I've set up five pages of "My Favorites" so the loading time is not so long. So each page will have 20 pictures on it. This is page four.

A very similar picture, this time horizontally orientated, of Half Dome reflected in the Merced River in Yosemite National Park.

Half Dome is actually clearer in the river reflection than it is in the top half of the photo - this is not good photography technique!

This sunset photo is taken from just outside Zion National Park. These dramatic clouds rolled in and the sun could still be seen through them.

The look like the guy upstairs is mad at something and you'd better start praying!

I took a trip to Zion National Park with my Mom and Stepdad and stayed at a motel just outside the park. This is an evening view of the cabins we stayed in and the gorgeous walls of Zion being lit up in the background.

I like this becuase it looks like a peaceful spot with a lot of exploring and hiking to be done...which it is.

Banana Slugs - if you hike in the Redwood forests of California, you're going to see these! Personally I like that!

From this clear, close-up picture you can't tell how large this slug is, but from the Wikipedia link, it says, "The Pacific banana slug is the second-largest species of terrestrial slug in the world, growing up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long." I haven't seen one that big, but this one is easily six inches.

If you don't mind taking time, they are neat to watch as they move along, checking things out with their eye stalks.

It's been rainy lately, so I thought I'd go back to this picture it is appropriate for the weather....and of course there is a story, though in this case it's not exact and I'm probably exaggerating a bit, but here goes:

The Scene: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, among the huge redwood trees

Me: Sweetie pie, come over here and look at THIS!!!

Wife: (Suspicious already).... Yuck!!! What is it? STEP ON IT! Why is it coming into our camp?

Me: It's a banana slug!!!! Isn't it neat!

Wife: Make it go away!

Me: Okay, well it's just heading for it's home anyway. Let's leave it alone.

Five minutes later...

Wife: It's getting closer!!!! Make it turn! (yup it was about two feet closer to it's redwood tree, thus two feet closer to our tent).

Me: NO! It's just going home. It's harmless... It doesn't eat meat, it's not poisonous, it moves slow, let's just leave it alone. Besides, I want to watch it.

The wife stomps off....

Ten minutes later...

Wife returns..... Okay where is it?

Me: It's in it's home for the day. It won't come out again till it's cool and damp. (Neglecting to mention that it's home was in the bark of the redwood tree next to our tent.)

Wife: Well I don't want to see it again!

Me: (Muttering) Well that's not likely anyway...we don't often get to see banana slugs to start with....

My DW (devoted wife) wanted me to take a picture of her flutes to post on a web board where they were talking about musical instruments. She and I do not see eye-to-eye on what such a picture would be!

I like this artistic presentation, with the various flutes laid out and highlighted in the glass. It's much more interesting to my eyes than the flat, horizontally laid out flute picture that she likes (because it shows more details of the flutes).

From left to right, Casey Burns Irish Flute, Skip Healy Fife, Geimhardt Open Hole Flute, GK Piccolo, Haynes Open Hole Flute, Emerson Alto Flute.

Most people will think this is a sunset...it's not! It's actually the moon setting over the hills near our house.

I like that trickiness....

I was also lucky enough to keep the camera steady enough that it's in decent focus. Otherwise the city lights would be blurred.

Since I recognize the buildings, this is a nice picture for me.

After I had worked at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, and was a bit experienced at handling wildlife, we got the opportunity to take baby opossums home with us to raise and then let go back into the wild. We'd raise them until their body was about a foot long - by then they were big enough to survive.

While that was neat, they are actually somewhat nasty little critters! They have a lot of sharp teeth in that long snout and they move quite fast.

And they can use their hands pretty well - note this one hanging onto the cage for all it's worth!

Lastly, note the broken ruler... I had tried to measure one of the opossums when it was in the cage, but it turned on me to bite. In my haste to pull my hand out, I broke the ruler when it caught of the cage opening.

I like critters and this picture reminds me of the times raising and letting the opossums loose in the wild.

Sunset in the Polynesian South Seas from the deck of the Tahitian Princess. I've seen many beautiful sunsets (and a few sunrises) while on vacation. It just makes me go “Aaaaahhhh, this is the life!”

