A Visit to Lake Louise, Canada

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

Partly on the advice of my dad, I looked forward to our visit to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in the heart of Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.  What fun it would be to have a room with a balcony overlooking beautiful Lake Louse and hike in the surrounding mountains.

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Coyotes and Buffalo Endure a Yellowstone Winter

A coyote locates a vole by listening, then pounces on lunch.

Coyote pouncing on lunch

My winter visit to Yellowstone National Park was organized and led by Barbara Eddy and John Gurlach.  In the wintertime, one cannot simply drive into the park.  The Gerlach team led us on wonderful excursions for five days, rising before sunrise and shooting until it was too dark.

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Zion National Park, Utah, the East Side

Springdale Winter

The tiny town of Springdale, Utah sits at the entrance of one of the best national parks in the US, Zion National Park.  Zion offers easy access to beautiful vistas for the casual tourist, strenuous hikes to challenge the physically fit and back canyons for skilled mountaineers.  I had the privileged to stay here through the changing seasons…. twice!
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Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatia

Plitvice Through the Trees

Plitvice Lakes National Park Through the Trees

Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is an all too popular spot for beautiful blue green lakes and numerous waterfalls.  Summers visits must be brutal with the huge crowds.  There is not a lot of room for tourists to spread out since 90% of the park is viewed on boardwalks the size of a normal sidewalk.
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Best of Show in Nogal, New Mexico

Panorama Point Rainbow

Panorama Point Rainbow

I am happy to say this photo just won Best of Show at the Dry Gulch Gallery photo contest in Nogal, NM.  I won $1,000 for this first place prize. Yipeee!  This photo was not totally just luck.  The off and on rains of the day made this a high probability spot.  I also hiked up a bit specifically to include the curvy dirt road in the photo.

Stanley Hotel

Stanley Hotel Stairs

Stanley Hotel Stairs

With the National Parks closed I explored Estes Park, Colorado, one of the many small communities that depend upon the parks for their income.  Estes Park is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The biggest building in town in the Stanley Hotel, built by the inventor of the Stanley Steamer.  It was also the setting for the Stanley Kubrick movie ‘The Shining.’  Hey, one guess what my middle initial ‘S’ stands for….  I spent lots of time on these stairs trying to capture their grandeur.  Actual paying guests kept getting in my way.

Desert Big Horn Sheep

Mom with Baby

Mom with Baby

On just about any late afternoon in Zion National Park, it seems if one heads to the slick rock area on the east side, you will almost certainly find several Desert Bighorn Sheep.  While it is easy to get lots of photos, it is harder to get the sheep against the skyline, doing something interesting or in a unique setting.  It is very surprising how very agile they are and how easy they can climb up a steep hill.

Desert Big Horn Sheep of Zion National Park.Big-Horn-Baby-20130211-_ALL2235-Edit

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