Wildlife – Page 13 – Wandering Dawgs

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Oregon

July 6, 2017July 6, 2017Posted in Lighthouse, Oregon, RVing, State Parks, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, Beverly Beach State Park, Highway 101, Humbug Mountain State Park, Pacific Ocean, Scenic drives, Weekly Photo Challenge Bridge17 Comments

State 34:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

Oregon

Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. The capital is Salem.

Our visit to Oregon was entirely along the spectacular Pacific coast along Highway 101. In order to have easy access to the scenic overlooks we traveled south from Washington. After crossing the Columbia River bridge our Oregon journey began.

20070427Columbia-River-(8) — Crossing the Columbia River into Oregon

We were towing our fifth wheel as we drove south. Lucky for us the overlooks were big enough that we didn’t have any trouble finding parking places.

20070427Oregon-Coast-(9) — Tillimook Rock Lighthouse

20070427Oregon-Coast-(10) — Northern Oregon Coast

20070427Oregon-Coast-(25) — Northern Oregon Coast

We enjoy camping in state parks so before we left home I called the Oregon State Parks to find out if I needed campground reservations. We were traveling in late April and the ranger assured me we would not have a problem finding a campsite that time of year (this was ten years ago and campsites may be harder to get now). Our first two night stay was at Beverly Beach State Park in Newport. With the fifth wheel parked in our campsite we were able to take the truck on several scenic drives.

20070428QDevils-Punchbowl-(9) — Devil’s Punchbowl

20070428QDevils-Punchbowl-(26) — Surfer’s on the beach looking for the right waves

20070428Depoe-Bay-(7) — Bridge at Depoe Bay

20070428Otter-Crest-Drive-(15) — Bridge on Otter Crest Drive

We visited two lighthouses near Newport.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, OR

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, OR

After climbing to the top of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse we walked down a series of stairs for a stroll along the beach. We came upon Harbor Seals sunning themselves on the rocks.

Harbor Seals at Quarry Cove

Harbor Seal

Henry and Blondie on the Beach at Yaquina Head Lighthouse

I love the Oregon bridges and this one we saw from the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was one of my favorites.

20070428TYaquina-Bay-Lighthouse-(18) — Bridge near Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

Our Oregon adventure continued as we continued south from Newport on Hwy 101. The first stop of the day was at the Sea Lion Caves near Florence. The caves are 250 feet below the visitors center. After a long elevator ride we were down in the caves for a close up view of the Stellar Sea Lions. The waves crashed into the cave while the seals held on to the rocks and barked at each other.

Sea Lion in the Sea Lion Caves

Sea Lions in the Sea Lion Cave

Haceta Head Lighthouse as seen from the Sea Lion Caves

As we continued south we passed the huge Oregon sand dunes and stopped for lunch at the Umqua Lighthouse State Park.

20070429Umpqua-Lighthouse-(6) — Umpqua Lighthouse

We settled into our campsite at Humbug Mountain State Park near Port Orford for our next two night stay. Our campsite was a short walk from the beach.

Bridge at Humbug Mountain

View from the beach at Humbug Mountain State Park

View from the beach at Humbug Mountain

The campground was just a short drive to the Port Orford Heads State Park and Lifeboat Stations. The ocean views were breathtaking as we hiked along the trails on top of the cliffs. At the museum we learned the Coast Guardsmen used to go down over 500 steps to launch their lifeboats.

Beach from an overlook at Port Orford

Port Orford Lifeboat Station

Port Orford at Coast Guard Lifeboat Station

Along the nature trail in Port Orford

When we weren’t enjoying the rugged coast, lighthouses, dog friendly beaches, bridges, seals and lifeboat stations in Oregon we took time out to enjoy some amazing fresh seafood in Newport and Port Orford. Our time there was short and we didn’t waste a minute of it.

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Maryland

March 16, 2017April 17, 2017Posted in Maryland, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, National Aquarium, Rocky Gap State Park, Tall Ship4 Comments

State 18:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Maryland

Maryland was one of the original 13 colonies and became the 7th state on April 28, 1788. The capital is Annapolis and the largest city is Baltimore.

Although we traveled to Maryland multiple times before our RV’ing days, back then we spent most of our time visiting family and seeing the sights in Washington, D.C. Way back in the early 1980’s we wandered around Baltimore touring the National Aquarium, the B&O Railroad Museum, and enjoying the beautiful harbor.

Tall Ship in the Baltimore Harbor (early 1980’s)

After we started traveling in the RV, we enjoyed camping in Rocky Gap State Park on Lake Habeeb. The birds in the trees and the chipmunks on the ground kept us entertained when we weren’t enjoying the lake.

This chipmunk visited our campsite at Rocky Gap State Park

Great Crested Flycatcher in Rocky Gap State Park

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Kentucky

February 27, 2017July 13, 2017Posted in Kentucky, National Parks, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged Bison, Bourbon, Kentucky Horse Park, Land Between the Lakes, Mammoth Cave, Wild Turkey Distillery14 Comments

State 15:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is the Bluegrass State –

Kentucky

Kentucky became the 15th state on June 1, 1792 and the capital is Frankfort.

When I think of the Bluegrass state I think of horses, bourbon, and Colonel Sanders famous Kentucky Fried Chicken. We never got a chance to visit the original Kentucky Fried Chicken but we did get to experience horses and bourbon and a whole lot more.

Late one fall we set up camp at the Kentucky Horse Park State Park near Lexington. Seeing these magnificent horses was the highlight of our visit to the area.

