NA PALI COAST ON KAUAI, HI FROM HELICOPTER

Kauai is the most beautiful of the Hawaiian Islands. The Na Pali Coast on the west is the island's most beautiful part. To see the coastline, you can either hike about 14 miles of rugged trails or take a helicopter ride.

STUNNING NA PALI COAST OF KAUAI, HI

One of the most beautiful places on Earth.

NA PALI COAST OF KAUAI, HI. FROM RIDGE-TOP

This is the prettiest area in the most beautiful of the Hawaiian Islands. To get to this spot, you drive up along Waimea Canyon, which is spectacular.

NA PALI COAST OF KAUAI, HI

The Na Pali Coast of Kauai is just as beautiful from the top of the ridge as it is from the coast or from a helicopter.

WAIMEA CANYON, KAUAI, HI

This is often called the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. The formations are similar in shape. While the earth of Waimea Canyon erodes much faster than the stone in the Grand Canyon it is just as beautiful.

LIGHTHOUSE AT KILAUEA POINT, KAUAI, HI

Kilauea Point is the northernmost point in Hawaii. If you head north from here, the next land you will come to is Alaska.

"SECRET BEACH" FROM KILAUEA POINT, KAUAI, HI

Kilauea Point is definitely worth visiting. "Secret Beach" is too as long as you have something more than flip-flips on your feet. The trail to the beach is a bit steep, but you might have 200 yards of beach with no one else. This place is like Paris in that you should visit with someone you love.

KILAUEA LIGHTHOUSE FROM "SECRET BEACH", KAUAI, HI

"Secret Beach" is a misnomer. This is the name printed on maps. It gets its name because it is seldom visited. The path to the beach is steep and might be difficult with flip-flops. Once you get there you have 200 yards of beach with a handful of people. It is worth wearing sneakers or hiking boots to spend time on a virtually private beach.

RAINBOW EUCALYPTUS IN KAUAI, HI

The trunk of a Rainbow Eucalyptus tree looks like a sycamore except that instead of earth tones, it has bright colors.

GLORIOUS SUNRISE FROM KAUAI

From orchids that grow wild to towering waterfalls to the spectacular Na Pali Coast to sunrises, everything is beautiful in Kauai.

Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, HI

A trip to Pearl Harbor is a pilgrimage that all Americans should make if they are able.

MARJORIE GLACIER

Marjorie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park is one of the few that is still advancing and calving icebergs into the bay. It was a cool place to stay for a bit on a warm day. It was very peaceful.

MARJORIE GLACIER CALVING

A few small (50 lbs or so) pieces of ice fall from the glacier into the bay. Those little white dots just above the water on the right side? They're seagulls.

FOREST TRAIL IN GLACIER BAY

Did Disney animators use this forest as a model for an enchanted forest in any of their movies? We did not see any witches living in gingerbread houses. We did encounter a peacefulness that is uncommon in our society today. We learned the saga of the Hana Tlingit tribe that is slowly recovering the use of this 3 million-acre land where they have been living since time immemorial. This National Park is not only about glaciers.

MCWAY FALLS IN JULIA PFEIFFER BURNS STATE PARK, CA

This is one of the prettiest spots on the California coast. Park on the east side of the highway. Go through the tunnel under CA-1 and get ready for the "Oh my God!" moment when you reach the other side.

YOSEMITE VALLEY

As you come out of the tunnel into Yosemite Valley, be prepared for the "Oh my God!" moment. With El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the distance in the center, and Bridal Veil Falls on the right, This photo breaks the rules about having a single point of focus. I enjoy watching first-timers' reactions to this vista.

HALF DOME IN THE GOLDEN HOUR FROM GLACIER POINT

Half Dome is one of the major attractions in Yosemite National Park. The hour before sunset is the best time to view Half Dome. Glacier Point is the best viewing spot. Your living room is the best place to share this image.

HALF DOME AT SUNSET FROM GLACIER POINT

This dome of granite that was cut by a glacier is always impressive. Glacier Point is one of the best places to see it. As sunset approaches, it can be magical.

WILD GOOSE ISLAND IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

It's a tiny island with a stunning backdrop. The Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park follows St. Mary's Lake for several miles. Near the east end, there is a tiny island. I don't know if there are any geese on the island, but they sure have a heckuva view.

MANY GLACIERS POINT IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

The glaciers are no longer visible from this point, but the scenery is still stunning.

ZION CANYON AT SUNSET

Zion Canyon is far from the largest national park and not the most beautiful, but it definitely tugs at the heartstrings. It is one of those places I want to visit again. This digital composite is a good rendition of what could happen if there were some high clouds in the north at sunset.

THOR'S HAMMER FROM NAVAJO TRAIL IN BRYCE NATIONAL PARK

To experience a canyon, it is necessary to get below the rim. Thor's Hammer (left) is visible from many points along the Navajo Trail in Bryce National Park.

SUNSET POINT AT BRYCE NATIONAL PARK

Everywhere you look in Bryce Canyon, there are hoodoos, stone pillars carved by the wind. Bryce Canyon is beautiful from the rim. A hike down into the canyon offers an up-close and personal view of many hoodoos.

BRYCE POINT IN BRYCE NATIONAL PARK

This is the most sweeping vista in Bryce National Park. Thousands of hoodoos stick up from the slopes of the canyon.

