Gallery: Virginia Beach, Virginia, May 10, 2009

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We spent part of a day walking the beach, boardwalk, and a pier when we were in the area visiting family.  This photo was taken from the pier.

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Built by William H. Duncan, a miner and mail-carrier, circa. 1879.

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado, and managed by the National Park Service. There are two entrances to the park; the more-developed south rim entrance is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Montrose, while the north rim entrance is located 11 miles (18 km) south of Crawford and is closed in the winter. The park contains 12 miles (19 km) of the 48-mile (77 km) long canyon of the Gunnison river. The national park itself contains the deepest and most dramatic section of the canyon, but the canyon continues upstream into the Curecanti National Recreation Area and downstream into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile (8 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.4 m/km). The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile (45 m/km). The Black Canyon is so named on account of its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate very far down the canyon. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 feet (12 m) across at the river.

The extreme steepness and depth of the Black Canyon formed as the result of several geologic processes acting together. The Gunnison River is primarily responsible for carving the canyon, though several other geologic events had to occur in order to form the canyon as it is seen today.  (Wikipedia)

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This panorama is a composite of several images.

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Gallery: Dane County Farmers’ Market on the Square – Madison, Wisconsin, September 13 and 20, 2008, on the streets around the state capitol building

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Gallery: Bear Lake and Emerald Lake Trails – September 3, 2009, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Longs Peak, above the lateral moraine across valley of Moraine Park.

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Gallery: Arches National Park, September 24, 2007, Utah

Arches National Park is a U.S. National Park in eastern Utah. It is known for preserving over 2000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations.

The park is located near Moab, Utah, and is 119 square miles (310 km²) in size. Its highest elevation is 5,653 feet (1,723 m) at Elephant Butte, and its lowest elevation is 4,085 feet (1,245 m) at the visitor center. Since 1970, forty-three arches have toppled because of erosion. The park receives 10 inches (250 mm) of rain a year on average.   (wikipedia)

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Gallery: Fern Lake Trail – September 6, 2009, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 

Viguiera is a genus of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. A plant in this genus may be known as a goldeneye. These are herbs to bushy shrubs and they bear yellow or orange daisylike flowers. There are about 150 species native to the New World

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Gallery: Silverton and Animas Forks area – September 6, 2009

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For information on the park and mountain, please see our Petit Jean Information page.

Last week we took a short trip to eastern Arkansas and, after that, over to northeast Kentucky.

Our first campground was at Village Creek State Park.  The park is located on Crowley’s Ridge, a geologic anomaly of rolling hills in eastern Arkansas’s Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

With five trails totaling 7 miles, we had hoped to spend one day in the park doing some hiking.

Unfortunately, there was some kind of gnats hatching out.  After taking one walk the first evening where we couldn’t get away from them, we decided to alter our plans and check out some of the other parks in the area.

The first day, we went to Parkin State Archeological Park and Jacksonport State Park.  The next day, we drove over to Memphis and spent a few hours at Mud Island.  I’ll be posting more on these as I get the photo gallery set up for each one.

The last evening that we were there and the next morning before we left, we didn’t have much problem with insects at all.

Our next destination was Paducah, Kentucky, so that Karen could go to the annual Paducah Quilt Show.  Karen has several posts on her blog from the quilt show:

• The Quilt Show
• More from Paducah
• Second Day in Paducah
• Back from Paducah
• Our Last Day in Paducah (Saturday)

A couple of weeks ago, we took a drive down to Hot Springs to visit Garvan Woodland Gardens.

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We’ve been in Arkansas for nearly 30 years and this was the first time we had visited this wonderful attraction.

Photos from the visit are included in my newest photo gallery, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The Garvan Woodland Gardens is a botanical garden  in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. The 210 acre garden is owned by the University of Arkansas and open almost every day during daylight hours, for a fee.

