Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation. September 10, 2016.

Turning red. Cedar Breaks National Monument off State Route 143, a.k.a. the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

It was only four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847 that Brigham Young designated the building site for the Temple. Construction commenced in 1853 taking 40 years to complete; it was dedicated on 6 April 1893. A city landmark built of the same Utah granite used in the construction of the Utah State Capitol building, its walls measure from 9 to 6 feet thick. Although it was the first under construction, it was to be the 4th Mormon Temple completed in Utah after their mid-19th century westward migration. Today it remains the largest of all the over 100 Mormon temples worldwide, houses of the Lord used by the church for worship and for conducting sacred ordinances such as eternal marriage. Salt Lake Temple in Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Dates in stone. A portion of the facade of the Salt Lake Temple in Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Most Mormon Temples are adorned by a statue of the Angel Moroni, believed by the Mormons to be an ancient prophet sent as a messenger to church founder Joseph Smith & who directed him to the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon, the Mormon bible, was translated. Added to its perch in April 1892, exactly one year before the temple’s completion, the Salt Lake Temple’s gleaming Angel Moroni statue sitting atop the building’s central spire is a little over 12 feet (3.65 metres) tall. Moulded in hammered copper and covered in 22-karat gold leaf, it holds a trumpet to symbolise the spreading of the gospel and the Second Coming of the Saviour. The Angel Moroni Statue atop the central spire of the Salt Lake Temple. Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Completed in 1875, the Tabernacle was built as a place for Church members to gather and hear the words of their leaders. Brigham Young directed the building should be designed so people could see and hear the speaker without impediment. To do this successfully bridge-building techniques were used to construct the building’s roof so that support pillars were not needed. Today the Tabernacle is home to the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The dome-shaped auditorium is so acoustically sensitive that a pin dropped at the pulpit can be clearly heard at the back of the hall, 170 feet (52 metres) away. I didn’t get to sample it myself but I’ve no doubt that the hum from the 11,623-pipe organ that dominates the space is, and like most things about Temple Square, rather impressive. The interior of the Mormon Tabernacle in Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Depicting the Mormon’s westward migration of the mid-19th century, a paining of a early pioneer wagon train on display in The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Built without any visible roof supports, Temple Square’s The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints Conference Center is more a theater-style auditorium than a conference center. Said to be capable of accommodating two Boeing 747s side by side, the auditorium is the largest of its kind ever built. The 130,000 m² building was constructed to house the semiannual General Conference of the LDS held over two weekends of the year (one for males, one for females), an excessive undertaking to accommodate such a brief event (although I doubt this exercise in excess would ever be classified as a White Elephant). Generally open for regular tours, it was closed to the public when we came by coveting a look; we were shown to the rear of the auditorium by one of the accommodating volunteers manning the lobby, a charming girl who was happy to explain the building to us and talk to us about her Mormon responsibilities. Even a wide-angle lens comes up short in here and if the vast support-less space doesn’t impress then maybe the 7,667-pipe organ will. No? How about the external waterfall cascading down the building’s south facade, or the expansive 4-acre rooftop garden? Again, it’s all very impressive. The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 7, 2016.

Our first sighting of the red Southwest, the distant amphitheatre of the Cedar Breaks National Monument as seen from Brian Head Peak off State Route 143, the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

On State Route 143, a.k.a. the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, in Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

Brain Head Peak as seen from State Route 143, the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

Atop Brian Head Peak. Although ultimately we did, we strongly debated coming up here, our ill-fated jaunt on Utah dirt roads 24 hours earlier still fresh in the memory. Accessed via the Brian Head Peak Road, a tame 3 mile dirt road (6 mile round trip) off the paved Patchwork Parkway, Brian Head Peak towers above the settlement of Brain Head to a height of 11,307 feet (3,445 metres). There’s not much up here just a small sign (seen here), a small hut built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) & stunning views. Although portions of Nevada & Arizona are visible from this vantage point, we especially enjoyed looking back down over ski slopes of Brian Head & to the distant red hue emanating from the nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument, our next stop. On Brian Head Peak of State Route 143, the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

At the North View Overlook, at 10,435 feet (3,181 metres) the highest of the 4 scenic overlooks at Cedar Breaks National Monument in Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

