Monthly Archives: July 2009
Grandmother and Granddaughter
My mother and my daughter at the Field of Honor flag display. One of the flags was honoring my father, who served in the Korean War.
Destinations unknown
Ever wonder where a pair of railroad rails are going, or where they came from? Pick a direction and hop on board. Taken at the beginning of my 2006 trip to the West.
B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber – Liberty Belle
Hearing a B-17 fly just a few hundred feet above your house can be a little nerve racking. Although hearing a thousand B-17s in WWII would be even more so. The Liberty Belle was giving flights out of nearby Bolton Airport this weekend and the flight path was directly over our home. We didn’t mind, it was great to see such a vintage aircraft flying.
Some facts on B-17s:
12,732 built by Boeing
4,735 lost in combat
Fewer than 100 still exist in the world
Fewer than 15 can still fly today
For more information visit http://www.libertyfoundation.org/
Escalante Panorama
The unpaved Cottonwood Canyon Road is a cross-country route, starting just past Kodachrome Basin State Park and ending near milepost 18 US 89. Some sections of the road are rather steep and narrow, with overhanging rocks, although 2WD cars usually can make the 47 mile journey, for a few hours after heavy rains the route may be impassable even by 4WD vehicles. The surrounding land has much of interest to explore; slot canyons, arches, springs and endless colorful, eroded rocky scenery.
Stitched together from 16 horizontal photos.
Black Mountains Overlook
The majestic Black Mountains tower toward the sky from this overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Black Mountains received their name from the dark green coat of Fraser fir and red spruce. The average elevation of these mountains exceeds 6000 feet and makes the range the highest mountains in the east. The mountains are composed primarily of quartz, feldspar, mica and hornblende. The extreme height of the mountain range could stem from the high percentage of quartz that makes up the mountain. The exceptional durability of the mineral creates resistance to erosion and helps explain the impressive height of the Black Mountains.
Panorama was stitched together from 22 individual photos.
Climbing Moro Rock
Moro Rock is a granite dome in Sequoia National Park, California. A 400-step stairway, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The stairway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide. Use of this trail is discouraged during thunderstorms and when it is snowing.
Factory
Shot from the Capitol Limited as I was coming into Chicago in 2006.
Freedom
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Spiderweb Arch
Taken in 2006 while staying on the Navajo Tribal Park, this is Spiderweb Arch. You must have a Navajo guide with you to visit this arch. It is located in a box canyon in the Southern part of the Tribal Park.