National Park

Falling for the Cascades

October 06, 2023 in Travel Stories

I was in North Cascades National Park in Washington late August. The one morning I wanted to hike the Cascade Pass trail which is about a 7mi hike total, nothing too crazy. I left at 4:30am from the campground and made it to start my hike at 5am and made my way towards the vantage point. I had my camera bag/accessories, water, forgot the bear spray, and there was just enough light so I left the flashlights. Turns out the bear spray wasn’t my worry.

The hike was pretty easy as I am accustomed to higher elevations in the Rocky Mountain Range. It went from around 4,300ft to 6,100ft. I was stoked as I didn’t have to take a single break or water.

I made it to the top vantage point of the hike shortly after sunrise around 7ish and watched the morning light spill through the pass and illuminating the mountains. After some time of hanging out I decided to head up another steep trail that took me off the main trail 200-300ft higher to a more open vantage point of the one mountain.

After some looking around I found my self on the edge of the mountain at 6300ft-ish with soaking shoes and clothing from the morning dew. I was walking my way around this boulder (for a photograph) that sat on the edge above some plants that seemed to been wet for days. Half-way through passing along the boulder I turned to look at the view, after a few seconds of realizing the shot would work, I immediately lost my balance, slipped and fell.

At first I had my back/backpack to the mountains edge sliding down along the soaked plants. I was able to roll over so I was sliding down on my right arm and eventually move my arms up above me. I then kept my hands open until I felt like I could grab onto one or many of the plants. Thankfully the two plants that caught me held on. I was able to then use the plants to climb back up the mountain. I’m not quite sure how far I got but I had to climb up a decent bit and it was about 5ish seconds.

I made it back to a safe section and sat down on a boulder and took in the view.

Walking up to the mountain I was trying to get a different angle on.

Images from the Hike

Sitting on the rock after I fell. Looking down at the “slip-and-slide” of a mountain side.

Glad I made it down the safe way from this hike and was able to have images I captured I’m super proud of and yes my camera is okay!

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The Rocky Mountains & Then Some

February 14, 2023 in Travel Stories

I traveled to Colorado in the middle of November 2020. This brought for late fall colors, snow, and a little bit of warmth mixed in. While in Colorado I got to experience the Rocky Mountains from the small section that is open during this season. Then I got to experience Moab and its two national parks, Arches and Canyonlands. To which then I circled down and ended up in Northern New Mexico to then head back to Southern Colorado in Great Sand Dunes National Park.

For sleeping I slept inside a rented Chevrolet Impala, it had seats that could fold down and I could sleep in the back seat/trunk. Using the impala as my mobile home for a few days I traveled 27 hours in 3 days.

This trip was pretty simple logistically and flexibility. The possibilities I had to make it different locations and switch things up the day before is rare and was a nice change of pace compared to past trips I have done.

Enjoy the images and I hope you’ll be back to read my next blog post!

Snow flooding through the pine trees in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Ice bubbles rising to the surface of a small frozen lake. The bubbles are filled with methane. Also a super cool design in the ice that surrounds the methane bubbles.

Snow blow shifting through the mountain’s trees. The layers of snow, to trees, back to snow was a fun detail that led to some more rounded mountain peaks.

The Milky Way over a redock landscape with some light pollution on the horizon from Moab, Utah. I met another photographer here, it was fun to see what each other captured while avoiding a cliff edge.

A crazy shark fin shaped rock in the southwest. Taken during sunset I had quite the adventure of getting to this location. But it was definitely worth the hassle and lived up to the hype.

An aerial shot of a rocky spine leading towards the shark fin rock with the sunset light fading from the horizon and the Utah mountains showing in the background. It’s always worth bringing the drone to locations I can fly, the other perspective is awesome.

A bull elk bracing the snow blow coming from a mountain pass to the right. I was laying in the grass while covering my face so I could focus on getting this photos.

Stacked layers of a landscape in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. The red rock was phenomenal and looked nice in this golden hour light.

The sand dunes in Colorado were a surprise. I got there at night and slept overnight alone at a campground. Then made my way onto the dunes for sunrise, and the mountains being so close was definitely a cool perspective.

Grass growing in one of the valleys of the sand dunes being struck by golden hour light. The shadows elongating out the back caught my eye and completed this simple scene.

A lone tree standing on the cliff edge enjoying the long canyon with the sun shining through it. Had to grab this scene as the sun was shining perfectly. Made for great light.

Thank you for reading. I have so many photos to catch up sharing about. I am going to try to use this blog more in the future. Let me know if there is anything else you’d like to see more of.

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The Water of Death Valley

April 13, 2020

If the desert is mentioned you'd probably think of a barren wasteland that has nothing around it but rattlesnakes, sand, and the sun. Death Valley National Park’s name even offers and feeds to this generalization of deserts around the globe. But truthfully there is still life that flourishes in these harsher environments even though it’s not as saturated as other ecosystems. The 3.4-million-acre park has much to offer from its many oasis, sand dunes, mountains, and even having the lowest point in North America, with its lowest point reaching -282ft.

