Looking Out

Famed naturalist John Muir, also known as Father of the National Parks and John of the Mountains once wrote, “People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike!” He thought of mountains and other natural places as “Holy Land” and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not hike through them.

Admittedly, when out in nature I find myself trapped in a hiking mode of pace and distance. When that happens the view of our natural world tends to more narrowly focus a few feet immediately ahead. Thankfully, John Muir’s use of the word “saunter” frequently drifts to mind as a friendly reminder to slow down or stop to look out beyond the trail and breathe in nature’s majesty.

Nature photo of Indian Canyon captured in a location near Palm Springs California. Desert Oasis.
Nature photograph of the Brooks Range. Image was captured at during an August sunset looking south from tundra above the Arctic Circle in Alaska.
Nature photo of pure blue ocean water during early morning light with low fog hanging above the shoreline of British Columbia, Canada.
Nature photo of a lone weathered tree taken after sunset along Arizona's Grand Canyon's South Rim.
Winter hiking / snowshoe trail photographed in January snow. Image location is in the naturally beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior.
Photo of a lone tree standing in a small Mississippi Lake. Nature image was captured during early morning light and fog. Photograph taken in South Western Mississippi.
Nature landscape photo of early morning fog over a river valley after a night of heavy rain. Alabama USA
Desert landscape nature photo of Catalina State Park near Tucson Arizona.
Nature photo of early morning fog before sunset taken over a lake in the Yukon Territory, Canada.
Early autumn nature photograph of a lake and shoreline captured in Minnesota's Two Inlets State Forest.
Beautiful landscape nature photo of a small prairie lake and shoreline taken at sunrise in South Western Minnesota..
Nature foto of a stream slowly flowing fthrough bayou forest taken in Southern Louisiana.
Photo of a small desert stream flowing after rain in Catalina State Park located near Tucson Arizona. Natural earth hues of dusty browns, greens and grays.
Nature landscape photograph of an Alaskan Mountain Range and Pine Trees in the foreground before sunrise.
Photograph of a narrow dirt road winding along the edge of a deep canyon in Souther Utah. Hues of brown and blue.
Early morning photo of the Matanzas Inlet captured during a period of heavy fog. North Eastern Florida.
Landscape photo of an ocean beach taken on Vancover Island locate in British Columbia Canada. Blue ocean water and sky with edges of white and green.
Nature photograph of Rainbow Falls captured during the winter. Waterfall Ice. UP Michigan.
Landscape photo of a midwestern prairie before sunset.
Nature photo of late summer lake near Fairbanks Alaska
Nature photo of Missouri River backwater after sunset.
Nature photo of a mountain rainbow ca[tured near Borrego Springs California.
Nature photo reseting on thin lake ice capture on Sucker Lake near Minneapolis Minnesota.
Landscape nature photo of the Grand Canyon after sunset looking north from the south rim in Arizona.
Nature landscape photograph of a stream inside Oak Creek Canyon's Slide Rock State Park taken near Sadona Arizona.
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