Although these pictures of Yellowstone are pretty, they don't give a very clear feeling of the amount of geothermal activity in the area. One really gets the feeling that you are sitting on top of a major hot spot when you are there.

This water fall was incredible, just the massive size of it and the balloon of spray. The first picture includes the foot path down to the over hang, it kind of give an idea of the size of the falls. The whole park is just awesome! There is a lot of evidence of damage from the pine bark bores and a major fire that went through in 1988 (I think it was).

These are more images from Dubois, Wy. This land is so big that it is hard to shoot a photo that will give a real feeling of the land. I had gotten up just before dawn the morning that I took these pictures of the red hills. As the color started to come up in the sky it was reflected on the river. Although I saw some great photo opps. I was on a mission to get down the road and back to these red hills as the sun came up. The point of this rambling is, I didn't get any good shots of the Wind River. I took this lone one with the hills in the back ground and it isn't from it's best vantage point. While I was driving, I saw a silhouette of a very large bird fly over head. Wondered what it was, on the way back home, when the lighting had gotten better, another one flew closer by, along the river, I about fell over when I realized it was a Bald Eagle! Although we do have them in CA., it is rare to see them. One can't help but be impressed by this National symbol of freedom.

The day I was shooting these was very hazy so they aren't as clear as I would like. I have adjusted the contrast in P.S. but the still could use some more clarity.

The white hotel is at the back side of Estes Park. It is the Stanley Hotel and you may recognize it from the setting of the Shinning, though that was set in winter. The mountain valley behind it is incredible!

The images of the top of the peaks were taken up at the top of the tundra, looking out across the mountains. It is mile upon mile of rocky peaks.

The bowl of the valley is taken just inside of Rocky Mnt. National Park. The peaks are on another side road in the middle of the same park.

These are some of the pictures from Yellowstone and the drive in. Shooting the animals in Yellowstone almost feels like photographing animals in a zoo, very staged. Although I know they freely roam in the park, there isn't much one on one experience with the moment, 20 other people are stopped looking at the same thing! We spent a day and a half in the park, most of the time looking for a bull moose because neither of us have ever seen one in person. In all of the parks we were through, it was just a scratching of the surface of what was there. You really can't drive through an area that size and say you have "seen" it. Lassen was the last one we were in. It was a spontaneous decision, we have been there at least a dozen times and will continue to go as often as we can find the time. It was just a few moments to kiss her face and honor what we find sacred. I wish I could post a picture of the stars we saw crossing the Nevada desert in the middle of the night. I didn't even try to shoot them but I wish I could!

These were taken on the Wind River (love that name) just outside of Dubois Wyoming. It is hard to see in the jagged cliffs but there are alternating layers of tera cotta red and a patina green (the color of aged copper) that make up the layers in the soil. It is stunning! I got up at sunrise one morning and caught the moon still up on the horizon as the sun lite the deep red cliffs. This was a beauty I wasn't anticipating on the way to Yellowstone. There are herds of Big Horned sheep that winter here when the snows get too deep in the mountains. One almost expects to see a herd of wild horses run out of the canyon at any moment. I fell in love with this wild arid country!

3200 miles, 6 states and 4 National Parks later, we are finally back home! The trip was unbelievable! These are just a few from Rocky Mnt. National Park. They don't give much of a feeling for the surrounding landscape, which was incredible, but they were some of my favorites. I took some pictures that I am going to try stitching together to form a panorama of the sky line. If it works out I will post it in the next few weeks.