Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, Florida – Wildlife viewing at it’s best!

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Florida Gator – Taking a Break – Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park One of the coolest places I have visited in a long time is Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park near Crystal River, Florida. This little park is really outstanding. You walk through a nice modern visitors center with interesting exhibits and a great gift [...]

PALI ROAD and the Legend of the MENEHUNE – Oahu, Hawaii

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

Intimidating relief of the Ko olau Range as seen from the Pali Highway – Oahu, Hawaii While in Hawaii on business I had the opportunity to travel Hawaii Route 61 which is better known as the PALI Highway. I had a few hours to kill before my flight so I took a drive around the [...]

Following an old mining trail -Treking in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

    “A picture is a poem without words”   Horace                   Went on the first snow shoeing trek of the year with my wife yesterday. I had always heard the tales of how the miners back in the 1800’s would make a day trip over the passes from Alta in Little [...]

FORT DONELSON – TENNESSEE: Where U.S. Grant “Unconditional Surrender Grant” earned his nickname

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

32 Pounder Confederate Gun stares down the Cumberland to where the Ironclads emerged – Fort Donelson, Tennessee “I am pleased to announce the un-conditional surrender this morning of Fort Donelson” U.S. Grant – Brigadier General USA February 16, 1862               When these words reached Washington back in 1862 they were welcome words indeed. The [...]

A moment of silent reflection: A photo essay – Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

  “It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.” George Washington                   The other day [...]

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL………Still that Shining City on a Hill; A flight over the Appalachian Mountains

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

Some have questioned the greatness and beauty of our Nation lately – mainly the dregs of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and even the current Administration at the highest levels. I however got a different view from 35,000 feet on a clear fall day on a flight from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Atlanta, Georgia. Our flight [...]

MOUNT EVERGREEN and SILVER LAKE – Wasatch Mountains, Utah

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

Silver Lake – Big Cottonwood Canyon – Wasatch Mountains, Utah “Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same” Ralph Waldo Emerson    As the nights become cooler and the sun sets a bit earlier each day an amazing transformation occurs along the benches and in the mountains of Utah. The Gamble [...]

BAT CITY USA – Austin, Texas

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

 Most people associate Austin, Texas with the outstanding music scene and industry that is there or the “Longhorns” of the University of Texas at Austin, however, there is something else incredible that resides in the heart of the city and that is a colony of over 1.5 million Mexican freetail bats. I had previously read [...]

A trail ride in the mountains with Uinta Recreation – Wasatch Mountains, Utah

Monday, September 26th, 2011

  Had one of the best outdoor experiences ever the other weekend when my family and I traveled up to Heber,Utah to go for an ATV ride. We don’t have ATVs so I looked around on the internet and came across the Uinta Recreation website and I was impressed with the presentation there so I [...]

PORTLAND HEAD LIGHTHOUSE – Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Portland Head Lighthouse – Cape Elizabeth, Maine – “A pillar of fire by night, Of cloud by day” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow   “Lighthouses don’t fire canons to call attention to their shining, they just shine”  Dwight L. Moody             I have traveled to numerous lighthouses up and down both coasts of the United [...]

ASTORIA, OREGON – Gateway to the Mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean; by Jaromy Jessop

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Downtown Astoria, Oregon with the Astoria-Megler Bridge in the background crossing the Mighty Columbia River “Ocian in view, o the joy” Captain William Clark upon reaching the Pacific   One of the more incredible places I have ever been has to be Astoria, Oregon. There are so many interesting things to see and the setting [...]