Posts Tagged ‘Travels’

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Skywatch Friday # 39

April 9, 2009
Pointe West, Galveston Island, Texas. April 15, 2008.

Pointe West, Galveston Island, Texas. April 15, 2008.

Sky Watch Friday is a weekly meme in which people share pictures of the sky,  Last week over 350 people shared beautiful sky pictures through this meme.  To see more pictures from around the world or to join and post your own pictures, click HERE.

The picture above was taken on Galveston Island in April, 2008, before Hurricane Ike devastated the island later in the year.  Betsy’s son worked at a new resort on the island and he was giving us a tour of the resort club house when I took this picture.  I like the clouds floating in over the Gulf.

It’s difficult to reconcile this pretty picture with the damage caused by the hurricane.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 22 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 30

April 7, 2009
The American Falls at Niagara. October 25, 2008.

The American Falls at Niagara. October 25, 2008.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme created and hosted by 2sweetnsaxy of Eyes Mind Heart.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your pictures, click HERE.

As a couple that collects waterfalls, we have been to Niagara Falls twice.  We first visited Niagara Falls in August of 2002, when we spent several days in Canada enjoying the falls and the sights from the Canadian side.

The picture above was taken in October, 2008.  Betsy and I had gone to Buffalo to visit my daughter and her husband and we went to Niagara Falls State Park to see the falls.  It had been raining off and on during the day and there was actually more water going over the falls than we had seen back in 2002.  There was so much water that the mist almost completely obscures the rocks at the base of the falls.

The American Falls is 1060 feet across and has a height of 176 feet, although the rocks at the base reduce the actual fall off water to about 70 feet.  The amount of water going over the falls varies due to two hydroelectric power plants which draw water into their reservoirs above the falls.  However, one fifth of all the fresh water in the world lies in the four upper Great lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) and all the outflow empties into the Niagara River and eventually cascades over Niagara Falls.  It’s quite a sight!

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 24 Comments »

Shunkawauken Falls

April 6, 2009
Shunkawauken Falls, Columbus, North Carolina. May 20, 2008.

Shunkawauken Falls, Columbus, North Carolina. May 20, 2008.

My last post showed a view of the western North Carolina countryside from White Oak Mountain.  In the post I mentioned that there was a waterfall behind me as I took that picture.  So I thought I would show you the waterfall today.

Shunkawauken Falls consists of multiple drops and cascascads totaling hundreds of feet, but it is impossible to see the entire falls from a single  vantage point.  The falls is mostly on private land, but the 150 foot drop shown above is the main fall in the upper drop and is visible from  White Oak Mountain Road.

The waterfall was known as Horse Creek Falls until 1891, when the name was changed to honor an Indian chief from the area.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 20 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 38

April 4, 2009
The view from White Oak Mountain, North Carolina. May, 2008.

The view from White Oak Mountain, North Carolina. May, 2008.

Betsy and I go to the beach each year and we try to arrange the trip to and from the beach in such a way that we can visit waterfalls on the way.

Last  year on the way back home we visited Shunkawauken Falls near Columbus, North Carolina.  Shunkawauken Falls is high up on White Oak Mountain and we found a pullout near the waterfall.

The waterfall was beautiful and we enjoyed our visit.  I may show the waterfall at a later time, but it is behind me as I took this picture of the beautiful western North Carolina countryside.  You can make out some of the buildings in the town of Columbus on the left side of this picture.

Scenic Sunday is a weekly meme in which bloggers share their views of our beautiful world.  To see more scenes, or to post your own, click HERE.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 16 Comments »

Sky Watch # 38

April 2, 2009
Sunrise at Sea. September 15, 2009.

Sunrise at Sea. September 15, 2009.

Sky Watch Friday is a weekly meme in which people share pictures of the sky,  Last week over 380 people shared beautiful sky pictures through this meme.  To see more pictures from around the world or to join and post your own pictures, click HERE.

Sunrises and sunsets at sea always seem especially spectacular.  Betsy and I enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets each day on our Caribbean cruise.  This particular sunrise was taken on our day at sea as we returned to San Juan at the end of the cruse.  I can’t account for the green tinge in the sky, but I do know that I like the picture and think it is appropriate for Sky Watch Friday.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 32 Comments »

Betsy’s ‘Dream’ Cabin

March 22, 2009

cabin01

Shortly after Betsy and I got married we started talking about finding our retirement home.  At first we talked about finding a log cabin.  Betsy really liked the idea of a cabin on the top of a hill with lots of trees around it.

