Native grasses and flowering shrubs in a range of soft greens in a shady valley on the High Plains.
Dandelion weeds with their yellow flowers in the green grass outside the corrugated iron Cope Hut, built in 1929 as a ski refuge.
Eucalyptus leaves and very small gumnuts on a healthy un-burnt gumtree near Cope Hut.
Native flowering scrubby bushes with small white flowers in a grassy High Plains valley, with snow gums in the distance; Steps leading up to the old wooden door of Cope Hut, which is open to the public as a shelter year round.
A leafy snow gum casts it’s dappled shade over the old corrugated iron Cope Hut, with its grassy surrounds and a blue sky.
Lush green grass in the shade at the base of one of the snow gums outside Cope Hut, with a grassy hill behind.
Eucalyptus tree and grassy hill reflected in the old rough wooden window of Cope Hut, with grass growing at the base of the rusty corrugated iron wall; Leafy snow gums spread their limbs like an octopus in a grassy landscape.
Bright yellow native everlasting paper daisies, with dandelion weeds.
Leafy shady snow gums and the grass-covered High Plains at the front door of the old corrugated iron Cope Hut.
A bug holds on to the tip of some tall dry summer grass, with yellow native flowers below.
The historic corrugated iron Cope Hut, surrounded by shady snow gums and grasses, looking out over a valley in the High Plains.
A couple walk across a grassy plateau on the High Plains beneath blue summer skies, as a few clouds cast shadows across the landscape.
A mess of long dry grass with weeds and flowers, with the skeletons of dead snow gums on a hillside burnt in bushfires a decade ago.
A few small white flowers grow in the green vegetation beneath an old white dead snow gum; Different small native shrubs with delicate white flowers and grasses cover the landscape beneath the dead snow gums.
Tall green and yellow grasses beneath a eucalyptus tree with dandelion weeds.
Two yellow dandelion flowers in a decade-old landscape of bushfire regrowth, the hillside covered in grasses and shrubs with fresh green growth but a forest full of dead snow gums.
Thick and wrinkled trunk of a healthy old eucalyptus tree in scrubby green bushland near Wallace’s Hut.
Wallace’s Hut, the oldest of the mountain cattleman’s huts still standing, built in 1889 out of slabs of snow gums on a grassy plateau surrounded by eucalyptus trees, is easily accesible to hikers for most of the year.
Yellow native everlasting daisies grow amongst the grasses and fallen tree branches.
Wallace’s Hut surrounded by healthy snow gums casting dappled shade across the grass landscape on a sunny summer day.
Tiny pink and white native flowers grow on a scrubby bush covered in bugs and insects that are hard to spot amongst the foliage but can be heard buzzing when you walk past; Thin snow gums lean towards each other creating an archway over the native grassland and yellow everlasting daisy flowers.
A purple flower amongst the long green grass.
Looking over a dry grassy hill covered in yellow dandelions to a dirt road winding it’s way down into the valley through a stand of dead white snow gums, the scars of an old bushfire; Rocky Valley Dam with a very low water level, in a landscape covered in native shrubs, flowers, boulders and the foreign ever-present dandelions.
The Bogong High Plains Road winds it’s way through the Alpine National Park and the snow gums, some show the impact of past bushfires while others remain healthy.
The grassy landscape around Rocky Valley Dam.
A eucalyptus tree grows at the sandy edge of Rocky Valley Dam, the hills on the other side covered in old dead snow gums from past bushfires.
A large variety of native grasses and shrubs surround Rocky Valley Dam, plus the colourful but foreign yellow dandelion flowers; Rocks and yellow dandelion flowers cover the grassy landscape, with reminders of past bushfires in the skeletons of dead shrubs and snow gums.
Looking across a very low Rocky Valley Dam, with plenty of sand exposed by the low water levels, to hills covered in white dead snow gums shaded by passing clouds.
The grassy landscape covered in rocks, old dead white wood from past bushfires, and many many yellow dandelion flowers.
Clouds and the blue sky are reflected in the water of Rocky Valley Dam, which is surrounded by grasses and small hills covered in eucalyptus trees.
Looking across Rocky Valley Dam, with a very low water level, to hills on the other side covered in dead snow gums from the past Alpine bushfires; One of the rocky mountain stream aqueducts that flow across the High Plains and feed into Rocky Valley Dam, surrounded by grass and flowers.
A landscape of bushfire regrowth, with hills covered in dead trees but a thick green undergrowth beneath.
A tree trunk with various shrubs, grasses and dandelion weeds, and a valley filled with dead snow gums behind.
A rough dirt track, part of the walking trail to Ropers Lookout, runs beside a mountain stream aqueduct with hills covered in dead snow gums and a stormy sky casting shadows over the landscape.
Masses of dandelions amongst the tall grass and native shrubs growing thickly at the base of dead bushfire snow gums, charred black limbs amongst the dried out white ones.
A rocky stream aqueduct across the High Plains, with the grey storm clouds of a summer storm moving in across the blue sky above.
Bushfire regrowth in the shrubbery, with longer dead branches sticking out from the thick green new foliage, surrounded by yellow native everlasting daisy flowers.
Yellow native everlasting daisy flowers grow in the rocky ground at the edge of the mountain, with the valley and hills covered in the grey skeletons of burnt dead snow gums and a grey stormy sky above as a summer storm rolls in.
Tall dry yellow grasses in front of a valley filled with black and grey dead snow gums which were burnt in bushfires years earlier.
A gully filled with thick, lush and green bushfire regrowth with shrubs, ferns and white native flowers growing amongst and even beginning to overtake the dead snow gums which cover the hills.
Looking down Falls Creek Falls, the waterfall making the rocks shiny, with bushfire regrowth in the valley below.
A small path through ferns and lush green plants to the small Falls Creek Falls waterfall, Bogong High Plains, Victoria.

A man takes a solo row down the quite Yarra River early in the morning, past the distinctive architecture of Federation Square and a lage eucalyptus tree growing on the river bank.
At the Big Brekkie in the Alexandra Gardens people line up to buy a range of breakfast foods from different cultures, here it’s Spanish eggs.
People write their favourite breakfast recipes on paper bag and peg them on to string for display, leading to range of different tasty foods from different cultures; A cook teaches some intrigued children how to make noodles in a display for the Big Brekkie.
An old fashioned tram conductor in short short chats to people sitting and eating breakfast in the Alexandra Gardens.
A line of Australian flags outside Federation Square with an empty Swanson Street tam stop, the street closed for the People’s Parade; A young family walks towards Flinders Street Station, the facade decorated with Australia Day banners.
Small Australian flags stringed up as a barricade along Swanson Street for the Flag Raising Ceremony and People’s March.
A performer on stilts and a bicycle entertains with waiting crowd and hands out Australian flags to eager people; Two children sit on the gutter waiting to watch the march, with Australian flags on both sides of Swanson Street.
Crowds cross the street outside the iconic Flinders Street Station, it’s facade decorated with Australia Day banners and an overcast sky above.
Crowds of people lining Swanson Street take photos of the Flag Raising Ceremony outside the Town Hall.
People at the front of the crowd take photos as the Army and Navy march down Collins Street and turn into Swanson Street towards the Town Hall for the Flag Raising Ceremony.
Looking through the crowd to the Navy with their flag lined up outside the Town Hall; A woman holds a camera high above her head to get photos of the Flag Raising Ceremony.
A police officer stands guard in Swanson Street as onlookers behind the Australian flag barricade take photos and look around.
Scouts and Guides salute as a sailor raising the Australian Flag outside the Town Hall; A man watches the parade with a small Australian flag in his back pocket.
An older woman looks at a card she was given with the words to the National Anthem print on it as she sings along.
A young boy with his family is very excited to see the Chinese Dragon dance past in the People’s March, he actually squeals.
Colourfully dressed Bangladeshi girls in red and orange traditional saris walk in the People’s March with their flag, one girl looking over her shoulder at the crowd.
A young girl with ‘I love Aus’ on her cheek watches the Chinese community pass by in the People’s March.
Smiling girls in Macedonian traditional dress wave their flag as they walk down Swanson Street as an older man in an Australia hat plays the Macedonian Gajda, a sheepskin bagpipe.
An older man in traditional Turkish dress festooned with Australian and Turkish flags dances his way down Swanson Street.
The statue of Burke and Wills looks down on crowds on either side of Swanson Street watching the People’s March; Aside from the various cultural and ethnic community groups of Melbourne, also represented were other community clubs such as the Dr Who Club of Victoria and the Star Wars Costuming Community, or this knitting club from Collingwood.
Happily dancing Mauritian women and girls and drumming men dance their way down Swanson Street in bright traditional dress.
Australians young and old watch the People’s March down Swanson Street.
Glamorous Filipino women in sequinned versions of their traditional dress with matching parasols walk gracefully down Swanson Street.
Happy young Ukrainian women sing as they walk down Swanson Street in traditional dress with colourful flower wreaths on their heads.
A woman with an Australian flag poses for a photo in front of a large fountain at the Kings Domain Gardens, filled with leafy green trees; A young kelpie keeps an keen eye on his sheep while herding them in a working dog demonstration at the Kings Domain Gardens.
Crowds in the Kings Domain Gardens behind a fence pay close attention as a bloke from the country explains how he teaches kelpies to round up sheep, the sheep waiting patiently; Classic and vintage cars lined up on display in the Kings Domain Gardens with Australian flags on the roof.
A kelpie rounds sheep into the corner of a pen then climbs on top on them during a working dog demonstration.
People picnic with tables and chairs beneath trees on the lush green grass in the Kings Domain Gardens beside a display of classic and vintage cars including a 1950s Holden station wagon.
A sheep patiently waits to be shorn, with camera crews watching closely, as a man explains to the crowd how a sheep is shorn and why they really don’t mind it.
Art from various Aboriginal communities is displayed beneath green leafy trees in the Treasury Gardens as part of the Share the Spirit Festival; People sit on the grass in the Treasury Gardens and watch the Skin Choir perform.
Two young girls draped in Aboriginal flags walk across the Treasury Gardens; A flag declaring ‘No room for racism” on display at the Share the Spirit Festival.

