Crater Lake

As we headed north back to Alaska we stopped for our Crater Lake fix. When we passed through in May a storm had socked the lake in and we only saw a spot here and there. It sure made up for it this time, it was a beautiful blue sky day on this trip.

Sunrise and a hike. That seemed to be the theme of this trip. We probably have over a 1,000 pictures of Crater Lake in all it shades and they are all amazing. This place always leaves me speechless.

The trail walked the ridge line of the picture above.

They have already had some snow and cold weather. There were inch-long ice crystals in the dirt in many places.

The day was so clear we could see Mt. Shasta in the distance, ~100 miles away.

Oregon's natural gem....love this place!

Sierra Hiking

While in the Eastern Sierra's we squeezed in some hiking time with our good friends, David and Gayle, and their dog, Ebbetts.

The trailhead was out of Bishop, CA, and the stunning views east across the valley were of the White Mountains.

Andrew cooling off with a hat full of snow.

Ebbetts enjoyed snow and cold creek water for him and Boss.

This great couple always takes us to such amazing places. Thanks again!

Eastern Sierra Sunrise

One more time we spent the night in the Alabama Hills and woke up for an amazing Eastern Sierra sunrise.

Wild Horses

Halfway between Pharump, NV, and Death Valley lies Death Valley Junction and the Amargosa Opera House. A group of wild horses live there or in the area. I always look for them when we pass by because I have a soft spot for horses and especially wild horses. The most we have ever seen here was four until passing through a couple of weeks ago. We knew there were more in the herd but had never seen them. What a treat! And the light for pictures was perfect!

This is looking back at DV Junction, a couple of miles away.

This is the one I have hoped to see for so long. Our friend, Peggy, had the most amazing picture of him. This photo doesn't even compare to how great hers was.

Grand Teton National Park

Here are some of our pictures from the week we were in the Grand Teton National Park. I never imagined how much wildlife they have there. We had great bear, moose, eagle, elk, pronghorn antelope, and bison sightings. Enjoyed several smaller critters too, like a river otter and pikas. We had great weather almost the entire time even though there were a couple of wildfires burning nearby that dampered visibility occasionally and hurt our throats.

Our first morning we went out to catch the sunrise on Mormon Row, one of the first homesteaded areas in the region. This is one of the most photographed barns in the US.

The lone pronghorn buck with his rather large harem of 16.

We saw this huge bison herd on two separate occasions. The calves were too cute! They were in such a playful mood and spent a lot of time chasing each other, head bashing, and jumping really high up in the air clacking their hooves.

The next day we took a hike around Jenny and back into the canyon.

What an amazing reflection!

Log Jam!

Hidden Falls

Hiking back in the canyon.

There were lots of rocky areas which house these adorable little critters in the rabbit family called pikas.

We stopped to soak up the scenery at this gorgeous beaver dammed area.

The next morning we enjoyed the sunrise at Schwabacher Landing. The falls colors were brilliant all week!

Then, we did some driving, and stopped by another old homestead to poke around.

We thought the triangle notches were interesting. The cabin also had several wooden pegs used in it.

The grand view from the homestead.

Dramatic cloud build-up later on in the day.

Here's a couple of the moose we saw.

I just love how we get rainbows everywhere we go.

Here is some of the guys from the group we were with while at Phelps Lake.

Crystal clear water everywhere.

The other bison sighting we had. More action shots here. Both times we watched them for a long while. I guess it was the time of year that was making them so interactive.

Many funny faces!