The best coney island ever, in one of the worst neighborhoods ever.
 

 
Left Mitten, Right Mitten, and Merrick Butte.
 

 
The Moki Dugway is a one lane dirt road that descends 1,100 feet at a 10% grade. It was built in the 1950's by miners to transport uranium ore to Mexican Hat, Utah.
 

 
Natural Bridges National Monument. Sipapu Bridge is the second longest natural bridge in the world — 268 feet. Natural bridges are created by the movement of streams and rivers, unlike arches, which are created by wind and precipitation.
 

 
A prolonged exposure after sunset.
 

 
Jason is standing in the bottom left.
 

 
Looking out at the Green River.
 

 
9 photos that took a few months to stitch together.
 

 
Looking at a snowstorm over the Indian Peaks from Brainard Lake. Sarah and I went snowshoeing for the first time this season, in snow that's already 3 feet deep.
 

 
Berries outside of my office.
 

 
Berries outside of my office.
 

 
Sunrise on the first snow of the year.
 

 
Sunrise on the first snow of the year.
 

 
Sunrise on the first snow of the year.
 

 
Sarah and me entering the canyon at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks.
 

 
Sarah below some of the "tent rocks" at Kasha-Katuwe National Monument.
 

 
Chapel of San Miguel por Barrio de Analco - the oldest "continuously occupied" church in the United States.
 

 
Chapel of San Miguel por Barrio de Analco
 

 
Santa Fe is the second oldest city in the United States. It was founded in 1609, before any cities in the northeast. (The oldest city is St. Augustine in Florida, 1565). The plaza in downtown Santa Fe has been the center of town since 1610. The oldest public building in the United States, the Palace of the Governers, is located on the plaza. It is also the end of the Santa Fe Trail.
 

 
Pronounced, "Maaa-drid."
 

 
Morning alpinglow on the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak.
 

 
Sarah
 

 
Jason and Mike.
 

 
At 14,336 feet, La Plata Peak is the 5th highest mountain in Colorado.

 
Looking out at Humbolt Peak (14,064), Crestone Peak (14,294), and the Crestone Needle (14,197) from the summit of Venable Peak (13,330).
 

 
The San Luis Valley from Venable Peak (13,330 ft).
 

 
Rachel and Jay climbing Venable Peak.
 

 
Sarah, Jason and Rachel hiking up Phantom Terrace.
 

 
Looking into the valley below from somewhere near 12,000 feet.
 

 
Looking into the valley below from somewhere near 12,000 feet.
 

 
Looking into the valley below from somewhere near 12,000 feet.
 

 
Sarah hiking to our campsite, which was located in the trees in the upper right of the photo. A big thunderstorm started dumping hail on us as soon as we got the tent set up.
 

 
Near the campsite.
 

 
Sarah looking over the hidden valley.
 

 
Sarah and I spilunking.
 

 
Jay on Pawnee Pass.
 

 
Sarah
 

 
Strandvägen from Djurgårdsbron.
 

 
The view from our window.
 

 
Sarah climbing Reinebringen.
 

 
Jay took a photo from here a few years ago.
 

 
Me trying to copy one of Jason's photos.
 

 
Zooming in on our cabin from the summit of Reinebringen.
 

 
Looking down at the trail along Reinebringen's ridge.
 

 
A view of the trail on Reinebringen's ridge.
 

 
A view of the trail on Reinebringen's ridge.
 

 
Amazing view from Reinebringen — one of the mountains next to Reine. It was one of the most spectacular climbs I've ever done. I'll post more photos from it later.
 

 
Purchase file: 600/800px ($5), 1600/1200px ($10)
Purchase Prints: 8 by 10 ($20), 11 by 14 ($40)
 

 
Reine at 1:30 in the morning.
 

 
Looking toward mainland Norway at sunrise/sunset - 1 in the morning.
 

 
The red buildings on the right are rorbuer, abandoned fishermen's cabins. Ours is one of the ones right on the water. This photo was taken around midnight, when the weather finally started to clear after 2 or 3 days of grey clouds.
 

 
Looking down at Å and waiting for the clouds to clear.
 

 
Tent near Å, a very small fishing village at the southern end of the islands. We climbed the pass over the mountains in the background only to get stuck in rain and clouds. This photo was taken at 4 in the morning.
 

