Ocean Outdoors
Sunrise over a sea of clouds from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

Ocean Coldiron

Stories from the road

I'm Ocean Coldiron. I live full time in an RV with my partner Laura. These are photo stories from our travels: the lower 48 state high points, national parks, wildlife, and life on the road.

The stories

From the high points and the parks

A copper-orange Ford Bronco with a winch, a black roll bar, and the Bronco script on the fender, parked on a collector car auction floor with a red car behind it, hood up

A Mecum auction

 A climber on a tan sandstone wall at Red Rock Canyon, with the Calico Hills behind

A climber at Red Rock Canyon

 The Calico Hills at Red Rock Canyon in November 2026

Calico Hills at Red Rock Canyon

 Artist's Palette in Death Valley

Artist's Palette

 Alec and Laura at the Mount Whitney summit sign

Alec and Laura on Mount Whitney

 A snowy stretch of the Mount Whitney trail in October 2026

On the Mount Whitney trail

 A truck and travel trailer at sunrise in the Mojave Desert

Morning in the Mojave Desert

 Laura on the boardwalk stairs at Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park

 Alcatraz in September 2026

Alcatraz

 Laura on a trail through a burned forest in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming

A trail in Shoshone National Forest

 A visitor center whiteboard at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

 White Butte, the North Dakota state high point, at sunset

White Butte, North Dakota

 Laura sitting on a granite boulder at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park

Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park

 Laura on a trail rock with granite spires on the way to Black Elk Peak

On the trail to Black Elk Peak

 Ocean and Laura at the stone tower on Black Elk Peak

Black Elk Peak, South Dakota

 Layered ridges below a grassy rim at Homestead Overlook in Badlands National Park, with prairie stretching to the horizon

Homestead Overlook

 Ocean and Laura at sunset in Sioux City, Iowa, with a small U.S. flag

Sunset in Sioux City

 The Hawkeye Point sign, Iowa's state high point, with a corn silo nearby

Hawkeye Point, Iowa

 Laura on a standup paddleboard leaving a wooden dock on a cloudy lake, with a forested shore behind her

Paddleboarding in Voyageurs National Park

 A selfie on the trail to Eagle Mountain, Minnesota's state high point

Eagle Mountain, Minnesota

 A quiet lake in the Boundary Waters, with logs along the shore and a forested hill beyond

A lake in the Boundary Waters

 Ocean, Laura, and a cat on the steps at Potato River Falls, Wisconsin

Potato River Falls, Wisconsin

 A leaning pine over red sandstone cliffs and clear green water on Lake Superior, with a forested shoreline under a clear blue sky

Red sandstone cliffs on Lake Superior

 Ocean and Laura at the Mount Arvon summit sign

Mount Arvon, Michigan

 The Timm's Hill County Park sign in Wisconsin

Timm's Hill, Wisconsin

 Ocean and Laura at Charles Mound, the Illinois state high point

Charles Mound, Illinois

 Ocean and Laura under a red riveted tower next to the Ferris wheel at City Museum in St. Louis

City Museum, St. Louis

 The Taum Sauk Mountain sign, Missouri's state high point

Taum Sauk Mountain, Missouri

 Ocean and Laura at the Biscayne National Park sign, next to a teal net and buoys

Biscayne National Park

 A still pine-lined pond at Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park, with dry grass in the foreground, a sandy bank, and pink clouds in a blue evening sky

A pond at Long Pine Key

 Laura holding up a plywood animal cutout for our Love Burn art project at Standing Pines RV Park in South Carolina, with the Imagine trailer and a picnic table covered in cut pieces

Building Our Love Burn Art Project

 A sign at Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge

Carolina Sandhills

 The blue historical marker at Ebright Azimuth, Delaware's high point, reading 447.85 feet, with Ocean in a wet rain jacket at the left edge of the frame

Ebright Azimuth, Delaware

 Ocean and Laura in the tower on Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock, Massachusetts

 Wooden stairs through boulders at Polar Caves Park, looking out over a forested valley and a blue ridge under a gray sky

Polar Caves Park, New Hampshire

 Sunrise over a sea of clouds from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain

 The white Bass Harbor Head Light keeper's house with a red roof, seen from the path above in fog, with the gray sea behind it and a wet path leading down past a fence

Bass Harbor Head Light

 A blue raft bow with paddles stowed, pulled up at the bank of a calm, wide river lined with pines and boulders, under a blue sky with puffy clouds

