Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Her name isn't Rudolf

I don't have any reindeer pictures, so this is as close as I can get.

Merry Christmas to everyone.



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Another Tetons Cabin

Just another cabin at the base of the Tetons.




Just another settler's dream.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Another Backyard View

Cunningham Cabin
Grand Tetons National Park

Just another cabin.
Just another back yard.
Yes, I wish I had lived here.
Yes, I realize how hard they had it.
No, I probably couldn't have made it.

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Other Grand Canyon

This is the Grand Canyon, but not  the one most people think of when they hear that name.

This is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's in Yellowstone National Park, and to me even though it's not as big or well known as the other one with that name, it's one of the most majestic sights I've seen.

I've been there twice, both times cold and windy, and both times magical. This view has inspired many artists over the years and it's easy to see why. The roaring river flowing through the many colored rock canyon walls isn't easy to portray with a camera or brush, but many have tried.

This one is on my list to try again. I won't get tired of this place.


By-the-way...This image was taken this last May, just after the roads were open to get to it, and just before the roads closed again for a late spring snow storm. We just caught the timing right.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Home is More Than Where You Live


Wispy Clouds Over Mormon's Row



I don't live in a fancy house. It's an old, small house near the shores of Lake Michigan. The roof leaks whenever it feels like it, and I can't keep up with the peeling paint. But it's a comfortable house.




This image is of a barn that stands just outside the boundaries of The Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming. There's a small group of barns and other buildings still left from the days in the 1800's when the Mormon settlers built them. They’re still there for people like me to use as props for our pictures.

I wonder if the men and women who dared crossing this country looking for a better life ever thought the homes and farms they would build would last long enough to become a tourist attraction. What would they think of us leaving Michigan in the morning and taking a picture of their homes in the afternoon? I complain about the size of the airplane seats and the long lines I have to wait in at the airport. I doubt they complained even that much about their months in a wagon and the lines of mountains they had to cross.

But they made it. They built their houses and raised their families the way they wanted to, and where they wanted to. My house has been a pain to keep up with over the more than 25 years we've lived there, but it’s where we've raised our family. It's where they still come back to and it's where things feel right to me.

But I wouldn't mind this view out my back door


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