This photo won’t win any awards, and I really don’t like it that much as a photograph. However as a story, its worth telling.

This is another from my December 2004 trek around the southwest. Zion National Park in Utah features the Virgin River that runs through the canyon. It arrives there through a feature known as a ‘narrows’. Steep cliffs on both sides. This means no trail along the river…and potentially deadly flash flooding. I knew it was safe, no rains in the area for some time, but did I mention it was December? Yeah, that means cold. VERY cold. To get to the part of the river where I could get a photo of the narrows, and the flowing water AND from a very low perspective just above the water that meant getting wet.

So I packed up my tripod, camera bag, and dry socks and headed upstream. Yes it was freezing. Yes people thought I was crazy. No the photos were not that good. Thigh deep in 40-50 something degree water…a good story and not much else to show for it.