The Natural West
Check out these fantastic landscapes of the American West! Thanks to all participants who submitted and voted on these images.
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Winning Entry
203
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
by Aaron Merritt — Photo I took of the Grand Prismatic Spring while visiting Yellowstone National Park.
Shadow of the Cross
A rustic cross marks the final Resting place of an early pioneer, near Dos Cabazos, Arizona.
Ladder of Light
A Kiva Ladder provides access to a reconstructed Kiva at ancestral Pueblo ruins located at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Oxbow Bend, Revisited
Surrounded in all four directions by forest fires, the smoke resulted in a beautiful sunset at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park.
hairy woodpecker unfazed by maurading scrub jay
Mini drama captured in the juniper tree in my front yard near Dolores Colorado.
Weathered Warrior
Just about anywhere in the west, these divisional markers, bear witness to the taming of the environment.
White Mountain Wild Horses
Wild horses located on White Mountain, WY, on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Loop. Taken May 12, 2008.
Watch Out for Elk Crossing
An elk herd uses the "pedestrian" crosswalk in downtown Estes Park, Colorado. The elk have the "right of way" in town.
Rush Hour
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.
The Great Expanse
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.
Taking it back ~ St. Elmo
A crumbling cabin in the ghost town of St. Elmo, Co, with aspen trees trying to surround it.
The Brown Section
The colors of West Texas at sunrise. You have to get off Interstate 10 and walk around Balmorhea to see the beauty.
High Country Columbine
Gorgeous orange Columbine, found near Ward, Colorado. One of my personal favorites that truly depicts mountain living.
bloom and bust
The sad history of the desert around Rock Springs, Wyoming with its ever hopeful return to the rejuvenation that only nature promises.
Piney Creek Dreaming
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!
Perfect Columbine
The trail to Mica Basin in the Zirkel Wilderness Area has always been a favorite. Annually I make the hike with the intention of capturing the perfect columbine photo for that year. This is from 2009.
Sunset over the Grand Canyon
A last minute capture of sunset over the western edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Moose Creek Idyl
Autumn scene at Moose Creek Ranger Station, deep in the Selway/Bitterroot Wilderness of Idaho; sprinklers gravity fed
aspen and snowberry tapestry
This photo was captured on the west side of the La Plata mountains in October of 2008.
Cactus, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
An unusual type of cactus. Shot at F22 to keep background in focus. Canon 5D Mk II, Sigma 50mm macro lens.
A Fine Fall Day in the Aspens
This is the ground-level perspective of the view that everyone stops for along the Peak to Peak Highway above Nederland CO each Fall.
A Fine Fall Day in the Aspens - Floating Gold
This is one of the ground-level perspectives of the view that everyone stops for along the Peak to Peak Highway above Nederland CO each Fall.
WINTER HOME~Trap Door Spider
TRAPDORIS ARACHNIDA GIGANTIS keeps an eye out for its potential evening meal. Mostly subsisting on small rodents and birds, they have been known to dart out and grab deer, coyotes, or the unsuspecting cross-country skier!
Southwestern SpottedOwl
Southwestern (or Mexican) Spotted Owl in lower Sabino Canyon, Santa Catalina Mountains, near Tucson, AZ
Aspens, Kenosha Pass, Colorado
Late afternoon biking on the Colorado Trail at Kenosha Pass, Colorado
Feb 2010
a freak 2 day snow storm in February brought this in.... The poor birds kept diving into the snow on the bird feeder.
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