The American Northwest: Vintage Color Photos From an Epic Road Trip
The American Northwest: Vintage Color Photos From an Epic Road Trip
2 minute read
Not published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
In August 1961, LIFE magazine published an ambitious, 10-page tribute to the American Northwest with an unfortunate title: “Where God Sat When He Made America.” The title of the article, LIFE claimed, was inspired by a phrase uttered by an awe-struck visitor to Glacier National Park. Now, there’s nothing unusual, cheesy or suspect about the deep emotions that grand vistas can inspire in most anyone. Teddy Roosevelt, after all, reportedly wept upon first seeing Yosemite Valley.
But the phrase “Where God Sat . . . ” still feels a little weird. Would God, in anyone’s conception of an omnipotent being, really be seated while creating a landscape as vast, dramatic and humbling as the Tetons. Or Mount Rainier. Or the Oregon coast? Wouldn’t a Supreme Being feel compelled, by the very nature of the occasion, to stand while in the process of bringing forth such beauty?
At any rate—we’ve no such qualms or questions about the brilliant color photographs in this gallery, shot by long-time LIFE staffer J.R. Eyerman: we can state, unequivocally, that they’re wonderful.
When he was a boy, Eyerman took thousands of pictures in Yellowstone, Glacier and other national parks while traveling and camping with his dad. Decades later, the professional photographer spent weeks in late 1960 traveling throughout Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and even as far south as San Francisco for the magazine’s tribute to “the stunning majesty of the Northwest.”
We hope you enjoy the view.
Not published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Yosemite Valley, 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Golden Gate Bridge, 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "At Yosemite National Park, four bucks gather to drink at the edge of the Merced Rover under the rock formations of El Capitan (far left) and North Dome (center, right) which rise above the unspoiled wilderness."J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "The monumental Grand Coulee Dam in Washington intercepts the Columbia River and sends its waters rushing down the 1,650-foot-wide spillway. . . ."J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. The Northwest's Pacific coast, 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Roadside picnic, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Driving through the famed Wawona Tree (est. 2,300 years old), Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, 1960. The tree fell in 1969.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Photo made for, but not published in, a LIFE magazine article on the American Northwest, fall 1960.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