Two juvenile Turkey Vultures decided our back deck railing made a great morning/evening roosting location. We often see turkey vultures in our area as we live on a hill and they often use the thermal air currents for soaring (along with red tail hawks and other birds).

It can be quite interesting when you are out sunning yourself in summer and one soars over the house and then over you only 15 ft below. Especially when you are just waking up from a nap in the chaise lounge! Sometimes several will soar by like this. Usually I take it as a sign that I'm well done and it's time to head indoors, lest they think I'm really dead!

These two turkey vulture characters were something else though! Sometimes when I was eating breakfast I'd get up, turn around, and there they were, just ten feet away! Good thing the glass door was closed! A number of times I was quite startled because they flew in so silently - you wouldn't even know they were there watching you eating breakfast!

Most of the time they were shy and flew away when you tried to get closer, but if you were quiet and didn't make any sudden moves, they would sit there and watch you. I'm not sure who was more curious - them or me!

The other thing they liked to do was re-arrange the sea shells I had out on the deck. I'd collected a number of shells from beaches and had them nicely laid out. I guess they didn't like my arrangement, because they would move them around to a different pattern. If I put them back, they'd just move them again the next day! Eventually I just gave up and let them have their arrangement.

Another time as I watched one watch me, it started to shift from foot to foot - first the right foot came up, then back down and then left foot came up, and so on. This went on for about two minutes. I could swear it was doing the Hokey-Pokey dance!!!!

As they got older, I guess they found some place else to roost since they don't come by our deck anymore, but we do see them circling overhead.

Turbo is our neighbor's dog. Every time he is outside on their front lawn and sees me, he comes running over to play. For some reason, he really likes me!

It's embarrassing actually, since Turbo won't go back home when my neighbor calls... I have to bring him back to his home.

He's a really cute dog, so one time we took this picture of us together.

Aaaahhhh, college days! I looked a lot different back then!

It's good to have pictures to remind you of memories such as this. It was one of the keggars that we had down on the Snake River, a favorite fall/spring location for the WSU students.

A few years back I decided to go to my Dad's 80th suprise birthday party back East...so I did a road trip - I took a month off from work and traveled in my little truck all the way from California to Pennsylvania having a grand old time by myself. Along the way I camped in various National Parks....

Along the way back I stopped at Yellowstone where I picked out a nice little camping spot. The next morning I woke up to this sound - Crunch, munch, munch, munch,,,Crunch, munch, etc. Not quite fully awake yet, I lifted my head some and looked out the mesh of my tent .... right into the eye of a buffalo not more than three feet away!

That woke me up in a hurry but I remained quiet .... after a while the crunches and munches moved away a bit. By now the sun was up and I was getting hungry. I finally got out of my sleeping bag, threw some clothes on, got out of my tent and got my camera out of the truck to capture this picture.

The Rangers tell you never to approach the wildlife closer than 100 yards, but what do you do when the wildlife approaches you (closer than 100 yards! A LOT closer!!!) and won't go away?

By now the buffalo has had it's breakfast (and I haven't) and has settled down for a nap ten feet away from my picnic table!!! Since I'm getting very hungry and it seems pretty zonked out, I decided to go ahead and have my breakfast...so I got to eat while watching the steam rise off from a buffalo ten feet away as I munched on my donut and drank my tea.

It was awesome!

Did you know the KGB enforces leash laws in Alaska???

WHAT?????

I took this on an Alaska Cruise in 1990 when we stopped in Ketchikan. While the picture is terrible photographically, it is quite humorous.

We visited a Railfair in Old Sacramento in 1999. While there we saw this steam engine, Graham County Railroad Company Shay #1925, with this small sign on back "Y2K Compliant".

I thought it was hilarious and had to get a picture of it! That was exactly what Cheryl and I were working on - getting all the computer systems in our companies ready for Y2K. Except this engine, built in 1925 (yes, the same as it's number), certainly had no electronics on it at all!!!!

I have the same sense of humor the person had who posted this had.