Other Places I've Been

After I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1983, I travelled around the U.S. a good deal and a bit overseas. I shot a lot of Kodachrome slides in that pre-digital age. I'm scanning some of my old slides and posting them here. These pages are for pics from places I've been that weren't on my Appalachian Trail Hike.

Sonoran spring. This is the Sonoran Desert in western Arizona from March 1984. Unusual winter rains had covered the landscape with new growth, and lots of desert flowers, including the blossoms on the ocotillo to the left.

Also from the Sonoran Desert, March 1984, a closeup view of some ocotillo flowers. Poison tells us every rose has its thorn, but roses have nothing on ocotillo in this respect.

I'm no expert, so feel free to correct me if this is wrong. Google Lens says this colorful cactus is a Walking Stick Cholla. Also from the Sonoran Desert, March 1984.

Same time, same place. Same cholla as above. A closer look at one of those cactus flowers.

A driftwood-covered beach along the Pacific coast of Washington. Also from March 1984.

A stormy day further south along the Pacific Coast of Oregon a few days later. A sharp eye can pick out a pair of gulls along the cliffs. An even sharper eye might pick out a tiny dot of a sandpiper near the high-water mark waiting for the next wave.

Below: A day or two later walking through Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Still following the Pacific Coast Highway with occasional scenic detours. Sun is beginning to break through the clouds and drizzle.

Still Oregon Dunes NRA from March 1984.

A tidal lagoon among the dunes.

Same day. Still Oregon Dunes.

Same day. Still Oregon Dunes NRA. The sun finally breaks through as I get my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean on that hike.

More Oregon Dunes.

Still more.

Port Orford, Oregon, looking south towards Humbug Mountain. A gem of a park and a fantastic place for a park bench on the Pacific Coast Highway near the Oregon - California border. I wish I packed a lunch. Still in March 1984.

Ruins of old outbuildings near Scotties Castle, Death Valley, California, April 1984. At the time I was visiting Death Valley National Monument. Ten years later it was designated a national park.

The floor of Death Valley, not far from Badwater, the lowest point on land in North America. The same winter rains that produced the cactus flowers in the Sonoran Desert pictured near the top of this page brought some salty water and fresh green to these usually barren salt flats.

Away from the salt flats, the gravelly valley floor even produced some flowering plants. If you look closely, you'll find several pale blue blooms peeking out from the green.

This plant was a bit more in peak bloom.

Various decomposing minerals color portions of the mountains surrounding Death Valley. They are especially concentrated in this spot known as Artists Pallette.

Not sure what it looks like now. The side road to Artists Pallette in 1984 was a winding one lane road through the gravel and lava deposits along the eastern wall of the valley. Note yet another 80s vintage budget rental car I picked up in Phoenix.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes area of Death Valley. Still April 1984.

Still in the dunes.

Spent most of that April 1984 afternoon walking around those dunes.

Reluctantly heading back to the car as the shadows lengthen and the early April temperatures drop into the brisk 80s.

The sun was about to set as I made my last stop of the day in a portion of the valley floor known as Devils Cornfield.

Saguaro National Monument, Arizona in April 1984. Ten years later this also became a national park.

Atlantic coast, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. From April 1979.

One more. Atlantic coast, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. From April 1979.

Painted Desert. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. April 1984.

Four Corners region of the American Southwest, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. From April 1984.

Four Corners region of the American Southwest, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. From April 1984.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. From April 1984.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. From April 1984.

Tropical Beach with small pandanus tree. Aitutaki, Cook Islands, South Pacific. May 1990.

Aitutaki, Cook Islands, South Pacific. May 1990.

Atiu, Cook Islands, South Pacific. May 1990.

My brother Mike heading to the beach on Atiu, Cook Islands, South Pacific. May 1990.

I'm not done. More pics here.