Tag: Grand Canyon

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #384 – What Astonishes You?

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , 83 Comments

What have you seen or experienced that has astonished you? The challenge is to include photos about things that astonish you and tell us why you are astonished.

I got the inspiration for this challenge from these words by Mary Oliver from her poem “Sometimes”:

“Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention

Be astonished

Tell about it”

According to the Merrriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of astonished is “feeling or showing great surprise or wonder”.

There are so many astonishing places and things to experience in our world if we just take the time to pay attention to what is around us. Sometimes we can be surprised by something in our own backyard or neighborhood. It may be something in nature or it could be something created by humans like a piece of art or interesting architecture. We may want to travel to see astonishing wonders of nature or things created by humans. The challenge is to show us what astonishes you. What makes you go “WOW”?

I can find wonders all around my neighborhood and my own back yard when I slow down and look around me. It’s the little things like these that bring me joy. I’m astonished that this weird looking caterpillar on the left will become a beautiful Gulf Fritillary like the one on the right.

I plant flowers in my garden to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators. During the warm months I keep my hummingbird feeder filled with fresh nectar. No matter how many times I have witnessed it I am always astonished when I see one of the huumers hovering in mid air.

I am always astonished at the vastness and power of the ocean. These waves were crashing on the beach as a tropical storm was approaching Tybee Island, Georgia.

Sometimes my husband and I travel long distances to see astonishing sights. When I pay attention I often find astonishing things I wasn’t expecting to see.

I was in awe of the ancient giant Redwoods in Redwoods National Park in California. I spent most of my time looking up, taking in their enormous size.

And then I looked down at the forest floor and was astonished to discover the beautiful trillium flowers were blooming.

My husband and I have traveled to Arizona twice to visit the Grand Canyon. The canyon is awe-inspiring and makes me feel how truly small I am in the grand scheme of things.

We spent two months in Alaska in 2013 and every day brought new things that astonished me. Seeing and hearing a glacier calving was one of those events that has always stayed with me.

Not only was observing Whooping Cranes in the wild an astonishing experience, knowing that they migrate 2,500 miles from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge every fall was even more astonishing. After wintering in Texas, they begin their migration back north to Canada about mid March each year. We made a special trip to Texas to see these magnificent birds who once were on the brink of extinction.

I am always astonished when I see ancient structures built by humans that have survived for thousands of years. I’ve never seen the Pyramids or the Great Wall of China but I have seen the Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. How did they build these structures and how did the people survive in the harsh environment?

Last week I enjoyed all of your wonderful shapes and designs in response to Tina’s challenge. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..

I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. I can’t wait to see what astonishes you. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to this post.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, February 14 at noon eastern time when Ritva will be hosting the challenge.

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #367 – Everyone should see this

Posted in National Parks, PhotographyTagged , , , , 37 Comments

We are happy to have Joanne of Joanne Mason Photography as our guest host this week. She writes: “This week’s challenge is to share some photographs of things/people/places that are inspiring and that you want to share. Tell us the circumstances of your photograph and why you want everyone to see it.”

When I first read Joanne’s challenge the first thing I thought of was the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The majesty of the Grand Canyon must be seen in person to appreciate. Photos can’t portray the feeling of awe when seeing this natural wonder.

According to the Grand Canyon National Park website: “Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.”

I was 8 years old the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. I saw it again in 1985 when we took our children on a trip from Georgia to see it when they were 10 and 14. Both trips were to the south rim of the canyon. I don’t remember my feelings when I was 8 but I remember the feeling of wonder I had when seeing it as an adult.

The third time I saw the Grand Canyon was in 2006 when we were on our first RV trip in our fifth wheel. We camped just outside the National Park on the North Rim of the canyon and drove to the park to walk along a trail along the rim. Again I had that feeling of wonder when looking at the vastness of the canyon. All of these canyon images were taken on the North Rim. The Colorado River can be seen at the bottom of the canyon in the featured image.

Leeanne included a beautiful gallery of orchids in her post. She didn’t include any ladyslippers because she didn’t have any photos of them in nature. She asked us to feel free to post photos of ladyslippers in nature if we had any. Leeanne, these ladyslippers from a trail in Itasca State Park in Minnesota are for you!

Thank you to everyone who responded to Tina’s City Mouse/Country Mouse challenge last week. Be sure to check back on Saturday, October 4 at noon Eastern Time when John will be our host.

