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When I am in Humboldt County I always love to visit the coastline of Trinidad which is 20 minutes North of Eureka.  It is the Rocky Pacific Coast like that of Oregon.  The scenery is amazing and when walking also a bit inlands you find lagoons, swamps, moss covered forests and then eventually Redwoods up the mountains.

Here are some photos of the Coast:

And here are some views of the what the land next to the coast looks like.  This is an area a bit North of Trinidad where we hiked Fern Canyon.  Very cool.

To give you a feel for how it looks on the coast when you look inlands, here is a panorama view:

Now, there is more to see when you get into the Redwoods.  Here are some views in one of the parks South of Eureka.

More to come.

Puye Cliffs is a very nice hidden gem and is very close to Los Alamos which is very close to Santa Fe.  These are Native American built into cliffs and also on top of the cliffs.

I had seen this before but was not able to on top of the cliffs to view the bigger town.  Great fun and especially with a terrific tour guide.

Images for you:

The way it is situated (the village is on top of the cliff):

It is a wonderful place to spend the morning.  The views of the Rio Grande Valley from op top of the cliffs are amazing.  I saw it when a rain storm came in and that was very cool as well.

Enjoy.

Another nice reason to visit the Santa Fe area in the Fall is because the cottonwood are in Fall colors.  This means that everywhere you have creeks and rivers (like the Rio Grande !!) you have the cottonwood trees alongside them and then they then are completely yellow.  Now, that color is amazing against the clear blue skies at 5000 elevation and the rock colors.

Have a look:

Here is a panorama to give you a feel for what it looks like when you look around:

As I mentioned, the colors around the Rio Grande river are amazing.  Here is view of the river that is narrower and closer to the Rio Grande Gorge (closer to Taos).

Also, when you drive towards the mountains (here the Sandia mountains) the drives through the desert landscape are terrific:

I love such big sky views.  Very relaxing and then with good music playing or just no sound at all is the best way to chill.

One of my favorite places to visit in the Santa Fe area is the Valles Caldera, a rim of a huge vulcano that erupted here many centuries ago.  You can see the crater in the Netflix series Longmire.  It is where his ranch his and you see him looking out on the caldera with the little cone coming up.  By the way, almost the entire series is shot there as I see all the places I have visited.  Very nice experience when watching a show that is also excellent.

Have a look here in the photos below.  It is absolutely beautiful.

Another area that is wonderful to visit are the desert badland areas.  I did this time not go to Bisti badlands as that was quite long drive.  I wanted to keep it relaxed this time.

Have a look at the landscapes:

The landscapes are serene and dry and in the Fall it is not too hot.  So it is wonderful to just sit amongst the structures and meditate and admire them.

Enjoy the views.

More to come.

Hi everyone, sorry for the long wait.

Times have been very busy at work but in October I was able to get out to New Mexico for some photography.

I had not taken any time off thus far in the year due to the new job and my move.  Now, it is time to pick up the old rhythm.  As always, I will show you some of the photos of the trip:

Here are some photos of the church in Santa Fe.  I love that basilique.

The images on the door are beautiful and I added some detailed photos as well above.

I also attended a mass and this is so serene.  Together with the atmosphere of the town this is treat.

Hi again,

Some more photos to share with you of the many volcanic and mud pools you can see here.  Some of these are from visits to Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin.

and panorama views:

Next, here are images of the upper terrace at the Mammoth Hot Springs, the mud pools at the Artist Paintspots, and, of course, a photo of Old Faithful Geyser.

and a nice panorama shot of the blue pool at the Midway Geyser Basin:

In the next post, there will be some wilderness shots.

Enjoy,

Johan.

Hi again,

One of the most exciting things for me in Yellowstone are the various volcanic pools with all those bacterial colonies and biofilms that create all those beautiful colors.  Of course, as a chemist, I love the smell of sulfur and also the feeling the heat of the steam coming from the pools.

Here are some views of the Lower Geyser Basin and the Biscuit Basin:

The colors are amazing.  You see also the steam coming out of the vents and pools and it is very hot and smells like sulfur gases.  Cool !

Here are two panorama shots:

To be continued.

Hi Everyone,

I needed to be in Montana and had a free weekend afterward.  I added a few days to it and decided to spend all days in Yellowstone National Park.  It is long overdue and planned many times before.  It is always out of the way from where usually vacation and used to live.  But now that I live in Illinois, it is a short flight from Chicago O’Hare.

First thing to say about the park.  It is absolutely stunning.  I am a big fan of volcanic activity as you may he deduced from prior blogs.  Well, Yellowstone is the world’s largest Super Volcano.  I love mud pools and geysers and so I had to go.  I stayed in the town of Gardiner, right at the North Entrance and right there at the Mammoth Hot Springs.  Here are a few pictures of the Mammoth Hot Springs:

Also, panorama shots worked very well here to capture the vast scenery:

I will follow this blog entry with other ones, focussing on several volcanic areas and beautiful Falls that I visited.

Enjoy,

Johan.

Hi Everyone,

It is full summer and wonderful get out and about to explore where I live.  I had a wonderful friend visiting me on the July 4th weekend and together we explored various areas around here.  In particular, we visited the Wisconsin Dells which is a very special natural spot.  Beautiful lakes and rivers and walking paths with many rock formations.

The location is an hour or so north of Madison.  Easy ride to get there:  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wisconsin+Dells,+WI/@43.5891856,-89.7768002,11.38z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8807493e07cb769d:0x4acd26cd280b3378!8m2!3d43.6274794!4d-89.7709579?hl=en

The town is very cute with lots of fun stuff to do.  It is the water slide capital of the world (well US, at least).  There is lots of fun shopping (no chain stores) and nice restaurants.  Perfect for the family.

Here are some photos of what it looked like during a boat tour on the Wisconsin River.  It is fun as you get out on islands but also at the Witches Gulch, which is like a pathway through eroded rock.  The first 3 of the 4 last photos show the path.  Very cool.

Also, we went to see a baseball game with July 4th fireworks and explored Kenosha lake front as well as the North Dunes Nature Preserve in Northern Illinois, right on Lake Michigan.