For this challenge Amy has asked us to show examples of framing our photos. She tells us “The purpose of framing a photo is to create a pleasing composition, so we can direct the viewer’s attention to the subject of our photo.”
My first images are framesd by natural elements. Trees frame the walking trail in the Okefenokee swamp in the header photo above. The next three images the subjects are framed by natural rock formations in the western United States.
Monument Valley, Arizona and UtahArches National Park, UtahPalo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
My next images are framed by man made openings. Left to right are the Blarney Castle in Ireland; a tree viewed through an archway at Ft. Pulaski National Monument, Georgia; and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri viewed through an arched window.
For this month’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge Terri wants to know if we are all in for yellow. I am!
On a recent visit to middle Georgia my husband and I wandered around Butterflies and Blooms in the Briar Patch at the Briar Patch Walking Trail in Putnam County, Georgia. As I walked along the trail I kept my eyes peeled for butterflies and yellow flowers. I hope you enjoy these yellows as much as I did!
For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us to focus on Work in Progress.
Crazy Horse Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota has been a Work in Progress since the Memorial was dedicated on the day of the first blast, June 3, 1948. The monument honoring Lakota Chief Crazy Horse was the dream of Oglala Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear and is the world’s largest mountain carving in progress. To learn more about the history of this amazing project please visit Crazy Horse Memorial.
Our mission is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians
Mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
We first visited the monument in the summer of 2006. We toured the museum, watched an interesting video about the the memorial, and bought some native made items in the gift shop.
Crazy Horse Monument in the summer of 2006Scale Model of the Crazy Horse MonumentHorse Head of the Scale Model with the Monument in the background, 2006
We returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the spring of 2011. We chose not to tour the museum again but I captured this image from the highway. It doesn’t look much different than it did in 2006 but some progress was made during those five years.
Ketchikan, Alaska is famous for it totem poles hand carved by native carvers. At the Herring Bay Lumber Company we learned from a native master carver how the totems were made and how each totem tells a story. After learning about the totems and viewing his work in progress we wandered through the totem park to see some finished totems.
July and August in coastal Georgia are always hot, humid and stormy. It’s too hot to sit outside on my porch or go out to take photos. With heat indexes over 100 degrees Fahrenheit it’s easy to be lazy and stay inside to cool off in the air conditioning. Many afternoons have found me inside reading or watching the storms as they roll in. The rainbows after the storm have been spectacular.
The full moons have been spectacular, too.
It’s much too hot to go out and tend to my garden. This year I got lazy and put off pulling weeds in my flower beds because of the heat. I finally found that if I got started pulling weeds about 8:00 a.m. I could get a little work done before the heat got too much for me. Despite my lack of attention, some of the flowers are thriving.
Here in coastal Georgia we usually don’t start getting cooler weather until October. Until then, if you need me, I’ll be inside where it’s cool.
For this challenge our guest host Janet from This, That and the Other Thing.has asked us to “share photos of something you normally overlook or something you think other people would overlook.”
It’s not the Destination, It’s the Journey
Ralph Waldo Emerson
During all our years of wandering Henry and I have traveled the back roads to discover places that many travelers overlook. When planning a road trip we try to find interesting and fun things to do in between our major destinations. We’ve discovered delightful small towns and during our camping days went miles out of our way to camp in a campground with a beautiful view.
In 2009 we made an RV trip that took us through Iowa. There were two places on our Bucket List in Iowa that I’m sure many travelers overlook. Both of the destinations had movie themes.
The first was the Field of Dreams Movie Site near Dyersville, Iowa where the movie with the same name was filmed. It was magical being there standing in the cornfield, walking around the bases, and imagining Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other ball players coming out of the cornfield to play baseball. I posted more about our visit here.
Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, IowaIt was easy to imagine the players coming out of the corn to play ball
We were traveling in our RV and couldn’t find an RV park close to Dyersville. I searched all around the area before I found a Corps of Engineers park on the Mississippi River in Petosi, Wisconsin across the river from Iowa. We love camping close to bodies of water so it was perfect for us. If we hadn’t wanted to see the Field of Dreams we would have never discovered the Good Old Potosi Brewery or the Grotto we passed as we drove from the campground to the Field of Dreams.
Good Old Potosi BeerGrotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin
Our second Iowa destination was the town of Winterset. Not only is Winterset the setting for the movie “Bridges of Madison County” but it is also the birthplace of John Wayne.
We didn’t have as much trouble finding a place to stay there. We stayed in our first ever city campground and we loved it. We set up the camper, put our payment in an envelope, and dropped the envelope in a drop box. The park was nice and the location was perfect for exploring the covered bridges and John Wayne’s birthplace.
Roseman Covered Bridge, Madison County, IowaJohn Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset, Iowa
Flash forward to 2013 when we took our RV to Alaska from Georgia. We loved every place we went but our favorite place was Haines, a small waterfront town. The view from our campsite was spectacular, the people in Haines were friendly, the scenery and wildlife were amazing, and we loved the laid back atmosphere there. Where else can you visit the Hammer Museum and eat fresh Dungeness Crabs straight from the boat?
To reach Haines by road travelers drive south on the long, scenic Haines Highway from the Yukon Territory in Canada before entering Alaska. Most RV’ers we met had been to Skagway but overlooked Haines because of the driving distance between the two towns. We opted to take the one hour trip by Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines. I’ll be forever grateful to the guy from Anchorage who was camped next to us in Skagway and suggested we look into the Ferry. We were sad to leave Haines but enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we drove north on the Haines Highway to continue our Alaska adventure.
This is the view from our campground in HainesWe saw many Bald Eagles while in Haines. This one was at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Sometimes in our travels we like to go for scenic drives and if we see a gravel road that looks interesting, we’ll drive on the road just to see where it goes. We stumbled upon this view of the Crazy Horse Monument when we took a turn on a gravel road in Custer State Park in South Dakota
View of Crazy Horse Monument from the top of the Coolidge Overlook in Custer State Park
We’ve discovered many more overlooked destinations in our travels. There are many great places along the way if you can just take the time to look around.
Wandering Dawgs 