Mountain & River

My parents were always seeking things to do with my two brothers and I to preserve their sanity and avoid us burning the house down. Family camping trips were the go to activity. I learned to love travel then because it meant complete freedom. The better portion of my life has been spent traveling to new places, distant countries and vast wilderness areas. The beauty of the mountains is something I now know, having backpacked for over twenty years in the Colorado Rockies, Sierra Nevada's, Peruvian Andes, Cascades, Alaskan Chilkoot's and many other mountain ranges. This Mountain & River gallery includes photographs I took along the way, of grand places that inspire hope, strength, abundance, tranquility, solitude and gratitude.

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Mono Lake Tufa

Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates (settles out of solution as a solid) around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after water diversions began in 1941.

Mono lake Tufa mammoth yosemite mountain eastern sierra

Jim Nevill Photography

Mountain & River