The next door neighbor to Arches, Canyonlands, is a National Park with a completely different geology. While the park does have a couple of solitary arches, Canyonlands is more known for its jaw-dropping terrain, where birds-eye vistas are meant to be laced with superlatives to describe the vast landscape with towering cliffs rising from the depths of the Colorado river exposing the geological history in its strata.
Hence Canyonlands was an obvious next choice to visit after Arches. Moab, which in those days was a sleepy town geared towards the occasional recreation traveler, proved to be an ideal base to explore both these parks (though I would have preferred to camp under the stars of Canyonlands). And compared with Arches, I was more enthralled by the monumental scale of the landscape in Canyonlands, replete with enough hiking trails and wilderness regions to last a lifetime.
Here is one such view of the vast open and yet geologically rich landscape of Canyonlands during a midsummer day.
Canyonlands National Park
UT USA
A National Park Journey - Arches National Park
On my very first visit to the heart of red-rock country, my mind just couldn't fathom the formations I had been seeing: arches of all shapes and sizes hewed out of smooth red sandstone, set in a landscape full of sinuous curved canyons where towering pillars of rock precariously balanced on narrow fins. This was Arches National Park, a place so bizarre that even listening to ranger talks didn't help my brain comprehend the diversity of forms that arose from erosion by water and wind.
I would return to this park multiple times, and even though it covered only a small area, I never felt like I got to experience the entirety of this unique park. I knew that one of the places I wanted to return to was Delicate Arch, pictured above, hewn out of a narrow slab of rock over thousands of years of erosion. Between getting the right weather and avoiding the crowds, it is not easy to shoot this formation while surrounded by the best of the La Salle mountains. This image is my take on this one-of-a-kind arch, and not pictured is a queue of about 50 people waiting to get their portrait taken by the arch.
Arches National Park
UT USA
A National Park Journey - Death Valley National Park
It took me a while to make my way to the Golden State's largest National Park, and that mainly because of how far away the park was, and how the name threw me off. But eventually, I did, and Death Valley was anything but a portrait of death. Instead, I explored towering sand dunes, crawled through narrow sandstone canyons, drove through narrow slots barely the width of a jeep, stood enthralled by the jeweled night sky, gazed from a mountaintop onto the lowest point in the continent and enjoyed the frivolities of an eccentric businessman.
It took me a while to experience these different faces of the park, but I thoroughly enjoyed each and every visit. My most memorable moments were, of course, spent photographing the park at sunrise and sunset. This is one such take from one of the sand dune clusters right as the first light caught the wave-like pattern of the dunes.
Death Valley National Park
CA USA
A National Park Journey - Yellowstone National Park
For all the hype that was Yellowstone, my first visit to this park, that was popularized by the various representations of Old Faithful in cartoons and movies, failed to live up to expectations. While the entire geyser basin with its innumerable hotsprings, geysers and colored thermal pools were otherworldly, it felt repetitive. Except for the Grand Prismatic Spring with its cornucopia of colors, Yellowstone didn't capture my heart the way Grand Teton did on my first visit there.
I really didn't grasp all the intricate machinations of Yellowstone until subsequent visits where I got to ascend mountain peaks that gave an overview of the vast landscape that stretched in all directions, and where I got to observe the intricate relationships between the flora and fauna, and between wolves, grizzlies and vast herds of bison. I realized at that point that Yellowstone offered far more than what met the eye: the complexity of the ecosystem and the unique land was far more than what I could comprehend. I don't think photos can ever do justice to this, but that didn't stop me from trying during those visits. This image was of a summer sunrise in Hayden Valley, with the morning rays catching the rising fog from the warmer waters of the Yellowstone River.
Yellowstone National Park
WY USA
A National Park Journey - Grand Teton National Park
By the time I had visited 9 National Parks, my itch to see more had started to grow. So when the opportunity to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton had presented in the summer of 2008, I jumped at it. Having heard more about Yellowstone, mainly due to the marketing prowess of Ol Faithful and its representation in the Yogi bear cartoon series, Grand Teton was merely an afterthought. But our path to Yellowstone took us through Grand Teton, and in retrospect, it was the best decision ever as I found Grand Teton to be far more enthralling than Yellowstone.
I still remember waking up early in the canvas tents of Colter Bay village, and walking up to the still shores of Jackson lake where I got to witness the first light of the day strike the jagged yet characteristic peaks of the Teton Range. From here, the prominence of the Teton Range, reflected fully on the lake, was just hard to comprehend; it stretched from horizon to horizon with alternating shades of snow and granite topping the undulating highline of the Tetons. I had to come back.
A few years later, I did, and I hiked along the Teton Crest trail, winding my way up and over mountain passes, along steep ridges and narrow shelves, and through beautiful alpine meadows nestled behind the mighty Grand Teton. It was an unforgettable trip, but permitting challenges make it hard for me to ever repeat such a trip again. This image is of a rainbow that appeared right after a thunderstorm hit a wildflower-laden meadow on the first day of the backpack.
