Kings Canyon National Park, California

Kings Canyon National Park was my final stop on my 51 day trip throughout the western United States and Canada. Wow am I tired! After 6,210 miles, eight American National Parks, two Canadian National Parks, and lots of places in between, I am finally home!
Zumwalt Meadows, in Kings Canyon, is a gorgeous green meadow surrounded by rugged mountains and the Kings River.
This little guy would not stop staring at me. He sat there perfectly still, probably wondering who the heck I was and what was I doing taking his picture.
Roaring River Falls in Kings Canyon National Park is one of the most spectacular places in the canyon. It is an incredibly forceful waterfall that rushes through a narrow granite chute and crashes down into a pool of water. Quite a sight. I have probably been to Kings Canyon at least a dozen times, and each time I go, I stop at Zumwalt Meadows. From the Zumwalt Meadow boardwalk, North Dome can be clearly seen, rising so proud and tall above the valley floor. Thunderclouds are a common sight in the canyon and often bring with them a quick cloud burst of rain. In early summer, the Kings River is usually raging full and absolutely beautiful as it rushes through the canyon. One of my favorite pastimes in the canyon is to jump in the river and swim. At Roads End, there is a huge rock known as the John Muir Rock, where Muir actually stood and preached to the crowds. Today people of all ages, including myself, stand on the edge of the rock and jump in the water, then float down the river a bit before crawling out over the rocks to the shore.Of all the times I have visited Kings Canyon, this was my first time to see Grizzly Falls!
Giant Sequoias in Grant Grove, at the upper end of the Canyon. Sort of puts your life in perspective when you stand at the base of the trees and look up.

Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

After leaving Mt. Rainier National Park, I had the bright idea to drive down the Oregon coast and camp along the way. My first stop was the quaint town of Florence. The one drawback was that everything was covered in fog. I patiently sat in this lovely coffee shop, drinking Latte's and working on my pictures while waiting for the fog to clear.
Old pilings line the riverbank; the remains of the original ferry landing. The fog is resting so beautifully upon the bridge, trees, coastline and unfortunately upon all my plans.
Small bird boxes rest in the pilings of the old ferry, inhabited by many inquisitive little birds!
After a while, I got in my car and started driving past miles and miles of sand dunes covered with ATV's and dirt bikes, hoping the fog would lift off the Oregon coast; but alas it was still hiding in the mist. I abruptly changed course and started driving to Lassen Volcanic National Park and on the way found this awesome spot to swim at Bear Creek. Very cool, very relaxing!
At last I made it to Lassen; a beautiful park filled with frozen lakes, smoking fumaroles, volcanic mountains, rivers, lakes and snow covered Lassen Peak. The peak in this picture is actually called Brokeoff Mountain!
My first campsite at Manzanita Lake was crowded but also near the lake. Early in the morning I went down to the Lake and watched Osprey, Ravens, a Bald Eagle, wild geese and songbirds flying and squawking and singing all at the same time.
Parts of Lassen Volcanic National Park were completely snow covered, with just bits of ground exposed by the snowmelt showing through.
Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National Park was just beginning to melt, exposing the beautiful light blue color in the snow.

The trail out to Mill Creek Falls was filled with green meadows, forests of pine trees and blankets of yellow daisies.

Hiking up to Crags Lake was a bear, but worth the end result. People were swimming in the lake, but I forgot my swim suit and had to sit out and just watch. I did get to swim in Manzanita and Butte Lakes!
Forest fires have devastated parts of Lassen. It was delightful to see wildflowers and new growth underneath the burned out trees.
Giant dandelions were blooming everywhere in the burned out areas. Make a wish!
Frail wildflowers blooming in the midst of burned trees; life in the midst of death; hope in the midst of darkness; faith in the midst of unfortunate circumstances. Believe.
Early one morning I was out poking around and found this little bird nesting in an old hole in the tree, most likely made by a woodpecker.
Lassen Peak in all of its snow covered glory!
After leaving the Manzanita area, I drove over and camped at Butte Lake. That would be me enjoying the twilight and warm fire. It was wonderfully peaceful there; a moment in time I will always remember.
Cinder Cone is a cinder cone volcano that is just waiting to be climbed. The trail began right across from my campsite, so after I set up my camp, I walked over to the trail. It was downright ominous standing at the base. Lucky for me Dr. Eugene arrived at the base the same time I did. We encouraged each other that we could make it to the top, so off we went, with Dr. Eugene in the lead.The trail is difficult to say the least; made up of loose scoria which is kind of like ground up gravel; easier to walk on then sand, but not much easier. It is an abrupt 700 ft elevation gain as you walk up to the top, but as you can see I made it!
It felt like I was standing at the top of the world as I looked down into the crater of the volcano. You can actually walk down into it, but that also means you have to walk back up; I was so done with that.