NATURAL BRIDGE IN BRYCE NATIONAL PARK

I know someone who admits to climbing out on this arch. That was in 1948 (before I was born). Let's hope that stunt is not repeated. Is this an arch or a natural bridge? This can be a topic of debate in southern Utah. Either way, it is impressive.

click to enlarge Live Preview AR Wall Preview 360° Viewing Tool Save to Favorites Email a Friend SUNRISE FROM PANORAMA POINT IN CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK

The morning sun catches the hills. Capital Reef is not the most beautiful national park, but it has fascinating rock formations.

LANDSCAPE ARCH IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

What keeps this arch from collapsing? At 290 feet, Landscape Arch is one of the longest natural stone arches in the world. This layer of sandstone has few cracks and can be eroded by the wind. It is one of several arches in this national park.

"THE ORGAN" IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

I would have called it "Wall Street" to complement nearby "Park Avenue". It was named long before most of us were born. This is one of many sandstone formations in Arches National Park that jut up out of the Earth to form walls, pillars, and (of course) arches.

MILKY WAY THROUGH TUNNEL ARCH

Unlike Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch has a modest size opening through a large mass of rock. When you look from the north, it looks like there is a table set inside a window with two round boulders on it. If the sky is clear enough and the moon is not too bright, you might see the Milky Way. This composite is a good rendition of what the scene could look like under the right conditions.

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK THROUGH MESA ARCH

Yes, this canyon was carved by the Colorado River. No, This is not the Grand Canyon. This is a couple canyons upstream. Some of the formations look similar, but this canyon also has stone arches (Mesa Arch in this photo) and snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance. Canyonlands National Park has four separate districts with separate entrances. It would be easy to spend weeks here.

DEVIL'S GARDEN AT SUNSET

Devil's Garden in Escalante National Monument has many weird hoodoos (rock columns). It can get spooky at night, but at sunset, it gets peaceful and quiet. (composite photo)

MILKY WAY FROM DEVIL'S GARDEN IN ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Devil's Garden is a playful place in the daylight hours. At night it can get spooky. (composite image)

MONUMENT VALLEY

A 1963 Kodachrome slide shot by my grandfather. All profits from the sale of this photo will be donated to the Frederick B Ray scholarship fund and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

GRAND CANYON SOUTH RIM

Between Monument Creek and The Abyss

MULE TRAIN ON THE SOUTH KAIBAB TRAIL IN THE GRAND CANYON

Mules get the right-of-way. I backed into a cactus making room for them. Skeleton Point on the South Kaibab Trail. Shot on color negative film in 2002.

SUNRISE FROM HOPI POINT IN THE GRAND CANYON

The day after hiking from the river to the rim, I got up in time to watch the sunrise. It was worth it. Shot on color negative film in 2002.

INNER GORGE OF THE GRAND CANYON AT SUNRISE

It is another world deep in the canyon.

ANTELOPE CANYON

Upper Antelope Canyon is the most famous of the many slot canyons in northern Arizona and southern Utah. It is on Navajo land. The light is constantly changing depending on the position of the sun. In much of the canyon, daylight is not visible from the canyon floor.

SUNLIT HEART IN ANTELOPE CANYON, AZ

I knew there was a spot of sunshine on the floor of Antelope Canyon when I took this shot. This does not happen often in this slot canyon. I didn't realize until I got the film processed (this was 2002) it was in the shape of a heart.

MT. MORAN OVER JACKSON LAKE IN GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

The Grand Tetons are one of the most impressive mountain ranges in the lower 48 states. On a calm clear day, we get to see the mountains twice.

MORNING GLORY POOL IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

There was a time when visitors could drive up next to this pool and view it from their car. Now it requires a mile walk on a paved path. This spring used to be predominantly blue. Liter from visitors clogged the vent and cooled the water so that a different strain of bacteria grows on the periphery.

STORM APPROACHES MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS IN YELLOWSTONE

The weather is foreboding. The scenery is fascinating.

click to enlarge Live Preview AR Wall Preview 360° Viewing Tool Save to Favorites Email a Friend ROCKET GEYSER YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

When Rocket Geyser erupts it launches steam and boiling water at an angle.

BEEHIVE GEYSER YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

The Beehive Geyser erupts on a very irregular schedule. It may erupt several times in one day and then go for months without an eruption. This story is more about photo preservation than original photography. The original image was shot on Ektachrome 64 in 1979. At that time I was putting slides in plastic pages and keeping them in 3-ring binders. I later learned that a plasticizer in the vinyl plastic could cause the coupler solvent in the film to migrate to the surface. I quit buying vinyl pages, but I failed to purge all of the old sheets from my collection. When I pulled out this slide in the 1990s intending to scan it, I found many oil droplets on the slide. Some people have had success wiping the oil away and washing the film. I decided to apply editing tools. I used the spot healing tool a few hundred times and cropped the slide to avoid one group of droplets.

CASTLE GEYSER YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Castle Geyser is noted for long eruptions on an infrequent schedule.

FALL RIVER IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

If you get off Trail Ridge Road and take the Fall River Road (one-way westbound) up to the crest of the rocky Mountains, you will pass several cataracts and waterfalls. The Trail Ridge Road is great for distant vistas. The Fall River Road is far more intimate.

TRAIL RIDGE ROAD, HIGHEST CONTINUAL HIGHWAY IN US

One of many stunning vistas from the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

TRAIL RIDGE ROAD, HIGHEST CONTINUAL HIGHWAY IN US

One of many stunning vistas from Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park