This holiday season, besides my family and health, I am grateful for my job. In normal times, it allows me to travel the West, the U.S. and often the world, returning with words, pictures, ideas and cautions for readers planning their own trips.
It’s been kind of slow lately.
But these images help with that. As I’ve been traveling the last several years, I’ve been grabbing a lot of photos with my smartphone in panorama mode. The results are as imperfect as we Americans and our institutions are; look closely and you’ll notice the bending horizon lines and subtle distortions.
Yet as I look at them now, these pictures (none of which has been printed or posted before) remind me what a wide, weird, gorgeous, imperfect and improvable country we have waiting for us on the other side of this pandemic — a place to explore and be grateful for.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. July 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
For variety’s sake, along with the panorama shots, I’ve thrown in some images I made with a conventional camera, then cropped into the 3-by-1 aspect ratio of the panorama pictures. I think I’ve covered 11 states and one territory here, all from trips since 2015. And no, I’m not going to tally their electoral votes.
For all who are staying close to home this week and helping the country heal, I hope these images help. Someday, this will all be yours again.
Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, south of Page, Ariz. April 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Lake George, New York. July 2016.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Cholla Cactus Garden, Joshua Tree National Park. March 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
AT&T Park, home of the Giants, San Francisco. April 2018.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park. July 2020.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
“Golden Driller,” Tulsa. April 2018.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Cannon Beach, Ore. May 2016
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Griffith Park, Los Angeles. March 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. July 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, La Jolla. January 2017.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Neon Museum, Las Vegas. December 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Ofu Beach, American Samoa. October 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. March 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Rosa’s Lounge, Chicago. June 2018.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Inn at Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, Calif. February 2020.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Monhegan Island, Maine. June 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Jumbo Rocks Campground, Joshua Tree National Park, Calif. May 2020.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Leo Palermo and Trevor Dales, both 13, fish for trout at Davis Lake in the Eastern Sierra, California. June 2017.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Santa Barbara Channel. May 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Wahweap, Lake Powell, Ariz. April 2019.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas. May 2018.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Burney Falls, Calif. June 2017.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, Calif. February 2020.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Times Square, New York. February 2018.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. July 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. November 2015.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
