Everyone has a different view, I suppose, of what symbolizes the greatness of America. To some it would be the skyline of New York City, while to others it might be the Golden Gate Bridge, or the rolling fields of corn of the midwest. To me, nothing is as iconic of the vastness, beauty and richness of our country as Yellowstone National Park, a section of our country that is unique in all the world for it's raw, unspoiled spectacular scenery, geysers and wild life. No greater complement could be paid to this place than that by a couple of visiting Austrians who were overheard by me to say, "This has got to be the most beautiful place on earth.", and that is no small complement from folks who also enjoy an abunance of natural beauty in their own country.

I never tire of going to Yellowstone, it is different in every season, and from year to year. This year (late June), I spent five days there with my son, Ron, who came all the way from Germany to accompany me on what may well be my one last trip into the backwoods of the Park.

There was still a lot of snow in the high country, but it was so green! There was a large variety of wild life to be seen, too. Buffalo, black bear, prong horn, coyote, marmot, elk, Grizzley (with cub!) and bald eagle, just to name a few. The only dissapointment was that our favorite fishing lake was still too wet around its parameter for us to access it. But it was a nice six mile round-trip hike! I hope you enjoy the photos.

I like the contrast here of the rain falling out of the dark cloud and the sunlit background reflected on the Yellowstone River.
Buffalo are about as common as dirt in Yellowstone Park, but they never fail to gather a crowd of people (mostly from back east). Never the less, the image of them says, "This is the West!".
It was lush and green in the valleys, and the animals all looked well fed after a strenous, cold and snowy winter. The higher elevations still had considerable snow, however. Very picturesque!

I went to the Hill AFB air museum a couple of days ago. I was happy to see they have a well preserved North American T-39 there. This was the last aircraft that I flew before I retired. Pretty, don't you think?

The law firm at which my wife works has offices which overlook temple square. I was able to get this shot of a view most people never see. This is actually a composite of three different photos. If you look closely you can see several people standing on the temple grounds and on the far end of the Church Plaza pool on the right hand side of the picture are a bride and groom. (Taken with a Canon SD1100 point and shoot I happened to have in my pocket.)

Flowers on Temple Square

If you're feeling a little down, get out of the house and take a trip to Temple Square. Although there is a lot of construction going on, both on the grounds and around the immediate area, the flowers are resplendant! Go in the morning, around 10:00 a.m. when the light from the east is filtering through the trees and flowers! If your spirit is not lifted, you're dead! (click on photo for a full sized version)

A Broader View

This is just a small corner of the grounds that are lavishly covered with Spring flowers of every kind.

Tulips of many colors

We are nearing the end of the tulip season. I will miss them...until next Spring!

SYMBOLS OF SPRING

After a period of intense (!) self analysis I have come to the conclusion that I get more pleasure out of what I see than most people do. I think I would die if I lost my eyesight.

I am always surprised that so many people are willing to spend a substantial amount of money to explore a new country or some beautiful location but are content to just look and have no interest in capturing it through photography. I think there are people who get their joy primarily from doing, and those who get theirs primarily from seeing. For example, some people, on seeing a beautiful sea shore, want to go surfing...I want to take pictures of it! Now of course most of us are not completely one way or the other, but I think we tip in one direction.

As I get older, I am becoming increasingly intolerant of winter. I am a color person, and winter is black and white. Here are a few photos that symbolize what is so wonderful about Spring.