Canyonlands National Park is thirty miles outside of Moab, Utah, and in my experience, far less crowded than Moab’s nearest park, Arches. Canyonlands looks something like a Western movie set, so of course I have a few pictures saved in my to- paint folder.

Arches National Park is one Cory and I have been to several times, and while I think each National Park is special, I feel like posting about the ones I’ve been to that I have photo albums of as they are a source of inspiration in my work. As of my time of writing this I have been to Arches three times and Cory has five. It is in Utah, just outside of Moab, so is a place we have been able to go while on road trips to see family, and have made a point to while on vacation. Arches has the densest concentration of natural arches in the world- more than 2,000 - per nps.gov.

Grand Teton National Park is located right next to Yellowstone in Wyoming and is Cory’s favorite. When we went together we took the boat ride across Jenny Lake to hike on the other side. We hiked to Hidden Falls and up to Inspiration Point. The air there smells sweetly of pine and the views across the lake to the mountains are unmatched. Each lake in the park is beautiful. I can see why it’s Cory’s favorite!

Yellowstone is America’s original National Park, and it’s my absolute favorite. The landscape is so colorful, at times noisy, even smelly in parts, both sweet and stinky. It’s a rainbow you can walk in and as a painter I daydream about it often. I’ve painted several scenes from my trips to Yellowstone, and I believe I will continue to paint scenes from there for a very long time.

Olympic National Park is HUGE. It covers a large chunk of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and has snow-capped mountains, Pacific beaches, rainforest, rivers, with little road access except from the edges. We have been to Hurricane Ridge, a popular spot that leads to many mountainous hikes and even more mountain views , and Staircase, a section of the park that takes you along the Staircase Rapids of the North Fork Skokomish River.

Mt Tabor is an extinct volcano in Portland, OR that is a park, surrounded by neighborhoods. It has historic reservoirs, hiking trails, a dog park, kids’ playground, all in the middle of the city. You never quite know what you might see there- dance parties or wildlife.

Here in Portland I am fortunate to have many options to get outside. Tryon Creek is one such place and is a state park close enough to where I live that I am able to go most any day after work, or work it in to a busy weekend. We go there in most all weathers, enjoy the seasonal changes of flora and fauna, and though the parking lot may get crowded, we often have the trail pretty well to ourselves.

Ft Clatsop is where Lewis and Clark overwintered on the Oregon coast near present day Astoria. There is a reproduction of the original fort there with hiking trails, a visitor center that has a museum inside, and it hosts speakers on different topics relevant to the area. Part of the National Parks system, it’s good to have a pass to go for a visit.

Whatever may come of the name, the Audubon Society is cool and the Portland branch is a favorite of ours. It’s situated against Portland’s Forest Park- the largest urban park in America! It has trails in back along a stream, rehabilitates birds, has a couple of birds out for the public to meet, a gift shop and education programs. The birds they have there now are a great horned owl and a peregrine falcon who we love to see when we visit. We took a little hike there the other day and saw a pileated woodpecker along the Woodpecker Trail! We see them once in a while and it always feels noteworthy, an event.