Exit78 Photo of the Day #99

No trees, no buildings, no hills – nothing to block the wind in the high plains of southeast Colorado.

High plains of South-eastern Colorado, 28 miles WSW of Pritchet, Baca County, Colorado, August 30, 2009 (Pentax K10D)

Baca County, Colorado is in the southeast corner or Colorado, bordered on the east by Kansas and on the south by the Oklahoma panhandle and a small 4.65 mile sliver of New Mexico.  We had entered Colorado on US 385 traveling north from Boise City, Oklahoma. Once in Colorado, we took secondary roads angling across the windy high plains of southeast Colorado to La Junta.

And it sure was windy.

Situated at around 5,000 feet in elevation, wind is common – and, sometimes, constant – in the semi-arid high plains of Colorado. The persistent  wind and prolonged contributed to the disastrous “dirty 30s” of the early 20th century.

Depression and the Dust Bowl (ColoradoPreservation.org)

Throughout the 1930s, eastern Colorado along with the majority of the Southern Plains states, experienced extreme droughts. Baca County was among the areas hardest hit, near the center of what was named the Dust Bowl.  Southeastern Colorado received only 126 total inches of moisture for all the years between 1930 and 1939.  This was 205 inches less than the previous decade, and well below the 18 inches annually needed to grow wheat. No rain meant no crops, and no crops meant no protection for the soil when the spring winds arrived.

Dust was not uncommon in the semi-arid areas of Colorado when the high plains winds blew, so no one was really surprised to see a few “dusters” in eastern Colorado in 1931.  They came back the next year with more vigor, and by 1933 the dust storms were so intense that everyday life became almost impossible for both people and livestock.  One storm, beginning on May 9, 1934 and lasting for several days, was estimated to have removed 300 million tons of fertile top soil off of the Great Plains.  The storms actually increased overall in numbers and intensity as the “dirty thirties” continued, with 1937 being the worst on record.  Colorado’s black blizzards of the 1930s were different in many ways from those of previous years.  These were more intense, lasted for days, and returned nearly every year during the “dirty thirties.”  The storms destroyed millions of farmland acres and caused mental and physical anguish to residents.  Towns had to turn on their street lights during the day; dust sifted into buildings, causing people to put wet sheets over doors and window to try to stop the infiltration.  They ate meals under a tablecloth and had to wear goggles or masks of wet towels while outdoors.  Dust covered roads, fences, and cars, piling as high as snow drifts; rail traffic was stopped.  Cases of dust pneumonia reached epidemic proportions in southeastern Colorado in animals as well as humans.  Red Cross workers and nurses were sent to Baca County with masks and goggles.

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 Day #98

Snow covered Bona Dea Trails & Sanctuary,  Lake Front Drive, Russellville, Arkansas, February 9, 2011 (Pentax K-r)

Fortunately, we escaped frozen precipitation, except for trace amounts, during the 2017-2018 winter season.  We don’t usually get much, but, being in a climate transition zone,  significant snowfall is quite possible in Arkansas.

Major Winter Storm February 8-9, 2011 (National Weather Service)

Storm Summary

An upper level storm system moving across Oklahoma and Arkansas, and cold arctic air spilling south into the area, resulted in another major winter storm across eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas during the night of February 8th and the morning of February 9th. While this storm system was not as strong as the one the week before, strong frontogenetic forcing led to a narrow band of intense snowfall that remained nearly stationary for several hours near a Ponca City to Chelsea to Fayetteville line. Snowfall amounts within this band ranged from 12 to 18 inches in the western part of the band to 18 to 25 inches in the eastern part of the band. Outside of the intense snow band, snow amounts from 4 to 8 inches were widespread north of a McAlester to Poteau line, with 1 to 4 inches to the south in far southeast Oklahoma. Some sleet also briefly fell as the precipitation began in far southeast Oklahoma. Some blowing and drifting of snow also occurred, but winds were not as strong as they were with the system the previous week, and blizzard criteria was not met with this storm.

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 Day #97

Knife Edge Trail, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, September 13, 2009

This image is a composite created from 24 photos using a free program called AutoStitch, a proprietary image stitching software tool for creating panoramas. It was developed by Matthew Brown and David G. Lowe of the University of British Columbia.(Wikipedia)

Knife Edge Trail is a favorite of ours.  Relatively easy, it is a 2 mile out and back trail from the trailhead at Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. While the trail is fairly flat, it goes along the edge of the mesa and skirts a beautiful cliff face – the Knife Edge – with  great views of Sleeping Ute Mountain, Montezuma Valley and Cortez, Colorado. It follows a portion of the original treacherous entrance road into Mesa Verde.

