Sunrise over Badlands

One man's *badland* is another man's national park. One of my new favorite American national parks is Badlands–a geologically and visually fascinating nature's playground with the rugged terrain, extreme temperatures and no water. It was definitely worth to wake up at 3:30 am to catch the sunrise over the park's unique rock formations.

Wild Horses of Roosevelt National Park

Hi, I'm one of the few hundred wild horses left in the US (and in the world). Together with my brothers and sisters I roam the plains of western North Dakota. I live a happy and content life. My largest source of entertainment are humans. Every day hundreds of them stop near me and take photos. I know, I'm mesmerizingly beautiful, but, please, that's not the reason to stare! Learn some manners! I don't come to your home and don't stare at you going around and taking care of your business... ;)

Off the Beaten Path

I'd be very surprised if any of my readers have heard about Makoshika State Park before I mentioned it just right now. Unless somebody out here is from Glendive, MO? :) I haven't heard about this beautiful park until I stumbled upon it during my last summer's trip and even now I had to re-check its name as not to misspell it. The existence of this magnificent, yet almost completely unknown park, is a great reminder to get "off the beaten path" more often.

Makoshika State Park

Surprise! The Blog Is Coming Back from a Hiatus

After a several-month-long break, the blog is coming back to live. However, I'm going to try something new. For the next 365 days I plan to post "one photo a day." It might be a photo taken on the day that I'm posting it, or–more likely–it will be one of my old photos with a few sentences of commentary providing context to the photo. I decided to try this new format as I miss blogging but I don't have enough time to write the longer blog posts I used to. I have a feeling that this new format will work well for me and I hope you'll enjoy it too.

Clarion Alley Mural Project

One of my favorite places in San Francisco to enjoy modern art is Clarion Alley in the Mission District, which hosts tens of cool murals, such as the one pictured below. If you haven't been there yet, make sure to check it out! Clarion Alley is between and parallel to 17th and 18th Streets and runs from Mission St to Valencia St.

Fog that Ate the Golden Gate Bridge

Pacific winds and a good fortune brought fog to Golden Gate Strait at the precise day and moment for which we planned a photographic expedition to Hawk Hill to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge.

I had a feeling that today would be a good day for photography, as two days ago the first clouds appeared on the San Francisco's sky. However, the weather turned out to be so much better than what I had hoped for. Not only there were clouds on the sky but also the first fog of the season rolled in as we approached the bridge! We spent over two hours observing and photographing the amazing spectacle of water, winds, sun and fog, feeling extremely grateful for the awesome city we can call our home.

Don't Judge Book by Its Cover

Before I traveled to Florida, I thought of it as a place overflowing with old retirees and young college drunks, a flat land that doesn't have much to offer. I was proved wrong. Florida turned out to be beautiful, lush, tropical and full of interesting animals. Our favorite place there was Bahia Honda, pictured on the photo below. We'll for sure be back!

Bahia Honda at Sunset.

Strangled Entangled

Entangled by a strangler fig, the Buddha's head keeps on fascinating: to some as a religious object, to others as a unique art form–a merger of human design and forces of nature.

Found and photographed in 2012 at Wat Maha That in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Why Isn't the Golden Gate Bridge Gold?

Because the name refers not to the color of the bridge but to the Golden Gate Strait which is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean.

The color of the bridge is orange vermilion, aka "International Orange." The orange vermillion color was chosen by architect Irving Morrow to be consistent with the bridge's natural setting among the warm colors of the land masses and to differentiate it from the cool colors of the sky and sea.

That's my bit of trivia for today :)

"Look, the Golden Gate Bridge, - Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat"

Mama Bear at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park

Seeing Grizzly Bears fish for salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska was an absolute highlight of our anyway splendid Alaskan adventure. I became particularly fond of the pictured below Mama Bear who was relentlessly trying to catch salmon for her three young babies, while making sure they wouldn't become food for other larger bears. That's one tough motherhood!

Weather Forecast Apparatus from Africa

The most reliable weather forecast apparatus :) - I found this gem at the Nakop border post between South Africa and Namibia. Years later, it still puts a smile on my face.