I drove my Mustang over 2000 miles through Arizona and southern Utah and back to CA

[d1984]

I need a wider lens than my 19mm Sigma.

I could probably spend a whole week in either the Grand Canyon (I only saw the South Rim this time) and Sedona/Red Rock each. This is all over only a few days.

A few notes for anybody looking to visit some of the places I went. Horseshoe Bend is cool, but it's a hell of an uphill hike so be careful on a hot day. Also, you need a wider lens than what I had (19mm) to capture the whole thing. And you have to sit right on the edge like the crazy asians. I didn't have the balls to do it, but I got within a few feet of the edge which is crazy enough for me since I'm scared of heights. I didn't see Waterhole Canyon or Antelope Canyon, which I had but I didn't have time and decided my lens wasn't wide enough to get decent shots anyways, and those are a whole day worth of stuff by themselves.

I would recommend a guided tour of Monument Valley if you go. The haze in the valley is pretty bad, so probably winter is a better time to go. Also, since the view of Monument Valley is better from the north, the morning would probably be a good time to go. I just drove through and saw a lot, but it wasn't as amazing as I expected because I couldn't get way back in there. I probably won't go again for a very long time, would rather see other parts of Utah.

Bring good hiking shoes to Red Rock State Park (Sedona) because you will want to hike all over, it's a pretty cool place and probably my favorite of the trip besides the Grand Canyon, which I have seen before so that probably affected my judgement.

Mt. Whitney (eastern Sierras) weather sucked when I got there, so check the weather and make sure there aren't clouds approaching Lone Pine. The mountain is so damn high that even though the weather looked fine when I was driving along 395, it got a lot worse right at Mt. Whitney and the clouds obscured damn near HALF of the mountain. Completely ruined it for me. And the morning is DEFINITELY a better time to see it since you're facing west.

And be prepared to add a lot to your travel time along the following highways because the views are so incredible you will want to stop a lot, even though it's just on your way to the different landmarks/parks: 395 (CA heading into Lone Pine along the Sierras), 89 (AZ, going into Prescott), 180 (AZ, Flagstaff up to the South Rim of the GC)

 

[HaveCameraWillTravel]

If you have the newest version of Lightroom you can make panoramas with just a click of the mouse. Cheaper than buying a new lens.

I like the shots, that area is on the "to do" list with my camera. I used to go out that way all the time for work (truck driver) but wasn't into photography then. Now I need to return and have some fun.

 

[AlanKlein]

Nice shots. I like your Monument Valley shots. I also like the highway shot looking down the line. MY wife an I are hoping to do a driving trip similar to yours in the fall. Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and then Nevada. Maybe we'll rent a Mustang

 

[funwitha7d]

very nice shots, that's another place id like to visit (the cars pretty cool too)