The only way to get to this park, is by a small plane. Port Allsworth serves as the hub. lake Clark Airlines out of Anchorage makes it fairly simple, not inexpensive, but straightforward. The park provides a remote setting with gorgeous vistas. The Ranger Station and Visitor Center are closed on Sundays.
Filed under National Parks, Photography, Travel
After four years of delays, I finally landed on Isle Royale National Park. National Park #55 for me rates high on peacefulness scale and the lodging might be the best so far.
The ferries are the most economical way to traverse Lake Superior, but they book up quickly. We decided to fly. $350 round trip – it takes about 40 minutes to make the flight. It’s a little tight, but comfortable.
Isle Royale is only open from May through October and only 25,000 people a year make the journey. In June, the wildflowers show off.
The moose swim in the lakes, the otters play in the harbor, the loons sing their tales, and eagles rule the sky.
They provide water tours or you can rent a John boat and explore on your own.
And hiking provides endless color, fragrant balsam firs, and blue water.
And the Housekeeping Cabins have huge windows with stunning views of the lake (and moose for us).
Filed under Art, National Parks, Photography, Travel, wildlife
It’s a sad story really…
Presidents’ Day Weekend. Kind of fitting, so many of their decisions created the trauma and drama of the Trace
We started in Holly Mississippi where Ida B Wells Barnett got her start at Rust College. The Coffee was terrible, the art was folksy.
It’s ultimately a clash between humanity and manifest destiny. The Choctaw and the Chickasaw were slowly pushed out of these lands as the Trace brought a continuous moving chain of settlers. One treaty and broken treaty after another, the Native People lost it all. They had their own Trail of tears tears before the Cherokee.
Slavery, poverty, the destruction of cultures, underlies all the beauty of Mississippi. I can never be happy there. But, I continue to return.
Filed under American History, National Parks, Photography, Uncategorized
Filed under Art, National Parks, Photography, Travel
Two tectonic plates are colliding in the northwest part of the United States resulting in a landscape of volcanoes, waterfalls, and lava flows. Enjoy the tour…
Filed under Art, National Parks, Photography, Travel
As a child, I was intrigued by Bugs Bunny’s efforts to find Pismo Beach and “all the clams I can eat”. Central California offers a relaxed atmosphere, shrubby landscapes, and a complex history.
We can use this for sure
Filed under National Parks, Photography, sea, wildlife
Fact: it’s really hot in Tennessee and Mississippi in the summer.
Fact: springtime flowers bloom a little sooner in the south, than in the north.
Fact: solo travel allows for maximum sightseeing with no negotiations. 😊
Spring break at a beach is crowded. Spring break to out-of-the-way state and national parks provides low crowds, no mosquitoes, and perfect temperatures.
I explored Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi for a few days. The travel conditions were ideal. Here are a few glimpses of the equinox magic.
There were plenty of things to see, eat, and do. These were my favorite images.
Filed under American History, Art, National Parks, Photography
Illinois was first colonized by the French on the Mississippi River. The Kaskaskia area contains the secrets of that time period.
Fort de Chartres provided a staging area for the French communities in the area: Prairie du Rocher and even Ste Genevieve in Missouri.
Fort Kaskaskia down the river didn’t fare as well.
The only way to get to the old city of Kaskaskia Illinois is to cross the Mississippi River and drive through Missouri. This is the only section of Illinois west of the Mississippi River.
Kaskaskia was the most populous city when Illinois became a state, and it served as the capital for a few years.
Ste. Genevieve, MO is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Missouri. Kaskaskia and Ste Genevieve are in the same area.
In 1881 a major flood wrecked the area and the Mississippi River took over the Kaskaskia river channel. This is how this section of Illinois ended up on the “wrong” side of the river. In the map, the Mississippi is in the background. But in 1881 the mighty Mississippi took over the river in the foreground.
Filed under National Parks, Photography, Travel
We drove across Illinois on one of the United State’s oldest highways – US 50. Enjoy a snapshot of fall in the Midwest.
Filed under Art, National Parks, Photography, Travel, wildlife
The Dakota Sioux controlled this quarry from 1700 to the mid 1850’s before American settlement started poaching the valuable mineral. This red/brown stone was soft enough to carve and durable enough to last centuries. Ceremonial pipes carved from the rock for thousands of years. This stone made its way all over the Americas before the Europeans arrived. The one square mile site is a sacred place for the Plains Indians even today. The United States government protected this valuable commodity and gave exclusive quarrying rights to the Sioux. The rest of us can still respectively enjoy the stunning red quartzite cliffs, the flowering prairie, and the waterfall fed forest.
An American Indian Monument
A quarry no longer used
This is either the pipestone or quartzite
regardless of type its stunning
The Town of Pipestone used Quartzite
The quartzite is abundant
The pipestone is much deeper underground
The trails through this monument surprise
sacred land for the Sioux and Crow
Minnesota – hard to believe
3/4 mile trail it’s worth an hour of your time
Active Quarry for American Indians
U.S. History omits the horror of assimilation
The trail surrounds a prairie
a river runs through the land
wild bergamont
lizard’s tail
Sacred ceremonies still continue
A peaceful place to commune with nature
Connections
Filed under American History, Art, National Parks, Photography, Uncategorized
Freshly "Pic'ed" 