It didn’t take us long to discover that our ‘dream’ house was way beyond our wallet.  We finally found our house in the Glade.  It’s not a log cabin, but it does have wooden siding.  It’s on a hill, but not at the top.  But it does have lots of trees around it.  And we thoroughly love it.

But that doesn’t keep us from keeping an eye out for a cabin that would fit into our dreams.  Last summer we went to Virginia for a reunion of a branch of Betsy’s family.  While driving through the country side near Big Stone Gap, we spotted the cabin in the picture above.  All Betsy said was ‘Ohhhh….’.

It’s not on top of a hill, but hey, we can’t have everything.

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Posted in Travels | 13 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 35

March 19, 2009
The interior of Old Fort Niagara, New York. October 25, 2008.

The interior of Old Fort Niagara, New York. October 25, 2008.

This is my entry for Sky Watch Friday, a weekly meme that allows you to see more of the sky from all over the world. Last week over 300 people shared their skies through this meme.  To see some beautiful skies from around world, or to join and share your sky photos with us, click HERE.

When Betsy and I visited by daughter and her husband in Buffalo last October, we also visited Old Fort Niagara.  The fort is at the entrance to the Niagara River not far from Niagara Falls and has been in existence since 1726.

It was a rainy, blustery day the afternoon we visited the fort.  I snapped this picture from the parade ground as more clouds moved in.  Since we were visiting an old military post, I couldn’t resist converting this to sepia.

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 31 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 27

March 17, 2009
A cascade near the chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

A cascade near the chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

This is my entry for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme of pictures of our watery world.  Click HERE to join or to see more pictures from around the world.

The picture above was taken in Garvan Woodland Gardens, near Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The garden is the property of the Department of Landscape Architecture of the University of Arkansas.  The land, 210 acres on a peninsula of Lake Hamilton, was donated to the university by Verna Cook Garvan.

The gardens feature native plants, rhododendrons, and large collections of camellias, azaleas, and old roses along several mile of paths.  The gardens also contain a chapel and carillon, several small streams and a waterfall.  While we were there literally thousands of daffodils, tulips and pansies were in bloom.

The picture above shows a small cascade near the chapel in the garden.  It can be enlarged for a better view.

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 25 Comments »

Falls Creek Falls

March 16, 2009
Falls Creek Falls, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

Falls Creek Falls, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

On my birthday Betsy and I were able to do some hiking in beautiful 80° weather.  We got to western Arkansas fairly early in the day and went to St. Catherine State Park (near Hot Springs)  to check out a waterfall, Falls Creek Falls.

Falls Creek Falls is used to advertise Arkansas State Parks, so we were interested in seeing it.  Of course, there was also something of a personal connection as well.  Our ‘special’ place is Fall Creek Falls here in Tennessee, so we were eager to see what that extra ‘s’ would mean.  Actually, I guess we’re just gluttons for punishment, having to keep Fall Creek Falls separate from Falls Creek Falls!

We had a nice hike of just under a mile from the parking area to the falls.  Much of the trail followed the shore line of Lake Catherine,  which made for a nice hike.  Once we got to the falls we were able to enjoy the falls and the setting.

You can enlarge the collage above to get a better view of our visit to Falls Creek Falls.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 21 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 35

March 14, 2009

The view from 'our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. March 10, 2009.

The view from 'our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. March 10, 2009.

This is my post for the weekly meme Scenic Sunday.  To see more Scenic Sunday pictures, or to join the fun and post your own pictures, click HERE.

Last week I showed a picture of ‘our’ cabin on Mt. Nebo in Arkansas.  We went back there to celebrate my birthday and to do some hiking.

For the first time since we’ve started going to Mt. Nebo, the weather didn’t really cooperate.  It was over 80° and sunny on the day we arrived, but then the clouds, rain and ice moved in.

Although we didn’t get to do as much hiking and waterfalling as we had planned, we still had a wonderful time.  We did see four new waterfalls and saw nine all together.  And the falls we had seen before had much more water this time.

The picture above, which can be enlarged,  is the view from the back of ‘our’ cabin.  Actually I was on the Rim Trail behind (and slightly below) the cabin when I took this picture.  Even though it was a gray cloudy day, the view of the valley and the mountains beyond is still fantastic.

And, yes, in spite of our weather woes, we will be going back!

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 27 Comments »

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