Some of the loose lava rocks at the top; so pretty!

Looking down into the crater; kind of spooky. The view at the top was outrageous. In the background you can just see Lassen Peak, to the sides are the Lava Beds and Painted Dunes. Incredible feeling.

Down in the Warner Valley, there is quite a bit of volcanic activity. Boiling Springs Lake has steam rising from the surface, as well as hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles along the western shore. I half way expected to see a dinosaur emerge from the shadows.

On the way out to Devil's Kitchen in Lassen Volcanic National Park, I found this handmade waterwheel turning round and round in the little stream.

The trail takes you through nearly a mile of lush green meadows. I was alone crossing the meadow and it sort of felt like the Sound of Music; but no singing. Devil's Kitchen is filled with the stench of sulphur, smoking fumaroles, steam vents, bubbling mud pits and milky white hot streams of water. You can safely walk through the area on established trails and boardwalks and look down at the red and yellow cracked ground, feel the heat from the steam vents and hear the weird sounds of bubbling, plopping and belching filling the air; a perfect heaven for boys.

Mt Rainier National Park, Washington

Celebrating the 4th of July with Cindy at a good old hometown Enumclaw Parade, complete with marching bands, a children's bike group, trucks, handsome men, animals and little ponies all decorated in red, white and blue! Terribly good fun. The parade was free from rain, but that night, down it came!
Two beautiful women and one little pony dressed to the nines.....
One very proud motorcycle rider who stopped and posed for me so I could get his picture!
Boys and their toys; men just love a good truck!
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington; one of my favorite places on earth.
Finally I have found sunshine after nearly 4 weeks of rain, it was wonderful. Mt Rainier is in the background, covered in snow and ice.
On the way to Paradise, I stopped at Nickel Creek, climbed down the mountain and crawled through brush and trees to get this photo of Nickel Creek. Worth every bit of effort it took to get there.
Everywhere I turned there was a creek, river or waterfall filled to overflowing from the abundant winter snowfall melting. This is Falls Creek, on the way to Paradise.
Even after such an intense winter, spring flowers continue to bloom. Sort of a lesson for me; "Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5
Parts of the park were completely covered in snow and others were filled with lush greenery.
The Ohanapecosh River at the southern end of the Park. A clear, freezing cold river where I attempted to wash off some of my grime. I found a quiet spot and waded in up to my waist and nearly died from the cold. Then I stuck my head in and tried to wash my hair, splashed some water on my arms and waded out. By then I was nearly numb from the cold, but it was 80 degrees sitting on the rocks, so I dried pretty quickly all the while flicking huge ants off my towel.
Silver Falls; very incredible place right near the Ohanapecosh campground. I am completely astounded by its beauty.
One day Cindy and I got lost and ended up at Tipsoo Lake on the Chinook Pass. To take the picture I climbed around the lake and fell in the snow a couple times, saved the camera, and was able to get this shot of Mt Rainier reflected in Tipsoo Lake. Sunrise Visitor Center sits at 6400 feet and was covered in snow. All the trails I usually take had turned into cross country skiing, and me and Cindy only had our hiking boots. So we just climbed around in the snow, took some pictures and headed down the hill.
Mt. Rainier playing hide and seek in the clouds.
This is me at the White River getting ready to cross this little skinny log bridge to stand above the river and try not to panic.
One morning I woke up from a very bad dream. I was nearly in tears and it was only 5:30 am, but I got up anyway to shake off the pain. Through the trees, I glimpsed the pink mountain and raced up to the bridge to get some pictures. The memories of the bad dream faded away in the awesome beauty of Mt Rainier all dressed up in pink.
The picture above and the picture below are from the same viewpoint; sitting on the bridge in middle of the river with the spray of water splashing up in my face. The picture above is early morning, the picture below, middle of the day.

The bridge over the White River; a great place to sit and watch and think.

From the White River Campground, this view shows the grass covered moraine and the huge path below where the glaciers passed. The White River flows down the path, originating from the Emmons Glacier on Mt Rainier.

The big trees down at the Grove of the Patriarchs; some of these trees are a thousand years old. Imagine the stories they could tell.

Me and Cindy; my faithful friend and sister in Christ. She always has an open heart, a meal to share, a story to tell and a sincere love for others.

Early one morning I came across a herd of Roosevelt Elk crossing the road directly in front of me. I stopped the car and managed to photograph this female, hiding in the bushes. Me at my campground on the White River; you can see my tent in the background. Sometimes I sleep in my car, but if the weather is nice, I prefer my little orange tent; so comfy. At times it scares me when creatures roam about in the night and I hear them scratching and sniffing and looking around; kind of creepy.

Believe it or not, this little waterfall is in one of the campsites at the White River Campground! I didn't choose this site because of the pool of standing water that would soon become mosquito heaven; something this camping queen avoids like the plague.