Work is fun, when you're sort of also vacationing...

I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I travel all over the Western US for work. I do contract work, so for the most part as long as I get my jobs done within the time window that is given to me, I can more or less create my own schedule. What I do a lot of is cramming in certain parts of the week in order to drive somewhere cool to take pictures or do some climbing for a couple days. This last November, I spent a lot of that free time in the Southwest, like New Mexico and Southern Utah. Here are some of my favorite images I captured during that time.

• Sunset in White Sands New Mexico. I always try to make it here when I am traveling through the area. I would really like to spend an overnight trip here at some point. You need to get a permit, but it should be pretty straightforward. I think catching a sunset and sunrise here back to back would be a very memorable experience.

• KOAs are a cozy reprieve from the normal hustle and bustle of a Wal-mart or Rest Area.

• I spent a night playing around with my flashlight and long exposures on some of the local desert fauna. It was super fun.

• This epic desert tower is on the Ute Mountain Tribal Park on the New Mexico Colorado border.