Exit78 Photo of the Day #22¹ |

We came across this 1880s ship propeller in 2008 while exploring Door County, Wisconsin.  It’s in a county park on the north side of Lake Michigan’s Sturgeon Bay, where Sturgeon Bay opens up into Green Bay. When we visited, the park was named Olde Stone Quarry County Park, but has since been renamed George K. Pinney County Park.

Screw (propeller), stern frame and shaft of wooden steamship Mueller, her hulk burned and scuttled in Sturgeon Bay at  the Leathem and Smith Quarry dock; photo September 17, 2008 (Pentax K10D)

“This stern frame cast iron propeller and steel shaft is believed to be from the lumber steamer Mueller which was built as Edwin S. Tice in 1887 at the Burger yards in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She measured 159.9 x 32.1 x 12.5; 728 gross tons. The vessel had many owners. In 1901, she was sold to William Mueller & Company of Chicago at which time she was rechristened Mueller. Until the time she was laid up at Sturgeon Bay in 1932, she towed barges in the pulpwood trade on the Great Lakes under four additional owners. In 1933, she was dismantled in the “boneyard.” The hull was burned and scuttled about four miles north of the city of Sturgeon Bay in 1935.”²

The Mueller, a Great Lakes screw propelled wooden steamship, carrying a load of timber.

In 1900, the Edwin S. Tice “was purchased by the Mueller Cedar Company of Chicago, rebuilt and lengthened to 172 feet.and rechristened the Mueller. She was bought and sold numerous times and spent the majority of her time in the lumber trade and often carried other cargos such as coal. She was converted into a stone barge after 1930. In 1933 she was taken to Sturgeon Bay where she was dismantled and her machinery sold. The hull was burned and scuttled at the Leathem and Smith Quarry dock.”³

1. Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
2. Propeller and Shaft – HMdb.org, The Historical Marker Database
3. Mueller (1887) – Wisconsin Shipwrecks

Exit78 Photo of the Day #21¹ |

When we visited Rocky Mountain National Park at the beginning of September, 2009, the park was at the peak of a mountain pine beetle infestation that eventually killed millions of acres of Colorado trees. The dead trees detracted somewhat from the scenic beauty of the park.

Nymph Lake and beetle killed trees, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 3, 2009 (Pentax K10D)

Photo editing was used to recolor most of the dead trees in the image below from our hike to Nymph and Dream Lakes to show what Rocky Mountain National Park’s Nymph Lake looked like before the infestation.

Nymph Lake with many beetle killed trees recolored, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 3, 2009 (Pentax K10D)

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America, inhabiting  ponderosa, whitebark, lodgepole, Scotch, jack pine, and limber pine trees.  The beetles normally play an important role in forests, attacking old or weakened trees, speeding the development of younger, healthier woodlands.²

Years of unusually hot, dry summers and mild winters may have weakened trees, making them more susceptible to beetle infestation.  Large stands of lodgepole pine, a “favorite” of the beetle, monocultural replanting (outside the park), climate change, and a century of forest fire suppression are also thought to contribute to the susceptibility of western North American forests to the beetles. The ongoing outbreak may be the largest forest insect blight ever seen in North America.²

1. Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
2. Mountain pine beetle – Wikipedia

Exit78 Photo of the Day #20¹ |

A couple of weeks ago, our area was in a moderate drought condition.  Then it started raining.  The weather system that brought the rain stalled out and kept pumping moist air from the gulf into the state – and it kept raining.  By the time it was over, we had received about 23% of our average annual rainfall – in 8 days. The area was pretty soggy, with some areas actually flooded, like Prairie Creek and the Bona Dea trails area.

Flooded Prairie Creek and adjacent pastures and woods in the rain and fog, Russellville, Arkansas, February 24, 2018 (Apple iPhone 6s)

Prairie Creek drains most of Russellville, Arkansas, into the 186 acres of Bona Dea Trails and Sanctuary wetlands and wooded lowlands, which acts primarily as a temporary storage sump for the town’s storm water runoff. A pumping station sends the water through a dike into Lake Dardanelle. A good part of Bona Dea was flooded when this photo was taken.²

1. Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
2. US Army Corps of Engineers sign at Bona Dea

Post-processing¹ #11

On our way home after an afternoon drive in the Ozarks last fall, we stopped at Rotary Ann Scenic Overlook and rest area.  We were surprised to find a large number of walkingsticks on the outside of the restroom doors and walls, as well as on the ground. Most of those on the ground appeared to be dead.

