Tag Archives: where the trails take you

November 15, 2022 · 3:14 am

Trivia Tuesday 11-15-2022

It’s Trivia Tuesday folks!

Morning Glory Pool in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park is indeed a glory to behold, no matter what the season. But, if you’ve seen (and photographed) this hot spring in different seasons, under different lighting conditions, you’ll notice that the colors don’t look quite the same – in the cooler months, they tend to be a little less bright and a little more murky.

When this pool was first discovered it was a brilliant blue, hence the name after a beautiful morning glory flower. People throwing trash, coins, rocks and logs into this pool over the years have caused a change in the water temperature (cooling it because all that trash has piled up around the vent and reduced hot water circulation) which in turn has caused the colors to change, allowing orange- and yellow-colored bacteria to thrive within the water. Add to that the subfreezing temps of the winter season (when this photo was captured), which in turn cool the surface water of the hot spring, and you get a murky look like you see here. It’s still a beautiful little spring, but the change in colors is mainly due to the extreme short-sightednes of humans. Sigh.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, Trivia Tuesday, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 23mm, fujifilmgfx100s, geology, gfx100s, hydrothermal, medium format, morning glory pool, photography, prime lens, Trivia Tuesday, upper geyser basin, where the trails take you, wide-angle, winter, Yellowstone National Park

November 11, 2022 · 5:27 am

3 Days In Lassen Volcanic National Park

What can you do and see in Lassen Volcanic National Park if you only have three days? Plenty! Today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler has published my three-day itinerary of this park.

To read the article, click on the image above.

As for this image: this is one of the views you get at the top of Cinder Cone, located in the northeastern corner of the park. From right to left: Lassen Peak, Fairfield Peak (I think – the closer tree-covered cinde cone), Painted Dunes and Fantastic Lava Beds.

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Filed under Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography

Tagged as California, itinerary, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photography, travel, where the trails take you

November 2, 2022 · 4:00 am

Forest Restoration, Resilience, And Protection At Lassen Volcanic National Park

Restoration, resilience, and protection are key words used in my Feature Story published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. I had the opportunity to speak with the Lassen Volcanic National Park superintendent and information officer during my recent October stay at this national park, and subsequently wrote an article about the proactive steps park management has been taking and continues to take to ensure a healthy forest ecosystem in the face of past and possibly future wildfires.

Click on the image above to read my article.

The image was captured during my early morning drive toward the Bumpass Hell area.

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Tagged as feature story, forest, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Park, National Parks Traveler, photography, where the trails take you, wildfire

November 1, 2022 · 8:15 am

Where The Trails Take You Photography: 2023 Photo Wall Calendars

Finally! My Zazzle Storefront now lists my 2023 wall calendars for sale. If you are like one of my ultra-tech-savvy twin nephews, you will laugh outrageously over the thought of paper calendars, but hey, they have a place. I live with my sister and youngest nephew and we use a single calendar on which to write appointments and events, so we can all see it at a glance without having to scroll through our phones. Plus, the photos for each month are pretty nice. Oh, and right now, a 50% discount is going on, so you get get these calendars way cheaper than usual. And no, I don’t really make much in the way of profit, but every little bit helps.

Click on each image to go to that specific calendar page.

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Filed under Calendars, National Parks

Tagged as 2023 calendars, calendar, Calendars, national parks, photography, where the trails take you

October 19, 2022 · 4:28 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

If you are thinking about travel and making plans to maybe visit a national park, you should check out my latest National Parks Traveler Checklist. It’s all about planning for Lassen Volcanic National Park in California and is published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler.

Click on the image above to check out the checklist.

As for this image, I captured it at the Bumpass Hell parking lot before heading out on a 1.5-mile hike to Bumpass Hell. If you go, not only can you see this huge glacially-deposited boulder for yourself, but you’ll also see nicely-defined striations on surrounding rocks indicating the direction of travel the glacier took.

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Filed under Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Traveler's Checklist

Tagged as California, checklist, Lassen, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Park, photography, planning, travel, where the trails take you

October 16, 2022 · 4:06 am

Pika And Plague In Lassen Volcanic National Park

When you think of plague, what comes to mind? The Black Death of the mid 1300s? Certainly not cute, furry little mammals in a national park. And yet, plague is there. In national parks.

