Tucked quietly away in a canyon near the Northern California shores is the Redwoods National Park, a forest of immense trees that visitors don't soon forget. Hundreds of years or perhaps even a millennia old, these trees have survived everything that man and nature has thrown at them, except logging. When the gold rush petered out mid-1800's, miners took to harvesting the nearly 2 million acres of giant redwoods and their success nearly cleared California of them. The Save the Redwoods League was formed in 1918 and in 1968 the Redwoods National Park was created for their protection. The remaining redwoods have been thriving ever since.
Though photos never do these towering giants justice, they can be vivid reminders of walking the forest and the feeling of awe from even a short visit. To paraphrase Danny Glover in Grand Canyon, "Yeah, those trees are laughing at me, I could tell. Me and my worries. It's real humorous to that old forest." This should be on everyone's bucket list.
You can purchase framed or canvas prints of this photograph at Imagekind:
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Hesperis matronalis is a flowering plant native to Eurasia, with several varieties located in Greece and Turkey. Imagine my surprise when I looked up this wildflower I discovered on a photo jaunt in Eastern Kansas. It seems that they now reside, scattered, throughout the Midwest, having been included in many gardens in the area and expanded in this rich agricultural region. The biannual flower is also known as "dame's rocket" and, per Wikipedia, its scent "becomes more conspicuous towards evening."
I love to photograph wildflowers but this was more delightful find than most.
You can purchase framed or canvas prints of this photograph at Imagekind:
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The Oregon coast provided many epic shot during our journey and exploration there in 2019, so many that I'm having a difficult time choosing my favorites. This photo was taken near the Sea Lion Caves off the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101). It made the cut because of the interesting combination of a single windblown wave and a rocky cliff side sporting moss, shrubs and flowers. That the ocean was exceptionally blue that day didn't hurt.
You can purchase framed or canvas prints of this photograph at Imagekind:
imagekind.com/a-pacific-wave-dsc_art?IMID=7e63e1e0-3328-4aef-bf59-2c7da1c7ff50
Part of the reason we love the Badlands in South Dakota is the unexpected beauty we found there upon our first visit. I had always pictured the region more like scablands, full of tight canyons and crevasses with minimal vegetation, nearly impossible to cross and perfect for outlaws to evade capture.
Even Wikipedia describes "badlands" with that vision: "They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation... and high drainage density. They can resemble... a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, buttes, mesas, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. They are often difficult to navigate by foot." To the contrary, we found South Dakota's Badlands region to be layered sandstone hills and valleys with the greenest vegetation that we have seen anywhere, at least in spring and early summer. We even boondocked (dry camped) on a cliff's edge of a Badlands canyon one summer, an amazing experience, and are looking forward to our next visit.
You can purchase framed or canvas prints of this photograph at Imagekind:
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AuthorJack Huber has taken thousands of photographs around the country and in his foreign travels. Archives
March 2021
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