Evening Ferry

Rugged Terrain

Mountain ridges east of Yosemite towards evening.

Mono Lake

Mono Lake at the top of the image with part of Yosemite in the foreground. Half Dome is visible in the lower part of the image just to the right of center.


Mono Lake


A few morning clouds hang over the lake's Paoha Island.

Majestic Na Pali Coast of Kauai

Na Pali means the cliffs, and Kauai's north shore is a gallery of them. What follows is a collection of images, including three stereograms, of many of these cliffs, taken from a helicopter and a boat.

Clear air and bright sunshine highlight the diverse colors of the scenery which vary dramatically depending on time of day, weather, sun and viewing angles, etc. The same scene from the same vantage point may appear very different through the course of a single day. Kauai's soils range in color from beige sandy beaches through deep coffee browns to intense Martian reds. Lush vegetation, clear ocean waters, and the deep blue sky add vivid greens and blues to the scene. Bright clouds gleam a striking white that can overwhelm the camera, often making it difficult to capture the full range of color and illumination in a single frame. As spectacular as some of these views may be, they don't come close to the experience in person.

Two features of the Na Pali coast are the Kalalau Valley and Hanakapiʻai Beach. These appear in earlier posts on this blog and are omitted from this one.

As usual, click on any image to see a larger version.






















Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.








Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.








Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.

Smoky Mountains

Smoke fills the valleys and hides the mountains of Southern California as over 800 fires burn in the state.

By popular demand, information about the state's wildfire situation


Statewide NASA-MODIS image (click to enlarge)

Statewide Incident Information [CalFire]

Sierra Fire, Valley Smoke

Seen from 41,000', Smoke from a fire in the Sierra Nevada Mountains fills canyons and valleys above Bakersfield, California.

The Three Sisters

Oregon's Three Sisters Mountains illuminated in the evening light.


On the right is the South Sister. The Middle and North Sisters can be seen to the left.


A closer view of the South Sister.


A closer look at the middle and north sisters.

These images were taken in the evening light from Alaska Airlines flight 425 on May 4, 2006 at about 7:50PM from above 30,000' altitude.

South on the Richardson Highway

Richardson Highway, Fairbanks to Valdez.

The Alaskan Pipeline snakes from the far north reaches of the state about 800 miles to the port of Valdez. Today, we cover almost 2/3 of that distance along the Richardson Highway from Fairbanks all the way to Valdez.

Along the way, herds of caribou cross the road and run along either side.

This time of year, at these high latitudes, the low sun angle combines with the snow-covered mountains to present us with exquisite views.



It's been a cloudy day but now some blue sky can be seen peeking through.

As the day stretches on toward evening, the sun, even lower in the sky, strikingly illuminates the snow-covered mountains in the distance.

A long and magnificant sunset begins.

Sunset in the far north can be lovely, dark, and deep, lasting long, their promise still to keep...

... and miles to go before we sleep. These Frosty words seem particularly poignant in this frozen wonderland still hundreds of miles from the next rest.