Travels 2020-2021

As I am writing this in June of 2022, I am just getting over (hopefully) my first experience contracting Covid-19. I am grateful to have only caught it now, after having two doses of the vaccine a booster. I am glad that it was not so severe that I couldn’t do anything, like put these photos from the last couple of years, beginning in January 2020 to December of 2021. Of course, I am really just lucky I had a job that I could do remotely and is not, in any day to day respect, essential. And I didn’t live with anyone at that time who was an essential worker, further reducing my chance of contracting covid. Lastly, I am lucky to have had easy access to the vaccine (thanks Silver City, New Mexico Wal-Mart!). All these factors, largely out of my control, gave me the ability to spend a lot of time in the last couple years travelling and spending a lot of time outdoors. I feel guilty about it because I don’t feel I earned these experiences, especially when so many people these last couple years have been suffering from this disease, from other diseases, depression, racism, severe weather due to climate change. It’s never a complete list. I admit that I felt really frustrated when I caught Covid because I felt I was missing out. But putting these pictures together has really made me realize I fortunate I am. It’ therapy. In a sense, photography has always been a kind of therapy for me, a way reflect on some present moment or scene—fleeting by nature—and being grateful for it.

The Waterpocket Fold and Henry Mountains, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, 2021
The Henry Mountains are one of the least-explored areas in the continental United States.
Little Death Hollow, Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, Utah, 2021
Little Death Hollow is one of my favorite little slot canyons, situated in the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, designated by the Clinton Administration in 1995 .
Ellen in Little Death Hollow, Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, Utah, 2021
Little Death Hollow, Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, Utah, 2021
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, 2021
Bryce Canyon has unique geology, even for Southern Utah, partly due to the elevation compared to surrounding areas. At 9,000 feet, it gets much colder than Capitol Reef or Zion, causing different types of weathering and erosion. Most of these layers are limestones, which particularly prone to chemical weathering, but the presence of other rocks more susceptible to mechanical weathering through fluctuation in temperature causes spectacular formations.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, 2021
Skeleton Canyon, Gila Wilderness, New Mexico, 2021
After Utah, we headed to Silver City, New Mexico for a month to soak up the sun and get into the Gila Wilderness, one of my favorite places in the world, and the first designated wilderness area in the United States. This is another kind of canyon country with different rocks and vegetation than Southern Utah. It's edges are Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, and in the middle are mountains covered in ponderosa pines. It also has hot springs, and this shot was taken on our way to way to the Turkey Creek Hot Springs.
Bark of a Pine Tree, Gila Wilderness, New Mexico, 2021
Cholla, Gila Wilderness, New Mexico, 2021
Gila National Monument, New Mexico, 2021
Gila National Monument is on the edge of the Gila Wilderness, and was created to preserve some spectacular archeological sites representing the Mogollon culture which existed in the Gila River area and as far south as what is now northern Mexico. This site represents the "Classic Mimbres Phase" between 850 and 1000 years ago, It was built near a well irrigated plane suitable for farming, which is how the settlement would have been supported. There are several other smaller sites up the Gila River, as well as rock art scattered throughout the region.
Chiricahua Saddle, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona, 2021
Chiricahua National Monument is a a hidden treasure. The mountains create a kind of island ecosystem in the middle of the Sonora Desert in Arizona. It makes for cool hiking above the surrounding hot desert, with sweeping views. The forests here, as in much of the Southwest, have been defined by forest fires and, although sadly rampant now, frequent fire are an important feature of the ecosystem. It makes for stark beauty.
Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona, 2021
Gila Monster, Arizona, 2021
I am always looking for wildlife when I am hiking, but some of the best I have seen have been from the road. This one crossed the road while we watched to ensure it made it safely. We were incredibly lucky, as gila monsters only spend 10% of their lives out in the open.
Craggy Gardens, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, 2021
In May I headed back to North Carolina. I always end up on the Parkway for the sweeping views and flowers.
Lower Twin Bridge over French Broad River, Tennessee, 2021
After kayaking the Pigeon River I found this great camping area in the Cherokee National Forest on the French Broad River. This is one of the oldest rivers in the world.
