I took this picture on a recent trip to Arches National Park. Despite the grandeur of the surroundings, or perhaps because of them, making a good picture is surprising hard. One of the things most people neglect is the foreground. Unlike being there in person, looking at a picture gives next to no context. An interesting foreground helps with this problem and adds an important feeling of balance to the photo as well. Finally, a good foreground really supports the illusion of depth which is so important in a picture like this.
No the tree's not dead, they all look like that up there.
An out of the way place... 
Hey Jason! Love this photo! I love black and whites. Good luck with the walk.