Notre Dame de Paris (French for “Our Lady of Paris”) is widely considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in France and all of Europe.  The classic lines of this magnificent cathedral rise gracefully above the Seine River and are as recognizable as the Eiffel Tower, and in terms of visitation it is even more popular than Paris’ other icon.

Situated on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, and its treasury houses a reliquary with the purported Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. And as the geographical center of Paris, a marker by the main entrance represents ”point zero” from which all distances in France are measured.

Although a bit of a change from my usual subject matter, a recent trip to France found me wandering the back streets of old Lyon where the sights and sounds of this vibrant city were a visual feast.

The cobblestone streets of Vieux Lyon (the city’s oldest district) date back to ancient times when it was known as Lugdunum, the capitol of Gaul – the Roman Empire in France. Later, during World War II and the Nazi occupation, it was the center of the French Resistance as well as the headquarters of the infamous Klaus Barbie and the Gestapo.

Today it’s a wonderful mix of modern shops and cafes with a rich colorful history, and the sights and sounds of this old world destination certainly justify its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kiva in the mission convento at Pecos Pueblo, Pecos National Historic Park, New Mexico

Nestled in the lower slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe, Pecos National Historic Park encompasses the remains of one of the largest and most influential Indian pueblos in the region. Long before Coronado and Spanish influence arrived in 1540, this pueblo village was the major confluence of trade between the people of the Rio Grande Valley and the hunting tribes of the buffalo plains.

The rich mixture of history and culture at Pecos also includes the Santa Fe Trail and the Civil War Battle ground at Glorieta Pass, where the Confederacy’s last hopes of taking the goldfields of Colorado and California vanished. Today the park is far enough from the interstate and the bustle of Santa Fe that the only sound is the wind whispering through its adobe walls like spirits from the past.  It’s easy to forget that for centuries this was a major crossroads of North America and with over 12, 000 years of history preserved, it really is one of the hidden gems of the National Park System.

Les Braves WWII D-day monument on Omaha Beach created by French sculptor Anilore Banon

TGIF – It’s easy to say after a long work week in which maybe things didn’t all go as planned, but we need to put things into perspective. Sixty-seven years ago on this now quiet beach along the coast of Normandy, France decisions were made that have provided us with the freedoms we continue to enjoy today. This monument on Omaha Beach, Les Braves created by French sculptor Anilore Banon, is a tribute to the soldiers who made such great sacrifices during the Allied invasion on D-Day to preserve our way of life.

On this Veteran’s Day I’m grateful to those who have given so much to allow me the opportunity to live and work as I choose. In honor of the day, the National Park Service has waived the entrance fee for all parks, monuments and historic sites in the country this weekend. So head out and exercise your freedom, and enjoy America’s Best Idea on the house!

Evening light on tufa towers at the south shore, Mono Lake, California

The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, which was established in 1982, is one of 70 parks, historic buildings and monuments that California State Park officials plan to close by the end of June 2012 due to budget restraints. The famous south shore tufa will still be accessible (as will the rest of the lake), but the visitor center and information kiosks will likely close and with them a valuable educational resource that has helped keep Mono Lake alive.

Since the early part of the 20th century, the water rights along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains have been hotly contested with the construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct. The classic story of how Mulholland bought up the ranch lands of the Owen’s Valley to build his dream and bring water to the desert of Southern California is well-documented in the movie Chinatown, and the subsequent LA Department of Water and Power has been in court many times over the years as a result.

Mono Lake has no outlet and its proximity near the start of the LA aqueduct makes it critically dependent on the naturally flowing streams that feed into it from the nearby Sierra. Its highly saline waters are a perfect breeding ground for brine shrimp, which in turn are the staple diet for over 2,000,000 migratory birds that visit the lake each year (including the second largest nesting population of California gulls in the US).

