Bryce from the Rim

December 2nd, 2020 Today we’re viewing more of Bryce Canyon National Park from the rim. Highway 63 leads south, following the west rim of the canyon to Yovimpa Point where the road ends near the boundary of the park. Along the way, you can stop to view the canyon from pull-outs at locations including Piracy Point, Natural Bridge, Ponderosa Canyon

Bryce Canyon Sunrise

December 1st, 2020 Today we’re starting a new journey in Bryce Canyon National Park. With the sun rising, this unique landscape of hoodoos and pine trees is starting to illuminate. More tomorrow,Kelly Photos of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos from my archives, shared

Bighorn Hello

November 29th, 2020 Moving on from our afternoon at Zion, we meet one of the park’s endangered residents. A mature desert bighorn sheep walks against traffic on the side of the road. Declared locally extinct (extirpated) in the 1960s, a herd of 14 desert bighorn were reintroduced in Zion in 1978. In the years since, the herd has grown to

Afternoon at Zion

November 28th, 2020 Just around the corner from yesterday’s plain view, the road to Zion National Park descends into a canyon while the surrounding landscape protrudes suddenly in sedimentary peaks. The geology of Zion spans up to 270 million years, connecting with Bryce Canyon to the north and the Grand Canyon to the south. While researching this, I finally came

Plain & Simple

November 27th, 2020 After our virtual vacation in Bali and postcards from Lake Tahoe, we’re getting back to the remaining stories from my recent road trip through Arizona and Utah. Tomorrow we’ll take a quick look around Zion National Park. Surprisingly, these photos were captured within a couple miles of the park entrance. The pastoral landscape gives no hint of

Yellowstone’s Old Faithful

November 13th, 2020 Old Faithful has captivated audiences for decades. When we arrived to view it last month, several hundred people were sitting in its half-circle amphitheater (socially distanced, for the most part) awaiting its eruption, which happens reliably about 20 times per day — hence the name Old Faithful. Lucky for us, our timing was fortuitous — we only

Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring

November 12th, 2020 Picking up from yesterday’s daily post, today we’re taking a walk around Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring. To understand what an anomaly the spring is in the context of the surrounding landscape, it’s helpful to look at the aerial map view: The spectrum of colors catches the eye, and the white deposits of the silica-rich water extend all

Edge of the Firehole

November 11th, 2020 To all our veterans here in the U.S. and around the world, including my father and grandfather, thank you for your service. My freedom to write and to roam comes from all of you. Happy Veterans Day. ** Tonight I’ve gotten caught up watching a Nova special about the construction of Petra in Jordan. Interested in watching?