Norris Geyser Basin panoramic image

The Norris Geyser Basin area, in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from a hillside at the southeast side of the basin looking northwestly over geysers and fumaroles. Of the many geyser basins in Yellowstone, Norris is the hottest. This northern part of the Norris Geyser Basin is called Porcelain Basin and the feature below us is Porcelain Springs. The colors in the hot streams come from different species of bacteria that can survive in high temperatures. Living things that can live in high temperatures are called extremophiles, and have been of great interest to biologists.

This image is the result of combining 2 images together and is at a 3:1 ratio. If ordering prints, make sure to keep that ratio in mind.

While we were hiking the trails around the Norris Geyser Basin, a couple of people wanted to have their picture taken with us, just because we're twins. So we accommodated them. Made us feel like celebrities.

It's not just a picture, it's a story!

The Slot, narrow canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in California. It's east of San Diego and is made up of many different sections with the town of Borrego Springs somewhat in the middle of  everything. One of the interesting natural features in the park is called The Slot. It's a very narrow canyon made up of dried mud, sand and gravel. In some places, you almost have to turn sideways or duck down to pass through. The drive to get to this feature involved a short segment of dirt road off of Highway 78. Once you get to the canyon, you have to hike to the upper end and carefully work your way down to the bottom on loose gravel and sand.

The day Rick was here, the sky was a bit cloudy with alternating sunshine throughout the day. The canyon generally runs east-west, so the afternoon sun lit up the vertical ridges of the canyon. While Rick was hiking the canyon, some GPS runners came up the canyon trying to mark the canyon with their GPS units so it could be accurately shown on the map. After they got beyond the narrowest part of the canyon to the wider section, they planned to turn around and head back down.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!