To see photos of another nation’s national day go to Independence Day at Lake Tahoe: Incline Village NV.

Dried dead flowers along the bank of a small lake, with a snowy path along the hillside on the other side.
A snowy path over a small grass hill, with a stand of dark bare winter trees and a grey sky; Pale rough tree trunk with a snowy ground and small red berries growing near its base.
Dead brown leaves still hanging onto the branches of trees in the snowy woods.
Dead and dry grass on the banks of the lake with patches of green grass beneath, all covered in a light dusting of snow.
Brown dried up flowers along the bank of a small lake, with a snowy path over the hill and a stand of bare trees on the other side.
Bare trees in the lightly snowy forest, the fallen leaves barely covered.
A few dead brown leaves still hold on the the branch of a tree in the snowy woods.
Interesting dried textural grasses on the bank of a small lake.
Several types of tall dried brown flowers and grasses on the bank of a small lake on a dark and overcast winter day; The rough trunks of trees in the lightly snowy woods.
A hillside of dry grass and bare trees with a light covering of snow and an empty path crossing it.
The trunks of tree with light snow against them and dead winter vegetation.
Tall dry grasses and fallen branches on the floor of the forest with a light covering of snow.
Looking through brown leaves still on the trees to a bare forest with light snow over the fallen leaves.
Delicate tall round dead flowers amongst dry yellow grass in a snowy landscape.
The braches of bare deciduous trees silhouetted against the grey overcast winter sky appear as delicate as lace.
Different textures of dead and dried vegetation with a light covering of snow on the banks of a small lake.
An empty bench seat beneath the trees over looking the lake with light snow on the ground on a grey winter day; Reeds and grasses on the edge of the lake as the wind makes ripples on the water.
A house overlooks an even smaller snow-covered lake, surrounded by dried reeds and grasses and bare trees.
Tall dead grasses on the edge of the lake with light snow and green grass just visible beneath.
Grass-lined foot worn path down to the small lake with a light covering of snow, the path around the lake also covered in snow in the distance.
Light snow on dead and dried grasses on the banks of the small lake with tiny green grass showing through; Small bare trees and dried vegetation of the edge of the small lake, the snowy path over the small hill in the distance.
Furry textured brown plants that have died off for winter on the edge of a small lake.
Light covering of snow on reeds and grasses at the edge of the lake, with bare trees reflected in the water; Bare trees and reeds at the edge of the small lake with the snowy path over the hill on the other side.
Looking past a small tree to wetland with a light covering of snow and ducks happily floating about in the cold water.
A couple walk with dog along the snow path that runs around this small lake in the suburbs, amongst yellowed grasses and bare trees; The yellow fuzzy remains of a flower on a dried brown winter plant.
A range of different browns amongst the tree branches in the snowy woodlands.
Looking past a small tree to the wetlands with ducks floating in the cold water, and snowy bare woods behind.
Different dead and dried grasses and vegetation on the edge of the light with light snow on top and healthy green grass beneath.
A very small pine tree grows amongst the yellow grass in a lightly snowy landscape; Different tall plants with dying remnants of flowers on the edge of the small lake.
The trunk of a thin tree overlooking the yellow and brown winter wetlands.
Two small pine trees grow in the dried grassy landscape with a light dusting of snow on the ground.
A tall deciduous tree with snow settled on its branches in the lightly snowy landscape, with yellow grass, tall reeds and bare woodlands; Furry yellow reeds blow in the freezing wind with light snow on the ground beneath them.
A couple walk their dog down the yellowed grassy hill, the curved path covered with snow and a grey sky above.

To see more photos of Chicago go to Chicago IL or to see another small recreational getaway great for walking dogs and running go to Martis Valley, Truckee CA.

Looking down the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, one of the most famous sites in the National Mall, towards the iconic Washington Memorial with grey stormy clouds reflected in the shallow water and three people strolling along side it.
On the steps at the base of the massive marble columns of the Lincoln Memorial people sit, take photos, and reflect on the view of the National Mall in front of them; The steps of the Lincoln Memorial, site of many historic events including Martin Luther King’s “I had a dream” speech.
Three people in black winter coats walk towards the impressive Lincoln Memorial, with a grey sky above.
Two teenage boys sit in front of the wreathed state pillars which form part of the World War Two Memorial in the National Mall, with an ominous grey sky and the bare winter branches of elm trees; Looking along the front of the Lincoln Memorial, with it’s massive marble columns.
A woman leans against one of the giant columns at the front of the Lincoln Memorial and sends text messages on her phone, behind her the view down the National Mall of the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument with wintery grey skies.
Clouds and a late afternoon winter sky reflected in a the shallow rippled water of the Reflecting Pool, with the District of Columbia World War One Memorial amongst bare elm trees; Looking up at the National World War Two Monument to three large bronze eagles holding a wreath, with ominous grey winter skies and bare elm trees.
A man runs in the National Mall, following the path the length of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool with the Washington Memorial and the Capitol in front of him catching the sunlight despite the cloudy grey skies.
The Atlantic side of the commanding National World War Two Memorial with stormy grey skies and bare elm trees.
Christmas wreaths laid at the base of each state pillar that the National World Ware Two Memorial; Stormy grey sky and warm sunset light over the White House, the high fence on it’s perimeter casting shadows across the grass.
A water feature on the grandiose World War Two Memorial with a quote from General Sherman about America’s desire to be synonymous with overwhelming force as well as freedom, in the background the Washington Monument stands out against a grey stormy sky and the flag flys at half mast as the nation mourns the Sandy Hook massacre.
Beneath a grey stormy sky people walk across as expanse of grass towards the Washington Monument, now fenced off due to damage from the 2011 Virginia earthquake.
Tourists walk past the White House between layers of fences and barricades, with a grey sky and the flag at half mast.
Tourists take photos of the White House through the high fence late in the day with stormy sunset light.
People walk along the sidewalk in front of the White House, with the Washington Memorial and bare elm trees silhouetted against the cloudy sky and the low setting sun casting long shadows.
Looking down through the branches of bare winter tree to traffic along a curved road amongst trees beside a creek with an old bridge in the distance.
Old multi storey terraced house in the Dupont Circle neighbourhood with winter trees and steps up to a bright red front door; Fenced bare trees along a red brick sidewalk with an old stone wall in Georgetown.
A nearly empty old stone bridge with decorative lamp posts and bare wintery trees near Dupont Circle.
Looking down through bare winter branches to a woman jogging amongst the trees along a track covered in fallen leaves.
A woman in a black coat walks past an old brick house with typical black wooden shutters and Christmas decorations in Georgetown, a large ivy-covered tree growing from the sidewalk; Three colourful attached small wooden houses with bare winter trees and a red brick sidewalk in Georgetown.
Georgetown neighbourhood with it’s terraced old houses, adorned with Christmas decorations and American flags.
A brick sidewalk with colourful fallen autumn leaves, a wrought iron gate and green ivy.
Row of attach colourfully painted brick houses in Georgetown with black shutters, Christmas decorations, coloured lights and a yellow bike parked next to the steps; Ornate and grand decorative old front door to a red brick Georgetown house, with a large Christmas wreath and small Christmas trees in pots.
A very Christmassy looking bush with red berries and green leaves growing in a front yard in Georgetown.
Another typical large old brick Georgetown house with black shutters, ornate cast iron window bar, a decorative front door and a bare rose creeper growing up the wall.
Just off the main shopping street in Georgetown, people walk across a foot bridge over the 19th Century C&O Canal, with an old industrial brick building complete with smokestack and a airplane flying overhead.
A path along the waterfront, with an arched bridge over the Potomac River, bare trees, red winterberry holly and a solo figure in a black winter coat taking a stroll; Tall yellow grasses on the bank of the Potomac River with an airplane in the sky above.
A couple walk along a path beside the 19th Century C&O Canal in Georgetown, where many of the old industrial red brick buildings are still standing behind the main shopping street; Empty tables and chairs scattered on the brick sidewalk in Georgetown seem abandoned in the cool winter weather.
A Christmas wreath on the corner door of a house in Georgetown, with trees growing out of the red brick sidewalk.
Rough painted brick wall with Christmas-coloured red and green plants spilling out of a pot on the red brick sidewalk.
A small brown bird sits on the bare branches of a winterberry holly amongst the bright red berries; Red berries in a bare winter tree over a street in Georgetown with rows of small wooden houses on a dark winter afternoon.

