Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thankful...

...for the privilege of having a career that allows me to show students the beautiful places of the world, for digital cameras that allow me to preserve the memories, a forum to share my images with anyone that cares to explore them, and for all of you who take the time to read and comment. I really appreciate your visits to this blog. Please enjoy a random selection of my favorite images and places that have appeared in Geotripper at one time or another. Follow the links for the story behind the pictures.
Yosemite Valley, in my favorite mountain range, the Sierra Nevada...

The Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies, resting place of some of the most primitive, yet advanced lifeforms ever discovered.

Cedar Mesa and Muley Point, one of my spiritual centers

The La Sal Mountains, viewed through an arch in Arches National Park

Antelope Canyon near Page Arizona. An unreal place...

It has not always been about rocks. Sometimes animals block the view...a bighorn sheep at Capitol Reef National Park

And there are the iconic views...Delicate Arch at Arches National Park

More distractions from the rocks...poppies blooming in Merced River Canyon downstream from Yosemite Valley.

Only a moron would stand next to a lava flow...or me. The Big Island of Hawaii

Or go wandering a lava flow at midnight...yeah I got in trouble with the family that night

Grand Canyon, one of the nation's jewels...
So many bizarre landscapes in the world...the hoodoos at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico

On the High Peaks Trail at Pinnacles National Monument, one of the great hikes I've discovered in the American West.

I love the seasons at Yosemite National Park

The native birds of Hawai'i have a fascinating story. An 'Elepaio stayed still long enough to photograph on Kauai
Joshua Tree National Park is one of the lesser known landscapes in California, unless you happen to be one of the 20 million people that live within a 90 minute drive...

Sometimes there are just magical moments: A rainbow at Glacier National Park

The many moods of lighting at Grand Tetons National Park...a gray morning...

And a crystalline sky at sunset...
Vagabonding our way to Rocky Mountain National Park

Closer to home, we explore California Caverns

And say goodbye to Yosemite Valley during an extraordinary sunset

5 comments:

  1. and I am thankful for this blog :)

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  2. I'm thankful you take the time to share your love of our wondrous planet. I live next to the Rio Grande Rift in Albuquerque and love exploring the geologic wonderland of New Mexico and four corners states. I've had the fortune of seeing most of the places you cited in this post.

    One place missing that I hope you've seen or will see is Coyote Buttes of the Paria Wilderness. Getting a permit now is extremely hard but my geologist friend Steve took me there in the 1980s when it was still unknown. See it and you'll never forget it!

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  3. I walked the length of the lower Paria River in the early 1970s before it was even an official wilderness area, and it stands as one of the great experiences of my life. I don't know of the Coyote Buttes, though, so I will be checking them out when I can.

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  4. Google Paria and "the wave" to see what you missed. Also Buckskin Gulch tributary is a must see.

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  5. I started walking up Buckskin Gulch out of Paria, alone of course, and ended up to my knees in quicksand. I want so much to go back!

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