State Route 148 is yet another 3-mile stretch of (paved) road (6 mile round trip) that branches off of the Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway, this one providing access to the 4 scenic overlooks of Cedar Breaks National Monument. The road, only open to cars from approximately June to October (it’s groomed for snowmobile travel the rest of the year), meanders along the rim of the monument plateau passing the North View Overlook, the Chessmen Ridge Overlook & the Sunset View Overlook before arriving at the monument Visitor Center & the neighbouring Point Supreme Overlook (10,350 feet, 3,155 metres), the most popular of the 4 vista points. We arrived here late in the evening when the small log cabin Visitor Center, perched precariously on the rim of the monument, was closed. Late on a beautiful evening, the lighting and shadows in the bowl of the red amphitheatre was a peaceful & stunning scene. In the far distance is the pimple that is Brian Head Peak from where we first viewed the Cedar Breaks National Monument some hours earlier. Evening shadows at Cedar Breaks National Monument as seen from Point Supreme, Iron County, southern Utah. September 7, 2016.

The brilliant red of Aqua Canyon of Bryce Canyon National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

Early morning on Main Street Panguitch, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

One of the region’s most infamous residents was Robert Leroy Parker, a.k.a. Butch Cassidy, the notorious turn-of-the-century outlaw and leader of the Wild Bunch gang of the American Old West. Born in 1866 in Beaver, Utah, about 50 miles north of Panguitch, Parker was the oldest of 13 children of Mormon immigrants from Britain. His outlaw existence coupled with his charisma and reputation as a champion of the common man helped to build up his heroic stature in American folklore. Believed killed in 1908 in Bolivia, unconfirmed sightings of him in this region in the 1930s only serve to add to his legend and to lend credibility to a different ending to Cassidy’s story – that he gave up crime, changed his name, and died in 1937. Today the S&C Corral on Main Street Panguitch, the vacant site of a once thriving provisions store, the Schow & Cooper Mercantile, displays period pictures captured in the town of Cassidy and his Wild Bunch, the gang he formed in the 1890s and which included Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. The Sundance Kid. Early morning in the S&C Corral, Panguitch, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

Home in Panguitch, the Historic Panguitch Inn Motel justifies the ‘historic‘ tag by explaining it sits on the old US Highway 89 and that it was ‘popular with people long before’ the nearby Bryce Canyon National Park became famous. Built in 1902, when it was called Lodge 89, it was refurbished twice in the 1990s. Simple but comfortable, we liked it here, a perfect option in the perfect town for accessing Bryce Canyon. The Panguitch Inn Motel, Panguitch, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

The Natural Bridge. Still standing, for now. Seen through the arch of the bridge are some of the bristlecone pine trees for which, along with the hoodoos, Bryce is known. Some of the longest-living trees in the world, they are highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soil and thus perfectly suited to the Bryce environment. Bryce Canyon National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

We drove to the end of the dead end rim scenic drive, to Rainbow Point the highest of the park’s overlooks at 9,115 feet (2,778 metres), stopping at most of the overlooks on the way back out of the park. Although all spectacular, the park’s most impressive vista point is easily the aptly named Inspiration Point a little over 2 miles past the park entrance. Overlooking the park’s main event, the stunning Bryce Amphitheater, it’s here where you get to gaze over the densest collection of park hoodoos, statuesque rock pinnacles left standing by the combined forces of weathering and erosion and the most iconic of all Bryce rock formations; while we first saw them yesterday at Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon has the largest collection of hoodoos on earth. High elevations means Bryce is subject to about 200 days a year of severe temperature differences with freezing nights and warm afternoons. These freeze/thaw cycles are particularly destructive to rock and they happen with uncommon frequency at Bryce Canyon thus accounting for the majority of the rock erosion. Nowhere in the park is the result of this erosion more spectacularly appreciated than here at the Bryce Amphitheater. The Bryce Amphitheater of Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. September 8, 2016.

At the junction of State Route 89 and the western end of the All-American Scenic Byway 12 in southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

In July 1915, a US Forest Service Supervisor by the name of J.W. Humphrey rode his horse the 26 miles from Panguitch to the rim of Paunsaugunt Plateau overlooking Bryce Canyon. He was impressed with what he saw, so much so that he set about securing an appropriation to improve the road. It took a decade of work and required tunnelling through the rock of Red Canyon but on June 1, 1925, a 315-car caravan, led by then Governor George Dern, arrived at the Red Canyon tunnels to celebrate the opening of Utah National Park, later renamed to Bryce Canyon National Park. Today the two tunnels along this section of All-American road provide memorable access to the rim of Bryce Canyon National Park (& beyond), passing through a scenic and forested rock canyon popular with hikers, mountain bikers and photographers and one that is often overlooked by travellers zipping between Bryce & Zion national parks. On the All-American Scenic Byway 12 in Red Canyon, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