Off the Golden Road, Maine

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Mount Washington

Mount Washington, New Hampshire

 Ocean and Laura on the foggy summit of Mount Mansfield, Vermont

Mount Mansfield, Vermont

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Mount Marcy, New York

Mount Marcy, New York

 A mountain view from Mount Katahdin in Maine

A view from Katahdin

 Ocean and Laura on the approach trail to Mount Katahdin

On the way up Katahdin

 A trail snack selfie on Mount Katahdin

A snack on Katahdin

 The Mount Katahdin summit sign in Maine

Mount Katahdin, Maine

 Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park, New York

Middle Falls at Letchworth

 Ocean and Laura at Letchworth State Park with a railroad bridge behind them

Letchworth State Park

 Ocean and Laura at Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

 Ocean and Laura at Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley

Brandywine Falls

 Ocean and Laura in hats on a sandy trail at Indiana Dunes

Indiana Dunes

 A group photo at the Indiana Dunes National Park sign

The Indiana Dunes sign

 A finish arch at the New River Gorge Trail Festival

A finish arch at New River Gorge

 Ocean and Laura at a New River Gorge trail festival bear mural

A trail festival at New River Gorge

 A Grand Design Imagine travel trailer and a white pickup on a grassy, wooded campground site in Pennsylvania

A wooded campground in Pennsylvania

 Ocean after finishing his first 50k run

A first 50k

 Ocean and Laura holding the Backbone Mountain sign in Maryland

Backbone Mountain, Maryland

 The summit marker disk at Mount Davis, Pennsylvania's state high point

Mount Davis, Pennsylvania

 Ocean with the New River Gorge Bridge behind him in West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge

 A log in the river in Elizabethton, Tennessee

A river log in Elizabethton

 A white Ram truck and a Grand Design Imagine trailer on a concrete pad on a big green lawn, with a Welcome Harvest Host Members sign and wooded hills behind

A Harvest Hosts stop in Big Stone Gap

 Ocean and Laura in the forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains

In the Blue Ridge Mountains

 Ocean and Laura under a rock overhang in the Great Smoky Mountains

A rock overhang in the Smokies

 A spring view from an overlook in the Great Smoky Mountains

A Smokies overlook

 Laura walking a foggy summit road on Black Mountain, Kentucky

Black Mountain, Kentucky

 Black bears in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Black bears in the Blue Ridge

 Ocean and Laura in helmets on a rock overlook in Alabama

Cheaha, Alabama

 Ocean at the Brasstown Bald high point lot in Georgia

Brasstown Bald, Georgia

 Hot Springs Mountain Tower in Arkansas

Hot Springs Mountain Tower

 Ocean and Laura at the Mount Magazine Signal Hill sign

Mount Magazine, Arkansas

 Laura among the azaleas in Nacogdoches, Texas

Azaleas in Nacogdoches

 A narrow slot canyon with sculpted red and tan walls, a sandy floor, and a sliver of orange light at the top

A narrow slot canyon

 Swirled pink, red, and white sandstone bands at The Wave

The Wave

 Laura sitting in a red rock alcove in Sedona, Arizona

Red rock in Sedona

 A sunset over the desert in Arizona

An Arizona desert sunset

 Ocean and Laura on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier museum

On a carrier flight deck

 Laura in a giant blue Adirondack chair in Yucca Valley, with a pink neon Merry Christmas sign

A blue chair in Yucca Valley

 Sunrise over a desert RV park

A desert sunrise

 Ocean and Laura with others at Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park

Tunnel View, Yosemite

 Ocean, Laura, and a friend at the trunk of a giant sequoia in the Sierra Nevada

A giant sequoia

 Ocean and Laura at a Death Valley National Park sign beside a 101 degree thermometer

Death Valley

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Boundary Peak, Nevada

Boundary Peak, Nevada

 Ocean and Laura by a rock spire or arch in Nevada

A rock spire in Nevada

 Ocean and Laura holding small wooden signs on the summit of Kings Peak, Utah

Signs on Kings Peak

 Ocean and Laura at the Kings Peak summit sign in Utah

Kings Peak, Utah

 Ocean and Laura at a stone-wall overlook above a bend of the Snake River, with the Teton Range at sunset

Sunset over the Snake River

 The Teton Range from Snake River Overlook

Snake River Overlook

 A red fox with a rust-red coat and a white-tipped tail walking the edge of a paved road through tall pines, photographed from a truck window

