Monument Valley, one of the most photographed places on the planet

Stradling the borders of Utah and Arizona, the Navajo Nation's Monument Valley is one of the most photographed places on the planet. Made famous by John Ford's movies from the early-mid 1900s, Monument Valley represents what many people picture as the old west.
 

The home of three very impressive natural bridges and a friendly tarantula

Natural Bridges National Monument, in the four corners area of southern Utah, contains three very impressive natural bridges, one of which is listed as the thirteenth largest in the world. Different from an arch, a natural bridge is formed by erosion via water flowing through a stream bed that slowly erode meanders, or goosenecks, in a stream to create the bridge. During this hike, while on the lookout for rattlesnakes, we encountered this tarantula while taking a break.
 

One of the finest examples of "entrenched meanders" in the world

 

This section of the San Juan River near Mexican Hat, Utah is called the Great Goosenecks. The photo was taken 1,000 feet above the river. The meandering pattern originated several million years ago when the river was flowing on a relatively flat plain and the entire Colorado Plateau was slowly uplifted. As the plateau was uplifted, the river cut downward creating the goosenecks.

The ancestral Pueblo People of Mesa Verde, Canyon of the Ancients, and Hovenweep

Around 1,400 years ago, long before Europeans explored North America, a people living in the Four Corners region chose this area for their home. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished in this area, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Then, in the late A.D. 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, they left their homes and moved away. Mesa Verde National Park, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument preserves the spectacular reminder of this ancient culture.

Hiking the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Known as one of the most remote places in the continental U.S., the Needles District challenges and inspires. Marvil at the cedar-colored sandstone spires, the steep box canyons, the lush deep valleys and watering holes, the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, the Colorado River’s Cataract Canyon, and the darkest skies in the United States. Practice your hiking navigation skills on some of the most primitive hiking trails in the National Park system along miles of slickrock.

 

What we see today began forming roughly 65 million years ago, Arches National Park

Arches National Park has the highest concentration of Arches in the world, with roughly 2,000 arches spread over the interior of the park. The largest arch has a span of over 300 feet. The area began as a dry seabed, and the now exposed sandstone was once buried thousands of feet below the surface. Ater many millions of years of geologic folding, uplift and erosion, we have the sandstone rock sculptures of today.

 

Capitol Reef National Park's starry, starry nights and stunning landscapes

We had the opportunity to spend the night watching the skies on one of the clearest, darkest nights I have seen in years. Capitol Reef National Park is renowned for dark skies, and the Park did not disappoint us. The park is also famous for stunning landscapes of sandstone canyons, cliffs, and domes. 
 

Great Basin bristlecone pines are considered "the world's oldest known living thing"

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Bristlecone pines found in Great Basin National Park and in the White Mountains of California are upwards or 3,000-5,000 years old.  The significant age attained by these trees is due to their unusual ability to adapt to the environment. Bristlecones often live in isolation, where trees of other species cannot survive.  Even after their death, they may even remain standing for thousands of additional years. This particular stand occupies a very narrow elevation band between 9,000-11,000 ft-msl on the slopes of Wheeler Peak, Nevada.

Lake Tahoe basin at night

At elevations above 8,000 ft-msl, hiking near the Lake Tahoe rim offers great stargazing opportunities. These two photographs were taken relatively early in the evening around 10 PM in the vicinity of Tahoe Meadows on the northeast side of Lake Tahoe. A thin cloud cover lingered and obscured some of the stars and bright Milky Way definition that would normally be seen this time of the year.

The morning ritual at Lake Tahoe, Nevada

 

The east shore has to be ranked as one of the best places in North America for paddle boarding. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the United States and with world-famous water clarity, the glassy water is ideal for paddle boarding. The lake temperature in August is a bit chilly at around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and will definitely wake you up with a misstep off the board. A great place to start early in the morning is at Sand Harbor State Park, and paddle south to many of the secluded, hidden beaches and rock formations along the protected, undeveloped shoreline.