During my recent short visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park, I had the good fortune, thanks to the park’s superintendent and it’s chief of resources, to follow along with the park’s “pika crew” as they conducted field research on the extent of plague in the park, with emphasis on pika.

My article has been published as a feature story in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. To read the story, click on the image above.

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Filed under Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography

Tagged as California, feature story, Lassen Volcanic National Park, mammals, National Park, National Parks Traveler, photography, pika, where the trails take you

October 15, 2022 · 5:13 am

National Parks Quiz And Trivia #54

It’s time for another National Parks Quiz and Trivia piece, courtesy of yours truly and published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. Just how much do you really know about the national parks and other protected lands of the National Park System? Find out with the multiple choice questions, followed by a bit of park trivia, followed by the answers. You might learn something new with which to dazzle your friends, family, and coworkers.

To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on the image above.

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Tagged as fun facts, learning, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, quiz, trivia, where the trails take you

September 20, 2022 · 5:47 am

Photography In The National Parks: An Exploration Of The Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail – Part 2

*A view of Echo Basin from the South Alcove of Frenchman Coulee, Channeled Scablands, Eastern Washington*

September is a two-for-one month regarding photo columns published in the National Parks Traveler. The first article was about smartphone photography. This article is about a photographic visit to Frenchman Coulee in Eastern Washington, a feature of the Channeled Scablands along the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail.

To read this article, click on the image above.

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Tagged as Channeled Scablands, eastern Washington, geology, Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, National Parks Traveler, photography, Photography In The National Parks, Washington State, where the trails take you

August 27, 2022 · 4:41 am

A Sunrise For Your Saturday

*A sunrise at Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado) – the edited version*

Here’s a sunrise for your Saturday, courtesy of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

And now, class, here’s your lessons for today.

My editor wanted me to send him some images of cliff dwellings I’d captured during my visit to this national park some years ago (10 years, actually – same year I started volunteering photos and articles to the National Parks Traveler). As I was perusing all the images, I came across this sunrise shot photographed from the balcony of my room at the Far View Lodge. I noticed I’d never done anything with it – probably because I thought it wasn’t very good afterall, and because I didn’t have the editing skills to bring out the beauty of the shot. I did something that all of you should do with photos you don’t think are worth anything but that are technically ok (i.e. not blurred or really grainy): keep it until you have the skills to return to work on it.

I don’t care what anybody says, it’s my opinion that every image you capture needs some bit of tweaking. Sometimes, it needs quite a bit of tweaking to bring out what your eyes saw when you composed and captured the image. This image is a good example.

The original image is dark and muddy and has some extraneous junk in the corner (a part of the balcony roof) as well as a couple of sensor spots. I could have deleted the image and gone on about my business, but I chose to keep it (actually, I think I just passed by it and forgot about it for all these years). Now, some 10 years later, I’ve returned to work on it, and it’s not turned out too badly, I think. With improvement in my photo skills, I’ve been able to bring out details and color previously hidden, and cleaned up the composition as a whole.

You can do all this too. Just keep practicing and learning new editing skills, and don’t delete those photos you think are not that great. They might be real keepers.

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Filed under Mesa Verde National Park, National Parks, Photo Editing

Tagged as editing, editing skills, mesa verde, National Park, photography, sunrise, where the trails take you

August 23, 2022 · 4:00 am

My Favorite National Parks For Photography – Part 2

Can you remember that first time you ever visited a particular national park, and hiked up to an iconic scene you’ve only ever read about or seen in textbooks? It’s a pretty cool feeling, isn’t it? I remember that feeling the first time I ever visited Arches National Park and hiked to Delicate Arch. This was back in 2012, the same year I began writing and photographing for the National Parks Traveler.

Published in today’s edition of the Traveler is my Part 2 to my favorite park units for photography. Arches National Park (among a couple of others) is one of my favorites for photographing cool geology.

To see what other photographic favorites I have, click on the image above.

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Filed under National Parks, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Travel and Photography

Tagged as National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photographic favorites, photography, where the trails take you