A mule deer buck with antlers in velvet.  Antlered animals grow new antlers every year and require a layer of skin called velvet to nourish the antlers as they grow.  By the end of summer the velvet dies off exposing the antlers for the mating season.

This buck was next to the road in Yellowstone National Park.

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

Moose at Moose in Grand Teton National Park

This bull moose was foraging in the Snake River near Moose Village in Grand Teton National Park.  Seems like an appropriate place for them...either that an appropriate name for the place.  Visitors frequently see moose in riverside forests and wetlands throughout the park.  This bull moose and a second one were visible from the bridge that crosses over the Snake River at Moose and were leading to quite a traffic jam as visitors stopped to hike over to see the moose among the willows.

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

Lone Star Geyser, Yellowstone backcountry, double rainbow

A double rainbow in the mist of the Lone Star Geyser in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.  A three-mile hiking/biking path leads to this geyser.  When we watched this eruption, only five other people watched it with us.  Contrast that with watching an Old Faithful Geyser eruption with perhaps hundreds of people.

This geyser's cone is listed in "The Geysers of Yellowstone" as being over 9 feet tall making it one of the largest cones in the park.  An eruption occurs about every 3 hours and is typically 30 to 40 feet high and can last more than 10 minutes.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California

A view of the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park.  These are the most visited of Death Valley's sand dunes since they're right next to the highway connecting Stovepipe Wells Village with the park's headquarters at Furnace Creek.

Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, and driest place in America.  These sand dunes are right about at sea level.  Two people are standing on the highest peak of the dunes in the upper right.

Remember.  It's not just a picture, it's a story.

California thunderstorm, lightning and a palm tree

During a thunderstorm in California on July 18th, 2015, Rick stepped out to his backyard and set up his camera on a tripod and set the exposure for 30 seconds, ISO 100, f8, 18 mm wide angle. Halfway through the first exposure, this lightning bolt sparked through the sky leaving a tracing that appears rounded and centered around a certain point in the sky. It also seemed to highlight the silhouette of the palm tree on the right edge of the frame. Rick continued trying more exposures after this first one, but none of the others turned out as "shocking-ly" good.

This image has been cropped to a 5x7 or 10x14 format.

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

Folded downingia at the Jepson Prairie Preserve, south of Dixon, CA

Folded downingia (Downingia ornatissima) is a flower in the bluebell family that grows in vernal pools in the Great Central Valley of California.  This specimen was blooming in the Jepson Prairie Preserve south of Dixon, California.  The wildflower gets its common name of "folded" from the appearance of the two upper petals.

We've been fascinated by the special flowers that grow in California's vernal pools ever since we were first introduced to them on field trips in college in the late 1970s.  Vernal pools are a highly threatened form of seasonal wetlands.

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

Yosemite Falls by moonlight, reflected in Cook Meadow's pool, with the Big Dipper above

This image was taken in June 2011,  when there was still a large pool in Cook Meadow. We tried to get pictures of the moonbow in Yosemite Falls, the lower end, then moved back farther, to the Sentinel parking area, to see if the upper falls showed a moonbow, as well. After getting out of the car, Rick noticed that Yosemite Falls was being reflected in the pool. After spending some more time examining the scene, he noticed that the Big Dipper was just above the falls, as well. This image is the result of 3 images being merged seamlessly together, was lit by moonlight and each image was taken for 30 seconds. You can see the reflection and a little of the bottom of the pool at the same time. It has been cropped to an 11x17 ratio.

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

Vernal Falls in Yosemite with a double rainbow

Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park with a double rainbow in the mist.  This was in early June with California in its fourth year of drought, but fortunately there was enough water flow to create the mist that causes the rainbows to appear.  This view is from the aptly-named Mist Trail. While I positioned myself to get the photos of the double rainbow, Rick stepped farther back on the trail and got a photo with the rainbow beside me.

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

Arch Rock near campground, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada is a geologists' and photographers' dream.  Among the red sandstone formations are a number of natural arches, including this one called Arch Rock near the park's campground.  In fact, this arch can be seen from the Campground Road at a parking area between the park's two camping units a short distance past the turnoff for Atlatl Rock.  This is not the view you'll get of the arch from the parking area, however.  Bob climbed up to and through the arch and turned around to get this view of it.

And here's a photo of Bob standing under the arch and touching the underside with his tripod to give you an idea of how big it is.

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

Tricolor Monkeyflower from the Vina Plains Preserve near Chico, CA

This tricolor monkeyflower (Mimulus tricolor) grows in seasonal wetlands called vernal pools.  This particular specimen was blooming in a vernal pool in the Vina Plains Preserve of the Nature Conservancy near Chico, California in the northern Sacramento Valley.  We were introduced to vernal pools while we were in college and have had a keen interest in them ever since.  They are unique to California and have been greatly impacted by agricultural and urban development.

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

Upper Graveyard Lake reflection, High Sierra, John Muir Wilderness

This photo shows the upper Graveyard Lake with the surrounding ridge reflected in its still water. Rick explored this area during a backpacking trip to the John Muir Wilderness in California's High Sierra mountain range. He camped at the lower Graveyard Lake the first night and hiked to this lake the next day. The wind was surprisingly calm in the late morning when this image was taken. The area gets the name of Graveyard Lakes and Graveyard Meadow farther down-slope because all the granite boulders that were left behind when the glaciers retreated after the last Ice Age, that the area seems to be filled with "tombstones".

Rick took this image as a vertical in an attempt to get the top of the ridge and its reflection in the water.

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

Snow plant in bloom in the Sierra, south of Yosemite

The snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea), grows throughout the Sierra Nevada and into the Cascade mountain ranges. Unlike other flowering plants, it grows from digested organic material in the soil, similar to a mushroom, and doesn't make its own food as green plants do. The flowers can emerge while there is still snow on the ground, thus the common name. The species name, sanguinea, refers to its blood-red color. It's in the heath family, which includes cranberries and blueberries, but it is not edible.

These snow plants were blooming south of Yosemite National Park in the Sierra National Forest. We were out looking for plants in the spring of 2013 and found these excellent specimens.

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

Lassen National Park's Cinder Cone in the morning, from the north-east

During the time of the Reading Fire, in August, 2012, we approached the Cinder Cone, Lassen Volcanic National Park's largest cinder cone. We thought we'd try to get a view of Mount Lassen from the top of the cinder cone by looking westward from it's summit. But because of the fire, there was too much smoke in that direction, so we only hiked half-way up before turning around. We had taken pictures of the Cinder Cone as we hiked toward it and as we headed away from it. After we got back to camp, we looked over the images and realized that this feature was dramatic by itself.

This image was made by merging 3 images together and then cropped to a 2 to 1 ratio. It would work well as a 20" by 10" picture.

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