newest images from Badlands National Park

The experiences are what create my images. Like a child being born, the nurturing of the resulting infant or image is vital.

I am in the infancy stages of working the art from my most recent trip west. Starting and ending my photographic journey in the Badlands I covered 7000 miles in just under four weeks.

Traveling through many of our national parks I experienced the joys of exploring our Best American idea first hand! Stay tuned for more images! I create them as huge canvases and they are available to you as special limited edition pieces.

Kristen Westlake
Nature and Wildlife Photography on Canvas
WEBSITE: http://www.Kristenwestlake.com
PHONE: (262) 374-0869
EMAIL: kristenwestlake2@gmail.com

Rocky Mountain National Park

> The next day however made Ridge Road and me great friends. The sunny
> morning gave way to moody storm clouds and gave me brilliant
> photography as I made my way back to the East side of the park and
> observed what I was unable to see the night before.
> Of course I must hike or run in every place that I make images.
> Whether I am making images from the hike itself or simply
> experiencing Nature as she is it seems essential to me anymore to
> immerse myself in the knowledge of the land. Ute Trail was
> recommended to me by a volunteer at the visitor center.
> I had become quite accustomed to the high altitude of over 2 miles
> up and really revel in that thin air! Workouts are better and I can
> breathe so easy! So many have difficulties up here so I swear on the
> possibility of having been a mountain goat in a previous life! LOL..
> You can see by the GPS route that I was at around 2 miles altitude
> and you can also see the tell tale signs of where and when I went
> off course and did my own trail blazing.
>

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Sept 6 - Great Sands National Park Evening Photo shoot

The light was extremely dramatic on the drive over to this wonderful park. A rainbow blessed my drive into the park and for just a few moments even treated me to a double rainbow!

I arrived just in time for the dramatic light on the dunes and on the distant mountains. There were quite a few people on the dunes but they faded away just before the best light show of the evening... Of course they leave when the sun sets and I hang out for the afterglow.
The only problem with that is that it is quite easy to turn around to come back to the dunes parking lot and not be able to find it! Darkness sets in and the vastness of the dunes, though I had not wandered in all that far, makes it nearly impossible! Luckily I did spot someone with a very white shirt who had a flashlight and I followed him directly back.

The moon gave me a constant show through a pitch black night as I wandered with my Honda up to a little town called Salita for the night.

Kristen Westlake
Nature and Wildlife Photography on Canvas
WEBSITE: http://www.Kristenwestlake.com
PHONE: (262) 374-0869
EMAIL: kristenwestlake2@gmail.com

hiking the Continental Divide trail

Sept 6 Hiking a part of the Continental Divide Trail

I got out of Durango and finally into really beautiful mountain regions of Colorado.
Though several times I have driven by areas that crossed the Continental Divide I had not seen the trail that extends from the North Region of Montana in Glacier National Park to Mexico. Today I did. So I hit the trail for just a 6 mile hike up to Alberta Peak. I imagined myself through hiking the entire 3600 miles and wondered what that might be like with a huge pack on my back and getting through some of these narrow single track that edged the side of the mountain that I was on.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and I could hear a thunderstorm brewing in the distance. If I had been at home it might have been more cause for alarm to get back to the trail head. Here everything is so huge that I could see and hear the storm from my vantage point and it was really quite far away.
Pictures here from the trail and from where I sat at Alberta Point.

Kristen Westlake
Nature and Wildlife Photography on Canvas
WEBSITE: http://www.Kristenwestlake.com
PHONE: (262) 374-0869
EMAIL: kristenwestlake2@gmail.com

Monument Valley Sept 4

Later that day I made my way down to Monument Valley and stayed in a
little town called Bluff. Storms were moving in which gave much drama
to the monuments landscape.

Sept 4 Canyonlands

While Arches was a neat park I find a bit more solitude to be
preferable when I am composing pictures. Getting off the beaten path
heightens the atmosphere for creativity and bond with the land.
All the hiking I am doing makes me a part of rather than separate from
my subjects.
This morning I met the canyon for a pre-dawn display and watched as
the canyon bloomed with color as the sun peaked up and over the first
cliff.
A challenging hike called Wihite Trail took me down inside the canyon.
It was hot and I was really really solo on this trek. I wondered how
many, if any, hike this each day. The cairns were there but I really
had to look for them. The trail was sometimes but not often visible as
I made my way down the rocky edge of the canyon, looking always for
the next cairn.
I loved the challenge and had enough water but often wondered if I
should really be doing this alone. ... I am glad I did.

