MARKING MILESTONES IN LAS VEGAS & DEATH VALLEY

This trip celebrated two big marriage milestones: The wedding of some friends and my parents’ 50th anniversary. We started with a weekend in Las Vegas — complete with photographing our first wedding on the Las Vegas Strip (not to mention our first wedding at a Taco Bell!). It then continued with a few days in Death Valley National Park — complete with a photo session below sea level, at the lowest point in North America. And much more!

day 1 • 03.21.25

The celebration starts

Seth and I, along with my mom and dad, set out on a Friday morning on a flight for Las Vegas. Seth went to dinner and a show for a bachelor party that evening, and I had my own party in the form of hitting some thrift stores. It might be up for debate who had more fun!

day 2 • 03.22.25

Sights, shows & saying “I do”

That subhead pretty much sums it up — minus the struggle of sticking to a packed-full timeline while traveling all over the Strip. Fortunately, a wedding can’t start without the photographers … even if they show up a few minutes late!

day 3 • 03.23.25

Hoover Dam & more Las Vegas lights

My parents hadn’t been to the Hoover Dam, so we started the day there. A stop at a little Mexican place — complete with a Hoover Dam mural on one wall — was a must on the way back to Vegas, where we took a look at the pawn shop from “Pawn Stars” before finishing this stint of the trip with one more show.

day 4 • 03.24.25

Las Vegas >>> Death Valley

We traded the big city for the middle of nowhere, encountering a giant firecracker and aliens along the way. Our first Death Valley view was the badlands visible from Zabriskie Point, where we stopped on our way to the visitor center. We looked around there until it was time to check into our cute cottage in a resort area of the park called the Ranch at Death Valley, then got ready for golden hour portraits at Badwater Basin.

This doubled as an anniversary session for my parents and one I did for a brand collaboration — and despite having taken portraits in many, many places, this one certainly stood out as vastly different than any other! Afterward, dinner and dessert at the park’s ice cream parlor was a sweet way to end the day.

day 5 • 03.25.25

From sand dunes to a sky full of stars

We started this day by summiting big mounds of sand at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, then made our way to Ubehebe Crater and hiked around some of its rim. Heading back to our home base in the Furnace Creek area, we stopped by the visitor center again — this time to take photos with its iconic thermometer.

It’s worth noting that our trip fell during an unseasonably warm time, with temperatures 20 degrees above average. So we definitely felt we got a true Death Valley experience, and the thermometer cooperated in showing that! It read 99 degrees as we approached it, and I commented that if we were going to experience heat that extreme, it would be nice to get a 100-degree reading. My dad must have had some sort of influence in that area, because as soon as he stood next to the sign and pointed at it, the temperature designation flicked to 100! And the people in line behind us applauded. 

Later that day, we saw the salt formations at Devil’s Golf Course and then watched the colors at Artist’s Palette grow vibrant as the sun set. After dark, we took in the starry sky from the Harmony Borax Works historic site.

day 6 • 03.26.25

Death Valley sights & desert swims

In an effort to beat the heat, we did our hikes early — hitting Natural Bridge Canyon and then Golden Canyon. From there, we drove up to Dante’s View, which at an elevation over 5,000 feet above sea level let us enjoy a nice drop in temperature and take in sweeping views of Badwater Basin and beyond. That afternoon, we cooled down again with ice cream and then with a trip for me and Seth to a spring-fed pool in the park.

day 7 • 03.27.25

Leaving Death Valley & Las Vegas last looks

We enjoyed our last morning in Death Valley before making our way back to Vegas, stopping on the way at a Mexican food truck. Then we wrapped up the evening with one more stroll along the Strip and a pizza dinner. The sun was setting as we walked back to our car, letting us see the city lights one last time this trip.

day 8 • 03.28.25

Home again

We made it back to Kansas City and took what’s come to be our traditional return photo in front of the airport’s fountain sculpture, with another adventure and lots of memories in the books.