Category Archives: national parks

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day 2026

Our Environmental Challenge


Earth Day is celebrated globally on April 22 each year.

I’m a witness to the first Earth Day in 1970 when I was a young college student. This was 56 years ago. For many years since, I’ve written essays about this topic. You can read one of my previous Earth Day articles here.

Subsequent Earth Days have been filled with forceful calls to conserve and protect our natural resources. The difficult and controversial task was to improve the way the worldwide economy functions so as to reduce and/or prevent harm to our environment with a goal to keep our planet viable into the future.

It’s widely agreed that we have a long way to go to change the trajectory of our collective and personal behavior to reach that goal. I’m not here to judge or criticize. Rather I’ve tried to minimize my carbon footprint and encourage those that I can influence to do the same.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time roaming the outdoors USA visiting many wonderful places that Mother Nature has generously provided for all of us to enjoy.

Following is a gallery of photos from our visits to some of our nation’s National Parks.

I hope that you have chosen a way to both celebrate and remember Earth Day.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

Fine Art Photos

Prints For Sale

Over the decades I’ve pressed my camera shutter many, many times and have amassed a large portfolio of photographs.

My favorites are now available for sale.

Browse through my collections to find one or more to decorate your home or office.

I’ve selected about 50 photos and arranged them into four categories. Prints are available in four sizes: 5×7, 8×10, 11×14 and 13×19 for immediate delivery in USA and Canada.

One of my photos decorating this living room

National Parks Collection
Nature Collection

Travel Collection
Scenic Collection


I hope you enjoy browsing through these collections from my portfolio.  And a big thank you for your interest.

Regards,

Arnie Lee

X-Country Drive

October Vacationing

Last year we found enough time to take two short vacations. The second one was in October which turned out to be a nice time to still enjoy the pleasant weather while avoiding the crowds.

Our itinerary was to visit our son and family in Reno, NV and then hop north to Grand Teton National Park and enjoy the outdoors. Our route to Reno was pretty straight forward – taking Interstate 80 for the first half of our trip.

Our home in Grand Rapids is a solid midwestern city. We’re used to the familiar surroundings – cities, farms and small factories. As we drove westward we could see changes to the scenery.

Black – Grand Rapids to Reno
Red – Reno to Grand Tetons to Grand Rapids
A noticeable change in scenery as we travel west . Here’s a feed lot in Ogallala, Nebraska
Wyoming is known for its oil production. This is the huge Sinclair refinery.
Captivating rock formations line Interstate 80 near Green River, Wyoming
We took this selfie at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
This downtown sign shouts to us as we arrive in Reno.
Tall trees characterize the Sierras close to Reno
A long coastline at King’s Beach along Lake Tahoe
A paddle boarder enjoys the cool waters of Lake Tahoe.
Posing at a pier.

Leaving Reno we head towards Grand Teton National Park. We backtrack on I-80 for a short distance and then cut through southeastern Idaho. It’s a 700 mile drive through some very unpopulated high desert terrain.

This encourages wildlife to crossing the highway using the bridge.
This is a solar farm in Rogerson, Idaho
The Snake River passing through Swan Valley, Idaho
We took in a colorful morning sunrise in Grand Teton National Park
We captured this bugling elk near Jackson Lake in the Tetons
This lady was taking a drink from the pond near the Park Headquarters
We took in a serene view of the Tetons at String Lake
We took a short hike along the Snake River at Schwabachers Landing
We spotted this bald eagle overlooking the waters at Colter Bay in the Tetons
The iconic archway was decorated for the Christmas season in Jackson

From Jackson we made our way back to Grand Rapids happy to have 10 days of relaxation and outdoor recreation in the west.

Written by:

Arnie Lee