The gardens are situated on a wooded peninsula with 4.5 miles of shoreline on Lake Hamilton. The gardens feature rocky inclines reminiscent of the surrounding Ouachita Mountains, floral landscapes, streams, and waterfalls in a natural woodland setting, plus a Japanese Garden with Japanese maples and tree peonies, a conifer border, and various flower and rock gardens. Its collections display hundreds of rare shrubs and trees, including camellias, magnolias, roses, and over 160 different types of azaleas. (Wikipedia)

Gallery: Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

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Ore from the Mayflower Mine in Arrasta Gulch was carried nearly two miles on an aerial tram to Mayflower Mill while miners often rode the buckets up to work. Since the heavily loaded buckets ran downhill, gravity did all the work and little power was needed to pull the empty buckets back up to the mine.  Except for a few years in the 1950s, the mill ran continuously for over 60 years.

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For more information on the bridge, see, our Big Dam Bridge page.

Opened in 2006, the pedestrian and bicycle bridge built over Murray Lock and Dam between Murray Park in Little Rock and Cook’s Landing Park in North Little Rock is a major addition to the Arkansas River Trail, connecting several miles of hiking and biking trails on both sides of the river. 

The project’s official name  is Pulaski County Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge – Murray Lock and Dam—however, it is known as the Big Dam Bridge and is the world’s longest bridge specifically constructed as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge. At 4,226 feet (1288 m.) in length, the bridge rises to 65 feet over the surface of the Arkansas River and 30 feet over the dam.  The span over the river is 3463 feet (1055 m.), with the ramps on either side of the river accounting for the rest of the length.

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The Ouray Livery Barn was built in 1883.  It is the only remaining livery in Ouray and is currently the home of Ouray Mule and Carriage Company, which offers mule drawn carriage tours of the town.

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The Island Peaks are towers of rock that have been separated by erosion from the canyon wall.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado, and managed by the National Park Service. There are two entrances to the park; the more-developed south rim entrance is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Montrose, while the north rim entrance is located 11 miles (18 km) south of Crawford and is closed in the winter. The park contains 12 miles (19 km) of the 48-mile (77 km) long canyon of the Gunnison river. The national park itself contains the deepest and most dramatic section of the canyon, but the canyon continues upstream into the Curecanti National Recreation Area and downstream into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile (8 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.4 m/km). The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile (45 m/km). The Black Canyon is so named on account of its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate very far down the canyon. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 feet (12 m) across at the river.

The extreme steepness and depth of the Black Canyon formed as the result of several geologic processes acting together. The Gunnison River is primarily responsible for carving the canyon, though several other geologic events had to occur in order to form the canyon as it is seen today.  (Wikipedia)

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Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, September 13, 2009

The mountain on the horizon is said to resemble a man laying on his back with his arms crossed on his chest.  Its name is Sleeping Ute Mountain.

While it was pretty dry during our visit to Mesa Verde — there was a fire ban and no campfires allowed — there was a daily threat of rain.  We did get rain one day, but it lasted only a short period.  Dry conditions are normal here and there is evidence all over the park of numerous fires that have occurred over a long period.

The Knife Edge Trail is a 2 mile round trip walk along the north rim of Mesa Verde National Park. It takes about l 1/2 to 2 hours to walk the trail.

Historically, part of the Knife Edge Trail follows a section of the Knife Edge Road built in 1914 as the main access into the park. Along the trail you may see patches of asphalt that remain from this road. Old-timers still proudly talk about what a feat it was to build, or “hang,” a road on this steep bluff. Users recall it with a bit of dread because of its narrowness, the unexpected rock slides and its slippery ruts.

Gallery: Cliff Palace and More — September 13, 2009, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

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Dome Rock State Wildlife Area, Colorado, August 29, 2004

Dome Rock is a 7,000-acre parcel of land in Teller County, Colorado.  Purchased in the late 1970s as habitat protection for bighorn sheep, it was named after a prominent dome-shaped rock outcropping.  In 1986, the Colorado Department of Wildlife entered into a lease management agreement with the Department of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, with the wildlife area to be managed under the umbrella of Mueller State Park, which is adjacent to Dome Rock.  While the wildlife area was renamed Mueller State Wildlife area, over time, the combined area became known as Mueller State Park.  It was later determined by federal auditors that the lease agreement was in conflict with regulations on the use of federal funds which were used in the original purchase of the wildlife area.  As a result the Department of Wildlife resumed management of the land and the name reverted back to Dome Rock State Wildlife Area.

We hiked in to a portion of Dome Rock from a residential area to the south.

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