Desert Camping, Sahara Style - Off-roading at about 60 miles per hour across the rocky desert, with the radio playing our driver’s favorite Moroccan cassette tape, we were astonished to see rain clouds. It was quite beautiful - we watched the storm as we drove in our Toyota 4x4s, rain clouds dark blue against the sky, reaching fingers to the ground, lightning flashing, thunder following.  More...

Desert Animal Survival -
Lack of water creates a survival problem for all desert organisms, animals and plants alike. But animals have an additional problem -- they are more susceptible to extremes of temperature than are plants. Animals receive heat directly by radiation from the sun, and indirectly, by conduction from the substrate (rocks and soil) and convection from the air. More...

Shutterbug 101: Windows to the Soul - Good portraits are one of the hardest photographic skills to come close to mastering. Notice I didn’t say “master” because I am not sure anyone ever masters the art of photography as it is a lifelong learning process. There is a huge difference between a snapshot and a candid portrait. More...

Shutterbug 101: Up close and personal - Today we continue with a lesson on candid portraits, that is, portraits shot outside of a portrait studio. In this situation you have two choices: shoot tight on just the face and shoulders or shoot wider to allow some of the environment to show. Tighter is good when the background is distracting or when you want to highlight a stunning face. More...

Climbing Mt. Whitney - Mt. Whitney is the most frequently climbed peak in the Sierra Nevadas, and perhaps the entire U.S. The summit can be most directly reached via a 10.7-mile trail from Whitney Portal, 13 miles west of of Lone Pine. Ice axes and crampons are needed in spring and early summer, but technical climbing equipment is not usually necessary between mid-July and early October. More...

Get the latest Colorado River information - The rivers feeding Lake Powell are below average, but the lake starts to rise at this time of year. Lake levels are changing as the water flow down the Colorado river to Mexico through the dams and lakes. More...