My top 24 photographs of 2024.
Being outdoors and capturing wildlife is my happiest place with a camera in hand. The worst weather conditions and most painful injuries can fade into the background when I’m locked in on an animal with my zoom lens. Shooting in the Chihuahua desert Then I return home with the camera, and go through the sometimes...
Experience Wonders of Wildlife and the Ancient Maya in Yucatán, Mexico
Home » Stories » Witnessing Chichén Itzá, Wonder of the World The iconic El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, at Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in Yucatan, Mexico. The massive step pyramid towers before a cloudy sky, illuminating the grandeur and texture ancient Mayan architecture. A series of ancient...
Photography from O’ahu, Hawaii in September
Family and work travel can be unproductive for many photographers. Fast-paced itineraries and going with the flow of a group make it tougher to spend time crafting the ideal image with perfect light and composition. So we take on a different kind of challenge - making something beautiful with a speedy snap. Managed expectations and...
Mountain goats on the McCullough Gulch Trail hike in Colorado
Something always stands between me and the goats. I haul all my stupid, heavy photography gear on my back for miles into thinning air, hoping I'll spot their white fur against the rocky ridges. Then, every time I see them, something terrible happens that keeps me from them. I nearly crap my pants on Grays,...
River reconnection: backpacking the North Fork Skokomish River Trail in Olympic National Park
Why would any sane, rational human being leave the comfort of their home with air conditioning and plumbing, strap 40 pounds of gear onto their back, and haul it 10 miles into the wilderness on foot to sleep on the ground, and eat dehydrated food for days? Under threat of bear activity and a “mountain...
Peru Creek: Crapping in a Bag & Other Stories
This is a story about defeat, joy, and grief. It is full of adventure and misadventure, with a touch of prescience. Twists and turns. Bathroom humor. Summit season 2022 was unsuccessful, but mountain season was a hit. Buckle up; it's a ride. This year has been a lesson in coping with the unexpected. Every trip...
Hiking Huron Peak 14er in Colorado
Fear has been a consistent companion in my life. At age 10, I negotiated my way out of the deep end of the pool during swim lessons at day camp. I was later than all my friends to take the training wheels off my bicycle. My lifelong friend Molly remembered me as an anxious kid...
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon in southern Utah is the last of the four national parks I visited on this road trip. (Prior parks: Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.) At this stage, I am equal parts exhausted, in awe of what...
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park was the major destination on my 3-week long national parks road trip. I dedicated the whole day to slow, quiet hiking and looking for beautiful scenes to photograph. As with all national parks, I saw only a small portion of it in the full eight-hour day I was there, but every...
Finding Perspective at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
I booked this cottage in Montrose, Colorado because I needed a place to stay close to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. But also because goats. Quaint farm lodging with goats beats lodging without goats 100 percent of the time. There were at least three different varieties of goats that the homeowners keep as...
Shiras Moose Sighting in Golden Gate Canyon State Park
On the way into Blackhawk, Colorado, where I was staying at a beautiful little cabin in the woods as a home base for my exploration of Rocky Mountain National Park, I passed numerous signs for Golden Gate Canyon State Park. I made a mental note to return during my stay. My friend and colleague, Belinda,...
“Humble Peak”
I'm terrified of heights. My partner asked me, "Then why do you do it?" (Hike to the top of tall mountains, he meant.) "Because I'm terrified of heights," I replied. All my life, I have lived in a mild state of fear. The fear of plummeting to my death from the edge of a cliff....
Camping & Hiking Quandary Peak in Colorado
We have isolated for months in response to COVID-19. All our trips have are canceled. Work jaunts to cities around the country for speaking engagements tabled. Celebratory vacations for my husband’s 40th birthday and my little brother’s 30th birthday overseas – canceled. It was relatively easy for the first three months to stay isolated, consistently...
Camping & Hiking in Summit County, Colorado
This Summit County, Colorado camping and hiking trip seemed like it had all the odds stacked against it from day one. It’s been more than a year in the making with our friends Lori and Ronnie. Last year, we had to cancel when our dog fell ill. This year, our friends nearly had to cancel,...
My First 14er: Pikes Peak, Colorado
Growing up, I felt like my bond with my brother Cody was close. Granted, our four-year age gap meant that we were in middle school, high school and college at different times, we ran in separate friend groups, and we didn't have much in common. Regardless, I have always felt a deep loyalty to and...
Desert Hiking Trip to Moab, Utah
This was the second leg of my annual solo hiking trip to Utah. I spent the last few days in Salt Lake City and then hit the road for the gorgeous four-hour drive from Salt Lake City to Moab. It was a beautiful change of scenery navigating from the damp, cool mountains of northern Utah to...
Visiting Salt Lake City & Park City in September
I try to get away every year or two for a hiking-based trip on my own. This year I escaped to spend some quality time in Utah. Other than my childhood visit to the Four Corners putting my foot across the state's border, I have only spent an hour or two laid over in the...