To see more photos of big American cities go to New York NY, San Francisco CA or Chicago IL, or to see another nation’s capital go to Vienna AUSTRIA.

Lightly covered in fresh snow, the rocky mountains of the Sierra Nevada are reflected in the waters of Lake Faucherie with a big blue sky and arch of white clouds above; A footprint path in the snow, through the forest and towards the mountains.
Low afternoon sun peaks through the pine branches in a rocky snow-covered landscape, with Lake Faucherie and mountains in the distance.
Red grasses at the lakes edge with snowy mountains and a blue sky reflected in its waters.
The rough bark of a tree with spots of moss with the lake and snowy mountains behind; Pine forest on the edge of the lake reflected in its waters with snowy mountains, a big blue sky and a spray of white clouds.
Snow melts off large angled rocks with a rocky mountain backdrop and stunning frozen waterfalls of ice melt, bathed in the long shadows and warm light of late afternoon.
Pebbles near the edge of the lake just covered in snow, with red grasses sticking out and a small forested hillside behind; Looking over a creek and tall pine trees to a cliff face with stunning frozen waterfalls of ice melt beneath a cloudy blue sky.
A tree with rough bark and feathery bright green leaves in a snowy landscape.
Light patches of snow on rocks in the river, bathed in warm afternoon light with a small waterfall behind; A green leafy plant sticks out of the fresh snow in front of pine trees and mountains.
A small pine tree grows out of a rocky landscape covered in patches of fresh snow as the sun sinks lower in the sky.
A tiny waterfall tumbles over a jagged rock face with small pine trees growing in the cracks; Looking over scrubby plants and boulders in the snow to a waterfall of frozen ice melt on a high cliff face just catching the afternoon light.
Looking past the branches of a small pine tree to a waterfall, a few patches of snow remaining on the rocks.
The low afternoon sun peaks through a pine branch over a rocky and snowy mountains landscape.
Small patches of snow on a stepped rock face with pine trees and shrubs growing from the cracks; A small waterfall under a big blue sky surrounded by pine trees and a light covering of snow.
The mountainous and rocky landscape around Lake Faucherie with fresh snow in the afternoon light.

To see more photos of the rugged mountains and forests of the Tahoe Basin go to Woods Lake CA or Splitboards in Tahoe CA.

Looking across the rough textured asphalt road and red dirt of the Red Center to the famous shape of Uluru, surrounded by dry yellow grass and a pale blue sky.
Soft pale dry grasses and small trees in the shade at the base of the deep red Uluru; A single magpie sits in a dead tree as Uluru looks almost dark purple in the shade, golden grasses still in the harsh sun.
A pile of large red rocks at the base of Uluru with a rough-barked thin tree.
A tourist couple walk across the dry yellow grasses towards a deep purple Uluru in the shade, as a magpie sits in a dead tree; Uluru looks purple in the shade as the harsh desert light shines on bleached grasses and the black burnt bark of a thin tree.
Sunlight catches the leaves of thin trees at the base of Uluru, which appears pink and purple in the shade.
Tufts of pale dry yellow grass on the red dirt in front of a mountain-shaped orange Uluru; Twisted dead tree and grassy landscape in front of Uluru, with small rocks at the base of the famous big rock.
Rough bark of trees with a carpet of green grasses and small plants in the shade at the base of Uluru.
A love heart shape in the rock face of Uluru, which appears purple and orange in the shade.
Looking up at the high orange glowing walls of Uluru with sunlight on the leaves of a thin eucalyptus tree and bright blue sky beyond; Small bright green leafy trees and plants growing in the shade amongst rocks at the base of Uluru.
Lush bright green bush landscape at the base of Uluru which shows a variety of oranges in its rock face.
Uluru in full sunlight with a scrubby grass landscape, orange dirt and a deep blue sky; The rough bark of trees in the shade, sunlight catching their leaves, and the glowing orange rock face of Uluru in the background.
The high, curved, orange rock face of Uluru with trees at the base and black marks showing the path of water down the rock when it rains.
Yellow wattle in front of an orange Uluru; The undulating orange rock formation of Uluru with stripes of yellow grass and green trees across the landscape, under a deep blue sky.
A close up of the textured orange rock face of Uluru.
Looking up at Uluru from the base through grasses, a dead tree and scrubby bush in the shade.
Looking up at the textured rock face at the base of Uluru, with tufts of grass in the rock and balancing boulders as the immense size and depth of the rock is visible as it recedes into the distance in waves; Looking across dry grasses and dead flowers to rippled black marks cascading down the orange face of Uluru, showing where water flows when it rains.
The dirt path at the base of Uluru amongst boulders, trees and soft grasses in the cool afternoon shade.
Thick vegetation at the base of Uluru with soft pale grasses and small trees; Tyre marks and dingo prints in the fine red dirt by the side of the road with Uluru in the background.
More than just one big rock, a large pile of boulders at the base of Uluru, purple in the late afternoon shade with the rough textured bark of the thin tree.
Looking across the asphalt road, red dirt and yellow grass to the iconic silhouette of Uluru with a big blue sky and the purple haze from fire smoke.
Looking over scrubby plants to Uluru as it starts to glow orange as the late afternoon sun sinks lower in the sky.
Scrubby landscape in front of Uluru with trees growing in its cracks as the rock starts to change colour in the golden light before sunset; Trees are dwarfed by the enormity of Uluru, which begins to glow orange in the early sunset light.
Uluru in the light of late afternoon and early sunset as the scrubby grass landscape begins to turn golden, with grey smoke from nearby fires hanging in the sky.
At sunset Uluru turns a bright deep orange copper colour, with trees looking tiny in the cracks of the massive rock; A yellow flower in the cool late afternoon shade as Uluru glows in the distance.
A tourist couple kiss in front of the deep red sunset rock at the designated sunset viewing spot, as others take their photograph; Sunset turns the landscape and the rock a bright glowing orange, as a tree is dwarfed by the monolith of Uluru.
Uluru turns deep red at sunset when viewed from the sunset viewing spot, with a purple haze in the sky from burning fires; The golden sun disappears below the horizon next to the dark shape of Uluru when viewed from the sunrise viewing spot, as the tips of tall pale grasses catch the last light.
The domed rock formations of Kata Tjuta with a landscape of native grasses and desert oaks.
A rocky red dirt hillside with pale grasses and the shadow of a tree, behind it a few of the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta and a deep blue sky; Looking up the steep round rock face of one of Kata Tjuta’s domes with a small cluster of trees growing amongst the rough rock.
From up amongst the domes of Kata Tjuta looking across the rocky orange landscape to a grassy valley with more cascading domes in the distance; A tree in front of a round orange Kata Tjuta rock dome, with blue sky.
Dead trees and burnt blacked ground in the landscape in front of Kata Tjuta.
A large dead black tree in a pale grassy landscape with small eucalyptus trees in front of Kata Tjuta rock domes; Looking across the iconic red dirt of the Red Center, with tuffs of spinifex and a plant with white flowers, towards the round rock domes of Kata Tjuta with a lone cloud in the big blue sky.
A shaded rocky path through the dark canyons in the middle of Kata Tjuta, with large looming domes on all sides; A group of tourists stand together and listen to their guide in the red rocky landscape with one of the Kata Tjuta domes behind them.
The landscape surrounding the domes of Kata Tjuta with orange rocks, tuffs of pale grass and spinifex, and twisted dead trees.
A pebble path with overhanging white gum tree and lined with grasses leading towards Kata Tjuta; Small orange rocks amongst pale grasses and scrubby bushes in the landscape in front of Kata Tjuta, the domes of which themselves seem to be topped with scattered grass and trees.
The orange domes of Kata Tjuta with a big blue sky above and a lone cloud casting a shadow.
The silhouette of Kata Tjuta with a tree-covered grassy landscape bathed in warm sunset light; The light of a golden setting sun across the red dirt and grass-covered landscape with Uluru in silhouette and Kata Tjuta a speck on the horizon.
The purple silhouette of Kata Tjuta with a golden red light across the landscape and a photographer amongst the tall grass capturing photos of the sunset from the sunrise viewing spot.
The golden setting sun casts orange light across the grassy landscape and red dirt, with Uluru a dark silhouette.
The silhouette of Kata Tjuta glows pink and purple against a yellow sunset sky as the last golden red light catches the tips of the tall pale grass; Sunset at Uluru from the sunrise viewing deck, with silhouettes of Uluru and Kata Tjuta against an orange backdrop and a tiny moon and a big sky.
Kata Tjuta glows purple against an orange sky as the sun sets and darkens the landscape.
The sun sinks below the horizon, leaving the sky to glow orange with the dark silhouettes of Kata Tjuta and Uluru, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory.

To see more photos of the Northern Territory and Australia’s Red Center go to Devils Marbles NT.

