For the benefit and enjoyment of the people...

This September, the family and I took a trip to America's first national park: Yellowstone. Famous for its geysers and hotsprings, the park is also home to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

And, of course, not trip to Yellowstone would be complete without seeing Old Faithful. But first you have to wait about 90 minutes until the appointed time. But then the geyser does not disappoint.

Other geothermal features, include pools of hot water (that dark spot is a buffalo in the background) and colorful mineral terraces.

Mapping my Travels

I created a map of my travels on flickr. Now you can see a geographic representation of all of my adventures. A simple click on the map marker will take you to the photographs. Be sure to check it out here:

Flickr Map.

-JT

"Bye and Bye"

Last summer, Pippin and I took the family to explore the evergreen state of Washington. Our first stop took us to a viewpoint of Mt. Saint Helens, very near the site where some of the famous eruption photos were taken in 1980.

From Mt. Saint Helens, we travelled to Mt. Ranier National Park and visited the verdant flower meadows of Paradise and the alpine lakes in the shadow of the mountain.

Leaving the mighty mountain, we turned north to the Olympic Peninsula. From the coastal seastacks and foggy beaches to the rugged Olympic Mountains, we explored it all. Along the way, we glimpsed the Elwha dam, which is scheduled to be removed this year to restore salmon migration routes. In the coastal rain forests, we saw waterfall after waterfall. And we even managed time to tour the emerald city of Seattle and enjoy the scents of the lavender fields of Sequim, before finally bidding a final adieu to Washington and Mt. Ranier.

Yosemite

As the snow was melting off the Sierra Nevadas, we made a trek to Yosemite National Park. Our first stop was at Tunnel View, for its iconic vista of El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridal Veil Falls. While in the glacier carved valley, we took a short walk to Mirror Lake. Since the higher elevations were still burried in snow, we spent our time on the valley floor, in the shadow of Half Dome and watched the cascading water of Yosemite Falls.

Until next time!
-JT

Joshua Tree '09

Johnny and Pippin made their third annual trip to Joshua Tree National Park this last March. The Joshua Tree desert was its usual strange self, especially after nightfall. There were even some yellow flowers blooming.

Since spring had arrived in Joshua Tree, we decided to seek out more flowers and trekked to see the blooms in California's Anzo-Borrega desert. Many different varieties and colors flowers were blooming; reds, purples, yellows, and whites dotted the landscape.

Also, while in the area, we managed to visit the Calico ghost town. The old mining town got its name from the multicolored rocks and dirt in the area. Its been turned into a bit of a tourist trap, but there are well preserved remains of numerous buildings and equipment.

That's all for today, until next time,
-JT

Famous Potatoes

Headed north into a land famous for potatoes: Idaho. Idaho is not, however, all about potatoes. It is also home to Shoshone Falls, a cascade of water taller than the famous Niagra Falls. The mist from the falls even creates rainbows.

Also located in the same region is Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. No fossils were visible, but we were told that wagon ruts from the Oregon Trail were visible behind us.

That's all for this brief trip. Until next time,
JT!

Winter in Utah

Pippin and I spent New Years weekend experiencing winter in Utah. We started the tour in Snow Canyon. In addition to finding pioneers' names written on the rock in axle grease, we also found a minifigure scale arch.

After Snow Canyon, Pippin and I traveled just across the Arizona border to Pipe Springs National Monument. While there we toured the fort built over the spring, saw how the cowboys lived and met the locals.

Leaving Arizona we returned to Utah and paid a return visit to Zion National Park. Unfortunately, Zion was mostly snowed in, so we had to make our visit a short one, but we were able to see the only year round waterfall in the valley.

After leaving Zion, we headed north to make our second visit to Bryce Canyon. We were able to snowshoe along the rim of the canyon and take in some great views of the snow covered hoodoos.

Next time, we'll have to go somewhere a bit warmer... but until then Happy Travels,
-JT