In 2019 my wife and I took our first ever cross country road trip from Michigan to Arizona and Utah. We were gone about 4 weeks and enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again the following year. We planned to start with a week in Page, Arizona, followed by two weeks in Moab, Utah. Part of the plan for Page was to do photo tours of a couple of slot canyons that we had not done in previous years. We booked the first tour, but got a call later in the day that all activities within the Navajo reservation were being shut down for Covid.

We had a list of alternative activities and decided to try renting a boat on Lake Powell on the day with the nicest weather. I looked over maps and satellite images of the lake and decided that we would head for an isolated bay. I had a map and a GPS unit for navigation.

The weather was nice, as predicted, with sun and partially cloudy skies. There was a bit of breeze but only light chop on the water. We started for the bay, and the further we went, the nicer the terrain became. We began stopping to take photos along the way.

After about two hours, we were just entering our target bay, which was rather more narrow than the rest of the lake that we had traveled through. Here, the wind dropped to nearly zero, and the glassy water provided many nice reflections of the landscape and sky that this area is known for. I shortly found that I had to take care not to upset the water with the boat. Shooting from the boat also meant no tripod and no long exposures, but I was still pretty pleased with the photos I was getting.

This was one of those shots from the lake, with the red rock hills and beautiful cloud patterns reflected in the water.