Beautiful World

I've been extremely lucky to visit some incredibly beautiful places in this world. The picture above was taken on the top of Mt. Saint Helens after we were lucky enough to win a hiking lottery to get hike the volcano the next day. After 4500 feet of elevation gain, we literally walked through these clouds to luckily get this "halo effect" view of the clouds on a nearby mountain. Standing at the top of the crater of the volcano after hiking through feet of volcanic ash was pretty incredible.
The picture above was taken on the top of the continental divide in the Tetons (on the Paintbrush Loop trail). The two alpine lakes were spectacular. We hiked 29 miles that day (literally we hiked more than a marathon). Probably one of the best days of my life.
This turquoise beauty is one of the many geothermal pools in Yellowstone National Park.
This lovely sunset picture was taken at Olympic National Park, after hiking through the Rain Forest, the Pacific Ocean appeared to me for the first time. It's crazy to think that I'm living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean now, when I had only discovered it for the first time here in 2003. We got to camp on this beach-- which is also the most Northwestern Point in the Continental United States. No one else in sight for miles.
Then... there is this ridiculously beautiful beach outside of Rio De Janeiro... Angra dos Reis. The rainforests hug the shores there and that day an incredibly charming fishing boat deposited myself and the other researchers on this deserted island. Pretty incredible.

I needed to make room on my computer for some new photos... but I didn't want to forget about all the other great places that have decorated my past, helped quench my thirst for beauty, and most importantly, dared me to discover more...