This week on Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #203, hostess Anne Sandler from Slow Shutter Speed is challenging everyone to show a few of the vistas around them.

Similar to Anne, I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings until I discovered the world through a camera lens. It is surprising how much more beautiful the world looks through the camera and I wish I had found it out sooner.

I live in the state of Utah and for many, Utah is also known as the Big 5 or Mighty 5 because it’s home to 5 National Parks. I live about 5 hours (more or less) from each one but I’m not going to show pictures of those this time. Instead, I’m going to show you places that are a little closer to home.

I live a stone throw away AKA 25 minutes drive from the largest island of the Great Salt Lake – Antelope Island. To get to the island from my house, you will need to head west for 13 miles of stop lights, grocery stores, and civilization until you arrive at a gate where you’ll pay the entrance fee for the state park. Then, depending on the traffic, you will drive across the causeway until you reach a fork, which then you will decide where to go on the island.

The first time I visited this island was in 2008. I haven’t discovered the camera yet and shamefully, I hated taking pictures back then. In the recent years, since I discovered the awesomeness of the camera, I have made frequent trips to the island, especially to watch the sunset. I think this is when the views on the island is most beautiful.

Other than sunsets, peace, and quiet, the island offers a wide array of other activities. I did my one and only hike on the island in 2018. Though the sceneries were no doubt beautiful, the trail was long, narrow in a few places, and a few places that got me asking myself, what in the world was I thinking?

Beside the Great Salt Lake, I am also about 30 minutes from this spot – Wheeler Creek. I have hiked this trail multiple times over the last couple years, mostly to see the changing of the season from spring to summer and summer to autumn. It’s quite a spectacular display of colors if you pick the right time to visit AKA autumn solstice.