Grist Mill

Roaring Fork Grist Mill This is a small grist mill along the Little Roaring Fork River in Great Smoky Mountain NP. It's right on the road of a six mile motor trail that starts in Gatlinburg, TN. Easy to get to; you can visit this place in your flip flops. Thought for the Day: America's …

Cades Cove

Cades Cove - Great Smoky Mountains NP Cades Cove is the most popular spot for visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was nothing like I expected. Where I come from in the Mid West, a cove is a water feature; i.e. a protected or sheltered inlet of a waterway. But, according to Webster's …

Hanging On

Death Valley is one of my favorite national parks.  By its very name, one thinks of a barren wasteland where nothing can survive. One of my very first blogs had this picture as part of my "story" on Death Valley National Park (click here). This is my 600th blog and I'm still "hanging on". Thought …

Serengeti Stand Off

I was in Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania, perched on top of a high bank watching a hippo pool below.  The small river flowed toward me straight out of the northern horizon, made a left turn at my feet and headed east.  Several hippo families were lazing in the river's elbow. The 6,000 lb hippo came …

Armistice Day

The end of World War I was marked by Germany signing the armistice (truce) at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.  In 1919 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day, a holiday to remember the anniversary of the end of the Great War.  In 1954 President …

Cliff Palace

Mesa Verde National Park, near Cortez, Colorado, was the last stop on my 10-day photo safari.   Cliff dwellings of ancient Puebloans that inhabited the area between 700 and 1200 AD, were difficult at times to reach, but very interesting and well worth the effort.  This shot of Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in …

Parade of Elephants

Less than two hours from Hanksville, UT is Arches National Park near Moab, UT.  A very interesting park, filled with natural arches and unusual rock formations, like the "Parade of Elephants" above.  I drove by this formation half a dozen times, even saw the sign for it, but never really "got it" until I was …

Hopi Point

When I left Great Sand Dunes NP, I headed west on US 160.  After a brief stop at Four Corners, I proceeded on to the Grand Canyon.  The first night I was there I went to Hopi Point which is one of the premier sites for watching the sun go down.  There must have been …

Rank Has Its Privileges

RHIP, rank has its privileges; an old adage that is evident even in the Continental Army of the Revolutionary War over 200 years ago.   When I think of Valley Forge, I think of soldiers suffering through frigid winter conditions with no shoes, the lucky ones had newspaper wrapped around their feet.  Rations were thin …

Dream Job

This photo is the George Washington Chapel and National Carillon at Valley Forge.  No, its not where George Washington worshiped during the winter of 1777.  It is, however, located  near Washington's Continental Army encampment.  It is an active Episcopal church, built in 1903.  The carillon, bell tower, next to the chapel, was funded by the …

Cause and Effect

This scene made me stop and think.  Which came first, the cannon or the grave sites?  While I was at Gettysburg, I didn't have time to research this, but it sure made me think. I know that the Union troops occupied the high ground, one of which was called Cemetery Ridge, where this photo was …

General Meade’s Headquarters

I couldn't locate General Meade's headquarters at Gettysburg, so you'll have to settle for his hindquarters.   Trick or Treat Thought for the Day:  Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?

Civil War buildings

Located about 3 miles southeast of Gettysburg, PA, this farm house, built in 1862, is now a charming B&B.  Our room was on the second floor, overlooking the expansive front lawn where this picture was taken.  The second story floor boards were wide planks that sagged in some areas and creaked with every step; a burglar …

Canon fire

I've often wondered how my super-sophisticated, high-tech Canon DSLR would fare against the cannons used in the Civil War.  At 8.5 frames per second, my Canon could easily "outshoot" the lumbering 2,000 lb  single-shot artillery pieces used at Gettysburg.  But the battlefield is so massive, approximately 3 x 5 miles, I wasn't sure I'd have enough "ammuniton".  If …

Gone But Not Forgotten

Death Valley, California Rhyolite, California is a ghost town in the northeast part of Death Valley National Park.  There are several ghost towns within the vast boundaries of the park, but Rhyolite is noted for its still-standing structures, one of which still has  part of the second story intact.  The famous "bottle house" is located …

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is one of my favorite National Parks; I've been there several times in my life and never get tired of it. I get goose bumps every time I visit Mount Rushmore. Our family vacation (reunion) was in the Black Hills this year, so we all went to Mount Rushmore together.  The group picture …

Death Valley National Park

My wife was reading an article about Death Valley in the Travel section of the local newspaper.   She said, "Let's go see Death Valley!"     I was not interested.   "Why?", I asked, "There's nothing there but heat and desolation".   This is how I pictured Death Valley, but without the snow capped Panamint Mountains in the …