Rock. It’s all solid rock. On the Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

Completed in 1930 and providing access from the east to Zion Canyon, the 25-mile (40 kilometre) Zion-Mount Carmel Highway was considered one of the great road-building accomplishments in history at the time. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, the road memorably winds around and through the Zion rock of the park’s high eastern plateau before arriving at the the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, a 1.1-mile-long tunnel blasted through the sandstone rock and that exits into the park’s Pine Creek Canyon from where a series of tight & steep switchbacks descend to the canyon floor. It’s a memorable drive to a memorable location. On the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway in Zion National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

One of Zion’a most eye-catching rock features is the Checkerboard Mesa, located off the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway just inside the park’s eastern entrance. Just like the spectacular Zion cliffs, it’s made of Navajo Sandstone – composed of compressed sand dunes from as far back as the Jurassic age, it is the largest sandstone layer in the US, stretching from from Northern Arizona to Wyoming. Checkerboard Mesa’s most distinctive feature, apart from its shape, is the horizontal & vertical lines marking its outer face; the former represent layers of wind-blown sand that built up in the sand dunes while the latter, much less common than the horizontal lines, are shallow cracks resulting from stress and erosion of the rock surface. The Checkerboard Mesa of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway in Zion National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

On the switchbacks of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway descending into Pine Creek Canyon, Zion National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

You don’t need to hike to be awed by Zion’s grandness but even with limited time we couldn’t allow ourselves to visit both Bryce National Park & Zion National Park without embarking on a hike, even a short one. Zion’s Canyon Overlook Trail is just that, a short hike (1-mile round trip) that crosses ‘slickrock slabs of the high desert, a scene of pinyon pine & juniper, prickly pear and yucca’, so says park signage. That same signage also warns of steep falloffs & extreme heights, before claiming that ‘nothing prepares you for the vast space that falls away below your feet at the overlook.’ Here, here! The overlook, 1,000 feet (300 metres) above the valley floor, offers quite the vista of Pine Creek Canyon and the switchbacks of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway snaking in & out of the huge gorge. The sun was very low in the sky and although we were shaded from the worst of it by the towering canyon walls it was still obtrusive. Visibility was poor, photography virtually impossible, but the views still sublime. At the Canyon Overlook Trail viewpoint in Zion National Park, southern Utah. September 8, 2016.

Roaring Springs Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Overlooking the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River outside Page, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Overlooking the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River outside Page, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Interestingly, the Vermilion Cliffs are the second ‘step’ of the aforementioned Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Seen here from the middle of US Highway 89A en route from Page to the Grand Canyon North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

The last 45 miles of the drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon via Arizona State Route 67, a.k.a. the Grand Canyon Highway, is designated a National Scenic Byway, one of Arizona’s 5 National Scenic Byways. Known as the Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway, the sun was out and the air clear & cool on this picturesque portion of today’s drive. On Arizona State Route 67 in Kaibab National Forest, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Capturing the views at the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Just inside the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park we came across signs warning of possible sightings of Bison, a.k.a. American Buffalo, large shaggy-haired meanderers of the North American plains that can weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900+ kilograms). A few miles further on and we came across a herd of the Bison wallowing in the dusty grassland of this portion of the Kaibab Plateau. They drew quite the crowd, and rightly so. It was an awesome & unexpected sight. On Arizona State Route 67, a.k.a. the Grand Canyon Highway of the Kaibab Plateau, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Late afternoon at the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

With expansive east & west vistas stretching for 100 miles (160 kilometres) on clear days, Cape Royal Point is the North Rim location of choice for both sunrise & sunset. This is an image of the last rays of the day illuminating the upper reaches of two of Cape Royal’s predominant features, Vishnu Temple (left) & Wotons Throne (centre right). Cape Royal Point, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

The natural arch of Cape Royal’s so-called Angels Window seen here, and although barely visible in the fading light of this day, frames the Colorado River some 7 miles distant; more erosion at the wetter North Rim means it has retreated 7 miles (11 kilometres) from the Colorado River’s edge as opposed to the South Rim’s 3-mile (5 kilometre) retreat. Angels Window of Cape Royal, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Arizona. September 9, 2016.

Today’s highlight. Dusk by the side of US Route 163 in Monument Valley, southern Utah. September 10, 2016.

