A Breathtaking Journey
Acovid-delayed trip for two Rome teachers became a reality this past spring break and turned out being more spectacular than they could have imagined.
Shannon Pollitz and Tyler Thomas, both teachers at Coosa Middle School, just returned from a whirlwind trip to visit six national parks — Death Valley, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches National Park — and were awed by what they saw. Shannon is also a photographer and captured many stunning images of their trip. We’re sharing some of those images with you now, but look for a full photo spread in Rome Life Magazine which publishes on Saturday, May 22.
From soaring natural arches to impossibly deep canyons, majestic midnight skies and breathtaking views, the parks and their wonders were something Shannon and Tyler will never forget.
“If I could describe the way each park impacted me with an adjective,” Shannon said, “it would be Zion (majestic), Bryce Canyon (intricate), Capitol Reef (grandiose), Canyonlands (vast) and Arches (inspirational).
She even tried a new form of photography, astrophotography, the photography of astronomical objects, celestial events, and areas of the night sky.
“I used my Nikon and taught myself the settings I needed and bought the equipment I needed,” Shannon said, referring to a few stunning nighttime photos she took.
Shannon has now visited 27 of the 63 national parks and added that three from this particular trip (Arches, Capitol Reef and Zion) have made it into her top 10 that she’s ever visited.
I’ve now done 27/63 of the current list of national parks. Three of these 5 made it into my top ten that I’ve visited (Arches, Capitol Reef, and Zion).
Both Shannon and Tyler are avid travelers and often document their adventures in photographs, Youtube videos and even a podcast.
Here are just some of the breathtaking photos Shannon took on this trip and she was happy to share them with RN-T readers. Look for a full photo spread in the upcoming issue of Rome Life Magazine on May 22.