Fortunately we’ve had a couple of very wet winters and Mono Lake is receiving the water it needs for now. But with the growing demand of a rapidly expanding and thirsty west, its future remains uncertain.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico is the largest concentration of ancient pueblos in the southwest. At its center, Chaco Canyon was a major cultural center of the Anasazi or Ancient Pueblo People between AD 900 and 1150, and contains the most impressive ancient ruins north of Mexico.

Situated high on the Colorado Plateau at over 6,000 feet, the Anasazi were skilled masons and built fifteen major structures at Chaco. Called Great Houses, they included the impressive 650 room Pueblo Bonito (a world heritage site) using stone and timber brought in on a network of roads from up to 15 miles away. They also practiced astronomy and experts believe their buildings were aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles. Many of them remained the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century.

No one knows exactly why this powerful culture suddenly disappeared in the late 12th century, but they left behind a lasting legacy in stone.

San Felipe de Neri Church, Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico

I’ll be making a shift from my usual subject matter while visiting many of the classic locales in France and Italy during the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to the challenge of creating unique images at some of the popular landmarks as well as just immersing myself in the culture and stepping outside of my photographic comfort zone.

This image of San Felipe Church in Albuquerque isn’t quite on the same timeline nor does it possess the architectural grandeur of the likes of Notre Dame or St. Marks Basilica, but it does represent the old world of the American southwest and the spirit that it evokes. Classic lines, classic beauty.

Giant Sequoia in winter, Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park, California

Winter dawn on Carson Peak, June Lake, California 

California Poppy detail, Antelope Valley, California 

Wildflower abstract, Tehachapi Mountains, Angeles National Forest, California 

The Old North Church and gas street lamp on the Freedom Trail, Boston, Massachusetts 

Professional cyclists at the Amgen Tour of California, Santa Monica Mountains, California 

Salt pan under Telescope Peak at dawn, Death Valley National Park. California

Eroded hills below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park. California 

Spanish fountain at the Santa Barbara Mission, Santa Barbara, California

Sea nettles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California

Low tide and sunset over Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, California

Travelling down the interstate across the heartland of America it’s hard to imagine what it was like 170 years ago when the pioneers first set out west for a better life. What can now be covered in a few days took months of hardship and danger dealing with the likes of broken wheels, disease, and native Americans who were often less than welcoming to this new unknown tribe. The Lexus of the day (actually more of an RV) was a Conestoga wagon, which was outfitted with everything needed to live and establish a new life at the end of the journey.

The Oregon Trail, which began in Independence, Missouri, had been improved so much by the 1840s that it quickly became one of the main overland commerce and migration routes on the North American continent, competing with the already prosperous Santa Fe Trail to the south. It spanned over half the continent covering nearly 2,000 miles west through territories and land that later became six states, and ended in the fertile Willamette Valley in Oregon.

This image of wagons under Eagle Rock in Scott’s Bluff National Monument, Nebraska was typical of the day. Scott’s Bluff was an important landmark along the route both as a navigational aid for the wagon trains and as a psychological milestone for the pioneers. After travelling across the seemingly endless prairie, it was the first visual indication that the Great Plains were starting to give way to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and a better life beyond.

The ghost town of Bodie in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bridgeport, California is perhaps the best preserved icon of the gold rush days of the American West. Kept in a state of arrested decay by the California State Parks, this national historic landmark is a rich source of photographic inspiration and a colorful step back in time.

In its heyday of the 1880s Bodie’s population grew to nearly 10,000 and an estimated 100,000 million dollars of gold was culled from the surrounding hills. Gunfights occurred regularly in the streets after long days working the mines, the gambling halls and brothels thrived, and the bad men from Bodie quickly became legend across the country.

Today Bodie is quiet except for the occasional tumble weed blowing down Main Street and the creaking buildings that look as if they may collapse at any moment. But as you look through a window at the stocked shelves of the Boone Store or the open books in the school house it’s not hard to imagine the challenging life of the pioneers who flocked to this remote valley in pursuit of that precious metal.