Photos
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Clearing Blowdown on Conasauga River Trail
The most satisfying parts of volunteering with a Forest Service Trail Crew (specifically the amazing Cohutta Wilderness Trail Volunteers) is the direct connection between work and result.
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Salaam Springs at Grant Park
Salaam Springs (aka “The Pond”) is the main only water feature in Atlanta’s Grant Park. It’s not huge and it’s more of a stormwater catchment than a landscaped lake TBH. However, it was re-built & re-landscaped a few years ago with a viewing deck, a working water fountain, and native plants around the edge.
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Conasauga River in Summer
Conasauga River in Georgia’s Cohutta Wilderness, Chattahoochee National Forest
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Boiling Springs Lake at Lassen Volcanic National Park
Boiling Springs Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park is exactly what the name says. It’s absolutely fascinating to see. It’s accessed via a short hike up the Warner Valley. Also, the Pacific Crest Trail goes right by it!
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Sequoia Tree in Ashland, Oregon
I stopped by Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon on my way Crater Lake National Park. First off, they have the loveliest city park. It’s great. Second, they have a small but perfect Japanese Garden (I’m a huge fan of Japanese Gardens). But third, near the Japanese Garden, they have a full-grown Sequoia tree!
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Redwood Grove
On my visit to Redwood National Park, I learned that Redwoods generally grow in a grove around a “mother tree” – so you’ll often get this cluster of tall trees around a mega tall tree…or a giant shaded circle where the “mother” used to stand.
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Flying over Bay Area Suburbia
One of my favorite parts of flying is getting a true birds-eye view of the pattern of a large metro area. I found Northern California’s land use to be absolutely fascinating.
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Visiting the Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge has reached a rare status as a global icon—a distinction few places on Earth will ever achieve.
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Redwood Forest & Ecosystem
On my trip to Redwood National Park, I learned that the story isn’t really about the Redwood trees – it’s about the entire ecosystem, which is both under threat and at the center of conservation efforts today.
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Flowers on a Volcano
I took this photo atop Cinder Cone in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
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Boardwalk at Lassen Volcanic National Park
In Lassen Volcanic National Park, there is a trail headed up past Drakesbad Guest Ranch to Boiling Springs Lake. It goes through the Warner Valley, which is something out a story book…that has also been recently hit by a wildfire. The creeks, grasses, and trees are all just idyllic even with the burnt up trees.
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Redwoods
Sequoia sempervirens, known as the Coast Redwoods of California, are the most majestic & most perfect trees on Earth.
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Banana Slug Exploring Leaf Litter
Banana slugs are a hilariously adorable resident of the Pacific Northwest. On my trip to Olympic National Park and Redwood National Park. I was carefully looking for them in their perfect habitat. Never saw one. But then this guy shows up right at our door step in our cottage parking lot near Willow, California.
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View of Fantastic Lava Beds from Cinder Cone at Lassen Volcanic National Park
I first saw “Fantastic Lava Bed” on a map of Lassen Volcanic National Park and was like “ok, that’s a funny name” – but yeah, they totally live up to their name. They are huge, scenic, and quite fantastic!
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Elk Meadow at Redwood National Park
The Elk Meadow in Redwood National Park was, only a few decades ago, a giant paved lumber yard with trucks, oil spills, giant cranes, warehouses, and piles of felled old-growth Redwood trees. Now, the National Park Service has helped nature along and the land is a fully restored meadow with bubbling creeks and Elk grazing in the distance.
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Lake Delanor at FD Roosevelt State Park in Georgia
Lake Delanor is a man-made lake at the center of Roosevelt State Park’s cabin & campground area. It connects to the Pine Mountain Trail system and the picnic area. It’s lovely, peaceful, and a perfect setting for cabins & camping.
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Sunflower Farm in the Sacramento River Valley
Driving along I-5 in California, I was taken how seemingly every town was like the world’s producer of some random crop. We drove through a town that produces like 95% of the world’s apricots, another one that does rhubarb, another one that does sunflower seeds. It’s really incredible to see. Also, they all had huge bee boxes along the fields letting the bees do their thing.
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Black Bear Cub Waiting To Cross the Road in Six Rivers National Forest
I got to see a small Black Bear cub crossing State Highway 96.
On the same trip, I also had a massive male Black Bear dart across the highway in addition to weasels, birds of prey and more. The highway goes through some of the most remote areas that I’ve ever traveled through but still been on a State Highway.
