast, desolate and unpopulated.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response Amanda – and for initially inspiring me to attempt a video! I looked at using Canva, as you had done, but realised I would have to pay and as I’ve already bought my video editing software I decided to use that instead. But the pop up effects were all done first in Power Point – I only used my software to add the music track in the end 🙂
If you watch the start of that Butch Cassidy scene here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYwhvD2-fYw you’ll see the church and house in my shots in the background. You’ll also see that it’s actually quite lush countryside compared with many parts of the state (it’s near Zion NP which is also quite lush) but I agree it looks desolate because of the deserted nature of the buildings. I don’t think I’ve seen the other film you mention – I’m sure I’d remember it!
Forestwood
Thanks for the explanation of how you created the video.
I just looked up that film and I definitely haven’t seen it. The grass is quite green so I see what you mean. The film I referred to was called Gerry and starred Matt Damon. As one commenter says, it starts out as a drama, or horror and moves into an abstract sort of theme. It was one of those films that you always remember and was based on a real life experience apparently. Here is the trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi753901081?playlistId=tt0302674&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks for the link Amanda – I’ll check that out. And I can’t believe you haven’t seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! You really must, even if you don’t normally like westerns – it’s iconic 🙂
Forestwood
I am sure the Moth has seen it. But Westerns would be my least favourite genre of film, along with musicals!
margaret21
A really snazzily put together video of astonishing sights. Brilliant.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much Margaret 🙂 It was fiddly to do (first in Power Point, then video editing software to add the music track), but worth it in the end!
margaret21
Way beyond my skill-set. Maybe next winter….??
Sarah Wilkie
I’m sure you could manage this with the right video software!
margaret21
Hmmmm.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Amazing place!
Sarah Wilkie
I’d love to go back to some of those locations now I have a digital camera and could go completely mad with photographing them 😀
SandyL
I like it! The aged quality of the photos add to the charm of your video Sarah. The stone formations are something else!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sandy 😊 Although ‘aged quality’ is being polite!!