West Texas feels like the Texas of the old movies, space, wind, wildness and beauty. Take a deep breath.
Monet- ish? /
I really loved this photo taken at Zion National Park along the Weeping Rock Trail. Magical colors and textures. It just feels like the style of Claude Monet, “known for Impressionism that emphasizes capturing light, texture and color in a momentary view of a scene, often painted en plein air.”
Linn Cove Viaduct /
Bridges are an important part of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s design concept. There are 176 bridges on the parkway: 10% of all the road bridges in the National Park Service. Bridges are the largest structures on the parkway and have to be functional in addition to visually appropriate.
Here the beautiful roadway seems to vanish in the mist. From an article on the LCV:
The Linn Cove Viaduct is the most famous bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Design began on the Linn Cove Viaduct in the late 1970s. The challenge was to complete the final section of the parkway around the natural environment of Grandfather Mountain without damaging it. This famous bridge is 1,234 feet long and was completed without a single structural problem. There was not one crack in any of the pre-cast concrete segments.
The Linn Cove Viaduct was completed in 1982 and then work began on curbing and grading the roadway around it. The viaduct was opened to the public in 1987 completing the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway.
Tularosa Mogollon /
That is the name given by archeologists for the people and the style of pottery they made that lived in these cliff dwellings, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. To get to this remote part of New Mexico is a bit of a detour - it is over an hour north of Silver City NM at the literal “end of the road.” And it is a winding mountain road as well. These were not the only people to live in the area or to use the cliffs for protected living but they were the ones who built the dwellings that you can walk through today. It is also the immediate area where Geronimo the Apache leader was likely born. He was born about 1829 died 1909 and was the last Apache leader to surrender to the US.
Bubble /
This is a view of North Bubble from the trail that circles Jordan Pond just a short distance from where the trail splits off toward the Jordan Pond House and Popovers! A favorite spot and easy 2 mile walk around the lake. Up to the Bubbles, North and South, not quite so easy.
Sunday Post: Photo is from Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountain National Park /
Little Disney Magic /
If you are Epcot and standing near the Figment pavilion near the reverse waterfall and can wait patiently, soon a monorail will swoop through the edge of the park and you can take a photo that shows both the waterfall and the train. If you are here while the Flower and Garden festivale is on, you might also get lots of flowers under the monorail structure. Not today, however.
Tree Swallow /
This fellow is easy to ID from here because it is the only Swallow that will nest in man-made boxes. They are brilliant electric blue backed fast flying birds. They eat a LOT of insects, you want them in your backyard.
Marshland /
This is a bit of the marshland you can explore on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. While there are parts of the cape that are built up, lots remain with protected beaches, marshes, shoreline and protected property. Great place to wander across the whole scope of the area, from Plymouth to Providence there are interesting places to visit.
Old Soaker /
That is the name given to this small group of rocks in Frenchman’s Bay off the coast of Acadia National Park. You can hear the wave crash on the rocks even at a distance from the shore.
Sunset East /
Along the Atlantic at Isle of Palms in South Carolina at sunset. The clouds on the east picked up the color from the dipping sun and changed into these gorgeous colors with a nice reflection on the shore. Magical moment.
One of my favorite walks at Acadia National Park /
This is not a long hike, perhaps a mile and a half. It begins at the Wild Gardens of Acadia and goes toward the golf course. But it is a stunning walk between aspens, along boardwalks, groves of soaring trees, a steam or two and lots of ferns and wild flowers. Great way to step away from anxiety or stress, not worry about the length of the hike nor the steepness of a mountain or needed special gear, just a walk in the woods. Peaceful.
Sunday Post: photo is from Ledges State Park, Iowa, USA /
Flowers too! /
The Bean Marsh had some very pretty flowers, iris, wild roses, and several things I had no idea what they were. Of course.
And one more, the common Mourning Dove /
But in an uncommon place. Once again this is the Bean Blossom Bottom Swamp near Bloomington, IN. I have experienced this before where I see a bird that is common to backyards or golf courses etc in a wilder environment creates a different moment. It just feels different to see this dove fly up from the swamp and perch on this snag of a tree. Anyway, enjoy the sneaky Bird Week ending!
Eastern Bluebird /
These are so special to see thriving as a decade ago they were in decline because their traditional nesting sites were disappearing. Now particularly with the extensive bluebird houses across the region, they are doing well. This bright specimen was atop his nesting house in our backyard.
Plumbeous Vireo --New Bird! /
Jill spotted this nest by the trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park (also a new park). We could hear a second bird just above singing and the app, Merlin, identified it as a Plumbeous Vireo, a bird I could not recalling ever even reading or hearing about. Then we spotted the bird in the nest. It matched the description of the vireo but even more the nest was exactly as described. A great treat to add to the North American life list.
Northern Yellow Warbler /
Once again at the Bean Blossom Marsh but this time a different warbler. This is a bit more common but hard to photograph as they seem to be high in the trees or flitting about constantly. This one took a three minute break in a nearby tree to adjust feathers.
Prothonotary Warbler /
I found a really neat spot to search for birds near Bloomington, IN, called Bean Blossom Marsh. It is a 2.5 mile circuit on a raised boardwalk through old farm fields, wetlands and wooded swampy ground. On my first circuit I heard and ID’d, with the help of Merlin, 32 different birds. I spotted 12 but knew another 10 or so with several calls not known to me. I have not seen a Prothonotary Warbler in a few years so this was a treat.
