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Alligator River Water-Lily

I went to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge looking for black bears, but the most interesting view I found were these lilies found in some stillwater. Maybe the bears will be more active next time.

Hornbek Homestead

View at Hornbek Homestead near Florissant, Colorado.

Evening Dune in Monochrome

Early evening view from atop High Dune at Great Sand Dunes National Park. The play of light and shadow across the dune field was fantastic.

Evening Dune Field

This is a view from near High Dune in Great Sand Dunes National Park. I found it amazing that there were large patches of prairie sunflowers growing in the valleys. But the play of evening light and shadow was the real star of the scene. It was hard climbing up - and it was worth every step.

Stormy Dunes

Storm clouds over Great Sand Dunes National Park.

South Zapata Creek

The creek below Zapata Falls. One has to walk upstream through the creek for about 75 yards in order to see the waterfall. This is what the creek looks like in late Summer.

Sunset View at Black Canyon

View from Sunset View Overlook at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Hanging Lake

View of Hanging Lake from the east side. This view requires a hike of over 1.5 miles (2.4km) over a steep and rocky trail that climbs over 1000 feet (305m). This small lake was formed by mineral rich water flowing down a cliff (a very steep hill). Over time, the minerals built up travertine deposits on the rocks and that travertine developed into a natural dam. The result is "Hanging Lake" that is 'hanging' on the side of a canyon wall.

Wildflower Fenceline

Wildflowers at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

Sunrise Over Nags Head Fishing Pier (3)

Sunrise over Nags Head Fishing Pier. The Atlantic Ocean was rather calm on this morning.

Reflecting on Bodie Island Lighthouse

I was reminded of a wistful feeling when I found this view of Bodie Island Lighthouse - and the lighting was irresistible.

Study in Gallium 3

Another of a series from having some fun with liquid metal. Gallium (Ga) melts at slightly warmer than room temperature (to be precise, 29.77 °C or 85.59 °F). Basically, it melts in your hand. In this case, I used a base of black acrylic (perspex) and experimented with dropping some liquid Ga on it. Some interesting shapes resulted.

Supermoon Over DC

View of the supermoon 2016 over the Washington, DC skyline.

Waiting for Supermoon

Sunset colors while waiting for the supermoon 2016 to rise behind the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.

Walking Tree

This tree stands on the edge of a cliff in Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah). The cliff is eroding at a pace of about 1 meter per century and you can see here that some of the soil has eroded from around the tree's roots. It gives me the impression that the tree is walking along as if it were trying to find Harry Potter.

Apple of my River

There is a fruit orchard in Captiol Reef National Park (Utah) with apple and pear trees. The fruit is delicious - but I forced it to pose for me before I tasted it. It was amusing to see the many mule deer and wild turkeys sauntering through the orchards while grazing on the grass so close to the people. I know a number of turkey hunters from the East Coast who would have been rather jealous I was able to get so close to those turkeys without even trying to stalk them.

Fremont River Rocks

These are rocks in the Fremont River near the Gifford House in Captiol Reef National Park (Utah). At this point, the "river" is barely what we would call a creek on the East Coast, but in the desert Southwest, it's a significant lifeline.

Is it real or is it Lego™?

As I was hiking down Grand Wash in Capitol Reef National Park (Utah), I found this wonderful erosion pattern in the wall of the canyon. The angular pattern and layered effect immediately brought to mind models made from Lego™ blocks.

Dead Horse Point Sunset

The views from Dead Horse Point State Park (Utah) are outstanding. Add to that some high level clouds just starting to roll in from an approaching storm system and we got a great sunset, too.

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park isn't so delicate. It is over 40 feet (12m) tall. The hike to get to it is over 3 miles (4.8km) over baking slickrock and areas of fine, soft sand (much like walking on a beach). Despite all the warnings posted on the trail about the need to take lots of water while walking in the desert in late summer heat, many people still did not have a drop of water with them - and several of them needed help or water while on the trail.

Ohiopyle Falls in late Summer

View from the observation deck near the Ohiopyle Visitor Center. _