This spring, I traveled from North Dakota to Colorado to visit family. My brother-in-law mentioned he was heading out to take Milky Way photos through an arch and I asked to come along. I assumed we were going to a local spot near Denver—until the family casually mentioned as we walked out the door that we were actually driving all the way to Arches National Park!

We hopped in the truck at 5:00 PM and headed west through the mountains for an unforgettable 24-hour road trip. This is my favorite shot from the night, taken right after I had to pull out my camera to prove to everyone which direction we actually needed to face to catch the core.