Looking across spiky spinifex and a dry floodplain to the colourful sandstone rock formation sticking up out of the desert landscape, beneath a blue sky.
Bright yellow daisies growing out of the deep red desert dirt in the cool shade of late afternoon.
The last of the late afternoon sun catches the spiky grasses that line a soft red dirt path leading towards the unique shape of these orange sandstone cliffs; A narrow red dirt path is surrounded by long grasses, as long shadows are cast on the cliffs behind and the setting sun begins to turn them a deep orange.
Various shades of bright yellow and orange on the sheer sandstone cliffs that rise up so sharply vertical as the sunset casts its glow on them, small tufts of native grasses growing out of the pile of rocks near the base.
The sheer sandstone cliffs, eroded into striking shapes over millions of years, turn redder as the sun sets; Small yellow desert flowers growing out of the red sand dunes in the cool late afternoon shade as the rocks behind glow orange.
A lone tree stand tall and holds onto its sunshine as long shadows spread across the red desert landscape towards the stunning orange cliffs, beneath a clear blue sky.
Small white desert native flowers with yellow centers growing in the deep red dirt.
The sheer sandstone cliffs glow bright orange in the late afternoon light as the sun begins to set; The sun nears the horizon and casts long shadows across the red dirt landscape, but the distinctive shape of the sandstone cliffs stand tall and glow various shades of orange against the blue sky.
Thin branches of a dead trees silhouetted against the sandstone cliff which glows an exceptionally bright orange in the last and strongest light of sunset.
After the sun sinks below the horizon and dusk covers the landscape, the bright colours shift to a muted palette of more subtle pastel colours, as any hint of remaining light continues to reflect off the distinctively shaped sandstone cliffs.

To see more photos of the stunning desert landscape of Central Australia go to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park NT or the Devils Marbles NT.

A dirt road leads down into a valley, the hills covered with eucalyptus trees and red cliff ridges.
Tall grasses and a big eucalyptus tree line the sides of the dry sandy creek bed at Redbank Gorge, with the long shadows of late afternoon and a blue sky; The textured bark of pale eucalyptus trees.
Redbank Gorge in the cool shade of late afternoon, with it’s dry sandy creek bed, surrounded by grasses, eucalyptus trees and high red cliffs.
A pale ghost gum with tufts of dried grass amongst the red rocks and cliffs of Redbank Gorge; A dingo confidently walks down the center of Redbank Gorge across the sandy dry creek bed in the cool of late afternoon, the sun having vanished from the depths of the gorge.
Amongst the long pale grass a narrow foot-worn path winds around the trunks of large eucalyptus trees and heads deeper into Redbank Gorge.
A very thin and tall pale ghost gum grows amongst the native grasses against the deep red cliffs of Redbank Gorge; A curious dingo stands on the large sandy rocks along the edge of the dry creek bed.
Long pale grasses with red rocks and eucalyptus trees around the edges of Redbank Gorge.
Surrounded by eucalyptus trees, a man strolls along the sandy bed of the dry creek deep within Redbank Gorge, by mid afternoon the sun no longer reaches into the gorge and cool shade envelopes everything.
Different types of eucalyptus trees bend amongst the long pale grass beside the dry creek bed in Redbank Gorge.
A thin dead tree in front of tall jagged red cliffs with eucalyptus trees growing out of them and blue skies beyond on the back side of the Mt Sonder Lookout; Looking across the landscape from the Mt Sonder Lookout over dry grasses, a rare flowing creek, and eucalyptus trees to the distant mountains.
Looking through the rough bark of a tree along the trail to Ormiston Gorge, to a hillside covered in pale grasses, thin trees and blue sky.
The sun shines on small trees amongst the tall yellow grass on the trail to Ormiston Gorge.
Looking past trees to a hilltop with traces of the red ridges distinctive of this range and a river with red cliffs at the base near Ormiston Gorge.
Looking past a thin tree growing on the side of the path to Ormiston Gorge to a landscape with rounded hills and a tree-lined river carving its way through; Inside Ormiston Gorge an alert dingo stands on the sandy beach and looks into a pool of water at the base of jagged cliffs, hoping to spy a fish to catch.
A red flowering native plant grows near the bottom of Ormiston Gorge in front of red cliffs.
A hillside covered with eucalyptus trees and spinifex grasses on top of the high red cliffs of Ormiston Gorge; A rocky dirt path through the grasses and yellow-leaved shrubs running along the side of Ormiston Gorge.
Looking down on Ormiston Gorge carved out of the landscape with its high red cliffs, sandy beaches, waterholes and the long shadows of eucalyptus trees.
Shade from the high cliffs of Ormiston Gorge casts shade over the rocky red dirt path and pure white ghost gum; Looking down on one of Ormiston Gorge’s sandy beaches to a waterhole and the long shadows of eucalyptus trees.
A tourist couple hike along the path running the length of Ormiston Gorge amongst tall grasses and spinifex, the tall red cliffs looking like a deep gash in the landscape.
A eucalyptus tree on a pale yellow grassy hill with a deep blue sky behind; Rock shelves angled towards each other at the bottom of the Ormiston Gorge cliffs, with thin pale ghost gums.
A large square boulder sits near the bottom of Ormiston Gorge amongst the spinifex and ghost gums with very high red cliffs behind.
Eucalyptus trees grow out of sand and rocks in the cool shade at the base of Ormiston Gorge, the high red cliffs behind in the distance; An alert and slightly wet dingo stands on angled dark brown rocks at the base of the Ormiston Gorge cliffs, looking into a waterhole hoping to find fish to eat.
Large boulders and rock shelves with thin pale ghost gums and high red cliffs at the bottom of Ormiston Gorge.
A wet dingo emerges from the long grass and walks across the sandy creek bed to a reflective pool of brown water inside Ormiston Gorge.
A thin pale ghost gum grows out of a cliff in the shade at the sandy bottom of Ormiston Gorge.
A thin and dingo walks along the sandy beach at the edge of a waterhole inside Ormiston Gorge, the eucalyptus-filled bushland behind it.
Deep and narrow red cliff gorges at Glen Helen surrounded by tall pale grass and eucalyptus trees, deep shade in the crevasse between the red rock; Scattered orange rocks and a scrubby tree at the top of a cliff near Serpentine Gorge, looking down over a bush landscape with purple and red hills.
A small pebbly waterhole inside Serpentine Gorge in the cool shade, filled with different types of eucalyptus trees growing from the water as the cliffs behind glow red with the last reflected light of the day.
A ghost gum looks silver beside a waterhole at Serpentine Gorge in the cool late afternoon light as the cliffs behind still hold traces of glowing red; The last golden sunlight of the day holds onto the tips of a eucalyptus tree near the bottom of a darkened Serpentine Gorge, with its dry river and red cliffs.
From the top of Serpentine Gorge looking across a landscape of grasses and bushland towards hills with the distinctive red and purple rocky ridge lines of this desert range.

To see more of the Northern Territory and Australia’s Red Center go to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park NT, Devils Marbles NT or Rainbow Valley NT.

A dirt path winds its way through spinifex grasses towards a pile of orange boulders and white ghost gums in the cool shade of late afternoon.
The pale trunk of a thin ghost gum against granite boulders and native grasses; Sunlight catches bleached grasses growing from the red dirt while an interestingly shaped split granite boulder sits in the cool shade.
A pale white ghost gum against an orange boulder pile with soft grasses in front catching the late afternoon light; Native grasses in front of round orange granite boulders.
A small scrubby tree grows in front of an orange granite boulder pile surrounded by pale native grasses and spinifex.
Tufts of spiky spinifex grow amongst the pile of orange granite boulders; The late afternoon sun peeks through the leaves of a small ghost gum beside around granite boulder as sunlight catches the the grasses and spinifex.
A flowering thistle in front of a pile of orange granite boulders in a dry grassy landscape.
Looking out beneath a canopy of leaves across the grassy landscape to a distant stack of orange granite boulders; A tuft of spiky spinifex grows among round orange boulders.
A thin scrubby tree with a rough textured bark in a landscape covered with piles of orange granite boulders and spinifex grass.
Leafy shadows and strong sunlight on the orange boulders and grasses in the late afternoon.
In a grassy landscape large piles of egg-like textured granite boulders dwarf the ghost gum trees and glow orange in the light of the setting sun.
The white trunk of a ghost gum tree in the golden late afternoon light.
A black and white butcherbird sits on a large round orange boulder in the warm late afternoon light with eucalyptus trees in front.
A large round granite boulder balances on other boulders and glows orange in the light of the setting sun; Late afternoon sun catches the white trunk of a large ghost gum tree and pale grasses, while some boulders become part of the deep shade.
An old sleepy dingo covered in scars sits on the dark red dirt in the cool before the sun rises.
Strong early morning light makes the landscape of orange boulders, grasses and white ghost gums glow golden.
The pure white of a ghost gum, it’s shadow across a granite boulder bright which glows bright orange in the light of the sunrise; A small bird sits of top of a large boulder, glowing orange in the early morning light against a clear blue sky.
A thin old dingo curls up and sleeps on the dark red dirt, enjoying the faint warmth of the first light of the day on his back.
The landscape of orange boulder piles, spinifex grass and ghost gums glows golden in the light of early morning against a clear blue sky.
A pile of granite boulders surrounded by yellow grasses and white ghost gums turns golden in the early morning light; A small bird roosts in a crack in one of the big orange boulders above soft pale grasses, enjoying the warm golden light of early morning.
The strong golden orange light of sunrise on the round granite boulders and surrounding grasses.
The dark shadow of a thin white ghost gum on a large orange granite boulder in the early morning light; The strong golden orange light of sunrise makes the round boulders and pale grasses glow.

