This is my retirement trip with Mom. We took a boat through the inside passage to Seward and then the Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks and back to Anchorage for the flight home. There are lots of pictures and galleries, I took 4600 shots and distilled the images to the few you will see in these galleries.

The first picture is Sandy Askland who died May 21, ten days after his picture was taken by me. Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness is a 19,410-acre area about 120 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The wilderness includes the 11-mile long Aravaipa Canyon and Aravaipa Creek plus the surrounding tablelands and nine side canyons. Within the colorful 1,000-foot canyon walls, outstanding scenery, wildlife, and rich history are all protected. Seven species of native desert fish, desert bighorn sheep, and over 200 species of birds live among shady cottonwoods along the perennial waters of Aravaipa Creek.

Hearst Castle was built from antique walls, ceilings and furniture collected from all over Europe. The age of most things you see in Hearst Castle are from 200 to 600 years old. Keep that in mind as you view the walls, ceilings and furniture you see in these pictures. Almost all of the movie stars from the 1920's to 1940's stayed at the Castle. Hearst died August 14, 1951, Beverly Hills, CA.

The Grand Canyon in Snow February 18-19th 2011. My friend Neal and myself drove to the Grand Canyon on Feb 18th. It snowed a little that night but we were able to drive to Hermits Rest in the morning. At 10:30 AM it started coming down and roads started getting closed. I got a picture of Joelle who works at Hermits Rest for the Park Service. She served us Hot Chocolate in snowy weather. There were only four people at Hermits Rest when the road was closed. We had to leave sooner that we wanted as Neal and I were the last to leave Hermits Rest. The drive back was very pretty along the road and impossible to see to the canyon floor. It was a novel day for us two people from Phoenix.

The Needles District road of Custer State Park winds through the rocky spires in the high part of the park. There are numerous one lane tunnel passages that are beautiful. The road can end up in Keystone and the home of Mount Rushmore. The Needles Highway is a spectacular drive through pine and spruce forests, meadows surrounded by birch and aspen and rugged granite mountains. The road's name comes from the needle-like granite formations which seem to pierce the horizon along the highway. Construction was completed in 1922. You will pass through 3 single lane Granite Tunnels on the Needles Highway. Visitors traveling the highway pass Sylvan Lake and a unique rock formation called the Needle's Eye, so named for the opening created by wind, rain, freezing and thawing. Another road to drive is Iron Mountain Road. It is a work of art in itself. The highway connects central Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The highway passes through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Black Hills and including three tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore in the distance. The road is famous for the "Pigtail Bridges" or "Cork Screw" that allows travelers to drop or gain altitude quickly. The highway was constructed in the 1930s under the direction of Governor Peter Norbeck, who is also known as the "Father of Custer State Park." Norbeck said of the Iron Mountain Road, "this is not meant to be a super highway, to do the scenery justice you should drive no more than 20 mph and to do it full justice you should simply get out and walk." Experience the road that engineers once said couldn't be built; you'll be happy you did.

The painted metal Buffalos were taken on several street corners in the town of Custer, South Dakota. The real Buffalo pictures take at Custer State Park with some shots taken in Wind Cave National Park.