For strange reasons we decided to travel to Central Illinois for Independence Day. Most things were closed of course, but we did manage to make go of it.
Tag Archives: waterfalls
Five photos from July 4 in Peoria IL
Filed under American History, Family, Travel
A Hidden National Park – Lake Clark
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
Cascading through Pacific NW
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
Wrapping up a Quest
I have been on a mission to visit every state park site in Missouri. This weekend I wrapped up the quest with my final two locations: Dillard Mill and Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead state historic sites. These are both lovely locations worth a visit.
Filed under American History, Photography, Travel
The Ice of Starved Rock
The CCC lodge and trails along with the eroded ruggedness of the landscape make Starved Rock State Park one of the best public lands in the USA.
When temperature drops below freezing for winter, time stops.
The lodge and cabins provide a rustic atmosphere oozing with history, nature, and peace.
Filed under Photography, Travel
Atoning for our Sins
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
A Wild Moose Chase
I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods of the northern states of the U.S., but I’ve never seen a moose. So yesterday I set off on 300 mile journey visiting the sites in Vermont and NH that have the highest moose sightings – knowing ahead of time this would be about the adventure and not really about the moose.
Along the way, I ran into a family from Michigan that spent over 2 hours last night in their car camped out by a Moose Crossing sign. They were irritated, no moose showed up.
Another man said that at Moose Alley near the Canadian border, people park there at night and wait.
My barista at the coffee shop Moose Muck said that a couple from New Zealand stopped in to the shop and asked to see the moose!
What these people and others don’t understand is that it’s not really seeing the moose that is important, but being where the moose are. They live in beautiful places filled with treasures. That is the true meaning of going on a Wild Moose Hunt…
Big Falls near Troy VT
Newport VT
Nulhegan River
in Silvio O Conte wildlife refuge
in Danville Notch State Park
no moose but plenty of red winged blackbirds
gorgeous lillies
Mt Washington
Filed under Photography, Travel, Uncategorized
Freshly "Pic'ed" 