Places I Love

One of the great benefits of my day job is the chance to drive around the states of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. I have grown to very much appreciate the scenic beauty of this Rocky Mountain region, and have had many opportunities to capture this grandeur on film.

I finally had an opportunity to collate these images in a public place (Flickr), and am happy to share some (82) of them with all of you.

Here’s the link to the slide show:   Terry’s Rocky Mountain High

I hope these photos bring you some of the the joy and peace that these places have given to me over the past 6 years.

The earth is such a beautiful place. Enjoy!

On this “Blog Action Day“, the topic is the environment. I believe that part of good environmental stewardship is preserving our National Parks. Granted, they are a very small part of our eco-system, but they are a very special part.They show Mother Nature in all of its glory, inspiring great awe and wonder (like those Tetons over on the left). They MUST be protected and preserved.

Here is what I wrote in January 2006 (when this blog was in its infancy - you probably missed it the first time):

Today as I was writing a check for my annual contribution to the National Park Foundation (NPF), it occurred to me how pivotal all my visits to many of these Parks have been to keeping my glass half full all these years. There’s something about the sense of awe one gets when seeing these landmarks of nature that always manages to put me in a very good place - a good case in point is Grand Teton in Wyoming (see the picture on one of my earliest posts). Every time I visit there (which is about annually) I feel calm, renewed and revitalized. I can’t really explain exactly why - but I do think it’s spiritual.

In any case, here’s my Top 10 National Parks that I’ve visited:

1. Grand Teton (see above); best vista in the US, bar none

2. Glacier- just awesome; a must see in one’s lifetime

3. Yellowstone - the grandaddy of them all; nature’s Disneyland

4. Grand Canyon - oh yes; spend the extra time and go to the North Rim

5. Acadia - Maine is a beautiful state, and this is a centerpiece

6. Zion - rugged adventure

7. Rocky Mountain - the highest place to take your car in the US; 12,000 feet!

8. Arches - “arid redness” in great rock formations

9. Mesa Verde - cool place near a wonderful Durango

10. Bryce Canyon - great companion to Zion in Utah

The sad thing is, government funding for these parks and all the rest of them I’ve yet to visit is pretty inadequate - roads are going unpatched, buildings are in a state of disrepair, and fewer Park Rangers roam the parks. If you can spare it, I highly urge a contribution to the NPF - not to mention a call or letter to your congress person.

I also have pledged to donate all my proceeds from the Google ads on this page to the NPF - so please click away for the Parks when you get a chance.

Please also check out Joanna’s wonderful Blog Action Day post on Joyful Jubilant Learning - “How Much Can We Learn in a Day?”

Plenty Joanna, plenty.

This morning I type this sitting in a “lighthouse” (actually the third floor of my hotel’s office) overlooking the Pacific Ocean - we’re on day 5 of our vacation, overnighting in Long Beach, WA. Yesterday we spent the day exploring the Olympic Peninsula, meandering in and around mountains, rain forest, and beachfront - quite a unique combination of topography.

The most fascinating part to me were the rain forests and the (really) big trees we encountered there. I had never seen such lush and green forests before - and the feeling I had walking within them was exhilarating (it probably was because of all that vegetation throwing off all that oxygen).

There were a couple of trees in particular I wanted to share with you - the first is below. It is the largest known spruce tree in the world, at around 200 feet tall. That tiny creature at the bottom of the picture is my wife. The tree is 1,000 years old - wow.

We also visited a huge cedar tree that had one interesting looking trunk - here is yours truly posing with it.

We’re having a great time - I’ll try to post one more time before we come home.

Until then, all the best!

Today I spent most of the day (after working in the morning) in Grand Teton National Park.

It was a glorious day with a good mixture of sun and clouds. Since it was August I was amongst many tourists with cameras. My first stop was at a turnout about two miles inside the park, so I could get a nice panorama of the Grand Tetons.