Grand Teton National Park
WY USA
A National Park Journey - Mount Rainier National Park
I still remember my first visit to Rainier early one spring many years ago. I had driven along sinuous mountain roads enthralled by the lush vegetation along the lower approach. I had truly felt that I was in Paradise, which was also my destination for the day. However, as soon as I had breached the forest cover in Longmire, I realized that the trip was not going to be worth it as the the entire peak was hidden away in the clouds.
I had continued driving about 30 minutes up the road, hoping that the sky would open up. Instead, Paradise was just a gloomy rendition of a city park in the midst of winter: slushy snow substituting for the ground, gloomy skies and ground-level fog that nixed visibility and no hope of seeing the mighty Mt Tahoma. I turned around disappointed, vowing to come back again.
And now, living in the Pacific Northwest, I get to spy the mighty Tahoma on every clear day, and I get the opportunity to visit it few times every year as it is almost close enough for a day trip. This image was from one such return visit to capture the first light on Rainier reflected on a lake.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
A National Park Journey - Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah was my first exposure to the rolling Appalachians, and to my first National Park on the eastern half of the United States. It was a very different experience compared to the parks in the western half. Shenandoah was designed more for the automobile tourist, with beautiful paved parkways that snaked atop ridgelines coupled with generous pullouts for the best views of the blue mountains.
Except for the Appalachian trail, hiking and backpacking seemed to be afterthoughts. And since the Park was established long after the region developed, accommodations consisted of motels and hotels in the various communities that border the park. And in that aspect, it was very similar to its southerly brother - the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I had tried to time my visit, over a decade ago, to see the fall foliage. However, Mother Nature was a fickle beast, and only very small sections of the park showed any hints of color. Nevertheless, it was a memorable trip to visit such a venerated addition to the National Park System.
Shenandoah National Park
VA USA
A National Park Jouirney - Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen was not high on my priority list, but being reasonably close to home during my first few months in California, I decided to pay a visit to this National Park. Named for the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade range, the park offered a beautiful wilderness area dotted with pristine lakes and plenty of cinder cones, geothermal features such as geysers, bubbling hot springs and vents fuming with sulfurous gases, and challenging hikes that promised epic views.
While it doesn't carry the breadth of features and landscape found in Yellowstone, the combination of high alpine terrain and stunning hikes make it worthwhile to spend a couple of days exploring this unique National Park of California. I still remember being enthralled by the clear waters of the summit lakes, and the chaotic skyline of Brokeoff mountain and Chaos Crags. For the young visitor in me, the vivid descriptions provided to the different landscape features were enough to carve a special place for Lassen in my heart.
I returned a couple more times to the park to explore other areas and to capture an annular solar eclipse, but I would never forget the awe and wonder I had felt on my first trip.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
CA USA
A National Park Journey - Grand Canyon National Park
They say never to visit the Grand Canyon in the peak of summer unless one had a deathwish. And yet, that was exactly what I had done. Lacking any travel experience in the desert southwest and foresight to temper my hubris, my foolish brain assumed that Grand Canyon would be perfectly ok to hike in June. It took a deathmarch down and back up the canyon to realize the foolishness and audacity of what I was attempting.
My first glimpse of the giant gaping hole was jaw-dropping. In front of me was a canyon larger than what I had imagined, gouged by a excavator of stellar proportions. It was only later I realized that this impressive geological spectacle was the the result of flowing water acting on a land that was rising slowly over millennia. My brain tried and failed at making sense of the immense number of sandwiched layers that formed the terra-firma over which I was standing.
Hiking down the canyon helped provide an even better sense of perspective, primarily because the slow slog back up gives you plenty of time to admire the layered terrain on which the trail was laid down on. It can be easy to get lost ensconced in the rich topography, but the stench of fresh mule dung fermenting in the hot sun will snap you back to real life, and you will discover newfound energy that will help you scurry past those unforgettable droppings.
On my return visit to the park, I carried with me those experiences, and that helped me time my hikes properly, including setting up at the right location for sunset. This is one such view from the rim of the Grand Canyon, looking down at the river still carving its way down the canyon.
Grand Canyon National Park
AZ USA
A National Park Journey - Yosemite National Park
There is no grander a cathedral of granite than Yosemite National Park. Stepping into its hallowed halls with walls of towering granite from whose ledges gush waterfalls, is like stepping onto another planet. And while its star attraction, the Yosemite Valley, carries all the trappings of modern civilization, the towering geological features put the human efforts to tame it to shame.
When I lived in California, I used to visit the park multiple times a year, enough to observe the sharp change of seasons. But the summer in its mountains holds a special place in my heart. In the summer, my favorite place in Yosemite, however, was not the valley, but the high Sierra terrain. Far away from the maddening crowds, the quieter pace of the delicate alpine terrain offers an opportunity to slowdown and admire the small flowering plants as well as the iconic granite peaks topping above the forests. And at night, the higher altitude affords an humbling opportunity to observe the night sky far away from sources of light pollution.
This image showcases the night sky during one such summer visit.
Yosemite National Park
CA USA