When the American political scene gets too disturbing to look at, rest your eyes on something beautiful: the scenery of our national parks.
The U.S. Interior unveiled the winners of the annual Share the Experience photography contest, and ne’er before have our public lands shone so bright! The grand prize photo: a sunrise over Reflection Canyon in Utah’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, shared on the Interior’s popular Instagram account.
This otherworldly image of bighorn sheep in Joshua Tree National Park, California, took second place.
The fans spoke up for their favorite: the national-mammal-to-be in all its hairy majesty, standing in literal amber waves of grain, in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.
Get lost in the rest of the contest’s glorious winning photos here.