 
The mountains next to Svolvær. That's a bus in the corner of the photo.
 

 
Looking out at Svolvær from our campsite. Svolvær is the largest town on the Lofoten Islands (population: 4,197 in 2005), and a great place to spend $10 on a bottle of cheap beer while waiting for the ferry to Narvik (one of the northernmost cities in the world and where we caught the train to Stockholm).
 

 
The Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace.
 

 
Stortorget, which translates as "the large square," was the scene of the Stockholm Bloodbath — in 1520 the Danish King Christian II murdered nobility and clergy who supported independence from Danish rule.
 

 
The outside of our hostel in Stockholm. We stayed here the first night.
 

 
The man, the legend — Erik Thoreson. Erik attended my high school as an exchange student and was one of my best friends. I promised him then, 9 years ago, that I would visit him someday in Sweden. This photo was taken during dinner in Gamla Stan.
 

 
View of Lake Constatine while descending the east side of Fall Creek Pass.
 

 
The view from the top of Fall Creek Pass (12,600 ft.).
 

 
Erik climbing Fall Creek Pass. This photo was taken at the lowest of the Seven Sisters Lakes (11,820 ft.). Fall Creek starts at the highest lake (12,750 ft.).
 

This former mining town is located on the eastern border of the Holy Cross Wilderness. The buildings (we found 3 standing) are about 130 years old and located 11,500 feet above sea level. We camped here our second night.
 

 
A small lake next to Holy Cross City
 

 
A gravestone from 1916.
 

 
The view of Cross Creek Valley from the top of Fancy Pass. Elevation: 12,400 ft.
 

 
A marmot enjoying the view east from the top of Fancy Pass.
 

 
Mr. Marmot was excited to have visitors.
 

 
Erik glissading down Fancy Pass.
 

 
Erik climbing the pass. Elevation: 12,000 ft. We started at the end of the valley below, 14 miles away at 8,500 ft. The entire trip was 28 miles over 3 days.
 

 
The view while climbing up Fancy Pass. Elevation: around 11,200 ft.
 

 
A friendly marmot along the Cross Creek trail.
 

 
Next to our campsite the first night.
 

 
Aquilegia coerulea, a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Columbine or Colorado Columbine. The state flower of Colorado.
 

 
Calochortus gunnisonii
 

 
Mertensia lanceolata
 

 
Tent in glacier lilies
 

 
Tent overlooking Crater Lake
 

 
Waterfalls and cliffs on the south side of Crater Lake
 

 
Looking northeast from the campsite
 

 
Cascade Falls
 

 
The top of Cascade Falls
 

 
One of many waterfalls on Cascade Creek
 

 
Longs Peak at dusk

 
Landscape Arch is the second longest arch in the world at 290 feet. The longest (294 feet) is Kolob Arch in Zion National Park, also in Utah.
 

 
Our campsite in Elephant Canyon.
 

 
Me hiking to Elephant Canyon from Chesler Park.
 

 
Sarah hiking to Elephant Canyon from Chesler Park.
 

 
Elephant Canyon from Druid Arch.
 

 
A glimpse of Elephant Canyon from Chesler Park. It can barely be seen running along the base of the Needles.
 

 
Sarah and I enjoying the sunset.
 

 
The sunset from our campsite in Chesler Park. We camped here the first night.
 

 
A canyon on the northern side of Chesler Park.
 

 
Entering Chesler Park from the north.
 

 
A joint on the Chesler Park Trail. We encountered a much more adventurous trail of this sort on the side of Big Spring Canyon on our third day - instead of walking on the ground through the joint, we walked on logs that were unevenly wedged into the walls 100 feet above the ground.
 

 
Fremont, Anasazi, Navajo and American people have all added to it over the course of 2,000 years.
 

 
Jay. The road opens on Memorial Day, which was the next weekend, so we had to walk 7 miles to the trailhead.
 

 
Boulder from Bear Peak
 

 
Jay on Bear Peak
 

 
Some small waterfalls in a dense and damp forest.
 

 
Andrew
 

 
Andrew
 

 
Andrew. Don't worry: he's not drinking. He's more than 20 years underage.
 

 
Erik, Ellie, Anu and Sudhir
 

 
Erik
 

 
Josh and Robert
 

 
Reflection of Sarah and me
 

 
Josh Sheets lost the mallet of a croquet club midswing. We still have no idea where it went.
 

