On October 8, 2011, we stopped at Petrified Forest National Park on the homeward leg of our multi-week trip out west.  We had left Williams, Arizona, earlier that morning and would be camping overnight at Lyman Lake State Park. It was a pleasant day for taking walks through the sparse, desert terrain.

The petrified logs that liter the park lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago.

Petrified Wood (Wikipedia)

Petrified wood (from the Greek root petro meaning “rock” or “stone”; literally “wood turned into stone”) is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the stem tissue. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant’s cells; as the plant’s lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mould forms in its place. The organic matter needs to become petrified before it decomposes completely. A forest where such material has petrified becomes known as a petrified forest.

Petrified Forest National Park (National Geographic)

A sun-swept corner of the Painted Desert draws more than 600,000 visitors each year. While most come to see one of the world’s largest concentrations of brilliantly colored petrified wood, many leave having glimpsed something more. The current 346 square miles of Petrified Forest open a window on an environment more than 200 million years old, one radically different from today’s grassland.

Colors in the Petrified Wood (Wikipedia)

Elements such as manganese, iron, and copper in the water/mud during the petrification process give petrified wood a variety of color ranges. Pure quartz crystals are colorless, but when contaminants are added to the process the crystals take on a yellow, red, or other tint.

Following is a list of contaminating elements and related color hues:

• carbon – black
• cobalt – green/blue
• chromium – green/blue
• copper – green/blue
• iron oxides – red, brown, and yellow
• manganese – pink/orange
• manganese oxides – blackish/yellow

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (Wikipedia)

Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 146 square miles (380 km²), encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The park’s headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. The site, the northern part of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing, photography, hiking, and backpacking.

Averaging about 5,400 feet (1,600 m) in elevation, the park has a dry windy climate with temperatures that vary from summer highs of about 100 °F (38 °C) to winter lows well below freezing. More than 400 species of plants, dominated by grasses such as bunchgrass, blue grama, and sacaton, are found in the park. Fauna include larger animals such as pronghorns, coyotes, and bobcats; many smaller animals, such as deer mice; snakes; lizards; seven kinds of amphibians, and more than 200 species of birds, some of which are permanent residents and many of which are migratory. About half of the park is designated wilderness.

The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion. All of the park’s rock layers above the Chinle, except geologically recent ones found in parts of the park, have been removed by wind and water. In addition to petrified logs, fossils found in the park have included Late Triassic ferns, cycads, ginkgoes, and many other plants as well as fauna including giant reptiles called phytosaurs, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs. Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the park’s fossils since the early 20th century.

We’ve only taken the motorhome east once and that was to visit family in Virginia and Maryland. Most of our trips are out west or up towards Wisconsin, where our youngest daughter lives with her hubby and two kids.

On the one eastern trip, we saw four bears, three in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and one – crossing the road not long after we got into the park – at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

The two bears in these photos were in the Cades Cove area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Cades Cove is a broad valley surrounded by mountains.  One of the most popular destinations in the park, an 11-mile one-way loop circles the cove.  The National Park Service recommends allowing at least 2 to 4 hours to tour Cades Cove.  “Scattered along the loop road are three churches, a working grist mill, barns, log houses, and many other faithfully restored eighteenth and nineteenth century structures.” (NPS)

August 10, 2008 was a cool day for a walk at Lake Dardanelle State Park, Arkansas.

Fishing Pier, Lake Dardanelle State Park, Arkansas, August 10, 2008

Lake Dardanelle is a major reservoir on the Arkansas River in Arkansas, USA. Russellville lies on Lake Dardanelle, and the lake provides many recreational opportunities. Lake Dardanelle covers nearly 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land, which provides lots of area for boating, fishing, picnicking, camping and scenic views. The lake extends from Dardanelle Lock and Dam (35°14′55″N 93°10′15″W) near Dardanelle, into Pope, Yell, Logan, Johnson and Franklin Counties. The lake reaches 50 miles (80 km) upstream the Arkansas River and has 315 miles (510 km) of shoreline. (Wikipedia)

Fishing Fishing Pier, another view

There have been a lot of improvements at the park over the years, made possible through the 1/8th percent Conservation Sales Tax, created by Amendment 75 to the state Constitution in 1996.  The state parks get 45% of the proceeds.

Fishing Jetty

Some of the improvements have helped made the park and lake a premier location for major fishing tournaments.

Fishing Tournaments (Arkansas State Parks)

Surrounded by the natural beauty for which the Arkansas River Valley is known, Lake Dardanelle is a sprawling 34,300-acre reservoir on the Arkansas River. These two water resources combined here have put this area into the national spotlight as a major bass fishing tournament site.