Pink and blue sunset over a pale desert landscape of Bladensburg National Park, with a small termite hill and spiky spinifex.
A golden rising sun peeking around a tree and starting to cast the first light of the day over the pale desert landscape of Bladensburg National Park; Tyre marks on a winding dirt track across the flat desert landscape of Bladensburg National Park with a pink and blue sunset sky.
Spiky spinifex and soft yellow flowers as the golden morning sunlight hits the tall eucalyptus trees at Bladensburg National Park, with a pink and grey early morning sky.
A grey bush with small yellow flowers amongst the spinifex and grasses with the first touches of the golden sunrise light at Bladensburg National Park; The rough red bark of a eucalyptus tree and the grass around it glow a warm yellow colour in the light of sunrise at Bladensburg National Park.
Eucalyptus leaves catch the early morning light and glow and bright pale green at Bladensburg Nation Park.
A grey bush with small yellow flowers amongst the spinifex in the cool of morning as the golden sunrise light hits the eucalyptus trees at Bladensburg National Park and starts to illuminate the landscape; Dry, cracked and curled flakes of mud in a dry waterhole at Bladensburg National Park bathed in warm early morning light.
Golden light of sunrise across a landscape of spinifex, scrub, and eucalyptus trees with a cloudy grey early morning sky at Bladensburg National Park; Twisted grey falled logs lie amongst spinifex and grasses at Bladensburg National Park in the shade of early morning.
Early morning sun hits the spiky spinifex and grasses with fallen logs and sparse bush behind it at Bladensburg National Park.
A eucalyptus tree reflected in a muddle puddle at the bottom of a nearly empty waterhole at Bladensburg National Park in the golden light of early morning; Cracked and curled flakes of mud in a dry waterhole in the warm light of early morning at Bladensburg National Park.
With its back to us, a kangaroo looks out across the landscape of tall dry bleached grass and sparse bushland of Bladensburg National Park.
Early morning sun peeks through the leaves of a eucalyptus tree in the scrubby grassy landscape of Bladensburg National Park; Something catches the attention of a mother kangaroo and her joey across the tall dry grass at Bladensburg National Park.
Alert large red kangaroo with thick, strong tail planted firmly on the ground in a section on open dirt in a landscape of tall dry grass at Bladensburg National Park.
A group of alert red kangaroos in the long, dry, pale grass at Bladensburg National Park, lead by a large male; Deep kangaroo prints in the dried and cracked mud at Bladensburg National Park.
A kangaroo bounces away at speed through the pale long grass and trees at Bladensburg National Park.
A hawk with its feathers puffed out sits high in a leafy tree and surveys the landscape at Camooweal Caves National Park; Two small kangaroos with their backs to each other in the scrubby dry grassland at Bladensburg National Park.
With a small pool of water at the bottom and surrounded by coolibah trees, this is one of the many waterholes within the Combo Waterhole Conservation Area, believed to be the original setting and inspiration for Banjo Patterson’s ‘Waltzing Matilda’.
Looking past pale dry eucalyptus leaves to a very dry, grassy and sun bleached landscape at Combo Waterhole Conservation Area.
An orange butterfly lands on the dry dirt path through the dry grass at Combo Waterhole Conservation Area.
A small kangaroo with large ears and a wet belly in the long, pale, dry grass at Combo Waterhole Conservation Area.
A dried mud path through the grass with a line of deep kangaroo prints at Combo Waterhole Conservation Area; Leaves of a tree overhanging the brown water of a crucial waterhole in the Combo Waterhole Recreation Area.
Under the shade of a coolibah tree, looking up the the tree hanging out over the brown water of the waterhole at Combo Waterhole Conservation Area, considered the original setting for Banjo Patterson’s ‘Waltzing Matilda’.
The thick pale trunk of a large eucalyptus tree on the muddy bank of a waterhole in Camooweal Caves National Park; A little corella bird sits in the branches of a leafy eucalyptus tree in the pale early morning light at Camooweal Caves National Park.
The trunks of a cluster of trees with bits of grass along the top of a waterhole in Camooweal Caves National Park.

To see photos of the more traditional Queensland tourism destinations go to Coastal Queensland AUST or Surfing Queensland AUST.

Looking across the black skeletons of trees burnt by a decades-old fire to a bed of low clouds and snowy mountain peaks just visible in the distance.
A tree trunk with frost encrusted on pine needles as steam rises from the hot springs and quickly freezes upon contact with the surrounding trees in the cold winter air.
A lone tree leans in to a steaming river with patches of ice floating on it, as the surrounding forest of trees are crusty with frost from the frozen steam.
A snowy winter landscape, with a waterfall in the background and trees covered with frost.
Looking through younger and healthier pine trees to older ones burnt by fire, with low clouds and snowy mountains in the distance.
In lightly falling snow a buffalo nibbles on grass in the patches where the natural heat of the ground has melted the snow away.
A bison in the snowy landscape eats the accessible grass thanks to the warm soil from the surrounding geysers, as light snow falls; An oddly shaped bright turquoise steaming geothermal pool with animal footprints in the small patch of snow that remains on the warm ground.
Thick steam from the eruption of Old Faithful covers the landscape.
Old Faithful geyser shoots steam and boiling water over 100 feet in the air, turning the three people standing in the snowy landscape watching the natural wonder into tiny dots in a massive landscape.
Light snow falls and starts to cover the ground as a bison eats the grass that sticks up where the soil is warm from the Old Faithful geyser.
A small volcanic-looking boiling hot geothermal pool with bubbles, steam, and a yellow mineral colour.
A lone tree on the edge of a steaming river as steam turns the snowy winter landscape hazy; The dominant and large old female bison sits beneath a tree in light snowfall, some snow settling on her back.
As light snow falls all around one bison with grass in its beard looks up as another in the background keeps eating.
In the snow-covered landscape just at the edge of Yellowstone Lake a small geyser emits steam and melts the snow the snow on the ground around it.
A spectacular sheer drop-off in a large and deep steaming hot turquoise geothermal pool in a snowy landscape that’s partially melted from the heat; A large bison chews on some grass, with some caught in her beard, as light snow falls.
A steaming winter landscape, with sections of melted snow and mud due to the geyser heat; A hot rust-coloured geothermal pool with ripples from boiling bubbles beside trees and a thick cover of pure white snow.
A bison licks inside its nostril, sticking its tongue up its nose as it walks across the snowy landscape.
Small hot volcanic-looking craters on the edge of the flat snowy landscape that is the frozen Yellowstone Lake, with mountain peaks in the distance; A large turquoise steaming hot geothermal pool in a snowy landscape, with partially melted snow around the edges due to the heat of the water.
Looking past a pine tree to a snowy landscape with a steaming hot waterfall.
Steaming hot waterfall in a landscape covered in thick layered pillows of snow and encrusted with frost as the steam hits the leaves and twigs and instantly freezes in the icy winter air; Deep layers of snow at the edge of a warm waterfall, with rocks and leafy branches covered in frost from the frozen steam.

To see more photos of Wyoming go to Jackson WY or Middle America Road Trip: NV UT WY NE IA, or to see more of America’s magnificent National Parks go to Yosemite National Park CA or Olympic National Park WA.

Looking over a rough wooden fence into a snow-covered field with mountains in the distance in the cold light near dusk.
It must look spectacular from inside, a commercial airplane takes off from the Jackson Hole airport with the town below and tall snowy mountains all around.
A moose, without antlers, pauses for a moment in the snowy woods just outside town.
Moose antlers hang from the center of one of the elk antler arches in the town square, with a snowy hill and blue sky behind.
A pickup truck pulls out onto the snow-covered street, with colourful weatherboard shopfronts, a sign for the Ranch Inn and the Snow King ski area straight ahead, as the temperature reads 5 degrees celsius.
A cowboy hat store with verandah and wooden sidewalk on the snowy main street, with hills in the background; An old-style lamp made from an antler lit by an an electric candle on the wooden wall outside a shop.
Wooden sidewalks beneath verandahs, with fresh snow walked all over them, just like the old wild west; Bronze statue in the town square of the bucking horse and rider that is the Wyoming logo, with bare winter trees and blue sky.
American and Wyoming flags hang over parked cars in the main street; A log cabin with electric candle twinkle lights and snow on the wooden shingle roof.
Traffic lights at a snowy intersection with the Cowboy Bar neon sign and a very round snow-covered hill.
A stuffed elk with light snow resting on its nose outside a shop, with the reflection of a man walking the snowy streets in the shop window; Crusty old snow on the wooden sidewalk beneath the verandahs, with a dusting of fresh light snow on top.
Faded letters on the old Teton movie theater sign, still operational on the snowy main street; Four people cross the snowy road near shops with a big snow-covered hill looming large behind them.
A close up of the elk antlers that form one of the town square’s four antler arches, wrapped in twinkle lights; The famous elk arches that form the four corners of the town square were first built during the 1950s and 1960s but have been rebuilt in recent years.
With just a thin strip of clouds across them, the dramatic Grand Tetons rise up from a landscape of snowy hill and forests.
Looking across a snowy landscape to a thin strip of bare winter trees and snowy mountains cloaked in grey clouds; A moose kicks up snow as it trots through the snowy woods just outside town.
Late afternoon at the Grand Tetons, with deep blue shadows and sunny peaks just catching the last sun through the light cloud; Rich brown soil where snow has melted off the ground thanks to the nearby hot springs, with a lone tree and snowy mountains in the distance.
Out on the Elf Refuge four bighorn sheep blend in to the landscape on a rocky hillside amongst grasses and snow.
A moose lifts its foot high as it walks through knee deep snow in the woods; A moose stretches its head up to reach a twiggy bare winter branch it wants to eat.
Looking across scrubby plants sticking out of the snow to the Grand Tetons hidden by cloud; The Grand Tetons in the blue shade of late afternoon, the last sun still hitting the peaks with a wisp of white cloud draped across them.
On the Elk Refuge three bighorn sheep nibble on grasses sticking out from the snowy landscape; Two bighorn sheep blend in to the steep rocky hillside amongst tall grasses and snow.
A lone bighorn sheep finds itself stranded on a small rocky cliff edge covered in snow, backed against the wall it seems unable to work out where to go next; A male bighorn sheep stand in the snow covered landscape and watches the herd.
Looking across a snowy landscape to the Grand Tetons with blue sky, light cloud, and the sun starting to dip closer to the horizon.
Oddly regimented and straight snowy hills amongst the forest at the base of the Grand Tetons.
Late afternoon sun hits the white clouds and rocky outcrops of the snowy Grand Tetons.
Looking through bare winter branches to a forest and hills beyond with light snow falling; Steam rises from Kelly Warm Springs just outside town, in a sunny snow-covered landscape will rolling hills.
Late afternoon sun hits the rocky peaks of the Grand Tetons with a cover of light cloud, the shade of the afternoon tingeing the rest of the snowy mountains blue.
A mixture of textures from the leaves and trunks of trees in the snowy forest.

