I grew up in the Northeastern U.S., but the moment I first set foot in the desert Southwest in 1986, I knew I’d found something special. It took six years to untangle my ties to the East, but in 1992 my wife Rhonda and I, along with our two kids, made the move to Colorado - and by 1998, we had settled in southern Utah. For years, I ran a photography/inspirational blog focused on southern Utah, hoping to inspire others to explore this incredible corner of the American landscape. That passion soon turned into a profession when I landed a job in tourism promotion. I loved helping people discover how to experience the region both smartly and safely. But over time, the creative energy my job demanded made it harder to keep my personal blog going. After a full day of crafting tourism content, I often had little left in the tank for my own work. Don’t get me wrong - I genuinely enjoyed most of my 25 years in the industry. But in the later years, as government politics began to overshadow the ...