The automobile is synonymous with travel for most Americans. For better or for worse, roads and highways have become the dominant mode of personal transportation in this country. There are serious advantages and disadvantages to this situation. This page was designed with some of the advantages in mind: the interstate highway system has opened up the vast American landscape to us to enjoy at our own pace in the privacy of our personal vehicles. This page is intended to document that beauty, the vast grandeur of the American landscape. It is NOT an endorsement for the auto industry or this form of public transportation in general. In fact, with many more roads, these Beautiful Places would cease to be beautiful. So enjoy the ride!

Railroad crossing, with Freezout Lake and the Rocky Mountains in the background (northern Montana near Fairfield). Freezeout Lake has become a critical sancturary for waterfowl, such as snow geese and tundra swans, that migrate between the U.S. and Canada. (33K)

Grass bales on ranch or farm land in northern Montana, set against the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains. (62K)

Butte visible on highway 89 near Choteau in northwest Montana. (31K)

Long, straight highway roads in central montana on highway 87 (28K, 34K)

Winding road with small town and the Mission Mountains in the background. This picture was taken in the National Bison Range, northwest of Missoula Montana. (33K)

Roads in southern Utah (44K, 43K)

Wyoming highway with plenty summer vacation traffic, still a pleasant drive. (black and white picture) (27K)

Be careful from whom you ask directions in Wyoming (black and white picture) (27K)

Plenty of food in Wyoming! Cows seen along and on dirt road near Esterbrook (left), and cattle drive seen on highway near Wyoming-Nebraska border in July (right). (44K, 25K)

Truck stop at dawn, in Mitchell South Dakota (13K)

Grain silos in Fairfield Montana. (37K)

Highway 10 out of the Los Angeles basin, heading east out to the desert (left). Notice the windmill fields ahead in the distance, which generate a significant amount of electricity due to the strong winds coming up the valley from L.A. The picture to the right was taken in the south central California desert, a place of extreme arid but beautiful character. (29K, 43K)

New Mexico Interstate Highway 40 heading west out of Albuquerque, somewhere east of Grants on a brisk early February morning.

Another image of New Mexico Interstate Highway 40 heading west out of Albuquerque.

New Mexico Hwy 117 at edge of El Malpais National Monument, early February.