Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category

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Bighorn Sheep

November 2, 2012

Bighorn Sheep, Wildlife Loop, Custer State Park, South Dakota. September 25, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

Betsy and I were beginning to feel a little disappointed as we drove along the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park — we hadn’t seen any wildlife at all.  But then, as we approached a curve, we noticed several cars over on the side of the road.  We of course pulled over as well and spotted these guys on the side of a hill above the road.

Bighorn Sheep, Wildlife Loop, Custer State Park, South Dakota. September 25, 2012.

This was the first time on the trip that we were able to get a good close look at bighorn sheep.  Those horns are absolutely amazing.  I got these photos with my telephoto lens.

Bighorn Sheep, Wildlife Loop, Custer State Park, South Dakota. September 25, 2012.

We tried to get into a position where the sheep didn’t have their backs to us, but this is the best we could do.  I think these are magnificent animals.

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Middle Prong of Little River

October 24, 2012

A small cascade on the Middle Prong of Little River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. August 27, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

In late August Betsy and I visited the Smoky Mountains after an early morning appointment in Knoxville.  We drove along the Middle Prong of Little River up past Tremont.  This is off the beaten path in the Smokies, except for fishermen, and we enjoy being able to stop and enjoy the river without having to worry about traffic.

The river was lower than we’ve ever seen it, but there were still places where we could stop and enjoy seeing the water rushing over and around boulders in the stream.

Water swirling over rocks in Middle Prong, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. (Photo by Betsy)

Betsy got some wonderful pictures of the clear water flowing over the rocky river bottom.

Middle Prong of Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. August 27, 2012.

We hope that our dry weather soon comes to an end and that there will be more water in the river the next time we go.  But we enjoyed this trip to the beautiful Smokies and look forward to many more.

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Our World: More from the Wildlife Loop

October 22, 2012

Pronghorn antelope on the prairie in Custer State Park, South Dakota. September 25, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

As I shared in an earlier post (click HERE if you missed it), we saw bison while driving the WildLife Loop in Custer State Park in South Dakota.  But we also saw other wildlife as well.  The pronghorn above was spotted before we saw the herd of bison.

Pronghorn along the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. September 25, 2012.

After leaving the bison, we noticed this pronghorn sitting in an open area on the prairie.  She (we decided it was a she) was intently watching a tree about 100 yards away.

Juvenile pronghorns resting under a tree. September 25, 2012.

We were curious about her behavior, so we looked at the tree more closely and spotted these smaller pronghorns.  Mama was evidently keeping a careful eye on them.

A deer outside Custer State Park, South Dakota. September 25, 2012.

We were leaving the park when we spotted this lovely creature in a field.  It looks like she’s watching us as intensely as we were watching her.

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Down Memory Lane: Castillo San Marcos

October 10, 2012

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

In August, 2009, Betsy and I traveled to Florida to see her brother in Jacksonville and to celebrate Betsy’s birthday.  After leaving Jacksonville we stopped in St. Augustine to visit Castillo San Marcos, the fortress built by the Spanish to protect their outpost.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

 

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Air Force Chapel

October 3, 2012

The chapel at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. September 15, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

On our second day in Colorado Springs, Betsy and I drove out to the Air Force Academy.  Both of us had seen pictures of the chapel many times, and we wanted to visit it in person.  As we walked toward the chapel (above) it was every bit as impressive as we had been led to believe.

The interior of the Air Force Academy chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado. September 15, 2012.

But I thought the interior was even more impressive than the exterior.  The light and color inside the sanctuary was marvelous.  We walked around  sanctuary marveling at the beauty.  The colored squares let in a wonderful  streams of light.

The organ in the Air Force Academy chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado. September 15, 2012.

The organ in the loft was also magnificent.

The ceiling of the chapel at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. September 15, 2012.

The overall effect of the color and light is to cause a person to look up.  That seems to be very appropriate for an Air Force chapel.

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Our World: On the Road Again

October 1, 2012

The route of our trip out west in September.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

As you’ve probably imagined, Betsy and I were on the road over the past couple of weeks.  We had a fabulous trip out west, and I want to share an overview of our 5,455 mile adventure.  The image above shows our trip on Google Earth.

We reached this Welcome Center in Colorado on September 13, 2012.

Our first major destination was Colorado Springs, where we visited Pikes Peak, the Garden of the Gods, and the Royal Gorge.  We also met with blog friends Sally and Jim.

Betsy at the Continental Divide at Milner Pass, Rocky Mountains National Park. September 17, 2012.

We then went on to the Rocky Mountain National Park, where we were able to drive the Old Fall River Road which had been closed by snow when we visited last year.  We also visited areas of the park that we didn’t get to last time.

Beehive Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. September 21, 2012.

