Photos from the Road: Utah Butte

I just loved the sky on this little patch of road.

Just north of the Utah border, I found a place to pull over and just hang in the amazing desert.

I have passed this little set of buttes many times on my motorcycle trips. Northern Arizona and southern Utah are very special places for me. I love the people, the land, and the amazing skies.

It’s tough to pull over on the side of the road when you are on a motorcycle. If the road shoulder drops down, the bike won’t be able to stand up against the angle. If it is soft dirt, it can be a really bad idea on a large bike like mine. Gravel can be a challenge if it is loose, and many times there is simply nowhere to pull off. In a car, you can drive onto the natural desert a few feet with the right side of the car. On a motorcycle, you stay on the pavement.

I knew I was going to be heading into some more rain. It had already rained on me near Holbrook, and again in Chinle. And the skies ahead (left out of the photo) were getting darker and darker with every mile.

I saw a little patch of pavement coming up and throttled down to a nice, easy stop well off the main road. Didn’t matter much, I only saw three cars in the half-hour I was there.

After grabbing a bottle of water and doing a little walk and photoshoot on the other side of the road, I headed back to the bike. A cloud slipped in front of the sun and darkened the top of the two buttes and I made the image of my bike on the side of the road under an incredible sky.

After finishing the water, I put my rain gear on and headed north toward the ever-increasing storm. I was ready.

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Thanks for reading.

I am a photographer, writer, and educator. I write about creativity, photography, and motorcycles.

I teach photography online at Project 52 Pro System, and coach up-and-coming commercial photographers at my personal site.