With the autumn equinox upon us, ushering in the arrival of fall, I thought I’d revisit the spectacularly photogenic spring and summer we had in California. Just like back in 2017, a record-setting snowfall gave us a bounty of wildflowers and a torrent of waterfalls.

I was lucky enough to be able to travel to some of the state’s wildflower blooms, ranging from the angelic magnolias of San Francisco…​

…​to the otherworldly cactus flowers of the Anza-Borrego desert.

Who could forget the the California golden poppy, the state flower itself? It bloomed in abundance all throughout California, such as here at Coyote Hills overlooking the bay.

Later in the spring, I hiked to wildflower blooms along the coast. The first, Mori Point, is one I’ve hiked at many times in the past years. This time, it was unfortunately on the foggy side, but you can’t deny that it makes for dramatic scenery.

Nearby in Pacifica is Rockaway Beach, where I could glimpse wildflowers against an equally dramatic sunset.

Further down the coast in Half Moon Bay, I found I wasn’t the only admirer of the views.

Switching now to waterfalls, the first waterfall hike of the year was at Uvas Canyon, a favorite Bay Area hike for waterfalls.

I also ventured out to the Mt. Shasta area, same as back in 2017. This time around, I visited Hedge Creek Falls, a beautiful little waterfall surrounded by basalt columns. You can even walk behind it!

Another trip was to June Lake in the summer. Usually, getting there from the Bay Area would take you through Yosemite and Tioga Pass, but the snowfall had still closed off the pass. Going through Sonora Pass instead, I came across this waterfall just off of the highway.

Moving on to another part of the Sierra Nevada, I visited Lake Tahoe where I hiked the Pyramid Creek trail for the first time. It’s a wonderful hike with beautiful views of the river all throughout, culminating in the spectacular Horsetail Falls.

All in all, it was a spring and summer that I won’t forget anytime soon. I’m looking forward to the cooler temperatures of autumn and the colorful foliage that awaits. Nature never ceases to amaze, any time of the year!

I’ve started a new section in my gallery for my newest hobby, astrophotography! There are different albums for the various kinds of deep sky objects like galaxies or nebulae, as well as nighttime landscape photos. It’s a little bare at the moment, but I hope to fill it over time with beautiful images of the night sky. Enjoy!

This past September, I had the chance to visit three beautiful parks: Mount Rainier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.

At Mount Rainier, the Skyline Trail is not to be missed. While definitely a strenuous hike, nearly every step on the trail rewards you with a scenic view such as this, and that’s barely an hour into the hike!

Yellowstone is a one-of-a-kind place, with hissing geysers, spectacular canyons, and lush valleys teeming with wildlife. It’s really the first time I visited a place with so many wild animals roaming freely (especially bison)! And while everybody thinks of Old Faithful when they think of Yellowstone geysers, my favorite actually turned out to be Riverside Geyser.

And last but not least, just one drive through Grand Teton National Park will quickly show why it’s worthy of the name: the majestic Teton Range can be seen from many different areas and angles, and each one will take your breath away. A particularly popular spot is Schwabacher Landing, where I encountered two actual wedding ceremonies, and at least three additional wedding photoshoots, all on the same day! It’s not hard to see why.

I feel lucky to have been able to spend multiple days at each one, enjoy fairly good weather, and come back with so many spectacular memories. Yet, there’s still so much to see and do at each park, and I look forward to my return visits!

I’ve recently uploaded albums from two cities I visited which could not be further apart, geographically and in many other ways. One is San Diego, visited in the Before Time(tm) during autumn (or as close to an approximation of autumn as you can get in sunny Southern California).

The other is Washington, D.C., which I visited earlier this year during spring cherry blossom season. While the alternating freezing cold and sweltering heat made this year’s cherry blossom season a bit unpredictable, I was happy to arrive just after peak bloom had arrived.

One thing they had in common: both cities and both trips were spectacular. In San Diego, I ate my fill of perfectly-cooked fish tacos while admiring the beautiful Pacific coast. In Washington, D.C., I spent countless hours browsing through the numerous museums on the National Mall or walking under cherry blossom snow along the Tidal Basin. Whichever side of the country I was on, I experienced the true joys of traveling.

One of the trips I managed to take last year was to Death Valley National Park. Winter is a great time to visit to avoid scorching temperatures, and if you’re lucky, the surrounding mountains will still be snowcapped. Just don’t mistake the salt flats at your feet for snow!

On the way to Death Valley, I spent a night in Lone Pine, CA. The "Gateway to Mount Whitney," it’s a popular destination for summiting Mt. Whitney and a resupply point for hikers on the John Muir Trail. I took the opportunity to visit the nearby Alabama Hills:

That’s Lone Pine Peak framed in the rock. It’s amazing to think that the lowest point in the contiguous United States (Badwater Basin in Death Valley, pictured above) and the highest point (Mt. Whitney, pictured below) are so close together!