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 Day #96

Fort Madison, Iowa, Old Fort Madison blockhouse, Union Pacific engines, Sante Fe Depot Museum, September 26, 2012 (Pentax K-r)

On the way back to Arkansas from Wisconsin in September 2012, we stopped at Old Fort Madison in Iowa, a replica of an early 19th century fort.  In the 1980s, replicas of major buildings were fabricated from oak timbers at Iowa State Penitentiary by inmates who volunteered to assist on the project. After the structures were completed, the log structures were dismantled and re-erected in Fort Madison’s Riverview Park near the site of the original fort.

Fort Madison was the site of Black Hawk’s first battle against U.S. troops, the only real War of 1812 battle fought west of the Mississippi. The name of the town is derived from the fort that existed there and was burned before the town was established.

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 Day #95

Goldfinch, female, west-central Arkansas, March 4th, 2008  (Pentax K10D)

American Goldfinch (Wikipedia)

The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter.

The only finch in its subfamily to undergo a complete molt, the American goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate.

The American goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. It may behave territorially during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally monogamous, and produces one brood each year.

Human activity has generally benefited the American goldfinch. It is often found in residential areas, attracted to bird feeders which increase its survival rate in these areas. Deforestation also creates open meadow areas which are its preferred habitat.

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.

Post-processing¹ #22 |

Leaf decorated teardrop trailer at Cannonville / Bryce Valley KOA, Utah highway 12, October 8, 2015 (Pentax K-3 II)

A teardrop trailer², also known as a teardrop camper trailer, is a streamlined, compact, lightweight travel trailer, which gets its name from its teardrop profile. They usually only have sleeping space for two adults and often have a basic kitchen in the rear.

Teardrop trailers first became popular in the 1930s, when magazines such as Mechanix Illustrated (see Trailer for Two)  published plans. The first teardrop designs incorporated standard 4 by 8-foot sheets of plywood with hardwood spars. Teardrop trailers remained popular until the mid-1960s, after which they disappeared from mainstream camping. However, in the late 1990s, plans became available on the Internet and in recent years teardrop trailers have made a resurgence and are again growing in popularity.

A teardrop trailer is generally small, ranging from 4 feet (1.2 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m) in width and 8 feet (2.4 m) to 10 feet (3.0 m) in length. They are usually 4 feet (1.2 m) to 5 feet (1.5 m) in height. Wheels and tires are usually outside the body and are covered by fenders. Since teardrop trailers are so light, usually less than 1,000 pounds (450 kg), just about any vehicle can tow one and fuel consumption is minimally affected.

1. Post-processing – 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. Teardrop trailer – Wikipedia

Exit78 Photo of the Day #94

Onions in a metal basket, January 28, 2018 (Pentax K-3 II)

on·ion ənyən/
noun
noun: onion; plural noun: onions

1.     an edible bulb with a pungent taste and smell, composed of several concentric layers, used in cooking.
2.     the plant that produces the onion, with long rolled or straplike leaves and spherical heads of greenish-white flowers.

Origin: Middle English: from Old French oignon, based on Latin unio(n-), denoting a kind of onion.

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 Day #93

Parking, Middleton Place plantation, Dorchester County, South Carolina, 15 miles from Charleston, June 11, 2012 (Pentax K-r)

The parking for visitors to Middleton Place plantation was certainly different from from most attractions we’ve stopped at, with parking spots fit in between the tall pines.

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.

Art on Sunday #33

Fairies, Elves, and Dragon, Mural on side of Crystal Wizard Gift Shop, Manitou Springs, Colorado, September 10, 2011 (Pentax K-r)

I do like to take photos of murals and always endeavor to square them up to remove the keystone effect.

Crystal Wizard Gift Shop: Fairies, Elves and Dragon (peakradar.com)

This Manitou Springs mural was painted on the North side of the Crystal Wizard Gift Shop in 1999 by Mike Beenenega. The theme was chosen by the owners to reflect the nature of the items sold in their shop. However, since they already had a mural of a wizard on the south wall and to be sensitive to a nearby resident, they chose a subdued nature theme.

The trees in the mural mirror trees then nearby to the shop. The Elves are “Tommyknocker” elves from the legends brought by immigrant Welch miners to the area during the gold mining days in Teller County. According to legend these elves would knock on the walls of tunnels to warn the miners of impending collapses but would also sometimes mischievously “borrow” the miner’s equipment. One of the Elves holds a crock of Tommyknocker Ale. A flying saucer, included at the owner’s request, hovers behind the upper tree limbs at the top left-center of the mural. (Source: conversation with owners)

Medium type: Paint (acrylic, oil, etc.)