With attractions elsewhere, you essentially come to Page to leave it. We did. But when we were in Page we hung our head in the oldest part of the barely 60-year-old town. Page’s 8th Avenue in the town’s Old Quarter prefers to go by the name Street of Little Motels, a street of fully furnished & serviced owner operated apartments originally built to house workers of the nearby Glen Canyon Dam. We didn’t spend much time in the abundance of space that came with our 3 bedroom suite of Debbie’s Hide A Way Motel, didn’t even get to relax in the inviting garden patio with a beer in hand, but staying here was a nice change from the chain motels we’d become accustomed to, a little something unique in a town that otherwise would not have stood out in any way. 8th Avenue, a.k.a. the Street of Little Motels in Page Old Quarter, Page, Arizona. September 10, 2016.

The concrete arch-gravity dam was built over a ten year period from 1956 to 1966 when regional population growth necessitated the need for an additional reservoir similar to Lake Mead of the Hoover Dam 300 miles to the west. The 710-feet-high (220 metres) dam wall, seen here from an overlook downstream of the dam, flooded the scenic Glen Canyon creating Lake Powell in the process, a reservoir on the Colorado River & today a popular regional attraction. While the benefits of the dam’s construction are well known – controlled sediment and flooding, recreational development, fish & wildlife conservation &, of course, electricity generation for the growing population – the project did of course have its detractors, and still does. Environmental groups continue to advocate for the dam’s removal citing its heavy impact on the ecology of the Grand Canyon downstream. The road traffic bridge in the vicinity of the dam, the Glen Canyon Bridge or Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, is a steel arch bridge originally built to facilitate transportation of materials for the dam’s construction. Spanning the canyon slightly downstream of the dam itself, the two-lane bridge has an overall length of 1,271 feet (387 metres) with a deck 700 feet (210 metres) above the surface of the Colorado River. The highest arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1959, today the bridge carries US Highway 89 across the divide providing memorably elevated access to Page. At the Glen Canyon Dam Overlook off Scenic View Road on the outskirts of Page, Arizona. September 10, 2016.

The town of Page did little for me but I loved the barren red landscape surrounding it. There’s captivating raw beauty all around, no more so than here on the sandstone layers synonymous with the region. In the distance is a bend in the Colorado River as it meanders its way towards both Horseshoe Bend & the Grand Canyon. Downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam on the outskirts of Page, Arizona. September 10, 2016.

Naturally carved in Navajo Sandstone by flash flooding, Upper Antelope Canyon, called ‘the place where water runs through rocks’ by the Navajo, is easily the best-known and thus most visited of the many photogenic and accessible slot canyons in the Page region. The narrow & twisting canyon is between 30 & 40 metres deep and while its total length is only some 200 metres it still takes about 30 to 40 minutes to navigate the dusty 400 metres of the inward and outward legs of a visit. An attraction for many a mere mortal, this is a location especially revered by real photographers. Indeed, a picture entitled Phantom by Australian Peter Lik capturing the iconic light beam in this canyon – present only at certain hours of the day, approximately midday, and at certain times of the year, approximately mid-March to mid-September – was sold to a private collector in 1999 for $6.5 million. The most famous version of the bucket list, clichéd shot every (unoriginal) Upper Antelope Canyon photographer seeks to capture, it’s still to this day the highest price ever paid for a photograph. (Or was it? Lik’s claim has been greeted with much scepticism as claims of the sale have never been proven and the mysterious buyer has never come forward to substantiate it). Of course tourists & tours aplenty. There’s even a more expensive Photographer’s Tour providing those who feel they need it with more time in the canyon, which really only gives you more time to wait for people to get out of the shot. You could bring a tripod (an accompaniment only permitted on a Photographer’s Tour) and set up some long exposures. You could employ some fancy HDR techniques to combat the obvious high dynamic range encountered. You could spend time playing with angles, light, shadows etc. Get artsy, get abstract capturing the lines & the graceful curves in the sandstone that entombs you – the options, and the compositions, are endless. You could do all or any of that. You could be a real photographer and run the risk of stressing over getting ‘the shot’. Or you could simply take in a camera that’s someway ready for a low light environment, walk the walk, be alert and see what happens. That’s what I did. An Upper Antelope Canyon visit, at least as part of the normal tour, is too busy, too rushed an experience to stress over getting the Holy Grail capture, not to mention the fact that, and in a bid to effectively corral the vast numbers who visit, photography is discouraged on the exit leg. This image was captured on my exit leg, a quick capture near the centre of the canyon, it’s darkest point and where the sandstone appears more blood-red, less orange than it does elsewhere. Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation. September 10, 2016.

