Eklund Lake - Bridger Wilderness

The Jim Bridger Wilderness is one of several wilderness areas in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. This heavily glaciated range includes Gannett Peak, the highest in Wyoming. The tendency is to think of the Grand Teton as the highest, but this range to the southeast of the Tetons contains several higher peaks. This is rugged country, with huge changes in altitude and glaciers in the cirques of the highest mountains. Most of this area is above timberline, which is at about 10,400 feet above sea level at this latitude. This makes for stunning scenery, especially so near any of the glacial lakes left behind when the ice retreated during the last Ice Age. A Wyoming non-resident fishing permit runs about $14.00 a day here, but the fishing is well worth the price. Most of the area is accessible only on foot or by horseback. During our recent visit there, we met people on the trail from all over the world. All of them felt fortunate to be there and were glad the area had been set aside for wilderness use. We were able to get out just ahead of a heavy August snowstorm, but I am already planning and looking forward to our next trip back.

Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado

Years ago, when I was about 12 years old, my parents took our family on a drive to Denver to see my cousins. From that entire trip, I remember only a few things; the Denver Zoo, the Moffat Tunnel, and Rabbit Ears Pass.Having just visited the area around Rabbit Ears Peak, I now know why I remembered this area. Late July and early August must be the perfect time to see wildflowers in full bloom. We found this meadow just off the old US Highway 40 and were taken aback by the profusion of color. This scene was not an isolated patch of flowers, but was instead a small piece of a large meadow fully in bloom. This could have been part of any botanical center across the west, but was totally wild area with no attempt at cultivation. As we hiked around the area, every meadow had it's own set of flowers playing a starring role, but every one had a show going on. We were glad we chose this time of year to visit, and look forward to returning again.

Teton Range at Sunrise

When I first started my own business, I was fortunate to be able to perform much of my work in the Jackson, Wyoming area. My customers included several in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton area. One night after working through the night at Flagg Ranch in between the two parks, I headed back towards home. Over the course of my time working in this area, I had seen some pretty amazing scenery. I had witnessed the sun coming out after an afternoon rain complete with rainbow and streaming rays of light against the backdrop of the Gros Ventre Range. I had watched magnificent eagles in their flight over the Snake River. I was able to see the sunlight glistening on freshly fallen snow with the temperature at -40' F at Half Moon Lake. But I didn't really own a very good camera then, and finances were such that even if I did, I couldn't afford the cost of developing the film. This night was different. I had bought my first 35mm camera about six months before and this time I had it with me. As the first rays of light began to lighten the sky, I noticed that the very tip of the Grand Teton was catching the light. I pulled my work van over to the side of the road and set up my camera, not on a tripod, but on a Park Service sign and set the camera for a long exposure. When I developed the film, I was surprised to find the whole range illuminated by the early morning light. The camera had captured the whole scene, not just the highlights I had seen with my eyes in the early dawn. I felt that I had somehow cheated in the taking of this picture. Now I realize that just as my grandmother had tinted my grandfather's early pictures, I was allowing the dawn light to fill in the palette of the view I knew was there from my experience.

Maidenhair Fern - Zion National Park, Utah

It was a rainy day with bad light and all the pictures I took that day were kind of blah! Most of the pictures had little contrast, and while the canyon was beautiful in the rain, nothing seemed to work out. We were walking in the warm rain and came across a small waterfall where a small spring came out of the cliff. This tiny sprig of a maidenhair fern was bouncing in the wind and would ever so often dip into the cascade, and then rebound out with a few droplets of water clinging to it's surface. The motion caught my eye and I was drawn to the sight. It's funny how even in a drab day, you can pick out small bursts of light and energy. I wonder sometimes if that is how my life is. I trudge through the weary day burdened by my thoughts of this or that thing that I need to get done, and forget the reason the I am here on this earth - to experience joy. In any event, this little fern brightened up an otherwise dull day for me.