This park has many valleys, but those valleys aren’t just flat desert they offered a wide variety of places to enjoy. Of course, for there to be a valley there are mountain ranges that surround these valleys, the most famous in the park being the Panamint Range. Throughout my visit at this park I tried to see as much as possible and capture the many things that water brings life to in the valley of death.

Death Valley was also important at the beginning as it was prosperous mining region for many decades. It graced the likes of many pioneers who wanted to get rich off the many minerals. There are 61 known geological formations within the park and there are still 20 formations that have not been added to the collection. There are also 3 different formations that have unofficial names. The many different rock types brought people to Death Valley in the beginning and keep bringing people back.

That’s not the only thing that brings people to Death Valley either, there are plenty of other things to enjoy such as sand dunes, salt flats, ghost-towns, different plants and animals, and the amazing stars. Only the plants and the salt flats are pictured below, so you’ll have to wait for further blog posts or visit for yourself to see the rest

Death Valley National Park deserves to be preserved because of these many things and the unique landscape it encompasses. In these photographs I hope I can give you a feel of what it feels like to be in these remote locations and observing the beauty unfold. The many sunrises, sunsets, stars, etc. are amazing sights within themselves but are more spectacular than those that are inhibited by chemicals in the air of cities and the light pollution blocking the stars. These natural spaces offer way more than people realize how they help you understand yourself and the world around you more as well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post and enjoy these photographs. I hope you’ll make the trip to Death Valley to enjoy its unique beauty.

At the bottom is a video that explains these ideas more!

Erosion flowing down the mountain can be seen throughout the different ridges and then the valley floor below.

A clump of salt being formed on the surface after evaporating

Human tire-track destruction on the desert floor over mud-cracks.

Water run-off with desert plants in the shadows.

Water erosion through the desert floor creating empty banks.

Panamint Mountain Range during sunrise. Snow melt creates erosion on the mountain-sides.

Salt flats happen from rainfall that evaporates too quickly (from the desert sun) before the next rainfall and creates this layer on top of the ground.

Mud-cracks from hot desert sun and little to no rainfall.

A fully grown desert plant basking in the desert rays.

Water run-off from the rugged mountains and colorful rocks.

Erosion in this spectacular area a couple miles North of the Panamint Range.

More erosion in front of the Panamint Range

Thank you for reading my post about the water in Death Valley National Park!

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Alberta, Canada

July 16, 2019

Being able to return to Alberta was a refreshing experience. I was able to capture so many different animals and landscapes in the time I was there. Coming a month later this time it opened the opportunity to see more. Less roads are closed and less possibilities for roads to be closed due to little to no snowfall. Which it did snow on the drive into Banff National Park. Though it didn’t last long the snowballs were bigger than I’ve ever seen before. But past that the Canadian Rockies didn’t show themselves till the second day, but that didn’t stop photos from being taken in the moody weather. There were amazing canyon hikes along with just easy trails to see the smaller wildlife. Jasper National Park also offered some great views and continued the beautiful mountain ranges. I was able to photograph a lot of locations that were on my bucket-list this trip. It certainly brought more inspiration to see more landscapes and capture the amazing wildlife. The world is so big and there is so much to see. With its beauty, this should be just enough to conserve the rest of its beauty.

Thank you for reading and I hope your inspired to go see more of nature!

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Acadia National Park

January 12, 2018

Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island, Maine. This park is normally frequented in the spring/summer, but winter was more appealing to me. To start the trip we arrived at 5a.m. to then hike up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. Sunrise was so beautiful from the top of Cadillac Mountain, but the wind chill had the temperature down to -27 Fahrenheit. It was a bit chilly, but we made it up the 2.2mi hike to the peak. Here are a few shots from Cadillac Mountain.

After Cadillac Mountain we went to breakfast and then made our way to the AirBnB. It was about 10-15min from Bar Harbor. For sunset we made way to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse on the coastline of Mount Desert Island.

After I was able to capture a few images in the cold with stars it was time to go and relax.
The next day it was decided to go to Boulder Beach, Otter Cliff, and Thunder Hole!

Then it was onto Schoodic Point for sunset. We didn't stay there long because it was freezing and the wind was overpowering. Here is the one shot I was able to get upon some of the icy rocks.

Acadia National Park was such a beautiful park and can't wait to experience it in the different seasons.

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Congaree National Park

August 17, 2017

This national park is on the Western side of South Carolina. It is home to a beautiful swamp based area with a lot of mosquitos, spiders, and many other animal species. The main trail here is the Boardwalk Trail which takes you through a swampy area filled with Cyprus trees, Cyprus knees, and water logged spots. The main wet seasons for this park are in Late Winter, Early Spring. If you are down in South Carolina I'd recommend checking out this National Park. Just watch out for mosquitos.

Definitely a spot to check out if you're interested in a Marsh land type forest on the East Coast!

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