Our wandering has taken us to many of our wonderful national parks across the United States. We loved each one of the parks that we visited.
The national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, and other national areas are managed by the National Park Service which celebrated it’s 100th anniversary in August, 2016. To celebrate this anniversary I am sharing pictures of the national parks we have visited throughout the years.
Acadia National Park, MaineArches National Park, UtahBadlands National Park, South DakotaBryce Canyon National Park (Utah)Canyonlands National Park (Utah)Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)Moose beside the road in Denali National Park, AlaskaDry Tortugas National Park, FloridaPa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park, FloridaGlacier National Park, MontanaGrand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal, ArizonaGreat Sand Dunes National Park, ColoradoCataloochee Valley Overlook in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North CarolinaGrand Teton National Park, WyomingHot Springs National Park, ArkansasJoshua Tree National Park, CaliforniaKenai Fjords National Park, AlaskaKings Canyon National Park, CaliforniaMammoth Cave National Park, KentuckyMesa Verde National Park, ColoradoHoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, WashingtonPetrified Forest National Park, ArizonaThe Big Tree, Redwoods National Park, CaliforniaRocky Mountain National Park, ColoradoSequoia National Park, CaliforniaWind Cave National Park, South DakotaLower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, CaliforniaThe Three Patriarchs in Zion National Park, Utah
Last summer as I was browsing through some blogs I stumbled upon a post on Winged Beauty Butterflies that mentioned Butterflies and Blooms in the Briar Patch, a butterfly habitat in Eatonton, Georgia. The next time we were visiting near there I stopped by the habitat and fell in love with it. I posted about my first visit to the habitat at Wandering in the Briar Patch.
My latest visit to the habitat was this past weekend in July, 2016. While I was wandering through the garden I had the pleasure of meeting Virginia Linch, the woman with the vision to create this magnificent butterfly habitat. Her enthusiasm was contagious as she gave me a tour and introduced me to many of the native Georgia nectar plants that I wasn’t familiar with. She also knew where to look for caterpillars and showed me some so tiny I would have never seen them if she hadn’t pointed them out.
The blooms were vibrant throughout the garden.
Mexican Sunflower
Blooms in the Briar Patch
Bee on Black Eyed Susan
I could see swallowtails, monarchs and other butterflies landing on the blooms but none would stay around long enough for me to get a picture. A Viceroy landed on the ground in front of me and paid no attention to me at all.
Viceroy in the Briar Patch
This Gulf Fritillary wasn’t shy.
Gulf Fritillary
I would never have spotted this Giant Swallowtail caterpillar if Virginia hadn’t pointed it out to me.
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
You can see how small it is compared to Virginia’s hand.
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
There are benches for resting and even a new porch for sitting.
Porch sitting in the Briar Patch
Thank you Virginia for giving me a tour and for all of your hard work!
America’s National Parks are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Our wandering has taken us to many of them over the years. These are a few of our favorite national parks.
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Denali National Park, Alaska
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Yosemite National Park, California
Overhanging Rock with Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Everglades National Park, Florida
Everglades National Park, Florida
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Cataloochee Valley Overlook Great Smoky Mountains
This is my contribution to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. For more interpretations of earth visit WordPress Photo Challenge: Earth
We’ve been watching painted buntings come to our feeder in the back yard for the last couple of weeks. For several days every time I set up my camera to capture these beautiful birds I scared them away. They are very skittish and fly off when they sense the slightest movement.
I never gave up trying and my patience finally paid off when I was able to get a few shots of a pair at the feeder.
Pair of Painted Buntings
The male kept on eating after the female flew off.
Male Painted Bunting
After she left he came around to my side of the feeder so I could get a good look at him. The food must be better on this side!
Wandering Dawgs 