Dusk in Monument Valley, one of the locations, along with the Grand Canyon, that pushed the boundaries of the road trip; now that we’re actually here it’s hard to believe that we hadn’t initially planned on coming this far south (or west). We’ll explore in more depth tomorrow but again we just made it to Monument Valley this evening in time for sunset, and what an introduction to the iconic landscape it was for me (Dad has been here before). The soft lighting was magical, both at sunset itself but especially at dusk, and we stood by the side of US Route 163, the main road though Monument Valley, for some time capturing the memorable scene. By the side of US Route 163 in Monument Valley, Navajo Nation. September 10, 2016.

Four US states at once? Close. At the Four Corners Monument, Four Corners Region. September 11, 2016.

On US Route 163 en route to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

Most of Monument Valley’s notable features reside in the Arizona, a few kilometres south of the Utah state line (within Navajo Nation, of course). Three of the region’s most distinctive geological features form what is probably Monument Valley’s most photographed scene, the trio of park buttes as viewed from the overlook beside the park’s Visitor Center and at the start of the Valley Drive – (L-R) West Mitten Butte (856 feet, 261 metres), East Mitten Butte (1,026 feet, 313 metres), & Merrick Butte (966 feet, 294 metres). The West and East Mitten Buttes, known collectively as ‘The Mittens’ as they appear to be two gigantic mittens with their thumbs facing inwards, form a triangle with Merrick Butte, named after an officer under the command of Custer when 4,000 Navajos were marched to captivity in 1864. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

A closer image of West Mitten Butte. A butte, comprised of three principal rock layers, is a rock formation that is typically smaller than a mesa and one that is at the second of the three stages of erosion. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

The Rain God Mesa. Meaning ‘table’ in Spanish, a mesa is usually a wide, stable formation that is at the first stage of erosion. The park’s massive Rain God Mesa was named for the god that Navajo medicine men pray & give thanks to. It sits in the geographical centre of the park, the 13-mile loop of the 17-mile Valley Drive totally circling it. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

The clouds were ever-present today, rolling over the expansive Monument Valley plains. They put on quite a show and watching the shadows move across the landscape and up & down the faces of towering rock formations was rather special. This is a view of shadows moving across the plains as seen from the Artist Point Overlook, ‘a place where artists can create landscapes and bring them to life on their canvas’, so says the official Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park pamphlet. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

Some parts of the Valley Drive were particularly fun to drive like here on the sandy stretch of the road approaching the park’s North Window Overlook. In the distance, to the left, is the so-called Three Sisters formation, three slender rock spires said to be a Catholic nun facing her two pupils (a little bit of imagination is needed around here). Spires are formations in the third and final stage of erosion, a butte that has become so eroded that they are now narrow, freestanding structures, some of which look set to topple over at any given moment. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

Named after the Hollywood director who in the 1930s did so much to immortalise the Monument Valley landscape, the view from the park’s John Ford Point looking towards Merrick Butte (center, in shadow). This may have been one of our last vistas of the day but it was just as spectacular as all the others. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

Search for images of Monument Valley and chances are this is the scene you’ll be presented with, the iconic Monument Valley vista, the view of the long stretch of US Route 163 from the 13 mile marker, 13 miles north of the Arizona/Utah state line at the extreme northern end of Monument Valley. Road works and intense sunlight meant it wasn’t looking its best when we were leaving the region en route to the Four Corners, but it was still popular with fellow tourists getting the shot. On US Route 163 in Navajo Nation. September 11, 2016.

At the Four Corners Monument, Four Corners Region. September 11, 2016.

The bronze disk that’s some 1,807 feet (551 metres) off the mark. Four Corners Monument, Four Corners Region. September 11, 2016.

The chipboard sign marking the boundary of the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners Region suffers from the same neglect visible throughout the Nation. It – the sign – even comes resplendent with bullet holes. While the US Southwest is an obvious highlight of any US road trip, the same cannot be said of the Navajo Nation within the US Southwest. On the Arizona/New Mexico state line by US Route 160, Four Corners Region. September 11, 2016.

State Sign #11 || After a quick jaunt back into Arizona to refuel in Teec Nos Pos Trading Post, it was finally time bid farewell to the US Southwest & be welcomed to ‘Colorful Colorado’. At the New Mexico/Colorado state line on US Route 160, Four Corners Region. September 11, 2016.