Archive for the ‘Watery Wednesday’ Category

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Watery Wednesday #158: Riverside Walk

September 28, 2011

The Virgin River near the beginning of Riverside Walk. June 18, 2011.

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

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

During the summer visitors to Zion National Park have to take a shuttle to visit the places along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  The last shuttle stop, Temple of Sinawava, is also the trailhead for Riverside Walk.

Riverside Walk follows the Virgin River along a canyon which gets more and more narrow as we hike up stream.

The river became much narrower and dropped over rocks and ledges as we hiked up stream. June 18, 2011.

As we move up the canyon, we start seeing more cascades and drops along the narrowing canyon.  It’s hard to remember that this pretty little stream actually carved the canyon we were walking through.

The Virgin River near The Narrows. High water prevented us from going any further up the canyon. Zion National Park, Utah. June 18, 2011.

The trail was closed because of high water before we got to the narrowest part of the canyon, but we still got to enjoy the beauty all around us.

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Watery Wednesday #155: Sinawava Falls

September 7, 2011

Sinawava Falls from the Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park, Utah. June 18, 2011.

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

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

The Temple of Sinawava is the last shuttle stop along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  The only way to get to it when we visited the park was by shuttle bus.  I could not see much of the scenery while on the bus, so I was happy to get off so I could look around.

I was doubly happy when I spotted this waterfall high up on the canyon wall.  There was only a thin stream of water coming over the edge, but it could be followed for quite a way down.

Sinawava Falls, Zion National Park. June 18, 2011.

My telephoto lens brought the detail of the waterfall closer, but lost the beautiful canyon around Sinawava Falls.  I couldn’t decide which photo I like best, so I’m posting both.

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Watery Wednesday #155: Italian Garden

August 31, 2011

Lily pads in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

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

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

I’ve posted a couple of times about the Italian Gardens at the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina, where we celebrated Betsy’s birthday.

Koi and reflections in an Italian Garden pool, Biltmore. August 5. 2011. (Photo by Betsy).

The Italian Garden is a water garden with three pools filled with water lilies like the ones above.  The pools also contain Koi, which Betsy captured along with a reflection of the cloudy sky.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

The water lilies were beautiful and showed some of the most vibrant colors I have seen in water lilies.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore. August 5, 2011.

I liked the color of this lily as well as the reflection in the water.  The bee in the blossom was a nice bonus.

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Watery Wednesday #154: Biltmore Reflections

August 24, 2011

Sky and clouds reflected in a pool in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

While taking pictures of some of the water lilies in Biltmore’s Italian Garden (you can see that HERE), I noticed this reflection of the sky in the water of one of the pools.  I couldn’t resist trying to capture the reflection (above).

Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

A little later I noticed a reflection of the house in the water.  It looked pretty good even if it was crowded among the lily pads and other aquatic plants.

Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

I found a spot with a little more clear water and was able to get  more of the house in the reflection.

Note:  I’ve tried to make the pictures larger when they are clicked and double-clicked.  Let me know what you think.

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Watery Wednesday #153: The Virgin River

August 17, 2011

The Virgin River in Zion National Park, Utah. June 18, 2011. (Photo by Betsy)

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

The Virgin River carved the Lower Zion Canyon, which is the main feature of Zion National Park in southern Utah.  The cliffs and rock formations were created by the river over thousands of years.

Betsy took this picture of the Virgin River while walking across a bridge near the Visitor Center in Zion National Park.  The river, while beautiful, doesn’t look especially powerful in this view.  But I like the way Betsy captured Bridge Mountain in the background.

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Watery Wednesday #152: Union Temple Falls

August 10, 2011

Union Temple Falls, Baileyton, Tennessee. November 28, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

Betsy and I enjoy tracking down little known waterfalls.  This beauty is in northeastern Tennessee, out in the country and off the beaten path.  Although the waterfall itself is on private property, and can be easily seen from the road.

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Watery Wednesday #151: Lake Mead

August 3, 2011
Lake Mead from an overlook at Hoover Dam. June 17, 2011.

Lake Mead from an overlook at Hoover Dam. June 17, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

After visiting the Grand Canyon, Betsy and I headed west to go around the canyon to get to Utah and Zion National Park.  Along the way we stopped at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

Lake Mead was formed by Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, and was named after Elwood Mead, the Bureau of Reclamation commissioner at the time the dam was built.  Lake Mead is the 16th largest man-made lake in the world and the largest man-made lake in the Western Hemisphere.  The lake occupies about 1.5 million acres — twice the size of Rhode Island — and has a shoreline of approximately 820 miles.

The National Park Service established Lake Mead as a national recreation area in 1964.  The lake offers year-round recreation, including boating, swimming, hiking and wildlife viewing.

Lake Mead as seen from across the desert. June 17, 2011.

Lake Mead is surrounded by red sandstone and black lava rock in Black Canyon.  Some of the lava hills are approximately 6 million years old.  The contrast between the blue lake and the desert sands is striking, and attracts many visitors each year.

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Watery Wednesday: Virgin River Gorge

July 27, 2011

Cascades on the Virgin River, Virgin River Gorge, Arizona. June 18, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

As you know, it is very difficult for Betsy and me to travel without attempting to get close to a waterfall or at least some fast flowing water.

We had such a chance when we traveled through the Virgin River Gorge, located between St. George, Utah, and Littlefield, Arizona.  The gorge is a long canyon that has been carved out by the Virgin River in northwest Arizona.  It connects he southwestern rim of the Colorado Plateau and the northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert.

Interstate 15 runs through the canyon, and we got this picture of the cascade at a pullout.

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Watery Wednesday #149: Mill Creek Falls

July 20, 2011

Mill Creek Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. May 23, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

I’ve posted before that Betsy and I took a back-country road, Parson Branch Road, through the Smokies a couple of months ago.  We enjoy the scenery off the beaten path, and we enjoy the fact that we often come across some unexpected waterfalls.

We found the pretty little waterfall above shortly after leaving Cade Cove Loop Road.  I almost drove right past it, but I saw it out of the corner of my eye and backed up to a pull-over so we could get out and enjoy our discovery.

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Watery Wednesday #148: The Colorado River

July 13, 2011

The Grand Canyon and Colorado River from the Desert View overlook. June 14, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

Betsy and I got our first look at the Grand Canyon at the Desert View overlook on the eastern end of the park.  That overlook also provided a good view of the Colorado River.  I always thought that ‘colorado’ meant ‘color red’, but the river looked more green than red.  I’m not complaining, though, the sight was spectacular.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 18 Comments »

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