A red fox in Grand Teton

 Two bears in tall grass near Jackson, Wyoming

Bears near Jackson, Wyoming

 Ocean and Laura at a turquoise alpine lake

A lake in the Uinta Mountains

 A bison herd at sunset in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Bison at Grand Teton

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Granite Peak, Montana

Granite Peak, Montana

 Ocean talking to the camera after summiting Granite Peak, Montana

Hiking out from Granite Peak

 The summit benchmark on Granite Peak, Montana

The Granite Peak benchmark

 Ocean and Laura on a fall hike in Montana

A fall day in Montana

 Ocean and Laura at a cascade in Yellowstone National Park

A cascade in Yellowstone

 Ocean and Laura at Castle Geyser in Yellowstone National Park

Castle Geyser

 Cloudy Tetons from the Jenny Lake area

Near Jenny Lake

 Ocean and Laura at Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls

 Evening in Cascade Canyon above Jenny Lake, with granite walls and a patch of snow

Cascade Canyon

 The Teton Range under a blue sky

The Teton Range

 A visitor on the lava at Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

 Ocean talking to the camera at the summit of Borah Peak in Idaho

Borah Peak, Idaho

 Fireweed on a slope above a waterfall on the Grinnell Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park, with snow patches on the cliffs

Grinnell Glacier Trail

 A travel trailer at dusk in Montana

Dusk in Montana

 Laura on a pebble shore in Glacier National Park, Montana

A pebble shore in Glacier

 Forest and peaks near the Running Eagle Falls trail in Glacier National Park

A forest in Glacier

 Sunset over Puget Sound in Seattle

Sunset over Puget Sound

 An elk in ferns in a Pacific Northwest rainforest

Elk in the rainforest

 A trail through ferns in Olympic National Park

A fern trail in Olympic

 A deer on the trail in Olympic National Park, Washington

Deer in Olympic National Park

 The Tree of Life on the coast at Kalaloch, Washington

The Tree of Life at Kalaloch

 Climbers on a snowfield on Mount Rainier

On the snow of Rainier

 Ocean at the summit of Mount Rainier, the Washington state high point

Mount Rainier, Washington

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Mount Hood, Oregon

Mount Hood, Oregon

 A hiker on the rocky trail to Tamanawas Falls in Mount Hood National Forest

Tamanawas Falls

 Ocean and Laura in helmets on a glacier on Mount Rainier

On the glacier of Rainier

 Mount Hood seen from Timberline Lodge, with ice axes in the frame

Mount Hood from Timberline Lodge

 A bull moose standing in the road near Granite Peak, Montana

A bull moose in Montana

 Ocean at the rim of Crater Lake in June 2024

Crater Lake

 Ocean and Laura at the summit of Mount Shasta, California

Mount Shasta, California

 A travel trailer parked in the forest with Mount Shasta in the distance

An RV near Mount Shasta

 Ocean and Laura in ski helmets above Incline Village and Lake Tahoe

Spring skiing near Lake Tahoe

 A herd of desert bighorn sheep on rocky ledges

Desert bighorn sheep

 A bison resting in the grass on Antelope Island, with snowy mountains across the lake

Bison on Antelope Island

 A scene from West Bountiful, Utah

West Bountiful, Utah

 At Solitude in April 2024

Solitude

 Ocean and Laura on a snowy day in Colorado

Snow in Colorado

 A ski day in Colorado in April 2024

Skiing in Colorado

 Ocean in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas

Palo Duro Canyon

 A bilingual sign on the floor of Kings Palace in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Kings Palace

 Ocean and Laura at the Guadalupe Peak summit monument, Texas

Guadalupe Peak, Texas

 Ocean and Laura on the dunes at White Sands at sunset

White Sands

 Laura on Ocean's back in Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Saguaro National Park

 Ocean and Laura at a Painted Desert overlook in Petrified Forest National Park

The Painted Desert

 Ocean and Laura at a picnic table in Lake Havasu State Park, Arizona

Lake Havasu State Park

 Swirled red, pink, and cream sandstone bands at the Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park, under an overcast gray sky

The Fire Wave, Valley of Fire

 The entrance sign for Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree and the Boy Scout Trail

