Today, we honor the CAL FIRE personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in the month of October. Each person had a story, a crew, a community, and a reason for serving. We remember the people behind the names and the lives they touched through their service.

What more needs to be said about enjoying the colorful display of a Hawai’ian sunset.

Okay, there's a ship in this picture, but without it, I wouldn't have been in this spectacular location. As fate would have it, a couple of bad decisions lead to the loss of this drone about six hours later. Smartly, I download work footage off the drone after each flight.

Not many national parks have runways but Death Valley has three! This is the only paved strip in the park and there are only about six national parks around the US that have an airport or landing strip at all.

Thanks to a local’s suggestion, I took the high road from Hawi to Waimea on the Big Island. Seemed like it would take longer to get back to my hotel that way but he said the views were worth it. He didn’t mention the total lushness of the hillsides. Granted, this is cattle country so this is all for grazing, but without the cows it makes a pastoral scene I turned around to take in.

This is why I love a window seat. Those one off fleeting occurrences

I first saw this quote posted somewhere online, without attribution, a long, long time ago… and while letting Lightroom dig through a bunch of folders, I stumbled upon the screenshot I had made back…

Way out in the desert, along a bumpy and rutted dirt road on your way to the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park, is Teakettle Junction. No one really knows how the spot got its name or when but with the posting of the sign people started leaving actual teakettles with all kinds of decorations. As time goes on the park rangers will remove them so this spot is something of a changing art piece.

In one of the older buildings near the Augereberry mining claim in Death Valley is an old, old stove.

Just another golden sunset on the California Coast

From 6300' up on Aguereberry Point in Death Valley is a pretty great view looking South down the length of the park. Badwater Basin and more spreads far, far away.

Long empty hallways are another repeating theme in my life. When I am out filming for work I often pick hotels that have free breakfast and that usually leads to hotels that look like this: functional, mostly safe, a bit drab, but good enough for a night’s sleep.

Ever take pictures of things you don’t know and then forget to look them up? Sure you do! Agree with me to make me feel better! This is the Pagoda Buckwheat, native to California and the Mojave Desert. Spotted in Death Valley National Park on the rim of the Ubehebe Crater.

I had a chance to go birding with the LA Birders today up in the San Gabriel Mountains, a location on the back side by Big Pines. It's not a location I would normally be drawn to, partially because it was 1.75 hours away. But getting up to 7000'+ made the temperatures on the moderate sized and the habitat meant a chance for different birds.