Arches National Park

This photo was taken at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park — the moment Sam, who has cerebral palsy, finally made it to one of the most iconic spots in Utah. Sam's family lives three hours from Arches. They'd been before, but Sam had never made the hike. Years earlier, he and his mom sat in the van at the trailhead while his dad and older brother went without them. 

We didn't have enough people to push Sam's Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchair up [the trail] safely. Then a young couple from Oklahoma walked by and asked, "Do y'all need some help?" Two of us pushed from the back, and two of them pulled ropes from the front. When Sam rounded the corner into the amphitheater and saw the arch for the first time, the crowd started clapping. His mom — who had sat in that van for 36 years — said, "We've never been able to do anything like this as a family before."