WALLPAPER COLLECTION

Here are some scenic sightings from our archives to brighten your desktop. I hope you enjoy them. To shorten download times, we are only offering low-compression JPG files for downloading. Windows users will have to convert them to BMP files and save them in the C:\WINDOWS directory in order to make them available for desktop display. Don't forget to send us your sightings. We will publish the best ones here.
. . . Ellis Walentine, Host

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Upper Glendalough Lake
Ireland
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The Upper (shown here) and Lower Lakes, in the Valley of Glendalough, near Dublin, Ireland, are remnants of the last ice age. Glendalough is the site of a monastic settlement that dates back to 498 AD.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDI WOLFE



Joshua Tree
Nevada
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This Mojave Desert native got its name from early Mormon settlers. The tree's pointy leaves reminded them of the Bible story of Joshua raising his hands to stop the sun by God's command.
[Source: Wikipedia]

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN YOUNG



Nankoweap Butte
Arizona
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Nankoweap Butte offers stunning panoramic views of the Nankoweap region of Grand Canyon National Park.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY HALTERMAN



Table Mountain
South Africa
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Table mountain is Cape Town's most famous landmark, rising 1086 meters above the Cape of Good Hope and offering a spectacular view of the capital and the ocean beyond.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDI WOLFE



False Bay
South Africa
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False Bay is located on the South African coast east of Capetown, between Gordon's Bay and Betty's Bay. The gorgeous views are enhanced by the vibrant colors of the azure waters, the multi-colored rocks and the dense green underbrush.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDI WOLFE




Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona
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Wood Central on the hoof in the backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. This photo was taken at the top of the Coconino descent on the Nankoweap trail. The Coconino sandstone and Redwall limestone are the two biggest obstacles to overcome when locating a route from the rim to the river. The route that later became this trail was laid out by none other than John Wesley Powell himself.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY HALTERMAN



Giant's Causeway
Northern Ireland
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The Giants Causeway is a huge geological formation on the north coast of County Antrim in N. Ireland. It's a lava flow that cooled at such a rate that the stone broke into hexagonal columns. It looks like a giant mass of paving stones. It takes up parts of a massive headland which rises a couple of hundred feet from the sea.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT SIMMONS




Garden of the Gods
Colorado
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Here's a shot of the "Kissing Camel" rock formation in the Garden of the Gods park, at the foot of Pike's Peak, just west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Pikes Peak is in the center in the far background.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ED DAVIDSON



Monument Valley
Utah
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I took the top photo in 2005 and the lower one in 2009 on a return visit with a better camera.


PHOTO COURTESY OF BRUCE HAUGEN




The Wave
Utah - Arizona
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This area, known as the Wave, in Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness on the Utah-Arizona border, is one of the most amazingly beautiful places I have ever visited. I couldn’t get up on the main part of the Wave due to the winds that day. The striped sandstone makes for one of the most incredible day hikes I have ever done, beginning in Utah but passing back into Arizona.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY HALTERMAN



Cape Hatteras
North Carolina
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The surf fishing this time of year is horrible at the Outer Banks, but the sand is wonderful. I think it's 80 grit.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN K. JORDAN




Big Sur
California
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This picture was taken at Ragged Point, California from the southernmost tip of Big Sur looking north along the Big Sur coastline.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN DZUKOLA



Stonehenge
England
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This famous megalithic ruin on the Salisbury Plain in Amesbury, Wiltshire, remains one of the worlds great mysteries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM RUTTEN




Machupicchu
Peru
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Near the end of an overcast day at Machupicchu, I ducked into a small cave to wait out a passing shower. To my delight, I found yet another example of the architectural sense of the Incas. They had knapped the top edge of the cave opening to make it mimic the shape of the mountain peaks in the background, thus framing the view. There is no hat in this picture, but I couldn't resist adding it to our collection.

PHOTO BY ELLIS WALENTINE



Ollantaytambo
Peru
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This exquisite ruin, perched on a mountaintop in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, was one of the most sacred Inca ceremonial locations, accessible only to high priests. Before it was plundered by the Spaniards in the mid 1500s, many of the perfectly fitted stones of this wall were covered with solid gold plate, which could be seen for miles from the valley floor blazing in the intense sunshine at this altitude.

PHOTO BY ELLIS WALENTINE




Machupicchu
Peru
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A double-rainbow over the Urubamba Valley as viewed from high up on the famous Inca ruins at Machupicchu. Located in the "cloud forest" of the eastern Peruvian Andes, this spectacular site was one of the last Inca strongholds, virtually invisible on its mountaintop perch 1,000 feet above the rushing river below.

PHOTO BY ELLIS WALENTINE



Ollantaytambo
Peru
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The prickly pear cactus grows throughout the high valleys and plateaus of the Andes, providing edible fruit and protection from intruders. This cactus also plays host to the cochineal bug, a small insect that spins a cottony cocoon on the cactus leaves and yields a vivid red dye when squashed. This dyestuff was one of Peru's most important export commodities three hundred years ago.

PHOTO BY ELLIS WALENTINE