massive thumb-shaped rock slowly shifting from erosion

northern Montana

peeking up under the nodding flowers of imperial fritillaria stalks (lutea maxima)

northern shore of Guam

I'm standing at the top of Mount Haleakala in Maui as the sun is rising above the clouds. Although I'm in the tropics, it is below freezing here at two miles up and I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked. My day started at 1:30am to initiate the drive up the mountain in time for this event, and wasn't about to leave due to cold air. I got a good location scouted out and quickly set up my gear with some jumping jacks in between to keep the blood flowing. The sun seemed to be extra slow this morning (it must have been cold, also) and in time, I got the shakes from loss of body temperature. Fortunately, the event finally started in all its beauty and the cable release removed all my thermal tremors from the image.

I came across this friendly creature high in the Andes Mountains. As I began a quick set up for a photo, she came closer and more curious and I couldn't help but notice a seemingly happy expression.

i just couldn't pass up a side trip to Mars to grab a couple of surface shots! Or maybe i just happen to be inside a volcano crater and the surrounding red-rock landscape looks much like a Martian world.

At the local gardens, they not only have a wonderful display of flora, but they also have many woodsy paths that are well maintained for easy walking.