My first hiking trip to Utah was in 1983. Over two weeks I backpacked in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Zion, and did day hikes in Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley.
In 1983 Moab, was a post uranium, sleepy, low-key desert spot, not the tourist trap it is today.
Since then, and up to the present, friends and I have made several more trips to southeastern Utah. On these trips we drive through several of the towns in this fascinating part of the southwest. I have taken the opportunity to make pictures of these towns and outliers. Distinct are structures left to deteriorate and which reveal a bit of the boom-bust cycle of extractive industry over the years. They are silent reminders of a time now gone .
Most people travel here to experience ‘The Mighty Five’ : Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands , Zion and Capitol Reef. The summer months are treacherously hot with way too many people. That’s OK because I don’t go at that time of year. I also explore other areas available beyond the well traveled and published.
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All images © Lynn E Cox All rights reserved