We arrived in the park around 8:00am. We were heading to the Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mountain National Parks still that day, so we had to have an early start. We winded up the mountain and stopped to take our sign picture as we entered the park. The fresh layer of snow was beautiful. We were there so early, the visitor center wasn’t open yet and we were creating the first tracks in the snow. It was gorgeous and the sun made the coating of snow appear as it had been sprayed with glitter. We were obsessed with how stunning everything was around us. It was also incredibly satisfying having the entire park to ourselves for most of the time that we spent in it. We were in admiration of something we quite frankly have seen hundreds of times. How could the same snow I hated wiping off my car every morning, also create such a beautiful and serene moment? We tried to capture how the snow was glistening with the sun, but our phones couldn’t capture the sparkle.

One of the most amazing parts of visiting Black Canyon in November is the limited number of visitors. This park remains ingrained in our minds as one of our favorites due to the serenity we gained while visiting. We had time to take the photographs we truly wanted, without getting in anyone’s way. We could sit and listen to the sounds of a national park without conversations, phones dinging or a cameras clicking. We didn’t feel rushed to view the scenery and move on so others could look, and all of this combined was an incredible feeling. There was a moment where we both stopped walking, and just listened. You never realize how loud your footsteps can be until they are the only thing creating noise in an otherwise silent environment. Feeling as though we were the only two people within in many miles was exciting and made our adventure that much more memorable.