Category Archives: nature

Flowers and Foliage

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A Small Collection of Nature’s Color

When I’m walking with my camera, I can’t help but stop, admire and photograph the flowers along the way. These walks might be close to home along the neighboring streets, strolling in one of the nearby gardens or hiking through some of our country’s amazing national parks. There are flowers everywhere.

And while an admirer of flowers is called an anthophile, I’m definitely not an expert. In fact, I know the names of only a few.

Anyway, let me just present my photo collection of flowers and foliage

A Death Valley Visit

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<br /> Death Valley Visit<br />

After the 2023 Floods


A scenic two hour drive from the bustling streets of Las Vegas takes you to this expansive desert area. The place is called Death Valley and is the nation’s largest national park.

I’ve visited Death Valley many times before. On this trip I spent only a few hours there specifically to catch a glimpse of something special as you’ll soon find out.



My first stop was at Zabriskie Point



…especially noted for its alluvial runoffs.


 



They date back millions of years



…and form some amazing landscapes.


 



Twenty miles down the road is Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. It sits some 280 feet below sea level.



Badwater is a salt flat that spans the width of the valley. It’s basically a dried sea bed from millions of years ago.


 



Here’s a closeup of the terrain at Badwater. Normally the entire basin is covered with salt similar to this. You can walk on some of the terrain but other parts are thin and considered dangerous to traverse.



Something drastic happened this past August. Unprecedented torrential rains caused extreme road and terrain damage. The basin was in part turned into “Lake Manly”. While only a few inches deep in remains there as of January 2024.


As you can see here, many visitors trekked to Death Valley to view the lake in the Badwater basin



As I was driving I couldn’t help but spot large patches of yellow off to the side of the road.



While these flowers are not one of Death Valley’s infrequent superblooms, these patches may be a byproduct of last August’s downpours and flooding. Regardless, these dandelions were a bright spot that stand out against the park’s vast desert terrain .

 

My drive to Death Valley was to see the “lake” that was formed by last summer’s rains. Once again I’m amazed to be a witness to mother nature’s way of creating scenes that I can thoroughly enjoy.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

 

 


A Visit To The Parks

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Camping with Young Ones

I’m attracted to the national parks of the west. For each of my visits, I’m armed with a detailed list of attractions that I want to enjoy and photograph.

However, this past August’s visit was a little different.

I invited a granddaughter and grandnephew to accompany me on an end of summer excursion. We would go to a few of the parks and stay in a small popup camper.

So this series of photos are not my usual scenic variety. Instead they are a scrapbook of places that the kids and I visited.
Adeline and Elliott are surprised to find snow in August.

Standing beneath the elk arches in the Jackson, WY town square.
Looking at a grizzly behind glass at Jackson Lake Lodge

Riding the tram to the top at Jackson Hole Mountain
At the Willow Flats Overlook in the Tetons

Checking out the shoreline at Colter Bay
Nice view of the Tetons at Jackson Lake Lodge
Layers of travertine at Mammoth Hot Springs
Watching the flow at Tower Falls
Painted bison at a W. Yellowstone restaurant
Lots of steam and noise at Beryl Springs
A reprieve from the parks in Rapid City, SD
Fun at the water park
Presidential faces at Mt Rushmore
Last stop at Badlands Nat’l Park

It was fun visiting the parks again, but this time with the kids in mind instead of my usual photography expedition variety.

Written by:

Arnie Lee