Tag: Alaska

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Water

On By Mike and Kellye HefnerIn American Road Trips, State Parks, USA Travel59 Comments

Perhaps it’s because we’re born from water that we are drawn to it in nature, or maybe we are fascinated because its power can destroy as well as sustain life. In our travels we choose to cautiously enjoy the beauty of water while never daring to take it for granted. Today we are sharing some our favorite photographs of water. Dive in and enjoy.

“A calm water is like a still soul.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
Mirrored greens of spring. Hamilton Pool, Texas.
“Water is the most perfect traveler because when it travels it becomes the path itself!” – Mehmet Murat ildan
The milky Virgin River becomes The Narrows Trail. Zion National Park, Utah.
“Grace is finding a waterfall when you were only looking for a stream.” – Vanessa Hunt
We had no idea of what we might find when we set off on the trail, but we were thrilled to find ourselves alone with a stream and these beautiful waterfalls. Sabbaday Falls, New Hampshire. (Shot from an iPhone 10.)
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” – Loren Eisley
Magical Caribbean blues with sparkles and steam. Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
“The power of nature can make fun of the power of man at any time!” – Mehmet Murat ildan
The muddy Ruidoso River surges angrily past the bridge its floodwaters destroyed. Ruidoso, New Mexico, 2008. See our post on Ruidoso here.
“Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Sunrise reflections. Lake Mackenzie, Texas.
“Be like water. Flow, crash, fly!” – Md. Ziaul Haque
The sapphire hued Atlantic plays happily among the rocks. York, Maine.
“The fall of dropping water wears away the stone.” – Lucretius
The water-worn stone creates a perfect pour off for this little fall. Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. See our Franconia Notch State Park post here.
“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.” – Laura Gilpin
Early morning at John Dunn Bridge. Rio Grande River, New Mexico.
“An iceberg is water striving to be land.” – Salman Rushdie
Brilliant blue bergy bit. Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
“The earth, the air, the land, and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us.” –  Gandhi
Solitude and reflection. Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Wildfire smoke created a filter for this hazy evening shot on the Colorado River. Moab, Utah.

We are certainly not professional photographers although we do enjoy photography. Our method is to aim and shoot, and we rarely ever use filters or enhancements for the shots we post. We might crop a few, but we don’t know how to do any other editing. So, what you see is what we saw when we clicked. And once in a while we get lucky! It is a pleasure to share our photos and road trips, and we hope you enjoy seeing them. Let us know which one is your favorite. We would love to hear from you.

Need some road trip inspiration? Click on these great national park sites:

Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
10 Amazing Things to See and Do at Big Bend National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

 

Thank you for joining us!

Mike & Kellye

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As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.

©2022

Featured

Wish We Were There Wednesdays: Vehicles

On By Mike and Kellye HefnerIn Miscellany, Museums, Places, Wish We Were There WednesdaysLeave a comment

Today we’re sharing some interesting vehicles that we have come across during our travels. We hope you enjoy seeing them!

USS Cairo gunboat. One of the first ironclad warships built during the civil war, she was sunk by a torpedo (or mine) in the Yazoo River while helping other ships sweep for mines in 1862. Luckily there were no casualties. Having been raised in the 1960s after lying in the silty bottom of the river for over 100 years, she now resides at Vicksburg National Military Park.
Tour bus in Yellowstone National Park. Beginning in the 1920s, these “National Park Buses” carried visitors on various excursions through the park, with some of the buses still running in the 1960s. Eventually all of these classics were all sold. Several of them have now been relocated and refurbished so that today’s visitors to the park can experience what it was like back in the early days – with modern amenities and roads, of course.
USS Constitution. Nicknamed Old Ironsides, she was initially launched in 1797. She is the world’s oldest ship that is still afloat, and she is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy, which means she is still served by U. S. Navy officers and crew. Her home is the Charlestown Navy Yard in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
This truck is called a Peacekeeper. They were once used by security officers who patrolled near minuteman missile silos. These armored Dodge trucks were usually outfitted with a machine gun turret on the roof. This one is at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota.
This is a rail truck at the World Museum of Mining in Butte, Montana. The unusual vehicle was an important part of the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway (BAP) which was the first railroad to convert from steam to electricity. Built in the early 1900s, this truck was used to maintain the overhead wires of the railroad.
These huge ships are docked in Baltimore and are Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships used to preposition or move supplies, vehicles, and other cargo needed by the military. Interestingly, MSC ships are served by civil service workers who are employed by the Navy and are not active military personnel. We captured this shot in the rain thus the monochromatic image.
Old snow blower train in Skagway, Alaska with a rotary snowplow on the front.
This is President Lyndon Johnson’s Jetstar, nicknamed Air Force 1/2. The runway at his Texas ranch couldn’t accommodate Air Force One, so this smaller plane would carry him from a larger airport (usually in San Antonio or Austin) to the ranch. The plane is on display at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park (LBJ Ranch) at Stonewall, Texas.
Here is a shot of the Goodyear blimp which we captured on a gorgeous fall afternoon in our own city. Did you know that up until 2005 (with a couple of deviations) Goodyear named its blimps after the American winners of the America’s Cup yacht race? Now the public gets to submit suggestions for naming the blimps.

We’re going to close the post with a shot inside a hot air balloon while it’s deflating – just because we think it’s a cool pic.

We hope you enjoyed our post and will come back again for more exciting road trip destinations, a Quick Stop, some tips and tricks, or another Wish We Were There Wednesday. Better yet, come back for all of our posts, and join our family of followers so you never miss one! We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy hump day, everyone!

Mike and Kellye

As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.

©2022