Images from the second major snow that we saw in four days in March, 2008.
Exit78
Blackeyed Susan
January 27, 2016
Around the Yard, West-Central Arkansas, July 27, 2008
Rudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed-susan, is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, native to the Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China. Wikipedia
Quick References:
Sunset over Canton Lake
January 26, 2016
August 29, 2009
On two of our western trips, our first night camping was in Oklahoma at Canton Lake’s Sandy Cove Recreation Area. In both cases, the stop was early enough for some leisurely relaxation and, each evening, there was a glorious sunset where I was able to get plenty of photos.
Quick References:
Abandoned
January 25, 2016
Interior of abandoned structure, Animas Forks ghost town, Colorado, September 8, 2009
Even though the town is well off the beaten path on an unpaved and sometimes rough road, we’ve visited Animas Forks several times. Past the town, the road splits into narrower roads more suited to four wheel drive or all terrain vehicles.
Abandoned structure, Animas Forks ghost town, Colorado, September 8, 2009
Animas Forks is a ghost town located twelve miles northeast of Silverton in San Juan County, Colorado, United States. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Wikipedia
Recent restoration efforts have helped preserve Animas Fork’s nine remaining buildings.
Satellite view (Google Maps), Animas Forks, Colorado
Quick References:
- Wikipedia
- Durango Herald – September 4, 2014 article on restoration efforts.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
-
- Exploring Animas Forks
- Ghost of a Chance – The residents of Silverton, Colorado, beat the odds to rescue a long-abandoned mining town
- Mountain Studies Institute
- UncoverColorado.com
- ColoradoPast.com
- GhostTown Gallery.com
- Unique-Photography-Concepts.com
Self-Portrait Among Churchgoers
January 24, 2016Art on Sunday #11
Self-Portrait Among Churchgoers,
1939, Tempera on Board, Ben Shahn,
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, August 1, 2015
Ben Shahn is the name of a photographer I recognize from my interest in photography from the Great Depression. I didn’t realize that he was also a renowned painter and graphic artist. In 1935, Shahn joined the photographic group at the U.S. Farm Security Administration, where he roamed and documented the American south through photography.
Ben Shahn was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content. Wikipedia
An amateur is someone who supports himself with outside jobs which enable him to paint. A professional is someone whose wife works to enable him to paint. Ben Shahn.
Quick References:
Farmer’s Market Little Rock
January 23, 2016
Living in a southern rural area with a small city less than a half an hour a way, we do have access to a small farmer’s market. However, the number of producers who sell at the local market is few, so what little “fresh produce” we use comes from the supermarket.
Little Rock has a much larger farmer’s market that is open every Sunday from the beginning of May though the end of October in two outdoor, open-air pavilions in the River Market, “filled with farm-fresh produce straight from the backs of the trucks.”
However, Little Rock is over an hour’s drive away for us and we’ve only been to the farmers marker in Little Rock one time, in 2009, when I took the photos below:
Quick References:
Little Rock Farmers Market
Little Rock
Windows at Arches
January 22, 2016One of our favorite destinations at Arches National Park is the Windows area, which has two large arches cut from the same sandstone fin. The Windows arches are also known as the Spectacles, with a large “nose” fin remnant separating the two windows when viewed from the southwest.
The Windows, Arches National Park, Utah, September 24, 2007
The Windows trail is a loop trail that leads to three massive arches, North and South Windows and Turret Arch. The 1 mile (1.6 km) mostly gravel trail has a very modest change in elevation. An alternative, slightly longer, return to the parking lot is by way of a more primitive trail around the back of the two Windows, starting at the South Window viewpoint. While there is ample parking in the Windows parking lot, this is a popular destination and, at times, the parking lot may be full.
North Window Arch and the Nose bridge sandstone fin,
Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
North Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
North Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
North Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
North Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
North Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
Turret Arch is in the sandstone formation on the left.
South Window Arch, Arches National Park, September 24, 2007
Quick References
Arches National Park
- National Park Service, Arches
- Wikipedia
- Wikitravel
- Recreation.gov – Devil’s Garden Campground (a favorite for us, reservations often required well in advance)
- flickr – photos from the National Park Service
Windows Trail
- Utah.com
- hikespeak.com
- Your Hike Guide
- ProTrails – Windows Primitive Loop
Pelican on Pilings
January 21, 2016
Brown pelican on pilings, from Dauphin Island to Ford Morgan Ferry,
July 3, 2011 – near Fort Morgan, Alabama
Forestville Store
January 20, 2016
Costumed interpreter in the role of a store clerk
in the Meighen family store
Historic Forestvillle, Minnesota – June 14, 2007
Historic Forestville (Wikipedia)
The Minnesota Historical Society operates Historic Forestville as a living museum set in 1899. Costumed interpreters portray Forestville residents and go about daily activities in the general store, house, kitchen, farm, and barn.
Forestville was a rural trade center in the 1800s that declined after the railroad was built elsewhere in 1868. Thomas Meighen, son of one of the town’s founders, owned the entire village by 1890, including the general store, and the local residents worked on his property for housing and credit in the store.
Forestville Mystery Cave State Park
- Wikipedia
- State Park website
- Minnesota Historical Society
Stanley’s Rear
January 19, 2016
Rear entrance, Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado, September 5, 2009
The Stanley Hotel is a 140-room Colonial Revival hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Approximately five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley offers panoramic views of lake Estes, the Rockies and especially Long’s Peak. It was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and opened on July 4, 1909, catering to the American upper class at the turn of the century. (Wikipedia)