 
The tip of the iceberg.
 

 
Sarah, Chris, Erik and I climbed Green Mountain and Bear Peak today, hiking a little over 9 miles and climbing about a mile in elevation. The photo above (of some guy climbing Bear Peak) was taken with my new camera. The ones below are from my old camera.
 

 
Mt. Princeton, a huge bulky mass with three peaks, is one of my favorite mountains in Colorado. It's also part of the largest concentration of mountains over 14,000 feet on the continent (the Sawatch Range).
 

 
Mt. Antero (14,269 ft) and Mt. Ouray (13,971 ft).
 

 
Mt. Princeton and Mt. Yale at dusk. Mt. Princeton is 14,197 ft and Yale is 14,196 ft. Here's the view of Princeton from the summit of Yale.
 

 
Really?...
 

 
Sarah snowshoeing across Lake Isabelle.
 

 
View of Navajo, Apache and Shoshoni Peaks from near Long Lake.
 

 
View of Navajo, Apache and Shoshoni Peaks from the west side of Lake Isabelle. We camped on the east end.
 

 
Late morning.
 

 
Sunset.
 

 
Even though it felt like summer today, parts of the Fern Canyon trail were very slippery with ice and packed snow, especially near the summit of Bear Peak. The loop we used to climb South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak was 9.5 miles long and gained 3,480 feet in elevation.
 

 
Sarah on Bear Peak (8,464 ft).
 

 
Looking south. Pikes Peak is visible in the distance.
 

 
Looking down at Boulder Canyon from the summit of South Boulder Peak (8,549 ft).
 

 
The Loch with The Sharkstooth (12,630 ft.) in the background. The trail to the Loch, and past it to timberline through Loch Vale, is one of the best snowshoe trails in Rocky Mountain.
 

 
Longs Peak from Loch Vale.
 

 
The trailhead for the Chicago Lakes trail. Looking toward Mount Evans.
 

 
Sarah on the Chicago Lakes trail with typical Colorado winter colors in the background (blue sky, white snow, green trees and brown rock).
 

 
Hiking toward Mt. Evans on the Chicago Lakes Trail.
 

 
Mt. Evans (center, 14,264 ft) is one of the prominent mountains on the Denver skyline.
 

 
The view (east) of Moraine Park on the way back to the trailhead. The most popular views of Moraine Park include the mountains to the west. We hiked up into these mountains but the snow and wind prevented us from seeing most of the peaks. Here are a few photos by a photographer named Erik Stensland.
 

 
The view of Stones Peak (12,922 ft.) from the Cub Lake trail in Rocky Mountain N.P.
 

 
Sarah and Me
 
 

 
Looking north-northeast at the main portion of the Eagles Nest Wilderness. Tons of Aspen.
 
 

 
Looking south-southwest at the Holy Cross Wilderness. Mount of the Holy Cross (14,005 ft.) is the big one on the left. The name is derived from a snowfield on the mountain.
 
 

 
Looking east at the southern portion of the Eagles Nest Wilderness.
 
 

 
Looking west-northwest with the Flat Tops Wilderness on the horizon.
 
 

 
Sarah and I did a short hike in Boulder's Mountain Parks. This particular trail starts about one mile west of Boulder. The Indian Peaks are 30-45 miles away in the background, with Boulder Canyon leading to them.
 
 

 
A now abandoned schoolhouse near Rollinsville. The founder of this mining camp outlawed saloons and dancehalls. Today the camp is one of the trailheads for the James Peak Wilderness. The trailhead is located at the east portal to Moffat Tunnel, which carries trains through the Continental Divide.
 
 

 
James Peak (13,294 ft.) and Haystack Mountain (11,780 ft.)
 
 

 
Roger's Pass Lake
 
 

 
James Peak and Haystack Mountain
 
 

 
James Peak and Haystack Mountain
 
 

 
I made my own map with National Geographic software.
 
 

 
And made spaghetti with my new stove.
 
 

 
Getting close to treeline.
 
 

 
Switchbacks over the Continental Divide can be seen where wind has blown away the snow. This is Roger's Pass.
 
 

 
Hiking toward the Continental Divide, 11,200 feet.
 
 

 
White-tailed Ptarmigans at 11,400 feet.