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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.

Hi everyone,

As part of exploring the area, I started visiting some of the nice lakes here.  First one is Lake Geneva in Wisconsin which is quite large and you can take boat tours over it or take your own boat or just enjoying the water.  Here are 2 website with background information:

http://www.visitlakegeneva.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Geneva,_Wisconsin

Of course, here are photos:

Also, in Lake County Illinois, close to where I live there are some nice lakes to relax.  Have a look:

The last lake is so beautiful:

Today, I did some traveling around Fox Lake.  This is a large lake and perfect for boating, surfing and using the scooters as many people did.

The best way was to take photos over the lake from an overpass.  Unfortunately, there was not access to that.

I will be updating further.

Johan.

Well, a week ago I drove home on a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies.  I decided to stop by a nature preserve and go for a walk.  It is nearby where I live and I pass it every day on the way to work.

It is part of my goal of exploring places to see here in Northern Illinois / Wisconsin.

Here are few photos to enjoy:

Next week is a 3-day weekend and I will be getting out and about for photos.

Hi there,

Finally some time to get out this weekend.  The weather was terrific.  Clear blue skies but the air quite cool.  I love it that way.  It was time to get out and about and explore the area.  Also, I felt like exploring the area around where I live.  Very pretty.  We are in the early stages of Spring.

Have a look at the photos:

The farm is the Bonner Farm dating from about 1848.  So much fun to have on the property where I live.

More to come as Spring takes hold.