I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to Joanne’s post Lens-Artists #367 – Everyone should see this

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Arizona

Posted in Arizona, National Parks, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around AmericaTagged , , , , , , , , , 18 Comments

State 3:

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 next up is

Arizona

Arizona, nicknamed “The Grand Canyon State”, became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. Phoenix is the capital and the state’s largest city.

I first saw the Grand Canyon back in the 1960’s when I was in the third grade. I sat in the back seat of our Ford station wagon with my two brothers as our family went on a cross country trip seeing some of our National Parks and of course the Grand Canyon was one of the highlights of our trip.

Henry and I made our first trip together to the Grand Canyon in 1985 when we loaded up our mini van with our kids and tent camping gear and made the trek from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Henry returned  the next year and backpacked into the canyon with three friends. Having done the South Rim, we decided to make the North Rim of the Grand Canyon our first major destination in our inaugural cross country RV trip in 2006.

Before we got to the North Rim we traveled across Arizona and took in the Meteor Crator, Petrified Forest National Park, Painted Desert and the Vermilion Cliffs .

Meteor Crater in Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park
Painted Desert
Painted Desert
Vermillian Cliffs on way to Jacob Lake

Our home base for exploring the North Rim was in the Kaibab National Forest. We saw evidence of recent wildfires and beautiful meadows each day as we drove to and from the canyon.

Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial
Burned section of Kaibab National Forest on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Meadow on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Later travels through Arizona found us at Monument Valley, Lake Havasu , and the Four Corners.

The Mittens at Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Lake Havasu in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona
Cactus in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Four Corners – the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada meet here. It is the only place in the U.S. shared by four states

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama      Alaska

Beautiful Planet Earth

Posted in Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 21 Comments

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
Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial

Denali National Park, Alaska

Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska

Yosemite National Park, California

Overhanging Rock with Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park
Overhanging Rock with Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Everglades National Park, Florida

Everglades National Park, Florida
Everglades National Park, Florida

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

Cataloochee Valley Overlook Great Smoky Mountains
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

Our first cross country camping trip – in 1985!

Posted in National Parks, Road Trip, Tourist AttractionsTagged , , 24 Comments

A new Toyota mini van + 2 tents + 2 parents + 2 kids = 2 weeks of fun!

We’ve had some wonderful adventures since we began traveling in our fifth wheel nine years ago but our first cross country journey when our kids were 14 and 10 will always be one of my favorites.

Way back in 1985, over twenty years before we bought our fifth wheel, we packed up our new mini van and and set out on a trip from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim, about 2600 miles each way. We had been taking our kids camping around Georgia and Florida many times but this was the first time we ventured west.

Our plan was to drive as far as we could each day and stay in motels until we got to the Grand Canyon. Loaded down with two tents, coolers, and all the camping gear we owned, we were ready for anything.

Our longest driving day of the trip was on our way to the Grand Canyon when we drove 694 miles across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.  Once we reached Arizona we slowed down to take the scenic drive through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks.

Our Campsite at the Grand Canyon South Rim in 1985
Our Campsite at the Grand Canyon South Rim in 1985

Of course the highlight of the trip was at the Grand Canyon South Rim. After setting up camp we went exploring and planned a hike on the Bright Angel Trail for the next morning. Keep in mind we were there the first week of July and it was HOT!  With backpacks filled with water, trail mix and other snacks we set off down the trail early in the day. Going down into the canyon was fairly easy. The temperature kept rising as we got deeper into the canyon and my daughter and I decided to return to the rim while Henry and our son continued on to Plateau Point (about 5 miles from the rim) where there is an overlook into the canyon and a view of the Colorado River.

Going up was hard. There were few places to sit and rest and almost no shade. When my daughter and I got back to camp we  went in the tents and collapsed on the cots hoping to cool off.  After a short rest we were no cooler so we went to the snack bar for air conditioning and ice cream. We were well rested when the guys got back.

On our return trip to Georgia we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns before driving all across Texas, this time on I-10 instead of I-40. We spent a night in New Orleans and visited the Tabasco Factory before stopping at a beach front hotel in Ft. Walton Beach. We all enjoyed the huge swimming pool and finally felt cool!

I recently came across a log I kept of our trip. We drove a total of about 5200 miles and spent a whopping $321 on gas!

We travel much differently these days. We have the luxury of being able to take our time and rarely travel more than 300 miles in a day. We set up our fifth wheel and usually stay 2 or 3 nights in each location. And we can turn on the air conditioner and go inside to cool off  without leaving our campsite!