My buddy Mikey and I were cruising back from Bryce Canyon National Park, after a soaked tent situation. We were over the rain. We got back to feeling good, vibin’ out, when the ol’ “what if…” creeps in. We punch Grand Canyon into the GPS. Bold move, I know, but the universe had a detour in mind. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park shows up on the radar, and it’s like the landscape was screaming “TURN AROUND, PHOTOGRAPHER! YOU’RE GONNA WANT THIS.” We couldn’t resist. I mean… Coral Pink Sand Dunes? Come on dude. The Grand Canyon will always be there. This place looked like a dreamscape someone painted just for us. And then came The Michael Scott Moment. I almost drove my Subaru Impreza straight into the belly of a soft red-sand road, following GPS like it was gospel. A mile in, intuition hits me like a flash flood.

“Yo dummy, Get outta there.” We whipped it around, and not 30 minutes later I kid you not, it starts POURING. Monsoon mood. Lightning crackin’. We would’ve been buried in wet dunes if we’d stayed the course. Stock Subaru held her ground like a champ. AWD in low gear FTW. Thought we were gunna get Stuck a couple times. Sheeesh.

Later we heard about the Grand Canyon evacuations and Havasupai was pretty gnarly too. The Zion Narrows (where we’d just hiked the day before) CLOSED too. Hope everyone’s okay. The timing was wild. The universe wasn’t just nudging, it was screaming at us with a megaphone. But here’s the kicker: We didn’t just dodge disaster… we captured some of the most jaw-dropping, heart-thumping, holy-crap-did-you-see-that landscapes I’ve ever had the privilege to photograph. Sometimes adventure looks like a wrong turn, and sometimes a wrong turn leads you straight to magic. We didn't end up staying at the campground that night, we decided to drive home. The campground was EXTREMELY clean and the staff was also happy and helpful.

You can find the campground information here: https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/coral-pink/The