Walkingstick

Walkingstick, Diaphe-romera femorata, is a de-foliator of deciduous trees in North America . Because of its shape, this insect is also commonly called the stickbug, specter, stick insect, prairie alligator, devil’s horse, witch’s horse, devil’s darning needle, thick-thighed walking-stick, or northern walkingstick, depending on locality.²

Even though it is late October, we saw very little fall color on our drive.  It has been warm and very dry the last couple of months, which has delayed and probably muted this year’s fall foliage.

Rotary Ann Overlook and Rest Area, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

1. Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.
2. Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 82 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Exit78 Photo of the Day #45

On another beautiful September day in 2013, we took a hike at Pattison State Park, Wisconsin. There were plenty of mushrooms along the heavily forested trail.

Little Manitou Falls trail, Pattison State Park, Wisconsin, September 12, 2013 (Pentax K-r)

Pattison State Park (Park website) features the highest waterfalls in Wisconsin and the fourth highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. Big Manitou Falls is 165 feet high and Twin Little Manitou Falls is 31 feet high. This 1,436-acre park also has a lake with a beach, a nature center, camping, nine miles of hiking trails and abundant wildlife.

Series notes:

• The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
• Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.

Exit78 Photo of the Day¹ #19

Minnesota’s Father Hennepin State Park is a nice gem of a park for camping.  We stopped there for two nights in September, 2013, while exploring on our way to Wisconsin for a family visit.

Dock, Mille Lacs Lake, Father Hennepin State Park, Minnesota, September 9, 2013 (Pentax K10-r)

Father Hennepin State Park²

Named after Father Louis Hennepin, a priest who visited the area with a French expedition in 1680,  the 320-acre (130 ha) Father Hennepin State Park has 103 campsites and a sandy beach over one mile (1.6 km) long.

Father Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest of the Recollet order, was dispatched to explore western New France in 1680. Hennepin is not thought to have been in the exact location of the park, but the park is named after him because he was the first to write extensively about the Mille Lacs area. He called the area Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France. In the spring of 1680 he and two companions encountered a group of Dakota Native Americans and were captured, about 15 miles (24 km) from today’s Father Hennepin State Park. Their release was negotiated eight months later by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Throughout the experience, Father Hennepin kept a journal describing the lakes, rivers, landscapes, and the lifestyle of his hosts, the Mdewakanton Dakota. In 1683 his writings were published in the book Description de la Louisiane.

Local advocates and Catholic groups were instrumental in getting the park established in the years before World War II.

1. Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
2. Father Hennepin State Park – Wikipedia

Exit78 Photo of the Day¹ #18

The only place we’ve seen this nasty looking plant is on the trails at Petit Jean State Park.

Devils Walking Stick, Seven Hollows Trail, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas, November 17, 2007 (Pentax K10D)

Aralia spinosa²

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil’s walkingstick, is a woody species of plants in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree.

1. Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
2. Aralia spinosa – Wikipedia

Exit78 Photo of the Day #17

Utah junipers are one of the dominant trees in the deserts of the American southwest. Slow growing, they typically live 350 to 700 years.  Some even live over 1000 years.¹

Twisted, gnarled, knotted, knobby, dead Utah juniper, Canyonlands National Park, September 23, 2007 (Pentax K10D)

Thriving in “permanent survival mode” in deserts that receive less than 10 inches of precipitation in a year, the juniper’s root system may be as much as 2/3 of the tree’s total mass, with a tap root that can go over 25 feet straight down and lateral roots out as much as 100 feet in order to find moisture.¹

Juniperus osteosperma²

Juniperus osteosperma (Utah juniper; syn. J. utahensis) is a shrub or small tree reaching 9 – 18 ft. (rarely to 27 ft) tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California. It grows at moderate altitudes of 4,300–8,500 ft, on dry soils, often together with Pinus monophylla.

1. Life in the Canyonlands: the Utah Juniper – The River’s Path
2. Juniperus osteosperma – Wikipedia

Exit78 Photo of the Day #16

The Little Rock Farmers’ Market is open each Saturday, 7 am – 3 pm from May through September.

Tomatoes, Little Rock Farmer’s Market, April 25, 2009 (Pentax K10D)

When open, “(t)he Market is filled with farm-fresh produce straight from the backs of the trucks. You will find bargains on fresh Arkansas crops as well as a bountiful array of handmade arts and crafts. You’ll find peaches, eggplant, strawberries, watermelon, beans, peas, corn, herbs, plants, greens, tomatoes, plums, berries, goat cheese, beets, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, squash, eggs, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, cherries, lettuce, onions, spinach, and radishes.”¹

1. Little Rock Farmers’ Market – Little Rock.com, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau