Close to the northern border of New Mexico in the Tularosa Basin, White Sands National Monument covers a swath of land with dusty fine and brilliantly white gypsum sand

The scale of the rifts that stretch across the topography of ​Arizona, carved out by the rushing Colorado River, is hard to fathom. Even standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't adequately impress the enormity of the monument.

Though trips often include destinations, it was the journey itself that made this trip spectacular. And sometimes an image captures you on a long road in the middle of nowhere ... Or in this case, the southern border of Utah.

Zion National Park exists monumentally; from its size, the depth of its canyons (a testament to the power of the Virgin River), ​and the brilliantly striated colors visible in the cliff faces, this landscape is one to capture the imagination.

Leaving the coast of California and heading deeper into the heart of the country, the moisture leaches out of the air. A drive with the windows down leaves a dry tongue licking parched lips; the road ahead disappears into shimmering heat.