To see more photos of Wyoming go to Middle America Road Trip: NV UT WY NE IA or to see more of America’s beautiful ski towns go to Lake Tahoe CA: winter or Bend OR.

There are no road criss-crossing Olympic National Park, maintaining the vast majority of the land as a true wilderness. As a result, this is place you need to spend time. We came in February on a whim for two days. It had always been on the wish list, we were in Oregon and pretty close. All those two days did was give us a tiny and extremely tempting glimpse into all the majesty this park has to reveal. I want to go back. For weeks not days, in each of the four seasons.

Only a few kilometers into the National Park and there are waterfalls like Merriman Falls in lush green rainforest, with bright green moss growing on large rocks; Water flows through the small rainforest creek at the base of Merriman Falls over pebbles and around bright green mossy rocks.
Merriman Falls, a rich lush green rainforest landscape with a small waterfall flowing through and moss over everything.
In the rainforest, a fern grows out of a green mossy rock; The small Merriman Falls waterfall flows in to a rocky stream in the lush bright green mossy rainforest.
Drive another 20 minutes and you hit the coast at Beach One, a wild pebble and sand beach with huge piles of driftwood logs and a tall forest on the foreshore that was home to a pair of Bald Eagles; Large pebbles mix in with the huge pile of driftwood, including logs and tree stumps, washed up on the wild beach.
Looking through the green leafy foreshore undergrowth in the late afternoon light to a wooden sign pointing to the trail to the beach.
Ferns and green leafy undergrowth on the foreshore beneath silhouetted tall trees with bulbous tumours, as the golden afternoon light gets caught in the sea mist; Large flat grey pebbles and huge driftwood logs on the rugged beach, with the tall forest behind.
The path to the beach through a forest of tall skinny trees on the foreshore in golden late afternoon light.
Huge piles of logs washed up on the wild pebbly beach as driftwood, with the tall forest behind; Silhouetted bulbous tumour trees in the foreshore forest above the beach, with the ocean glistening in the late afternoon light below.
Golden rays of late afternoon sunlight through sea mist amongst the silhouetted foreshore forest of bulbous tumour trees.
A wooden bench seat amongst skinny trees on the foreshore, with the ocean at Ruby Beach glowing behind in the golden light of a later afternoon sun; Looking through the foreshore vegetation to Ruby Beach, with it’s dramatic and unique rock formations on the sand and in the ocean.
Looking across sand, a small flowing creek and pebbles to a large rock formation out in the ocean at Ruby Beach, with trees growing over it; A small rock cairn is built on a large piece of driftwood on the grey pebble beach, the thin foreshore pine trees of Ruby Beach behind are hazy in the sea mist.
A dense forest of different types of trees and grasses on the Ruby Beach foreshore, with a large pile of driftwood and pebbles in the sand leading to the small creek; Looking up the misty Ruby Beach over pebbles and shallow water to a lone person dwarfed by the wild landscape.
A lone person on the wild and misty Ruby Beach with a foreshore forest, tall rock formations, pebbles, reflections and patterns in the sand.
The reflection of the misty Ruby Beach forest foreshore in a pool on the pebbly beach; Looking down on Ruby Beach through the skinny foreshore trees to a beach with massive rock formations, large driftwood logs and a creek carving its way through the sand.
Huge driftwood logs on pebbly Ruby Beach with the misty forest behind in the golden light before sunset.
A close up of small green leaves covered in frost near Lake Crescent.
Although it’s past 10am, the sun hasn’t yet reached Lake Crescent thanks to its mountain surrounds, the grass and a fallen brown autumn leaf remain in shade and covered in frost from a cold winter night; Different types of fallen green and brown leaves and needles are covered in frost at Lake Crescent, frozen in the cool winter morning shade.
From the frosty lake side of Crescent Lake, head into the dense trees and immediately find a rainforest where thick bright green moss covers tree trucks and baby ferns growing from it.
One thin beam of morning sunlight pierces through the thick green rainforest along the trail to Marymere Falls.
Bright green ferns make a thick undergrowth while moss covers everything else, turning the rainforest landscape on the trail to Marymere Falls totally green.
A thin rough wooden bridge made from a single log crosses a river in the dark but richly green rainforest as the ascent to Marymere Falls begins; A bright green fern wraps itself around a large moss-covered tree trunk in the dark rainforest near Marymere Falls.
A bright green rainforest with ferns and moss-covered trees by the side of the rocky river that flows out of Marymere Falls.
All types of vegetation in different shades of green hang over the rocky rainforest creek that flows from Marymere Falls.
A thin steep path with steps and a wooden handrail wraps around rainforest trees looking out over the waterfall that is Marymere Falls; Looking across blue river water flowing over rocks to a wooden bridge in the thick green rainforest near the base of Marymere Falls.
The Marymere Falls waterfall hits the rockface and splashes down to form a creek in the middle of the mossy green rainforest.
In the rainforest near Marymere Falls small bright green ferns grow out of a thick mossy tree trunk.
Looking through a thick mess of bright green ferns to the Marymere Falls rainforest waterfall.
Back at Crescent Lake now that the sun is out over the hills, trees growing on the lake edge have a thick layer of green moss over their roots; Looking though silhouetted thin bare winter tree branches overhanging Crescent Lake, with forested hills and blue sky.
Looking through brown autumn leaves still clinging onto winter branches to a pier on Crescent Lake, with thick forested trees behind.
Silhouetted tree trunks growing on the waters edge at Crescent Lake, with moss growing on their root and the blue sky reflected in the still water.
Out on Hurricane Ridge, in the north of the park, a winter landscape where snow sits in the branches of tough gnarly trees.
Tough windswept trees on the snowy mountainside at Hurricane Ridge, with layers of forested and snowy peaks going deep into the park beyond; Thin rugged trees in a windswept snowy landscape with mountain peaks behind them.

To see more photos of Washington go to Seattle WA, or the Pacific Northwest go to Coastal Oregon USA.

