MTrav's VirtualTourist Home Page

Welcome to my travel pages. VT members have been a great source of information and inspiration for me, so I feel obligated to contribute my own humble travel experiences. I hope you will find something useful or at least interesting here for you in your travels.

This is the Kluane range from the AlCan highway in 1993. I was driving from New Mexico to Alaska when I took this photo, and this was my first sight of Alaska. No matter where I go this will always be the most exciting trip for me.

This is a photo from the top of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The mountain in the distance is Mauna Loa. If you measure from the sea floor, these are the tallest mountains on the planet.

I lived in Hawaii for about 1 1/2 years. I lived on Oahu but spent a lot of time on the Big Island of Hawaii. Thousands of miles from the nearest continental landmass, the Big Island has an amazing variety of people, terrain, biomes, and marine life.

On the southern slope of Mauna Loa is the active volcanic vent named Kiluea. I was very fortunate because while I lived here, Kiluea was active for a few months. I stood a few feet from fresh lava as it flowed towards the ocean and solidified into new Earth.

The desert is a fascinating place. Life adapts in endless ways, and if youre patient you will see that the desert is full of life.
This is the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona. I lived for 5 years here in Tucson, Arizona. From late July until September monsoons produce incredible evening lightning storms. These Suagaro Cactus are huge, and by the time they grow an arm they are at least 50 years old. Many of these live 200 or more years.

This is Naknek Lake from Brooks Camp, in Katmai NP in Alaska. A Brown Bear usually has two cubs, however this female may have adopted the smaller pair of cubs.

Katmai NP is about 300 miles from the road system, so a floatplane is a convenient way to get there.

An Arctic Fox on the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba. This is in October 2001, and it was a late fall. This Fox is all dressed up for winter, and probably looking forward to some snow.

A Caribou near PolyChrome Pass, in Denali NP Alaska.

The 80-mile bus trip along the park road is an amazing place to observe Alaskan wildlife.

Along the Chilkoot river, near Haines, AK there is a late run of Salmon in October. This ice-free length of Salmon-rich river attracts Eagles, and typically there are thousands of Bald Eagles fishing a 10 mile stretch of the river in October.

This is an amazing canyon hidden in northeast Arizona. People have been living in the canyon floor for many thousands of years, and I think its easy to see why.
I was here after a strong thunderstorm in October 2006. Im looking forward to going back and hiking into the canyon.