El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico The sandstone bluffs of El Malpais National Monument provide a panoramic view of the volcanic landscape in the high desert below. But I was particularly taken with this pine tree growing out of a crack in the sandstone. The soft lighting seemed to accentuate its loneliness. There were lightning storms off to the west, and the cliffs are susceptible to lightning strikes, so I kept a close eye on the storms’ movement while I took this photo.
El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, August 2013 A wider view of the pine tree standing sentinel with the meandering storm in the distance. An hour later, that storm was unleashing lightning on these cliffs. Fortunately, I had already retreated to safer ground.
Bryce Canyon, Utah Those hoodoos in the foreground are amazing, glowing in the reflected light of this early April sunrise. The snow had arrived the day before and made the brilliant orange colors even brighter. This is really an amphitheater rather than a canyon, but who cares? The colors were vibrant and the air clear and crisp.
