It’s nice being so close to so many U.S. National Parks…
I don’t think I realized it at first, but moving out to Utah was one of the best decisions I ever made. I mean, within about 5-6 hours of me is Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. And, that doesn’t even include all the other national forests, national monuments, and state parks in Utah. That’s pretty wild, if you ask me!!
But hey, it’s been one full year since I’ve moved out here…
It’s pretty crazy to think that a year ago, I was just about to start my life out of college in a state where I knew no one, would end up picking up a job I would only stay with for three months before moving on to a far better job, and also balancing another two jobs, with one being cut short by an injury and the other being cut short due to a global pandemic and then moving at the end of the year from the place I started at into a home with two really awesome roommates and an even better dog. Like, what? This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!
But, perhaps it was supposed to be this way. I met some really incredible people along the way who have pushed me to be better, but also people who are a whole heck of a lot of fun, too! People who enjoy drinking coffee with me, shooting with me, hiking with me, and who want to spend time to get to know me. It’s been a wonderful year. Is it exactly how I planned it to be? No, definitely not – I don’t think anyone actually gets what they expected to happen, but if you do, bravo, that’s wonderful!
And honestly, who predicted that I would get into so many different cooking habits, and start doing food photography?? I definitely didn’t ever think that was in the realm of possibilities! But who knows, this year isn’t even halfway over, so I’m excited to see the rest of it!
For me, things have only started to get going. As I mentioned above, I am so close to so many national parks, and I intend to visit all of the ones in Utah in my second year living here. I’ll make it to all of them. And then, we’ve got parks in surrounding states, more friends to make, more photos to shoot, and a heck of a lot more blogs to write.
So yeah, things are only just getting started for me…
Cheers to a wonderful second year!
~ Justin
Parting shot:
Justin Fague 