Parks – Wandering Dawgs

Happy Birthday United States National Park Service

August 25, 2023August 26, 2023Posted in National Parks, NatureTagged Get out and explore, National Park Service Anniversary8 Comments

The National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson to manage our nation’s national parks. Today there are 63 national parks and many more national monuments, national historic sites, and other national areas managed by the National Park Service.

In 1872 Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming became our first National Park. The header image above is of Lower Yellowstone Falls.

New River National Park in West Virginia is our newest national park. We visited there when it was known as New River National River.

New River Gorge Bridge, New River National Park, West Virginia

During our years of wandering we have visited many of these wonderful national areas. In 2016 I posted about the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary. Since then we have visited national areas in two of the United States Territories in the Caribbean.

USVI National Park, St. John, United States Virgin Islands

San Juan National Historic Site, Castillo San Crostobal

The U.S. National Parks offer many opportunities to get out and explore natural areas, see wildlife, visit historic sites and monuments, go paddling, go hiking, go camping, and much more. Find a park near you at National Park Service and get out and explore!

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills: Let’s Celebrate Something

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #162 – It’s all about the Light

August 27, 2021Posted in National Parks, Photography, SunriseTagged Everglades National Park, Its All About the Light, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park22 Comments

For this challenge our host Tina has asked us to explore the magic of light.

To help celebrate this week’s anniversary of America’s National Parks I am focusing on images from three of the National Parks we have visited.

Sunrise in the Everglades is always a special event. The following images were captured at sunrise from the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park. The sky put on a beautiful light show as the sun rose over Florida Bay.

The next two images were taken two years apart at Many Curves Overlook in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The sun was shining in the spring of 2011 when I captured the image on the left. We returned in the summer of 2013 when I captured the image on the right.

Next we go to Zion National Park in Utah. I captured the following two images of the Watchman peak while waiting for sunset. As the sun was setting a full moon was rising.

Many thanks to Tina for challenging us with Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #162 – It’s all about the Light

I’m taking a short, much needed blogging break. I’ll be back in about two weeks.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #160 – Your Inspiration

August 12, 2021January 22, 2024Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, National Parks, Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged Favorite Quotes, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Your Inspiration29 Comments

Our host Patti has challenged us to show what our inspiration looks like. I find my inspiration in the natural world.

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir

Starting the day by watching the sun rise adds inspiration to any day.

The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.
Claude Monet

The natural beauty found in America’s National Parks never ceases to inspire me.

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California

If you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere.
Vincent Van Gogh

The weekly challenges from the gifted lens-artists hosts Tina, Ann-Christine, Patti and Amy always inspire me to be a better photographer. I’m also inspired by all of the talented WordPress bloggers who respond to the challenge with their wonderful photographs.

Many thanks to Patti for this challenge. Be sure to visit her original post at Lens-Artists challenge #160: Your Inspiration.

Lens-Artists #119: Hideaway

October 24, 2020January 23, 2024Posted in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuge, PhotographyTagged Denali National Park, Everglades National Park, Favorite Quotes, hideaway, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Photo Challenge14 Comments

For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us “where or what is our hideaway”. Her description of hideaway says “A Hideaway, is a place to which a person can retreat for safety, privacy, relaxation, to seek seclusion or refuge.”

When I am at home I can hideaway for a few moments by getting out in nature or by reading a book. But for me, a true hideaway is a wilderness area far away from civilization, somewhere with no robo calls, internet, or other interruptions.

Three of my favorite destinations immediately came to mind – the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Everglades National Park in Florida. Although these are three unique protected wilderness areas, what they have in common is that they are miles away from civilization and the wildlife is free to roam.

Of these three areas, the closest to my home is the Okefenokee Swamp. When we get to the end of the 17 mile road from the main highway and arrive at Stephen C. Foster State Park I feel like I am in another world. This image and the one at the top were both taken in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Fargo, Georgia.

Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska

To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
John Muir

Sunrise in Everglades National Park in Flamingo, Florida

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Thanks to Ann-Christine for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #119: Hideaway.

Lens-Artists #115: Inspiration

September 25, 2020January 23, 2024Posted in Butterflies, National Parks, Photography, SunsetTagged beach, Favorite Quotes, green lynx spider, inspiration, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, zebra longwing21 Comments

I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful – an endless prospect of magic and wonder.
Ansel Adams

Whether it’s a butterfly in my garden, a tiny spider on a colorful flower, a walk on the beach, visiting a National Park, or seeing a sunset, I find inspiration in the natural world.