Southside Trail, New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia, 2021
On a trip back from West Virginia, I hiked up the Southside Trail, which extends up river from the put-in for the New River. Along this trail are old, now closed, coke ovens, used for refining coal to be used in steel production. In the early 20th century some of these ovens exploded killing many miners. Later, this area was used for isolating victims of small box.
The New River, New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia, 2021
The New River may be, ironically, the oldest river in the world.
Linville Gorge, Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina, 2021
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington State, 2021
I came back to Washington State in September 2021 to spend time with friends and family and do some backpacking. Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a gem.
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington State, 2021
Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington State, 2021
Megan and Kurt, Royal Basin, Olympic National Park, Washington State, 21021
Royal Basin is one of my favorite parts of Olympic National Park. On this hike we travelled into it via the Dungeness River, then up the edge of Mount Deception and down into Deception Basin, The next day we headed to the Dosiwallips River. The plan was initially to head from there to the Duckabush River, but after a wet day to the Dosiwallips River, we decided to head down river to the Dosiwallips River Road where Kurt arraged a ride out.
Diana, Royal Basin, Olympic National Park, Washington State, 2021
Tacoma, Washington State, 2021
During this time I was testing out a new camera, a Fujifilm x100v compact camera.
Free Vegetables in Tacoma, Washington State, 2021
I always loved Edward Weston's.shots of vegetables.
Fisherman in Buxton, North Carolina, 2021
Back in North Carolina, I headed to see the Outer Banks, barrier islands along the Atlantic Coast. This a popular vacation destination in the Southeast, though not as popular as Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
Sunrise, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, 2021
Model of the Kitty Hawk Flyer, Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, 2021
Actually seeing the place where flight was born, and a life-size model of the plane it was done, really gave me a lot of respect for what total daredevils the Wright Brothers were.
American Beautyberry, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park is an abandoned amusement park, which consisted of go-kart tracks and waterslide and ran from 1980 to 2010. It was slated to be reopened in 2013, but Hurricane Sandy caused so much damage that it couldn't be rebuilt. It has since been decaled a public nuisance. This graffiti makes me think of all the memories that people had in this place.
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
I generally love all types of abandoned or decaying buildings and infrastructure, from ancient sites to modern buildings. But What this place offered was particularly special in these fantastic lines that look very cool in black and white.
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
Waterfall Park, Rodanthe, North Carolina, 2021
The building clouds really add to this shot.
View from Elk Knob, Elk Knob State Park, Todd, North Carolina, 2021
This was my favorite sunset hike around Boone. Classic Blue Ridge Mountains.
Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, 2021
I first came to North Carolina to work for Appalachian State University, but once the pandemic hit I decided to find a permanently remote job.
Boone Fork, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, 2021
Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, 2021
Linville River, Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina, 2021
Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina , 2021
Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina , 2021
Appalachian State vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, 2021
I am not sure I entirely understand college football and especially college football strategy. This is the only App State game I went to, and by half time they were up by like 49 to 7. The second half, most of the crowd had already left and Louisiana-Monroe came back by 21 points and App only scored 10 points. But, the game was in a beautiful location, nicknamed the "Rock," and the crowd was fun to photograph and talk to. And of course it's good to win!
Fan at Appalachian State vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, 2021
Just before half time I was told "We could win by 100 points!"
Appalachian State vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, 2021
Fans at Appalachian State vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, 2021
Mural, Old Fort, North Carolina, 2021
This mural in Old Fort, North Carolina celebrates two of the town’s civil rights heroes: attorney George Sandlin and Albert Joyner, who tried to save a local Black school in 1950. Read about it here.

Nat

Krancus

photos | about | home

Travels 2020-2021