Posts Tagged ‘Travels’

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Remembering South Carolina Waterfalls

April 10, 2010

Waterfalls visited on our way to the beach. May, 2009.

Since we got some rain on Thursday, I was able to get some work done on my pictures and worked with a folder of pictures taken last year on our way to the beach.  When Betsy and I travel we try to arrange our trip so that we can take a break by visiting some waterfalls along the way.  This is a great plan as long as we’re traveling through an area where there are waterfalls!.

Fortunately we have to travel through mountains to get from our house to the beach.  Last year we made a couple of stops near Westminster, South Carolina.  We had to do some bushwhacking to see Fall Creek Falls and Upper Fall Creek Falls.  The trail along Brasstown Creek was better defined and led to three waterfalls, although we did have to do some creek hopping to visit a fourth.

There’s something magical about seeing waterfalls one day and the ocean the next.  We’ll be doing it again in a few weeks.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 13 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Approaching Storm

March 26, 2010

Storm Clouds Approaching Bali. June, 1987

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

I went to my archives to get this picture for my Skywatch post.  In 1987, on my way to China for the first time, I was able to spend a few days in Bali.  Our group stayed at a place on the beach and we were able to enjoy the sky, sand and sea.  Late one afternoon I was on the beach just before a storm came in.  I like the light breaking through the clouds and the ridges in the sand.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 17 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Dunlap, Tennessee

March 25, 2010

Waterfalls near Dunlap, Tennessee. April 21, 2009.

Betsy and I often go looking for a particular waterfall.  In those  cases we know the name and location of a waterfall and it is just a matter of driving or hiking (or both).  We follow directions in a book, from an online site or the GPS unit to our destination.  That’s been the way we’ve found the majority of the waterfalls we’ve visited.

But every once in a while we stumble on a waterfall unexpectedly.  This serendipity makes the experience seem even more delightful than it would otherwise be.

Last year on our way back from Texas we planned to stop by Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee.  We would be going there on April 21, the anniversary of our date (and first kiss) at Fall Creek Falls.

We have been to Fall Creek Falls many times, but had never travelled there from the south.  We were near Dunlap, Tennessee,  heading up the Plateau when, as we were rounding a curve, we saw a waterfall just off the road.  It didn’t have a lot of water going over the fall, but it was very tall.  Naturally we had to stop and get some pictures.  We later learned that this was Possum Falls.

What made this experience even more interesting is that we saw three more waterfalls within the next two miles.  We had no idea they were there before we stumbled onto them.  If we had been driving any faster, we probably would have missed them all.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Today I’m grateful for unexpected pleasures of God’s creation.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 16 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Our Texas Visit

March 22, 2010

Scenes from our trip to Texas. April, 2009.

In April, 2009, Betsy and I went to Texas to visit our family down there.  We went down there to see our granddaughters play softball.  Both are outstanding athletes and they had games scheduled through the weekend.

Unfortunately, the weather  had other ideas.  Very severe thunderstorms moved through the area (with a couple of tornadoes for good measure) and caused wide-spread flooding.  All the games were canceled.

Instead of seeing games the day after the storms, Betsy’s son took us around to see some of the damage around them caused by Hurricane Ike six months previous.  The amount of damage still visible was really amazing.

We did see signs of progress and normalcy both on the Texas mainland and on Galveston Island.  On the western end of the island we found a beach that looked like it did before the hurricane struck.

We didn’t get to see the girls play softball, but we did  have an enjoyable time with our family on our Texas visit.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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I’m grateful that our family got through the hurricane unhurt and with no damage to their home.

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Posted in Family | 9 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #79: St. Stephen’s Green

March 17, 2010

St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland. May 16, 2002.

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.

In May, 2002, I was sent by my employer to so some work at our Dublin, Ireland, facility.  The hours were long, but one evening one of my Irish colleagues showed me around downtown Dublin.  I thought the picture above, of St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, would make a perfect Watery Wednesday post for St. Patrick’s Day.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 13 Comments »

A Picture and a Story

March 15, 2010

Floating restaurants in Aberdeen village, Hong Kong. June, 1987.

I have been tagged by Kirigalpotha from Sri Lanka.  I tend to shy away from tags, but I got curious about where this one would lead, so I followed the rules (up to a point).

The rules for this tag are as follows:

1. Open your 1st Photo folder.
2. Scroll to the 10th photo.
3. Post the photo and the story behind it.
4. Tag 5 or more people.

The first folder in my Pictures folder is 1987 Aberdeen.  The tenth picture (scanned from a slide) is shown above.

I should hasten to explain that Aberdeen is a village on the south shore of Hong Kong Island.  In 1987 I traveled to China for the first time with a party from the college at which I was teaching.  Our first stop along the way was Hong Kong.  We spent three or four days there and one day we took a tour of Hong Kong Island.  Aberdeen was one of the stops on the tour.

