by Laura U.S.A.

How could we not stop when we saw a tree on the way to Zion National Park covered with shoes!

The road trip takes us to numerous new places every day. In fact, when I look through my photos I can’t remember if it was yesterday or today. Thank goodness all the photos have dates, and thank goodness for this “travel diary”.

Chris enjoying his first drink - free drink - at a Vegas casino.

Need I say more?

Chris having a jolly good time on the "old Vegas Strip" during the instructor shoot out on the first day of Genesis.

Photographers practicing lighting at Genesis.

Allie, a lovely model who attended the workshop. Photographer (and one of the instructors) Spenser Boerup, taught us how to improve our lighting . He is a master at it. This is how I decided to pose and light her, of course she's absolutely gorgeous so it's nearly impossible to get a bad photo.

Looking lovely again. Thanks to Genesis I can't wait to get home and work with models and lighting!

Some instructors and a student hanging out in a mansion during the critique session of the workshop.

More models who attended the workshop. This lovely married couple, Laura and Jon, have a strong musical connection so we photographed them playing the grande piano.

Probably one of the most important men at the photography workshop, Chef Josh, drinking a well deserved glass of wine the last evening of Genesis.

One of the mansions that housed the participates of the Genesis photography workshop.

And so we left Vegas, the Genesis Workshop and the Mansions behind to embark on a journey of natural landscapes that have you repeatedly saying, "Wow!" and "That's awesome." The last few days have really tested my bank of adjectives.

My first time playing with our new lens, a tilt shift.

Amid a landscape of dry arid bushes and red sand, unbelievingly there was a lake. (I'm pretty sure it's man made.)

It's a rusted-out truck...just like I said, from Vegas to Rusted-Out Trucks.