Great Sand Dunes National Park

I love this place any time of day but especially near sunset when only one side of the dunes have light. These are the highest dunes in all of North America housed within one of the youngest national parks in the national park system.

For a sense of scale, you can see some people (yeah, those dots) on top of the highest dune in this next picture.

Sangre De Cristo mountains in the background

Yep, they're steep! Noah and I hiked barefoot across a partially frozen stream to start this hike up.

Lunar landscape via New Mexico Volcanoes

This picture was taken along the road that leads to the iconic Capulin Volcano at the US Park Services National Monument of the same name.













Capulin Volcano is located roughly near Des Moines, NM, which is pretty much right next to nothing you've ever heard of.


The closest town in Oklahoma is actually only 75 miles away from the volcano.  But Kenton, OK, is also near the OK state line you've likely never crossed...the one that borders New Mexico.  When you leave Kenton headed west, it's not long before you run into dirt road (4x4 only in bad weather) and that then carries you further into New Mexico.

I've loved every visit to Capulin Volcano and once was able to make the one mile hike around the rim.  It's an obscure, but wonderful off-the-beaten-path sort of destination - my favorite kind.

If you are headed to Colorado Springs from Oklahoma, I highly recommend taking the volcano route (Amarillo | Dalhart | Clayton | Raton) since it costs you next to nothing in drive time but affords you lots in beautiful scenery.



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And as a bit of travelogue...

The view as you head west out of Oklahoma from Kenton.

The paved trail on the volcano and expansive view afforded from the same.

View from the top.  You can see the parking lot at the bottom right of the first pic and over my right shoulder in the second pic.

Trippin'...at Canyon de Chelly

It's pronounced Canyon de 'Shay', it's in NE Arizone, and it's not a good place to not be sure-footed. Remote shutter releases are cool but that last step is a doozy.

Reflections at Great Plains State Park

Last summer Noah and I went on a surprisingly wonderful little weekend camping trip. It wasn't surprisingly wonderful because I didn't think we'd have a good time. But the remote location was even more enjoyable than I had hoped.  I must add, and the internet as well as Noah can confirm, the bacon cheeseburgers at the 3-table Tom Steed Reservoir Bait Shop are just amazing!  Oddly, my bride narrow-mindedly frowns upon eating in the same store where you can by earthworms and dead crawdads for bait.

Here are a few pics of world famous (not really) Tom Steed Reservoir in the early pre-dawn hours.

Sunrise Thunderstorm in Oklahoma City

Talk about good timing!  The sun and the storm danced in perfect concert to create this beautiful scene on the east side of Oklahoma City.  The windmill, the cows and the pond provide a sense of scale that otherwise would be lost and then detract from the scope of the storm clouds.  Had I only been able to get closer to the pond (I'm not so much into trespassing!), the reflection in the water would have added yet another wonderful element to the photograph.

You really have to take a macro approach to understand why the views can change so dramatically even in what most people consider a very flat part of the state.  Just 1/4 of a mile to the west of this spot is a ridge line that completely obscures the view of the horizon.  

This picture was taken from roughly where the "X" is in the map below near Hefner Rd and Midwest Blvd, right on the edge of the North Canadian River 'valley.'  This is where the earth gets REALLY flat, making a prime location for both occasional flooding and, if you've ever driven Midwest Boulevard here, sod farms.  This drop off in elevation to very flat land provides an incredible and unobstructed view of the eastern horizon.

Miniature human action figure(?) @ Red Rock Canyon in Nevada

See that itty bitty climber?

Frozen sunset reflection on Lake Hefner

Let's face it.  The wind ALWAYS blows on Lake Hefner...except for the extremely rare day when it doesn't.  On this particular day of December 10th, I almost froze while taking these pictures. You can see ice on the rocks (always a good combo) on which I was climbing while taking these pics.  But what a sight!

Swoosh!

And we have lift-off (of ye ol' Canadian Geese).

Lake Hefner Sunrise

Just some tomfoolery with the camera body and lens while the shutter is open.

Lone scissortail flycatcher in heavy fog

Along Midwest Boulevard near Spencer, OK

Cows, fog, a windmill and an Okie sunrise

It's normally pitch dark on my drive by this spot each morning.  But on this day I skipped the gym, headed in to work a bit later than usual, and was rewarded with a beautiful scene.  (As though I need another reason to skip the gym!)

I climbed out of my truck to take the picture and for a few minutes, I soaked in the perfect scene and sounds of silence.

Still waters @ Oklahoma's Natural Falls State Park

This was taken early one morning at Natural Falls State Park in far eastern Oklahoma.

Yes, it's upside down to prove a point. The water really was like glass. That's some photo-trickery I did there. The little green trash can clinging to the earth so as to not fall kind of gives it away.  You did see that little green trash can, didn't you?

Fall foliage reflections in Arkansas' White River

Stormin' the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds

Just. Wow.

Lightning strikes near the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds 'space needle.'

Oak trees and sun rays near Lake Arcadia

Technically these sun rays are actually called 'crepuscular rays.'  Whatever the case, I love them.  The conditions have to be just right to work.  They can happen anywhere there is enough particulate in the atmosphere to reflect the sun's light while contrasting with the background. Another interesting geek fact is that although they appear to converge quickly to a point, they are actually essentially parallel like railroad tracks.

The large white oak in the first pic is one of my favorites in our backyard due to the general lack of small branches up and down its trunk. The last pictures almost looks if it was taken underwater.

One other side note is that I made these images with my cell phone and edited them in Sagelight, only adjusting for contrast.

Good morning, sunshine

Sunrise this morning as seen from near Midwest Boulevard and Hefner Rd.
27 Jun 2013

Cuyahoga National Park and the Cuyahoga River

Not the most well-known national park but full of it's own beauty nonetheless.  Given it's proximity to Cleveland and Akron, it's quite a retreat from the industrial mecca surrounding.

I held a moment...

Saw this little beauty peaking over the fence and had to capture her in the act.

Lake Arcadia fog @ sunrise

With a little grain added for a vintage feel.

Cleared for take off

Canadian Geese take flight on an Edmond pond