Aberdeen was (and as far as I can tell still is) known for its floating village and floating restaurants.  Fishing is an important part of industry in Aberdeen and many residents live on boats anchored in the harbor.  The floating restaurants, such as the ones in the picture, are quite large and seem to do a good business.  Our group visited Aberdeen in the morning, so we missed the opportunity to eat at one of these restaurants.

Now I’m going to break the rules.  Instead of tagging anyone I’m going to invite anyone who is interested to check their computer.  If an interesting picture and story pops up, please share it with us.

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Posted in China | 11 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: November, 2001

March 8, 2010

Scenes from November, 2001.

Several weeks ago I came across a folder of pictures taken back in November, 2001.  That was the first November that Betsy and I were together.  It was also the first November that Betsy had been in Tennessee after several years in Louisiana and Texas, so she was still going ‘ga-ga’ over every bit of autumn color of she saw.

The highlight of the month was a trip we made to Saint Augustine, Florida, to see Betsy’s brother, Ray, and his wife Evelyn.  We went out for Thanksgiving dinner and were joined by Betsy’s son, Bert, and her grandson, Chris.

Ray and Evelyn gave us a tour of Saint Augustine while we were down there.  We visited the lighthouse as well as Ray and Evelyn’s church.  While at the the church Betsy practiced her preaching style from the pulpit.  It’s too bad there were only three of us in the congregation!

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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My sweet bride is ‘kidnapping’ me for a few days to celebrate my birthday.  She hasn’t told me where we are going, but I suspect our trip might involve some waterfalls.  I don’t know how often we’ll have internet connections, but I’ll try to visit with my iPod whenever I can.

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Posted in Travels | 45 Comments »

Turtle Rocks

March 4, 2010

Turtle Rocks at Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas. February 24, 2010.

When Betsy and I visited Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas last week, we hiked a couple of trails which were new for us.  One of the trails was Rock House Trail, which is fairly short, but did lead us through the “Turtle Rocks” shown above.

“Turtle rocks” are mounded structures resembling a turtle shell which have been carved in thick sandstones.  Turtle Rocks are found only in Hartshorne Sandstone, which is found at several locations in the Arkansas River Valley.

It’s not known how the “turtle rocks” were created, but they are certainly are interesting.

Can you see the turtles through the trees?

As we followed another trail we spotted on “turtle” on another, as shown in the picture above.

The “Turtle Rocks” of Petit Jean certainly added to our day at the park.

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Posted in Travels | 16 Comments »

Home From Arkansas

March 1, 2010

Betsy awaiting the sunset outside our cabin on Mount Nebo. February 23, 2010.

It’s nice to be home.

Betsy and I had a wonderful few days in Arkansas.  It  is difficult to decide on a single high point for our time there.  We was the sun (something we still haven’t been able to do in Tennessee), beautiful waterfalls, glorious sunrises, majestic sunsets, and fascinating rock formations.

We stayed at our favorite cabin in Mount Nebo State Park.  In late February the sun sets directly opposite the back deck.  We did have to go to the other side of the mountain to see the sunrise, but even that was definitely worth while.

Although we stayed at Mount Nebo, we also visited Mount Magazine and Petit Jean, two other nearby state parks.  We had been to each before, but we managed to see something new in each park.

We had thought we would return to Garvan Gardens on our way to Nebo to enjoy the spring flowers, but the cold weather had delayed most of the flowers, so we decided to check out some waterfalls in the Ouachita Mountains.  We had not been in that region before, and enjoyed seeing new sights and visiting new waterfalls.

Since both of us have new cameras you can imagine the number of pictures we took  (then again, maybe you can’t!).  We’ll share some of those with you in the days ahead.

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Posted in Travels | 15 Comments »

Little River Canyon

February 18, 2010

Little River Canyon, Fort Payne, Alabama. February 14, 2010.

Little River is one of the country’s longest rivers that forms and flows for most of it’s length along the top of a mountain.  The river begins about 1900 feet above sea level on Lookout Mountain and ends at 650 above sea level at Weiss Lake.  This results in one of the most extensive canyon and gorge systems in the eastern United States containing one of the South’s clearest, wildest waterways.

Canyon Rim Drive follows the western rim of Little River Canyon for the final 11 miles of the river’s length.  There are several overlooks along the route which give wonderful views of waterfalls, rapids, canyon walls, trees, plants and birds.  At one overlook we even spotted some kayakers down in the canyon below.

I think the Little River Canyon would be beautiful any time of the year, but the water flow can be quite low during the summer months.  But if you are near Fort Payne, Alabama, I think you would enjoy Canyon Rim Drive any time of the year.

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Betsy and I took advantage of a break in the weather to go to Hendersonville to check in on my parents.  Both of my parents were in good spirits and we were able to help them with a couple of problems they’ve been having around the house.  But the most amazing thing for us was that once we got off the Plateau there was no snow to be seen!  However we came back home to snowy reality.  In fact it is snowing as I write this on Wednesday night (enough already!!!).

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I’m grateful for all the beauty of this world — in both nature and in people.

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Posted in Travels | 12 Comments »

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