Another unique facility in the (Russellville) main area is the park’s 1,861-square-foot, fishing tournament weigh-in pavilion, a world-class facility and the first of its kind in the nation that serves as a staging area for tournaments. Near the weigh-in pavilion is a covered, barrier-free fishing pier, a popular facility for bank fishing enthusiasts, sightseers, and photographers because of its sweeping view of lake and 1,350-foot Mount Nebo to the south.

Dock adjacent to fishing tournament weigh-in pavilion

Fishing pier, another view

Fast moving bass boat

I have a lot of photos accumulated over the 8.5 years since I retired. I have a system setup where the best of them can be selected on a random order basis. Currently there are over 3,700 photos in the random selection album – and there are still a lot of photos that I haven’t processed.

Instead of presenting photos one at a time, I’m going to try to publish several at a time, where possible including a narrative related to our travels and/or additional information related to the photos.

Mountain Bluebird, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 1, 2009

September 1, 2012 – On our first full day in and around Rocky Mountain National Park, we took a guided nature trail walk at the Moraine Park Visitor Center and Museum, where I was able to get a few shots of a mountain bluebird.  The visitor center is a 2 mile drive from where we were camped in Moraine Park Campground.

Mountain Bluebird (Wikipedia)

The mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is a medium-sized bird weighing about 30 g (1.1 oz) with a length from 16–20 cm (6.3–7.9 in). They have light underbellies and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back. In fresh fall plumage, the female’s throat and breast are tinged with red-orange, brownish near the flank contrasting with white tail underparts. Their call is a thin ‘few’; while their song is warbled high ‘chur chur’. It is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada. It is an omnivore and it can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. It eats spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. The mountain bluebird is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.

These birds hover over the ground and fly down to catch insects, also flying from a perch to catch them. They mainly eat insects and berries. They may forage in flocks in winter, when they mainly eat grasshoppers.

Their breeding habitat is open country across western North America, including mountainous areas, as far north as Alaska. They nest in pre-existing cavities or in nest boxes. In remote areas, these birds are less affected by competition for natural nesting locations than other bluebirds. Mountain bluebirds are a monogamous breed. The male can be seen singing from bare branches. The singing takes place right at dawn, just when the sun rises. Females usually build the nests themselves. Eggs are pale blue and unmarked, sometimes white. The clutch size is four or five eggs. Young are naked and helpless at hatching and may have some down. Incubation normally last 14 days and the young will take about 21 days before they leave the nest. Both males and females fiercely protect the nest.

Bannack, Montana (composite image), July 30, 2010

 The ghost town of Bannack, Montana is quite a ways off the normal tourists routes.  You pretty much have to want to be going there to get there.  This was our fourth visit, if memory serves me right – though it may have only been three – over a period of 30+ years. The town is a Montana state park and is well preserved, with little visible change since our first visit.

Our first trip to Bannack was in the late 70s when we tent camped in a very rustic campground adjacent to the town.  This time, we were camped 65 miles away at May Creek Campground near the Montana-Idaho state line.

Bannack, Montana (Wikipedia)

Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek.

Founded in 1862 and named after the local Bannock Indians, it was the site of a major gold discovery in 1862, and served as the capital of Montana Territory briefly in 1864, until the capital was moved to Virginia City. Bannack continued as a mining town, though with a dwindling population. The last residents left in the 1970s.

At its peak, Bannack had a population of about ten thousand. Extremely remote, it was connected to the rest of the world only by the Montana Trail. There were three hotels, three bakeries, three blacksmith shops, two stables, two meat markets, a grocery store, a restaurant, a brewery, a billiard hall, and four saloons. Though all of the businesses were built of logs, some had decorative false fronts.

Bannack’s sheriff, Henry Plummer, was accused by some of secretly leading a ruthless band of road agents, with early accounts claiming that this gang was responsible for over a hundred murders in the Virginia City and Bannack gold fields and trails to Salt Lake City. However, because only eight deaths are historically documented, some modern historians have called into question the exact nature of Plummer’s gang, while others deny the existence of the gang altogether. In any case, Plummer and two compatriots, both deputies, were hanged, without trial, at Bannack on January 10, 1864. A number of Plummer’s associates were lynched and others banished on pain of death if they ever returned. Twenty-two individuals were accused, informally tried, and hanged by the Vigilance Committee (the Montana Vigilantes) of Bannack and Virginia City. Nathaniel Pitt Langford, the first superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, was a member of that vigilance committee.

Sixty brick and historic log and frame structures remain standing in Bannack, many quite well preserved; most can be explored.

Scarlet hedgehog cactus, Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 26, 2011

I’m no expert on cacti – or any other types of plant for that matter – but the internet has a lot of resources for identifying plants.  The closest description I was able to find for this one was at Cacti of Utah.

I spotted this little cactus clump when we were hiking the Slick Rock Foot Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park on September 26, 2011.