I then went past the visitor center, paid my entry fee (it’s $25 if you are wondering), and then took the park road that gets you a very close up look at these fabulous mountains. Just like I’ve done each time I’ve been to the park, I stopped at the Teton Glacier turnout and took this shot:

Next came Jenny Lake, a pretty body of water formed by a big melting glacier millions of years ago. The onslaught of water dug a 250 foot deep “bowl” into the earth. I hopped on a boat that took me across the lake to a hiking trail 2 miles away. I then went on a half-mile climb to a beautiful place called Hidden Falls.

About 500 feet higher I arrived at Inspiration Point, elevation 7,200. For my efforts I got an outstanding view of Jenny Lake and Jackson Hole.

I hiked the 1,000 feet back down to the boat dock, and hopped on the vessel that would take me back to my dear Dodge Magnum. As we departed the harbor I had a great view of the Tetons behind us (Inspiration Point is at the highest point of the light colored rocks on the left hand side of the picture).

I got back in my car and suddenly I was pretty hungry - it was time to go back to Jackson for lunch. But not before I took a few more pictures. I wanted to really capture the majesty of these mountains. After a mile or so I suddenly had an inspiration - I pulled over, got out of the car, and then snapped the shutter. I got what I wanted.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Tomorrow I return the Magnum to its rightful owner and head back home for a couple of weeks. Have a great weekend everyone!

I’m on a week long trek through Wyoming that started this morning in Billings Montana. I’m going to end up in one of my favorite places on earth, Jackson Hole, on Wednesday, but I needed to visit a few other places first. Today I stopped in Sheridan, Gillette, and Casper - about 380 miles of driving.

My “wheels” for this trip is a Dodge Magnum - I’ve included a picture of this little beauty. I can’t say I really like the look of this car. OK, I hate it. It’s not really the look I was shooting for as a service company executive criss-crossing the state.

It’s a one way rental however, so I really didn’t have much choice. Me and my Magnum are just going to have to get along.

My trip today had three prominent features - smoke, antelope, and Little Bighorn.

Little Bighorn is the battlefield, about 50 miles southeast of Billings - this was the location of “Custer’s Last Stand” in 1876. I’ve driven by this place several times now, and each time I never fail to think of Custer and the decisions he made that fateful day. I think of the hubris he must have had to take on a force that vastly outnumbered his. Was it valor? Or was it just stupidity?

Historians have debated this for many years, but whatever the reasons for this battle the fact remains that many people died on this spot, and that also never fails to give me pause as I drive by.

Around Sheridan I encountered something which reminded me of the powerful force of fire - a lot of smoke from forest fires that have occurred all over Montana and parts of Wyoming. This area has suffered from a long drought, so it doesn’t take much for a blaze to start. The smoke obscured what normally are great views of the surrounding mountains.

I thought of the ranch and home owners that worry their properties will be consumed by one of these infernos, and hoped and prayed that they would be spared a catastrophe like that.

Eventually the skies cleared as I made my way further east to Gillette, and then south to Casper. The terrain on these drives is what I affectionately call “a whole lotta nuthin’“. Lots of amber colored grass and some exposed rock. And antelope.

LOTS of antelope. I would say that the antelope surely outnumber people in this part of the world, because I couldn’t drive a quarter mile without seeing packs of them prancing around that amber grass. They are an amazing sight, these animals, standing tall with miles and miles of nothing around them.

As I made my way to Casper it was late in the day, and the afternoon sun cast a glowing light on these grass fields and the antelope. I sat in my beloved Magnum and I soaked in this scene as deeply as I could, and wished that people who think our country is overcrowded could spend a few hours on these roads.

It was a day of splendid isolation - just me and my Magnum, the antelope, the smoke, and those poor souls buried at Little Bighorn. I wish you all could have been caravaning behind me, tapped into my iPod and knowing that this was a day well lived.

Stay tuned for more adventures as the week goes on. And yes, you WILL get pictures of the Tetons!