The Natural West

From the summit of Mt. Gould, Glacier National Park

An interesting tree located in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge between Mud and Malheur Lake.

The Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon after a particularly wet winter. Steens Mountain, the future location of a new wind farm this fall, in the background.

Profile shot of Rusty the golden retriever staring out into Buffalo Gap National Grassland in North Dakota. It shows one of the common interactions we have with the natural West - travels with our companions to the wide open spaces.

Lone bison after a winter snowfall in Yellowstone National Park

We call them Javelina. Other names are musk hog, Mexican hog and Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu)

Pollock Bench trail, McInnis Canyons NCA, Grand Junction, CO

Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness, Grand Junction, CO. New Year's Day 2010

Taken at the falls between the First and Second Geraldine Lakes, Jasper N.P, British Columbia

Taken at a remote camp on California's pristine Lost Coast.

The last of the larches before you cross the tree line and into the pure granite bowls of the Enchantments in the Washington Cascades.

A group of ewes traveling up Big Thompson Canyon, CO. Taken October 2006.

Wild horses located on White Mountain, WY, on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Loop. Taken May 12, 2008.

Grand Mesa Colorado

Mustang shaking off after rolling in dust....near Steens Mountain, Oregon

Young Mustang Stallions engage in "practice" battles.....near Steens Mountain, Oregon

Burrowing owls were living in burrows in a pasture no longer cultivated. As I walked along the irrigation ditch, this one would perch on the pipe fence and shout at me. Very impressive display of defense.

The sad history of the desert around Rock Springs, Wyoming with its ever hopeful return to the rejuvenation that only nature promises.

Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park

Sand Dunes in the Red Desert of Wyominig

A tarn on the continental divide at Independence Pass at sunset. Storm on eastern slope.

Sunset in Arches National Park, Moab

A shot of fog-shrouded cliffs along the Oregon Coast south of Cannon Beach

This is an oil painting I created from a series of trips painting en plein air at Piney Creek in Story, Wyoming. Since I was a teenager, this spot has been among my most favorite places in all the world to seek out peace and serenity. Enjoy!

Cattle barn and windmill, Angles Camp, California

50 miles from the highway. Blackrock Desert, Nevada

Sunset on the Grand Mesa

Wind River Range, WY

Sunrise on Lake Powell

Taken from Camp Chief Ouray

This is how cattle are moved in my neck of the woods...slowly, by men and women on horseback, no matter what motor vehicle comes along.

Lone bison in the South Dakota badlands.

This red mushroom was about the size of a U.S. quarter and had emerged from some very soggy ground. The cloverleaf-like plant adjacent and behind the mushroom is marsh cinquefoil, a rare plant in the Southern Rocky Mountains. The site was an uncommon fen (peatland) located on the western slope of the Indian Peaks, Colorado.

In the Northern Rocky Mountains and Eastern Cascades, the western larch (a deciduous conifer tree) provides us with beautiful autumn displays. This was taken in the Selkirk Mountains in northeastern Washington.

We know what's in the pocket and we are bigger than you.

This bob cat waited for 3-4 hours for a hare to stir in the doorway of its hole. she was joined by her adult cub who shared the stake out and stole the prey. I photographed and filmed the entire successful hunt and you can see it here- or HCN can link to it if you prefer. http://www.vimeo.com/9265181

An elk herd uses the "pedestrian" crosswalk in downtown Estes Park, Colorado. The elk have the "right of way" in town.

An unusual magenta colored columbine in Monument, Colorado.

Elizabeth Lake in Glacier National Park as the sun slipped away.

The North Star stands in the center of this photograph while all other stars seem to swirl about it. At over 10,000 feet in elevation, Cedar Breaks is one of the greatest locations to view stars in the west.

Layers of ancient sedimentary rock, stunted forest of subalpine fir, and magnificent snowcapped peaks give one something to reflect on at Glacier National Park.

An afternoon in Sand Dunes Nat. Park. Unforgettable light.

North Face of the Grand Teton. Photo taken just after a thunderstorm from the shoulder of Mt. Moran on our attempt to climb the peak via the CMC route.