If I have learned anything from Jeff Clow (and I have learned a lot), it is to recognize a road shot. Like the old saying goes, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." I am modifying that saying to "When a landscape photographer comes to a road shot, park the car, get out and take the picture."
That's exactly what happened on a trip to Death Valley. Jaki Good Miller and I decided to visit the Valley of Fire State Park for a couple of days before heading to Death Valley. I landed first in Vegas and, while I was waiting for Jaki, I took a look at the driving routes to the Valley of Fire, I saw that there was possibly a more scenic but slower route that meandered a little west of Lake Powell through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. What a great choice it was. While we didn't see much of Lake Powell, the route provided some wonderful desert scenes, with all kinds of mountains and rock formations displaying the great desert colors. As you can see, the road was newly paved and provided a great leading line taking me through the scene.