Slick Rock Foot Trail (Trails.com)

If you’re a beginning or experienced hiker with only a half-day to spend in the Needles District, the Slickrock Foot Trail would be a excellent way to enjoy it. Many hikes in the Needles follow canyon bottoms, but this trail stays high and gives an overall perspective of the entire southeastern corner of the Canyonlands National Park. The NPS suggests this trail to inexperienced hikers so that they can get a look at the entire area before deciding where they want to go on their next trip. On this trail, beginners also learn how to follow cairns and hike on slickrock.

The Pool, Fern Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, September 6, 2009

We hiked the Fern Lake trail to Fern Falls on the last full day of our 2009 visit to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.  The hike from the trailhead was 5.2 miles round-trip, but we had to park near the shuttle bus stop, 0.8 miles from the trail head.  The hike started at 8165 feet above sea level, with the falls nearly 700 feet higher at 8850 feet.  Needless to say, were pretty tired by the time we got back to the car.

Fern Falls (Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails.com)

The Fern Lake Trail follows the Big Thompson River all the way to The Pool, and alternates between forest and a few open areas that provide some pretty good views of the Big Thompson Valley. Along the way you’ll pass through a mixed forest of aspens, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, cottonwoods and willows, as well as a variety of wildflowers in the spring and summer.

This trail was mostly constructed and maintained by lodge keepers and local tourism boosters in the early 1900s. As a result of its roll in early park tourism, the Fern Lake Trail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

(See more about the trail to Fern Falls at Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails.com)

Our long travel day on July 9, 2010 included a visit to Scotts Bluff National Monument, an important 19th-century landmark on the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail.  It was our second visit there, our first many years earlier with our kids when they were still living at home.

The park includes a drive, with a free shuttle bus, that goes to the top of the bluff, passing through three tunnels on the way.  We opted to ride the shuttle up instead of unhooking our car from the motorhome.

Saddle Rock Trail, 1.6 miles in length, also goes to the top of the bluff.  A shorter trail leads from the visitor center to remnants of the old emigrant road that passed by Scotts Bluff. The passage of thousands of wagons through Mitchell Pass left deep cuts in the soil – overgrown with vegetation in the image below.

The collection of bluffs was first charted by non-native people in 1812 by the Astorian Expedition of fur traders traveling along the river. The expedition party noted the bluffs as the first large rock formations along the river where the Great Plains started giving way to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Their findings were not widely communicated because of the War of 1812. In 1823 explorers rediscovered the route to the Rocky Mountains, and fur traders in the region relied on the bluffs as a landmark. European Americans named the most prominent bluff after Hiram Scott, a fur trader who died in 1828 near the bluff.

Fur traders, missionaries, and military expeditions began regular trips past Scotts Bluff during the 1830s. Beginning in 1841, multitudes of settlers passed by Scotts Bluff on their way west on the Emigrant Trail to Oregon, and later California and Utah. Wagon trains used the bluff as a major landmark for navigation. The trail passed through Mitchell Pass, a gap in the bluffs flanked by two large cliffs. Although the route through Mitchell Pass was tortuous and hazardous, many emigrants preferred this route to following the North Platte river bottom on the north side of the bluff. Passage through Mitchell Pass became a significant milestone for many wagon trains on their way westward.

In one of its first engineering deployments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a smoother road through Mitchell Pass in the early 1850s. Use of the Emigrant Trail tapered off in 1869 after the trail was superseded by the completion of the transcontinental railroad. (Wikipedia)

Five years ago, in a blog post titled A Long Day, I wrote that I would be publishing individual posts on different places we had stopped.  While I had the best of intentions, I never got around to it – until now.

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

As a kid growing up in western Nebraska, Chimney Rock was an a familiar image from tourist advertising, posters and postcards.  However, I only had one opportunity to see it when I was still living there – and I really don’t remember if I did.

Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Nebraska, July 9, 2010

Chimney Rock is one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks for pioneer travelers on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, a symbol of the great western migration. Located approximately four miles south of present-day Bayard, at the south edge of the North Platte River Valley, Chimney Rock is a natural geologic formation, a remnant of the erosion of the bluffs at the edge of the North Platte Valley. A slender spire rises 325 feet from a conical base. The imposing formation, composed of layers of volcanic ash and brule clay dating back to the Oligocene Age (34 million to 23 million years ago), towers 480 feet above the North Platte River Valley.

Though the origins of the name of the rock are obscure, the title “Chimney Rock” probably originated with the first fur traders in the region. In the early 19th century, however, travelers referred to it by a variety of other names, including Chimley Rock, Chimney Tower, and Elk Peak, but Chimney Rock had become the most commonly used name by the 1840s.

After examining over 300 journal accounts of settlers moving west along the Platte River Road, historian Merrill Mattes concluded that Chimney Rock was by far the most mentioned landmark. Mattes notes that although no special events took place at the rock, it held center-stage in the minds of the overland trail travelers.  (National Park Service)