The fact that the author found a The Wave photo on a guide cover could not make his first trip to the American Southwest "uniform". You can look at all the images you want, but the reality of a trip is full of surprises and disappointments.
If we hadn’t already invested so much attention in the idea of this trip, would we really believe that a single photo can dictate everything?
The permit lottery for sites like The Wave makes all planning "uniform" illusions; you can have the clearest inspiration in the world and end up doing something else, like visiting Horseshoe Bend instead.
It’s the difference between a beautiful image and the logistics of a real road trip.