One very overcast day we left the horse park for a scenic drive by many beautiful horse farms and a tour of the Wild Turkey Distillery located right beside the Kentucky River.

Bridge over Kentucky River at the Wild Turkey Distillery

Wild Turkey Bourbon is aged these barrels

Until we visited the Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes I never knew that bison once roamed in this area of the United States.

The Land Between the Lakes has been a perfect stop over for us several times in our wandering. It doesn’t get much better than camping near a body of water and Canal Campground in the Land Between the Lakes is one of our favorite Corps of Engineers park.

Sunrise over Lake Barkley, Kentucky from Canal COE — Sunrise over Lake Barkley, Kentucky from Canal Corps of Engineers Campground

Located in central Kentucky, Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system known in the world. There are many options for guided tours of the cave. Above ground the scenery is beautiful with hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.

Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Hawaii

February 9, 2017August 3, 2017Posted in Birds, Hawaii, Historic Sites, Lighthouse, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged Bali Hai, Diamond Head, green turtle, Kauai, monk seal, NeNe, Oahu, Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial, Waikiki12 Comments

State 9:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. Time to travel across the Pacific Ocean to

Hawaii

Aloha! Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959 and the capital is Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

Obviously we didn’t take the RV to Hawaii! We spent two weeks in paradise exploring Oahu and Kauai.

I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Green sea turtle on the beach at Turtle Cove, Oahu

Hawaiian Monk Seal on the north shore of Kauai

View of the Na Pali Coast from the beach on Kauai

Kilauea Point Lighthouse on Kauai is the westernmost lighthouse in the United States

We hiked to the top of Diamond Head for this view of Waikiki

Diamond Head Lighthouse from the top of Diamond Head

We could see surfers in the water from this overlook on Oahu — We could see surfers in the water from an overlook on Oahu

Mahalo for stopping by!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Georgia

February 4, 2017June 16, 2026Posted in Birds, Georgia, Historic Sites, Lighthouse, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, Athens, Azaleas, Cockspur Lighthouse, Dogwoods, Savannah, Tybee Island20 Comments

State 8:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically and the next state is my home state!

Georgia

Georgia was one of the original 13 colonies and became the 4th state on January 2, 1788. The capital is Atlanta where the capital dome is covered in gold leaf from the Georgia Gold Rush in Dahlonega during the 1830’s.

I was born in Georgia but did not grow up here. When I was a child, our summer vacations were spent visiting relatives in middle Georgia where my mother grew up. I first moved to Georgia as a freshman at the University of Georgia in Athens and I’ve lived in the state ever since. Even when we are wandering I always have Georgia on my mind.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to do our state justice. How I condense a lifetime of memories into one post?

With the city of Atlanta, the north Georgia mountains, National Wildlife Refuges and National Forests, The Okefenokee Swamp, peach and pecan groves, cotton fields, lakes and streams, the Grand Canyon of Georgia, Athens the Classic City, Stone Mountain, antebellum homes, historical lighthouses, salt marshes, barrier islands, beautiful beaches, friendly small towns, and many historic sites Georgia has much to offer. And did I mention the delicious sweet tea, barbeque, grits, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, low country boil, fresh wild Georgia shrimp and blue crabs, peach cobbler, banana pudding, and all the other amazing food around the state?

Unfortunately I am missing photos from many places around the state. No matter where you go there are interesting things to see and do in the Peach State.

Georgia is the Peach State and Peach County produces many of those peaches. There is nothing in the world that’s better than a fresh Georgia peach plucked right from the tree when it is perfectly ripe in the summer time. You know it’s perfect when you bite into it and the nectar drips down your chin and all over your hands. And fresh peach cobbler is a staple around our house when the peaches are in season.

In Georgia, you can watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean or watch the sunset over one of the Georgia’s many lakes.

Nothing says springtime in Georgia like azaleas, peach blossoms, and flowering dogwoods.

With ancient live oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss, squares, a beautiful historic district, museums, historic forts, and one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States, Savannah is a popular vacation destination.

Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah, Georgia

Three lighthouses protecting the Georgia Coast are accessible to the public. The Tybee Island Light Station is the tallest lighthouse in Georgia.

Tybee Island Light Station 4th of July American Flag

A trail at Fort Pulaski National Monument winds through palmettos for a close up view of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse.

Cockspur Lighthouse at Fort Pulaski National Monument

The St. Simons Island Lighthouse was rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Union Army during the War between the States.

Joel Chandler Harris, Alice Walker, and Flannery O’Connor are just a few of the writers from Georgia. The Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton celebrates the creator of Brer Rabbit, Joel Chandler Harris.

Brer Rabbit stands in front of the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton, GA

Georgia also has a close connection with the film industry. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed in Georgia. Oliver Hardy was one of the stars who was born in Georgia.

Laurel and Hardy Museum at Harlem, Georgia

You know your shrimp is fresh when you see the shrimp boats that caught them.

Atlanta is the capital and the home to companies such as Coca Cola, UPS and Delta Airlines. Atlanta also hosted the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996.

Centennial Olympic Stadium 1996 - Reconstructed after Paralympics to become Turner Field — Centennial Olympic Stadium 1996 – Reconstructed after Paralympics to become Turner Field

The birds and other wildlife are abundant all over the state.

The Iron Horse was originally placed on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens and later moved to the middle of a field near Greensboro.

The Iron Horse stands tall in the middle of a cornfield

We Georgians love our sports teams! When we travel in our fifth wheel, there is no doubt which college team we support! How bout them Dawgs!

As I put the finishing touches on this post the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to take on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in Houston. Go Falcons!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida