Cowboy Camping Adventure Session in Moab

Moab camping engagements

Sometimes you just have to get away.

Jenn and Dillen drove overnight from Santa Cruz California to Moab Utah just to spend a day and a half in the red dirt and cliffsides of the Southwest. A somewhat spontaneous trip, fueled by coffee and and an adventurous disposition, they met us near where we were camping and we woke up the next morning to watch sunrise over the desert.

I suggested bringing their sleeping bags out to the cliff to stay warm that chilly morning. They snuggled up together, and as I stood behind them taking photos I was reminded of the many nights Nate and I have spent “cowboy camping” (camping without a tent) under wide open skies. Chilly breezes across our face, awkward cuddling through our individual sleeping bags, waking up in the middle of the night to the most incredible starry skies (and hoping it doesn’t start raining). I love that kind of thing. There’s something so romantic about spontaneous adventures, even when things go wrong, even when you’re tired from driving all night, even when campsites are booked or hotels are too expensive. There is still beauty in a sunrise. And it doesn’t matter how much or how little you’ve paid or planned to be there, seeing the sun come up over a beautiful view while drinking coffee with the person you love is worth it every single time.

Jenn and Dillen’s partnership is admirable to say the least. They’re the kind of couple who probably make single people sick, and make married people wanna be like them. It’s easy to photograph them because their interactions, even the small ones, seem so natural and genuine. They are kind, thoughtful to each other, intentional with their lifestyle, and ridiculously in love. I cannot wait for their wedding this summer in another desert further west.

When your relationship is defined by laughing about the dirt under your fingernails and tangling your fingers in each other’s messy hair and spontaneous road trips halfway across the country, I think that’s when you know you’ve found the right person.