Looking through pine trees high on the sand dunes down to people walking on the wide sandy beach at Newport in the rich golden light of sunset.
A man sits alone on a sand dune amongst coastal grasses in the golden sunset light as a couple stroll along the Newport beach behind him; Families play on the wide sandy beach at Newport as the sun sets and the moon rises above heavily forested sand dunes with a lookout tower high above.
Four kids dig holes in the sand near washed up driftwood on the Newport beach, in the pink light of sunset.
At sunset a small light airplane flies high in the blue sky over the coast at Newport, with houses on the cliff tops and wide sandy beaches; A couple wearing hats stroll along the winter beach at Newport as sunset turns the rippled sand golden.
A lone woman jogs along the wide sandy Newport beach near the sand dunes with thick forest behind, in the dusky pink light of sunset.
Dog paw prints in the rippled sand at Newport with a yellow sun setting over the ocean behind; Waves creep across the sandy beach at Newport in the blue of twilight, catching people stolling by surprise.
An unpainted wooden shingle house with a wooden fence on the grassy sand dunes right on the oceanfront at Newport with unobstructed sea views.
A lit streetlight outside a quaint beachfront motel at Newport, made from colourfully painted shingles and with a shingle roof; Two stacks of empty crab pots sitting on wooden pallets against a concrete wall down by the marina at Newport.
A blue sea life mural is painted on a wall down by the Newport marina, with a sign on a fence advertising fresh crab for sale straight off one of the boats; Fishing and crabbing boats in the marina at Newport with houses on the hill behind.
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, with its attached wooden lighthouse keeper’s living quarters against a blue sky on a grassy cliff top with white water and a black pebble beach below; Empty mussel shells and smooth pieces of driftwood cover the black pebble beach at Yaquina Bay.
Looking across grassy cliff tops to the white water and black stones of Yaquina Bay beach below.
A lone seagull sits on a rock near the dark brown cliffs at Yaquina Bay, on a beach covered in smooth black stones; People walk on a wild beach covered in smooth driftwood and large black stones at Yaquina Bay, as the sun glistens on the ocean.
Seaweed tangles with driftwood and empty mussel shells to cover the black pebble beach at Yaquina Bay.
Looking across thick dry grass to the white Yaquina Bay lighthouse against a blue sky, the only remaining lighthouse in Oregon with the lighthouse keeper’s quarters still attached; Driftwood on the black stone Yaquina Bay beach, with brown cliffs covered in grasses.
Surfers in wetsuits with surfboards under their arms walk along a wide beach with the tide out towards the hazy water at Pacific City.
At Pacific City a lone surfer with a surfboard under his arms walks across the wet sand towards the glistening ocean; A family plays next to a truck parked on the sand of the beach at Pacific City, with wooden shingle condos on the grassy sand dunes behind.
Looking through the windscreen of a truck parked on the sand to people strolling at the waters edge with the tide out, Pacific City being a beach you can drive on.
A surfer in a wetsuit enters the ocean at Pacific City despite the freezing winter water, with a huge rock out in the sea and a beautifully breaking wave.
An old VW Kombi bus with popped top parked on the sand overlooking the beach at Pacific City, its owners relaxing in beach chairs in the pale late afternoon light.
An old red truck parked in the main street of Astoria in the light of early morning, as a man crosses the road behind.
A woman with a drink walks past the ornate old Liberty Theater, a sign of Astoria’s booming hey day that now seems out of place in the sleep town since the decline of the logging and fishing industries in the area; In recognition of Astoria’s past, rubbish bins in the main streets are made to look like old cans of Salmon, the production of which was a booming industry.
Early morning in Astoria, two local men sit smoking and talking in the sun in the street outside a faded brick bookstore, with two pigeons above and a new bright red truck parked in front.

To see more photos of Oregon go to Bend OR.

Looking up through a forest of trees covered with a long hair-like green moss, towards a sunny blue sky.
A sign nailed to a tree trunk indicates a snow shoe trail; Looking through mossy trees at the white snowy peak of Mt Bachelor Ski Resort on a sunny day with blue skies.
A man split boards on a freshly groomed trail through the woods, while his dog makes her own path through the deep snow.
With clear blue skies, sunlight peaks around a tree in the forest with dead moss hanging off it like long black hair; In the forest, looking up at light green pine branches with snow resting on top and blue skies above.
In a snowy forest the branch of a very leafy pine tree is also covered in moss that looks like long green hair, blowing in the breeze; Looking out a cafe window in downtown Bend, with microbrews on the newspaper, a funky light above, and a dog sitting outside on the red brick pavement.
A man in a red plaid flannel shirt holds a take away cup of coffee, with the small roastery’s logo roughly printed on the paper cup; A blue door with the bar’s draught beers written on it in chalk, including local beers, Oregon beers, and imported ones.
Colourful cup and plates with tea and half eaten banana bread that was to delicious to wait for, with two forks in the window of a cafe.
Two wooden chairs outside the sliding blue wooden door of a small coffee roasters, with a pine tree in a pot; A wooden sign on the sidewalk pointing to a small coffee roastery down the alley, with old red brick buildings behind.
Beyond Bend in the Willamette National Forest, a fire-scarred snowy mountain landscape with the charred skeletons of burnt trees, and a dramatic volcano-shaped peak; Looking past newspaper boxes and brown autumn leaves still clinging to the tree, to a grey truck driving down the main street of Bend.
Not your typical snow town winter landscape, looking through trees just outside town across dry brown grass to a pine forest and dramatic volcano-shaped snowy mountain peaks, as a farmhouse has a bonfire.
Looking across dry brown grass to a pine forest and volcano-shaped snow-covered mountain peak which is part of the Three Sisters; A car and a truck drive down the road, with red dirt on the roadside and the volcano-shaped snowy mountain peak of Mt Hood in the distance.
Crossing the mountains heading towards the coast we stumble on a rich dark forest with different types of lush green moss growing on every surface, from fallen logs to thin branches.
Dark forest with long bright green moss growing on every surface.
Tiny trees with bright green leaves grow out of a fallen tree covered in moss in the dark forest; Long delicate hair-like pieces of bright green moss growing on thin branches in the dark forest are just caught by the sunlight and slightly glow.
Sunlight peaks through the dark forest onto a fallen tree with different types of bright green moss and tiny trees growing on it.
A deep blue river filled with rocks in a lush dark forest with overhanging tree branches covered in bright green moss.
A tiny waterfall flows out into a river amongst a thick forest of mossy rocks and trees, with green pines and ferns.
A fallen orange autumn leaf sits on damp the damp ground, with water droplets on the green grass; The deep blue green of a river in a cool dark forest, with overhanging tree branches covered in bright green moss.

To see more photos of Oregon go to Coastal Oregon USA.

Snow collects on the colourful branches and needles of a pine tree; Happy to finally see snow, a man cross-country skis across the snow on a splitboard with an excited dog running along beside him.
Heavy wet snow collects on the branches of a pine tree.
A happy dog lies in the snow with the trees of the snow-covered golf course behind her; The branch and trunk of a pine tree with snowy trees behind.
Thin pine trees in the smooth white snow, a light covering over the golf course.
A trail of mushy yellow footprints in the smooth white snow, caused by the golf course grass and the heavy rain which preceded the snow; Snow collects on the dried summer vegetation and grasses which still stand unusually late in the year due to the lack of snow.
Thick forest of pine trees with light snow on them.
Differently textured pine trees and branches covered in snow; A very attentive red dog with white flecks of snow on her head.
Snow clings to the bark of trees and covers the ground with dry summer grasses peaking through, by this time of year they should be well buried.
Pine trees across the snowy golf course with a big blue and grey sky, part of the course still covered in water from the heavy rain that preceded the snowfall.
A large wooden house looks small in a forest of tall snowy trees; One lone pine tree against a rough wooden fence nearly buried in snow, with a forest behind.
Fresh now piled on the side of a road which winds its way through snowy trees.
Footprints and tyre marks lead down the road in the wet snow; Wet fresh snow clings to the bark of a pine tree.
Trunks of skinny trees line the snowy path to a large wooden Tahoe-style house with firewood piled up at the front door.
A white dog with a bandana tied around his neck stands in the middle of the road with snow stuck to his fur; Peaking through the trees to a large wooden Tahoe-style house covered in fresh snow.
A green pine branch grows out of a half black and half brown trunk in a snowy forest; Bright green moss grows grows on the trunks and branches of four very different looking trees.
Looking beyond the richly textured trunk of a tree through to a forest of more trees.
Snow melts to form water droplets on the ends of two different types of pine needles.
A large wet rock boulder in the forest, covered in fresh white snow and green lichen.

To see more photos of this area during snowy winters go to Lake Tahoe CA: winter or to see it in summer go to Martis Valley, Truckee CA.

An ornate building corner with a statue of a women in the World Heritage listed Vienna city center; Local businessmen in suits walk down the narrow streets surrounding Stephansplatz at the end of the day.
The busy, crowded shopping street of Graben, with its ornate buildings and baroque Pestsäule, a plague memorial column.
Old multi-storey pale stone buildings in the streets of Vienna.
To keep them warm in the chill autumn air a man puts blankets on some of the horses waiting to give carriage rides outside Stephansdom; The Austrian and Viennese seals on the famous colourfully tiled roof of Stephansdom.
A group take a photo on the pond steps outside Karlskirche, or St Charles’s Church, with its dome and bas relief columns; Two motorbikes with Vienna numberplates parked in the street, in front of an ornate fountain.
Three young men have breakfast inside the ornate and opulent Cafe Central coffeehouse, which in the 19th and early 20th Centuries was patroned by the likes of Sigmund Freud and Leon Trotsky; Two hot mugs of glühwein waiting to be drunk at a standing-only cafe stall in the streets, to warm against the crisp autumn air.
A relief sculpture on the outside of Stephansdom, centuries of soot and air pollution turns the pale limestone exterior of the Cathedral black; A woman poses for a tourist photo in Stephansplatz.
A man strides across leafy Karlsplatz in front of Karlskirche.
A flower shop in Stephansplatz, in the shade of Stephansdom; Crowds of people walk through the autumn streets of Vienna, with the ornate Hofburg Palace looming large.
The hands of a man scooping roasted chestnuts into a paper cone at a street stall which also sells rough cut hot potatoes, perfect for an autumn afternoon.
A young crowd of tourists circle around a guide outside Stephansdom and listen in the pale light of an autumn afternoon; Two women but rough cut hot potatoes in a paper cone from a street stall.
A man reads a book sitting in his carriage amongst the horses and carriages waiting for passengers outside the Hofburg Palace and the Spanish Riding School.
A sculpture of St Joseph on the Josefsbrunnen fountain on Graben, a pigeon sitting on the mans head and in the boys arms; An old man and a young woman sit on a bench seat and look at a map outside the massive white buildings that is the Hofburg Palace.
The hand and arm of a muscular marble fountain sculpture on the wall of the Hofburg Palace reaches out towards a Smart Car parked on the street.
A classical sculpture fountain in Maria-Theresien_Platz with a man reading outside the Kunsthistorisches Museum; Bicycles parked inside the ornate domed entrance to the Hofburg Palace.
A bronze horseman on a large statue honouring Empress Maria Theresa with the ornate domed 19th Century Kunsthistorisches Museum behind.
Two young women stroll in the gardens of the Belvedere Palace with it’s sculpted hedge trees and lawns, the 18th Century building houses a large and impressive collection of Austrian paintings including the largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work.
A bench seat and hedge with the beginnings of fallen autumn leaves in the gardens of Belvedere Palace, a couple walking in the background.
From the hill top within the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace people look out over a view of Vienna.
Looking through flowers planted in the red and white stripes of the Austrian flag up the hill towards the Schönbrunn Gloriette, a grand and ornate pavilion within the Palace gardens which now houses a cafe.