Then it was off to Yellowstone.  We got to visit many sections of the park, and would be hard pressed to name a favorite area.  But in spite of all that we saw, we left many things unseen so we would have a good excuse to go back.  We also met blog friends Linda and Doug while at Yellowstone.

Betsy at Mount Rushmore. September 25, 2012.

We started home by way of Rapid City, South Dakota, where we visited Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park.

It was a marvelous trip, and I’m sure I’ll have much more to share in the days ahead as I work through some of the 2,000 pictures I took!

Click HERE to check on Betsy’s summary of our trip.  Her pictures are completely different.

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Looking For Waterfalls in a Drought

August 22, 2012

Tomahawk Creek near Mountain View, Arkansas. August 5, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

Don’t get me wrong — Betsy and I had a wonderful time in Arkansas as we celebrated her birthday.  But I have to admit that our timing wasn’t the greatest.  We enjoy ‘collecting’ waterfalls, and we planned our trip — several months ago — in order to see some waterfalls in a part of Arkansas we hadn’t visited before.

But Arkansas is in the midst of a terrible drought.  We thought things were dry here in eastern Tennessee, but the situation is much worse in Arkansas.  We were amazed at how dry and brown the pastures and lawns appeared.

Tomahawk Creek, Mountain View, Arkansas. August 5, 2012.

All of the rivers we saw were low, and many of the creeks were bone dry.  The two above pictures show Tomahawk Creek near Mountain View, Arkansas.

We hiked the Lost Valley Trail of the Buffalo National River.  Although there was no water in Clark Creek which paralleled the trail, we enjoyed the hike.  Since there was no water in the creek, we were able to explore a natural bridge carved by the creek in greater detail than we could if water had been flowing (more about that in a later post).

Clark Creek, Lost Valley Trail, Buffalo National River, Arkansas. August 6, 2012.

We didn’t see the waterfalls we had hoped to see, but we did enjoy our trip very much.

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An Almost-Super Moon

May 16, 2012

Moon off Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 6, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

Betsy and I were in Simpsonville, South Carolina, on the Saturday night of the super moon.  Unfortunately there were heavy clouds and storms in Simpsonville that night, so we missed the super moon.

Fortunately Sunday night, at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, was beautiful and clear.  The not-quite-so-super moon put in an appearance over the ocean almost opposite our room.  I was able to get this picture from the balcony of our room.

Moonlight on the ocean off Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 6, 2012.

We watched the moon rise in the sky and lay a silver stream of light on the surface of the water.

Moon rise at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 6, 2012.

The sight was so incredibly beautiful that we both felt it made up for missing the super moon the night before.

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This Is As Close As We Got

October 6, 2011
The spray from the Canadian Falls at Niagara as seen from Three Sisters Island, New York. September 10, 2011.

The spray from the Canadian Falls at Niagara as seen from Three Sisters Island, New York. September 10, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

When Betsy and I visited my daughter Kelly and her husband in Buffalo last month, this is as close to Niagara Falls as we got.  The spray in the picture above is from the Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls.  The picture itself was taken upriver from the falls on a footbridge on Three Sisters Island.

There were all kinds of activities going on around the main entrance to Niagara Falls State Park, so we did not attempt to get to the American falls.  Instead we drove onto Goat Island in the Niagara Rivers and walked to Three Sisters Islands.  Three Sisters is land donated to the state by a man who had three daughters.

We had not been to Three Sisters before this trip, and thoroughly enjoyed our walk to the islands and the up-close views we got of the river as it rushed toward the Canadian Falls.  I’m sure there will be more pictures in the days ahead.

The Niagara River, Niagara Falls and Three Sisters Island. (Image from Google Earth).

This picture, taken from Google Earth, shows the location of Three Sisters relative to both the American and the Canadian Falls.

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My Daughter, the Photographer

September 29, 2011

Kelly capturing the scenery at Whirlpool State Park, New York. September 10, 2011.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.  Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

Betsy and I went to Buffalo earlier this month to visit my daughter, Kelly, and her husband, Chuck.  Although they both have full-time jobs, Kelly is trying to get established as a photographer.

I’m not prejudiced, of course, but I think she’s pretty good — even if she does use a Nikon.  She’s shot several concerts, and was sent to San Diego in August by a record label to shoot a concert out there.  Kelly has already had a couple of shows, and she will have a show in Nashville in November, at the time of the CMA (Country Music Association) awards.

Chuck is a supportive husband in these endeavors, and serves as her manager.  They also make a pretty good-looking couple.  (Again I’m not the least bit prejudiced).

Kelly and Chuck, Whirlpool State Park, New York. September 10, 2011.

You can see a sample of Kelly’s work at

http://www.kellyeschultz.smugmug.com/.

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