 Two hikers walking along a ridge of dark lava rock above a dry lakebed

A ridge of lava rock

 A saguaro cactus and a small rock cairn against an orange sunset

Saguaro at sunset

 The Agua Fria National Monument entrance sign along a dirt road, with desert hills and mesas under a blue sky with scattered clouds

Agua Fria National Monument

 Ocean at the Humphreys Peak summit sign, 12,633 feet

The Humphreys Peak sign

 Early morning light on Humphreys Peak, Arizona

Humphreys Peak, Arizona

 The Wheeler Peak summit sign and cairn in early light, New Mexico

The Wheeler Peak sign

 Morning light on a ridge of Wheeler Peak, New Mexico

Wheeler Peak, New Mexico

 A trail along a pale rock wall on the way up Black Mesa, Oklahoma

On the way up Black Mesa

 Ocean at the Mount Magazine Signal Hill sign, the highest point in Arkansas

Mount Magazine, October 2023

 An overlook on Mount Magazine, Arkansas

An overlook on Mount Magazine

 A small cascade over mossy rocks into a shallow pool at Devil's Den State Park, with fall leaves on the hillside

Devil's Den State Park, Arkansas

 Ocean at the Mount Sunflower sign, the Kansas state high point

Mount Sunflower, Kansas

 The stone high point marker at Panorama Point, reading Elevation 5424, with a metal rail around it and dry grass stretching to the horizon under a clear sky

Panorama Point, Nebraska

 A view from high on Mount Elbert, Colorado, above the clouds

Mount Elbert, Colorado

 Aspens and a snowy ridge near Leadville, Colorado

Aspens near Leadville

 Ocean at a trailhead with a helmet and trekking poles clipped to his pack

Setting out from a trailhead

 An autumn pond with snowy peaks beyond

An autumn pond

 Ocean in a helmet and gaiter on his Gannett Peak day in Wyoming

A Gannett Peak day

 A trail sign and information board at a Fitzpatrick Wilderness trailhead in Wyoming

Fitzpatrick Wilderness

 Dawn on a rocky alpine ridge in the Beartooth Mountains, with snow patches, a rounded ridge, and jagged peaks under a broken cloudy sky

Dawn in the Beartooth Mountains

 The summit view from Mount Whitney in California

The view from Mount Whitney

 Ocean at the Mount Whitney summit sign, 14,505 feet

The Mount Whitney sign

 Morning light on the way to Mount Whitney

Morning on the way to Whitney

 An alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada

An alpine lake in the Sierra

 The Eastern Sierra seen from Lone Pine, California

The Eastern Sierra from Lone Pine

 The bow of a teal Lifetime kayak on a wide, calm blue lake, with forested hills and a hazy sky

Kayaking on Lake Pend Oreille

 A handmade shed sign reading Open Gary's Bout Repare

A shed sign in July

 Evening light on a lake between brown hills outside Helena, Montana

Evening outside Helena

 A rocky summit view in north Idaho, with a snowy burned ridge and a green valley

A summit in north Idaho

 A snowy ridge in north Idaho in May 2023

A ridge in north Idaho

 Driftwood logs on a sandy beach at Crescent Beach, with beach grass, surf, a forested headland, and distant mountains under a clear blue sky

Crescent Beach, Washington

 A truck and travel trailer at dawn below the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona

Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona

 An overlook at Heifer Basin, New Mexico

Heifer Basin

 A trail kiosk at Bonnet Carre

A trail kiosk at Bonnet Carre

 A brown St. Charles Parish Department of Parks and Recreation Wilderness Campground sign, with a mostly cloudy sky and an RV in the background

St. Charles Parish Wilderness Campground

 Mount Rushmore in South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

 A high view over a thatched palapa roof, a pool, and palms toward turquoise water and a white beach in the Cancún Hotel Zone

The Cancún Hotel Zone

 Sunrise over US-287 in Wyoming, with orange and pink light on the clouds, patches of snow, and the truck hood in the foreground

Sunrise on US-287 in Wyoming

 Landscape Arch near Moab, Utah, against a clear blue sky

Landscape Arch

 The view from the top rows of Red Rocks Amphitheatre, looking down the seats toward the stage with its red roof, red sandstone around it, and the Denver skyline on the plains

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre

 A high foothill view over Salt Lake City, with a rail yard, a freeway, dry golden grass, mountains on the horizon, puffy clouds, and a trail marker post

Above Salt Lake City

 A shallow stretch of the Virgin River between red cliffs in Zion Canyon

Zion Canyon