In front of the large yellow and cream World Heritage listed Schönbrunn Palace a family of three look at a map of the gardens.
The ornate architecture of Viennese apartment buildings, including the ceramic tiled Majolikhaus building designed by Otto Wagner, a member of the Secession; Looking past a pond, sculpture and immaculately straight hedge trees towards Schönbrunn Palace, the 17th Century Baroque imperial summer palace.
Couples walk among the tree avenues within the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, it’s early autumn and the air is crisp, the sun warm and a few yellowed leaves are beginning to fall.An old Strassenbahn tram turns a corner outside the Austrian Parliament Building with the long shadows of autumn afternoon light.
Two horses with blankets to keep them warm wait to give carriage rides on the cobblestones outside the Hofburg Palace; The setting sun reflects golden on wall and lamps of a very old narrow street.
In Austria, even in the capital of Vienna, it only takes a short drive to be out in the green countryside, here we look through the trees on a mountain top down onto a small village nestled in the rolling hills.
Two men walk along a dirt road in the mountainous woods near Grünbach Am Schneeberg in the golden light at the end of the day.
Up in the hills, signs on a tree trunk point to hiking trails and huts; An orange sunset over the hilltops.

To see more photos of the world’s great cities go to New York NY , Chicago IL or San Francisco CA. Or to see more photos from Austria go to Salzburg AUSTRIA, Innsbruck AUSTRIA, Hallstatt AUSTRIA or Alps AUSTRIA.

The small red and white ferry which meets the train on the other side of Hallstätter See sits on the lake with a mountain backdrop.
The view when approaching Hallstatt from across the lake, tightly packed wooden houses and the stone church, parts of which date from the 12th Century, on the steep hillside with boats on the lake front; A cluster of houses cling to the hillside on the edge of the lake, the trees behind starting to change into their bright autumn colours.
Statue of the Holy Trinity in the Market Square with traditional Austrian-style houses, most of which date from the 16th Century.
Looking through leaves to the roofs of the village and the stone steeple of the Christuskirche; A heavy decorative wooden balcony with colourful geranium planter boxes in the window.
Bench seats on the green mossy cobblestones around the drinking fountain and Holy Trinity sculpture in the village square.
A wooden carved Christ on the Cross beneath the stone vaulted ceiling inside the Catholic Maria Himmelfahrt church, parts of which date from the 12th Century but the majority from the very early 16th Century; Ornate 18th Century lettering on the base of the Statue of the Holy Trinity with tourists grouped outside a guesthouse in the background.
Looking along the side of a buildings with a green vine, pink geraniums and shuttered windows to the roofs of the village and the church steeple.
Colourful flowers growing in the sunshine on graves in the churchyard on the hill, with a beautiful backdrop of mountains and another church’s steeple.
Stone steps which form the streets through most of the village leading up to a house high on the hill and overlooking the lake.
Looking through the trees to the small village on a mountainside above the lake, with a boat crossing the still water.
A bike parked in front of very old rambling stone houses with wooden balconies; A wooden boat shed on the Hallstätter See lake with mountains and the pale hazy light of autumn.
Looking through a balcony on the glistening lake, along the road to the sunny village in the mountains.
White flowers grow at the base of a very old stone and wood house; Shadows of ironwork on a balcony overlooking the lake with a white flower pot plant.
White and green Austrian-style house with red geranium planter boxes and a tree overlooking the Hallstätter See lake.
Small restaurant in a stone buildings with a sandwich board advertising the Tagesmenu and bright red geraniums out the front.
Red and white stripes painted on a tree trunk indicating a hiking trail which leads through the green woods up winding and climbing up the mountainside to the old salt mine; Looking over a wooden picket fence to a grassy field and tree-covered hill on the outskirts of the village.
A small road winds through the bright green grass to a historic white mining building nestled in the tree-covered hills.
Big boulders and a small stream in the dark forest along the hike back down from the mountains.

To see more photos of Austria go to Vienna AUSTRIA, Salzburg AUSTRIA, Innsbruck AUSTRIA or Alps AUSTRIA.

One of the figures flanking Madonna on the large statue in front of Salzburger Dom, the cathedral visable behind; Just off Residenzplatz a busker plays the accordion in an archway in front of an old iron door as a woman rides past on a bike.
A woman wheels her bike down a darkened cobblestone street past a row of parked bikes.
A woman rides her bike past and old pink building, a long ornate lamp shadow is cast by the early morning sun; One of the marble horses that forms the Residenzbrunnen in the center of Residenzplatz, a baroque fountain built in the 1650s, spouts a thin stream of water.
Bikes line a cobblestone alley, which ends with a weeping tree and an ornate public drinking fountain.
Young locals cross the road on bicycles in front of old buildings lining the River Salzach, the Festung Hohensalzburg looming 542 meters above looking down on the city; A decorative red and white arched door on the Stieglkeller, a beer hall that dates from 1426 and with its thick stone walls is actually built into the town’s defences, which means it is on a narrow cobblestone alley right at the base of the Festung.
Two grey buildings, one a Gasthaus, with small square windows and a lamp between them.
Silhouetted leaves and a lamp post on the climb up the hill to the Festung, looking down over the roofs and copper church spires; A tourist walks beneath the large stone archway of the old Festung Hohensalzburg gatehouse, the entrance to the walled Fortress which can trace it’s beginnings to 1077 followed by expansion of the complex in the late 1400s.
Looking over the stone wall of the Festung to the domed roof and spires of Salzburger Dom.
Grass grows on top of the Festung wall, with autumn leaves and city roofs behind; A wooden bench seat on cobblestones within the Festung walls, an old stone wall behind it and a flower box filled with red geraniums above.
In front of the pale stone chapel, in the courtyard of Festung Hohensalzburg, two women talk beneath a large tree.
Old pale stone walls, steps and cobblestone of the buildings inside the walls of Festung Hohensalzburg.
An arched doorway and old pale stone steps, with an orniate iron lamp and relief carving, the entrance to one of the Festung buildings; From the Festung a birds-eye view of the city, with its colourful roofs, buildings slotted together and narrow streets.
People eat lunch in the sunshine at a restaurant perched right at the edge of the high fortress’ wall, with green gardens below and a fortress lookout in the distance; People drinking beer and relaxing at a beer garden in the Festung courtyard.
The thick stone wall of the Festung, with an iron lamp and a tall turret in the background.
Old buildings which form the corner of a small public square, with ornate windows and a wooden door, pink flower boxes and bicycles parked outside; Two older women lunch together outside, at a restaurant in the street outside Mozart’s Geburtshaus, his birth house.
Tourists fill the narrow, curving and beautifully ornate pedestrian street called Getreidegasse, a center of tourist activity it has the high cliffs of the Festungberg at one end and is the location of Mozart’s Geburtshaus.
An older man in a dark suit and hat walking through narrow cobblestone lanes with the usual lane residents, bicycles and pigeons; In a winding street in front of the Festungberg cliffs, people stand in the street to eat from a Heisse Würstel, or ‘hot sausage’, street cart.
People stroll in the gardens of Schloss Mirabell, with its freshly planted yellow pansies and green grass; A bronze statue of Pegasus in the pond outside Schloss Mirabell.
Locals sit on park benches against an avenue of trees in the Mirabell Gardens, talking and reading.
Scooters parked on the side of the road with the old Festung, high above the city, behind.
A horse and carriage takes tourists for a ride through Residenzplatz and Domplatz, down the side of Salzberger Dom which dwarfs them; An old wooden covered carriage waits in Residenzplatz to give rides.
Behind the Dom and the Residenz amongst ornate old buildings, is a popular cafe and coffee roastery with funky modern orange chairs.
A narrow cobblestone lane with a decorative iron sign advertising a brothel within, seemingly operating since 1501, complete with red lantern out the front when night falls; A young local woman in an ‘I heart NY’ t-shirts walks down the ornate and narrow pedestrian street Getreidegasse with decorative iron shop signs hanging above.
A woman walks through a small square in fron of a five-storey building which, according to the date painted near the roof, was built in 1294; A line of bikes parked side by side on the cobblestones leading up hill to an old stone archway.

To see more photos of Austria go to Vienna AUSTRIA, Hallstatt AUSTRIA, Innsbruck AUSTRIA or Alps AUSTRIA.