zentkovichzb

[zentkovichzb]

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 

June 10th 

One last time in Colorado. Here I got to experience what seemed like three seasons all in one day, I had to change clothes three times. The bottom of the mountain was hot, the top was freezing, and the way back down was like fall. A great park to be the last.

[zentkovichzb]

Arches National Park, Utah 

June 9th

The last stop in Utah. Arches are a wonder to behold and very spectacular to look at. A good place to end my time in the West and head back East.

[zentkovichzb]

Canyonlands National Park, Utah 

June 9th 

Day two of Utah included two parks, the first being Canyonlands. The canyon looked very similar to that of the Grand Canyon just smaller of course. The cactus here were blooming and very pretty.

[zentkovichzb]

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah 

June 8th

My second time through Utah on my way back to Pennsylvania included a few stops, the first being Capitol Reef. Here’s where I finally started feeling the heat of the West that I was expecting.

[zentkovichzb]

Craters of the Moon National Park, Idaho 

June 7th 

Although being one of the smaller parks I visited, it was one of the most educational. This is an area where lava flowed, cooled, and stayed. It’s a fragile area that is negatively affected by visitors as shown in the text above. The balance between human enjoyment and preservation is an issue here more than some places because the lava is easily degraded and changed by human interaction. 

[zentkovichzb]

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 

June 6th 

Yellowstone is very famous for a reason, many beautiful aspects of this park including sights and diverse wildlife. I was also fortunate enough to see the geyser, Old Faithful, erupt however I did not capture pictures of it to include here. 

[zentkovichzb]

Glacier National Park, Montana 

June 5th

Trail of Cedars gave me some beautiful scenery for some great shots. The blue glacier water was a color I’d never seen naturally flowing before so that was a really neat experience. 

[zentkovichzb]

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

June 4th

This active volcano was a sight to see. Once again because of the amount of snow on the mountain, parts of the park were closed however I was still able to have a fun experience here, observing from afar. 

[zentkovichzb]

Olympic National Park, Washington 

June 3rd 

Within this park I visited the area called, Ruby Beach. The dark sand beach was new to me as well as all of the logs piled along the shore. 

[zentkovichzb]

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

May 31st 

Another cold stop on the trip. Although some of this park was closed as well because of the season, I was able to see Wizard Island in the middle of the deepest lake in the United States. 

[zentkovichzb]

Lassen Volcanic National Park, California 

May 30th

The last stop in my journey through California. Although most of the park wasn’t open because the time of year, most of it still being snowed in under 15 feet of snow, I was still able to see some hot springs that smelled like sulfur in one area.

[zentkovichzb]

Yosemite National Park, California 

May 28th 

My two favorite things from this park were being able to see straight through the clear water and seeing one of the world’s tallest waterfalls.

[zentkovichzb]

Sequoia National Park, California

May 27th

Hiking the Giant Trees Trail provides the opportunity to gaze at some of the world’s largest and oldest trees, including General Grant the second largest tree in the world. The information board pictured here shows how people reestablished the ecosystem after realizing the importance of conserving it.

[zentkovichzb]

Death Valley National Park, California 

May 26th 

The wildlife I was able to see in this park was very unique including plants and animals. One struggle I faced here was the speed of the wind picking up loose sand and hitting my skin. It was too hot to clothing that covered me so I choose to fight against the sand. 

[zentkovichzb]

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona 

May 25th 

The Grand Canyon is one of the most famous parks in the United States so obviously I made it out with some amazing pictures of the vast canyon.

[zentkovichzb]

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

May 23rd

The final stop in Colorado the first time around. An interesting aspect of this park was the sandstone that could be degraded just by touching it. There were also remains of houses that people who used to live in this area built.

[zentkovichzb]

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado 

May 22nd

Taking the South Rim Canyon drive provided many spectacular views of the black canyon that mixed beautifully with the blue sky in the background.