6 National Monuments Obama should create before he leaves office.

Obama has already protected vast areas of land and water under the antiquities act - Katahdin Woods and Waters, a vast area of ocean off the Atlantic Coast, the San Gabriel Mountains - and 20 other places now owe their status as National Monuments to the current President. However, he still has a few months in office, and there are still many spectacular regions in urgent need of the protections his executive order would grant.

Cutthroat Climb Trail

The art of humans and the art of nature - both unique and wonderful in their own ways- are found here in a misty valley on the shores of Willapa Bay. Not so long ago, this whole region was blanketed in virgin old growth forest, but now after decades of logging, nearly all of it is gone. Willapa National Wildlife Refuge protects what little is left, as well as forests that will now be allowed to grow until one day they may be as grand as they once were.

Smoky sunsets and pyrocumulus

The giant Pioneer fire in Idaho is approaching 200,000 acres in size - a tragedy for the forest that has been consumed, and a source of immense amounts of pollution. However, every cloud has a silver lining - even if it is composed of smoke! From far to the north of the fire I was able to watch the towering pyrocumulus clouds boil up into the sky. In the evenings the sun would light up the smoke for tremendous sunsets.

Dusk to Dawn: Perseid Meteor Shower Timelapse

Wild Idaho Sky Timelapse

Westside Road Adventures: Lake George and Gobblers Knob Lookout

I said it would be an easy bike ride followed by a short and easy hike. I said we would see hardly any people. I said these things to entice my teenage siblings up the Westside Road of Mt. Rainier to the Gobblers Knob Lookout, and even believed them myself. As we pushed our bikes up the long hill to Round Pass we were passed by many swift and unencumbered hikers – yet again my rose-tinted planning glasses had let me down.

Gobblers Knob Historic Lookout Vandalized

A few days ago I visited the Gobblers Knob lookout. The view was amazing, but the experience was spoiled by the discovery of damage to the beautiful, historic lookout by malicious vandals.