Arches National Park Sept 2

I got here early afternoon and went first to Delicate Arch. I loved
the 1.5 mile climb up the slick rock. It's exhilarating and a great
workout!
For me, Arches is full of too many people.. but I love the slick rock
climbs!

Sept 1 - Bryce Canyon

Sept 1 - Bryce Canyon

I most often enjoy getting into the land in order to really experience
the art of making images. My 8 mile hike took me into this eye candy
world where I felt sheer bliss. The colors, shapes and formations were
amazing in every direction, changing 360 degrees with every step I
took. I was constantly looking in all directions as well as behind me,
seeing images and art everywhere.

August 31

August 31 - Sunday

I dropped Kimberli off at the Salt Lake City Airport early in the
morning. We stayed with my High School Track and CC coaches in SLC the
night before. I returned back and enjoyed the morning hiking with
SarAndyand catching up. It was great to see Sarah and Bill. They were
the biggest influences on me at Wayland Academy and kindled my love
for running, trails which has lead into who I am today and how I live
life in the moment!

Off I went after lunch onwards to Bryce Canyon where I stayed.

Kristen Westlake
Nature and Wildlife Photography on Canvas
WEBSITE: http://www.Kristenwestlake.com
PHONE: (262) 374-0869
EMAIL: kristenwestlake2@gmail.com

August 29, Saturday Tetons

August 29, Saturday Tetons

Today was an exciting one. Along our 14 - 15 mile hike between Teton
Mountains we were surrounded by beauty and encountered several bull
moose!

Kimberli spotted the first one by his huge rack as he laid in the
grasses sleeping. He was acting similar to the mountain goat I
photographed in Glacier - nodding off and trying so hard to stay
awake. We stayed for about an hour and a half watching and hoping that
with every move he made that perhaps he would stand up. We had a long
trek ahead of us and were debating leaving and checking on Mr. Moose
on the return ( it looked as if he was planted in slumberland for the
day). Suddenly he was up! .. so we photographed and were amazed at the
grandeur of this beautiful creature.

We made it up with an elevation gain of 2300 feet. I revel in the
higher altitudes. The first day in Montana Mountains gave me a
headache as I adjusted but I get a high from running at altitude and
hiking in it. Anyway, we made it to the lake at the end and sat on a
rock for some grub. We didn't have much food left so we brought mozz
cheese sticks and I think we had a little peanut butter and carrots.
It was food and that was all that mattered.

We made it down and encountered two bull moose. One was the big boy
from the morning and the other was a new one, pictured here. The high
of the day! We watched his behavior and were able to get about 20 feet
from him as he blissed out eating grasses, ignoring us. I wouldn't
recommend getting that close - you have to really know how to read
animal behavior, warning signs, etc..

The end of the day celebrated at the Jackson Lodge near our
campground. We love the hummus plate and I love their chardonnay!

August 26 Yellowstone

August 26 Yellowstone

We entered Yellowstone through the North and began in Mammoth Hot
Springs. The photos I made look as if there is snow behind the trees
but in fact it hotter than you would care to know!

We were hoping to see wolves but never heard or saw a single one. We
camped in a small campground called Slough Creek. I went for a great
8.5 mile run along a back country trail. I made a lot of noise along
the way to alert the bears and not surprise them. Their surprise to a
small human must be akin to a human's surprise when encountering a
snake. Of course its not scary but its startling! Along the trail I
met a group of people doing a back country hike/camp with lamas
carrying their gear. Kip let me take his picture with his lamas. He
comes here in the summers from Bozman for this great summer job.
And away I went back to my run.

So we didn't encounter any wolves but the bison were phenomenal! I
felt Yellowstone to be more touristy after being in Glacier which was
hiker's paradise ... but the bison made it so worth it. Here you don't
have to go far for pictures where as in Glacier a day's hike is where
the photography gems are (same with the Tetons and Bryce so far .. you
can see I am writing backwards from Bryce to catch up!).
So the bison... the cows are in estrus and the bulls are fully aware..
Need I say more? They are so intent on the cows that I could get out
and walk amongst them. Well, I did so to photograph them as they made
their trek up towards the road and then along the road and to the
other side.
The bulls kick dirt up often and then roll and roll. The image here
depicts this bull content as can be.. legs up, eyes closed... he
actually looked cute and cuddly, though I am sure that is not so much
the case.

Grizzly bear on Swiftcurrent Trail Glacier National Park

When I posted my blog on August 23 I had not yet gotten to my images.
Here is the grizzly bear we saw along the way, blissfully eating grass
and huckleberries!