Dries Buytaert

Grand canyon zion bryce 2025

A large concrete dam spanning a deep canyon.
When the Hoover Dam was built, they used an enormous amount of concrete. If they had poured it all at once, it would have taken over a century to cool and harden. Instead, they poured it in blocks and used cooling pipes to manage the heat. Even today, the concrete is still hardening through a process called hydration, so the dam keeps getting stronger over time.
Grand Canyon view from Navajo Point showing layered red rock formations and deep canyon walls.
The Grand Canyon as seen from Navajo Point.
A view of a wide, U-shaped bend in the Colorado River surrounded by steep red rock cliffs.
We visited Horseshoe Bend, a dramatic curve in the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon. A quiet reminder of what time and a patient river can carve out together.
Three people walking up the river with their boots in the water in the Narrows at Zion National Park.
Wading forward together through the Narrows in Zion.
A person standing on a rock in the Narrows at Zion National Park, looking up at the tall canyon walls.
Taking a moment to look up and take it all in.
A small group walking through water into the Narrows, a narrow canyon with glowing rock walls in Zion National Park.
We hiked 7.5 miles through the Narrows in Zion National Park. Most of the hike is actually in the river itself, with towering canyon walls rising all around you. One of my favorite hikes ever.
A woman wearing a helmet and sunglasses, smiling while rappelling in Zion National Park.
Getting ready to rappel in Zion, and enjoying every moment of it.
Three people wearing helmets standing at the bottom of a sandstone chamber in Zion National Park, looking up at the canyon walls.
Taking a moment to look up and appreciate the scale of Zion's canyons.
Person rappelling down a tall sandstone wall in Zion National Park.
Dropping into the next section, never quite sure what is waiting below.
Two young adults reaching down to help a parent climb up a steep sandstone wall in Zion National Park.
Time has a way of flipping the roles.
A teenager wearing a helmet lowering himself down while holding onto a large boulder inside a canyon in Zion National Park.
Dropping down carefully, using the boulder for support.
A person carefully walking along a narrow sandstone slot canyon in Zion National Park.
Making our way through the narrow slots in Zion.
A young adult carrying a large Connect Four board on a desert trail with another young adult behind him.
Stan carrying a giant Connect Four set along the desert trail to our tent. I still can't believe how skilled he is at the game. He won almost every match, and I'm still smiling thinking about it.
A family sits around a fire pit at a campsite in the high desert outside Bryce, Utah.
Glamping in the high desert outside Bryce, Utah. Even in summer, the high elevation brings cool evenings, and the fire felt perfect after a day on the trail.
A young adult sitting by a fire pit, taking a roasted marshmallow off a stick and placing it onto a cookie on his knee.
Ending the day right with s'mores by the fire.
A young adult wearing a hoodie overlooking the hoodoos at sunrise in Bryce Canyon National Park.
Up before sunrise to watch the hoodoos glow at Bryce Canyon in Utah. Cold and early, but unforgettable.
A woman with trekking poles hiking down a switchback trail among tall orange hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park.
Vanessa making her way down through the hoodoos on the Navajo Loop in Bryce Canyon.
Three hikers starting down the Navajo Loop Trail past a trail sign in Bryce Canyon National Park.
We started at Sunrise Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, hiked down Queen's Garden, through the hoodoos, and climbed back up on the Navajo Loop. Beautiful views and pure magic all the way.