When I first saw them as we were driving through the park on Credit Island in Iowa, they somehow seemed familiar. We parked, got out of the car and wandered through the statues.
It’s almost, but not quite, like being in the middle of a famous painting, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat. The 7 by 10 feet painting was first exhibited in 1889.
I actually remember this painting from my single college art class, Art History. It is one of the earliest example of an art technique known as pointillism, developed by Seurat and Paul Signac.
The 10 carved wooden sculptures based on Georges Seurat’s painting were installed in 1998 on Davenport’s Credit Island as one of nine Riverway art projects around the Quad-Cities. The statues have undergone several major refurbishings to repair damage caused by interior wood rot, insects, vandals and weathering. In recent years, damage has included a head falling off of one statue and a bullet through the chest of another.
We stumbled across the statues on Credit Island on the afternoon of September 25, 2012. Camped at a nearby KOA on our way home from a Wisconsin visit, we were doing a little exploring in the Davenport area.
The statues are removed and stored during the winter and if the area is threatened with flooding.
One of the most recent fix-ups included a heavy-duty urethane coating, along with new bases and concrete pads.
Martin Lake and nearby Bull Trout Lake are west of Stanley, Idaho at 6900 ft. in Boise National Forest. We were camped in Bull Trout campground, just a short walk from Martin Lake. The directions to this campground had been a little confusing and we had driven quite a few miles past it before realizing we had missed the turn.
“Lights in Motion”
A 2012 time-lapse compilation of the Aurora Borealis with original composition, “Coronal Mass Ejection,” by Peter Van Zandt Lane.
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, has intrigued people throughout time. It was no different for seasonal Park Ranger Jake Frank when he first saw them in 2011. He wanted capture the magic of the lights on screen to share with everyone. Close to sixty hours were volunteered, shooting still photos in subzero temperatures. Some nights were so cold, -42 degrees F, that the camera only worked for about fifteen minutes.
I’ve seen this sculpture several times on our visits to the town of Estes Park, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, but I’ve never recorded any information about it.
“Voice in the Forest,” Bronze Ed. 12, by Victor Issa was on display outside Old Church Shops on our visits in 2009 and 2011. A full size “edition” of the bronze is $36,000 in Issa’s Living Bronze Gallery.
I don’t know if this being is supposed to be an elf or a fairy, though with the wings, that’s what I would lean towards. One photo of her online has her labeled as an angel, but, with the pointy ears and other features, I rather think she is supposed to be some sort of fae.
Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their malice. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally were depicted quite differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being two of the commonly mentioned forms. (Wikipedia)
Azalea, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas, April 13, 2010
We’ve visited Garvan Woodland Gardens twice in the last 5 years.
Garvan Woodland Gardens is a 210-acre (850,000 m²) botanical garden located at 550 Arkridge Road approximately 6 miles from Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. It is owned by the University of Arkansas and open every day (except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and the month of January) for a fee.
The Gardens are situated on a woodland peninsula with 4.5 miles (7 km) 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)
Twisted tree on south rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Wyoming, October 7, 2011.
The tree is probably a Utah Juniper, as it is the most common juniper in Arizona. A short tree, it is an extremely slow growing plant that may live as long as 650 years. Under very severe site conditions, Utah junipers can subsist in very stunted forms – a 6-inch tree with a 24-inch taproot may be over 50 years old. Utah junipers thrive on very dry sites and usually occur in areas with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, March 13, 2011
This was our second visit to the gardens – the first one had been quite a few years – before, and we were there at just the right time for the spring display of very colorful flowers.
This was a weekend trip to visit the Dallas Quilt Show, our second visit to that, too.
Cow elk, Moraine Park meadow, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 3, 2009
When we visited Rocky Mountain National Park in 2009, our campsite was next to a trail that went down to the meadow where many of the elk gather during the autumn rut season. We were able to see the elk almost every day without having to brave the “critter jam” of all the vehicles driven in to view the elk.
We came back again in 2011, but were not able to get the same site. We probably won’t go this year as the window for time off from work is later in the season. If we go west, it’ll likely be further south – perhaps Utah or New Mexico.
Overlooking a bend in the Arkansas River from Stout’s Point,
Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas, January 19, 2013
Petit Jean State Park is one our favorite destinations in Arkansas. We usually make it there at least a couple of time each year. Stout’s Point, on the eastern end of Petit Jean Mountain, is several miles from the main body of the park.
Middleton Place plantation, Dorchester County, South Carolina, 15 miles from Charleston, June 11, 2012
For our 40th anniversary, we took a road trip to Charleston, South Carolina. While there, among other things, there we explored plantations as well as antebellum homes in the city.
Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Middleton Place plantation was the primary residence of several generations of the Middleton family, many of whom played prominent roles in the colonial and antebellum history of South Carolina. The plantation, now a National Historic Landmark District, is used as a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. (Wikipedia)
While exploring the grounds at Middleton Place, we came across our first South Carolina alligator. It was actually not very big, but we still kept our distance.
The Gardens, which Henry Middleton envisioned and began to create in 1741, reflect the grand classic style that remained in vogue in Europe and England into the early part of the 18th century. The principles of André Le Nôtre, the master of classical garden design who laid out the gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte and the Palace of Versailles were followed. Rational order, geometry and balance; vistas, focal points and surprises were all part of the garden design. (Middleton Place website)
This statute was one of four, with each set at one of the corners of a hidden grassy square in the gardens.
