The Photography of Kurt F Fink (kfink.portfolio.com)

  Mountains of the Imagination Rising above a scene rich with extraordinary wildlife, pristine lakes, and alpine terrain, the Teton Range stands as a monument to the people who fought to protect it. These are mountains of the imagination. Mountains that led to the creation of Grand Teton National Park where you can explore over two hundred miles of trails, float the Snake River, and enjoy the serenity of this remarkable place. S moke from the  Western wildfires  has prompted officials in Montana to issue air quality warnings in worst air quality concentrations occurring in the southern half of the state, south of the I-90 corridor. Air quality has worsened this morning, and will likely continue to worsen through Tuesday," Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced in a news release. The department issued an air quality alert for Beaverhead, Carbon, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Missoula, Park, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli and Sweet Grass count...

ARCO AND ATOMIC CITY In 1955, tiny Arco won fame as the world’s first nuclear-powered city. Today, it mainly serves as a jumping-off point for excursions into the nearby  Craters of the Moon National Monument . Arco is one of Idaho’s strangest little towns, although nearby Atomic City manages to be even stranger. And littler. Besides the lava-scorched earth to the south and a range of mountains to the north which include both Idaho’s highest peak (Mt. Borah) and its most awesomely-named (Appendicitis Hill) the most striking feature of Arco is its “Hill of Numbers”. For decades, the senior classes of the local high school have been decorating the nearest mountain with the last two digits of their graduation year. Graffiti on a grand scale. Arco’s story has been tied to nuclear power ever since our country started experimenting with it. The reason that the government chose this corner of eastern Idaho as one of its nuclear sandboxes is fairly self-evident. Remote and sparsely-populat...

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve  is a  U.S. national monument  and  national preserve  in the  Snake River Plain  in central  Idaho . It is along  US 20  ( concurrent  with  US 93  and  US 26 ), between the small towns of  Arco  and  Carey , at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m)  above sea level . The  protected area 's features are  volcanic  and represent one of the best-preserved  flood basalt  areas in the continental United States. The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by  President Clinton  greatly expanded the Monument area. The 410,000-acre  National Park Service  portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. [1]  It spreads across  Blaine ,  Butte ,  Lincoln ,  Minidoka , an...

The Cascade Locks Marine Park is the home port for the Sternwheeler  Columbia Gorge . The Sternwheeler is owned by the Port of Cascade Locks and operated by the Portland Spirit. Sightseeing cruises on the Columbia River depart from the Cascade Locks Marine Park several times per day, May through October. Guests can enjoy memorable one or two hour narrated sightseeing excursions, weekend champagne brunch cruises, dinner cruises, and a variety of special event and holiday cruises. Built in Hood River, Oregon by Nichols Boat Works and launched in 1983, our authentic triple-decker paddle wheeler provides 360 degrees of breathtaking vistas.