One of the musts when shooting scenes with canyons is to shoot when the sun is very low. Besides the fact that you get that great golden hour light, the real reason is that the shadows add tremendous depth to the image. Shooting with the sun higher in the sky will eliminate the shadows, and the resulting image will appear extremely flat. When planning to shoot such a location, knowing whether it is a sunrise shot or a sunset spot (maybe both) is very important.
Dead Horse Point State Park, pictured here, is one of the most iconic scenes of the southwest. It definitely is a sunrise location, and the light adds a lot of interest, especially with the reflections in the Colorado River as it "goosenecks" around the formations. I really wanted to add some anchor to the scene, and when I saw this lone tree with the leaves lit up, I knew I found it.