Travel in 2024
September 2024
We visited Washington Island to celebrate our 63rd wedding anniversary
of September 9, 1961. Although, both of us grew up
in Wisconsin we hadn't visited this charming place located at the tip of the Door
County peninsula. We arrived on the Island early the afternoon of Sunday,
September 8th and departed on the morning of Tuesday, September 10th.
After checking in at our accommodations we spent the afternoon driving around
the Island to develop a plan for touring the Island on Monday. We quickly
learned that the tourist season had ended on Labor Day weekend, and most of
the restaurants were no longer open.
Travel in 2015
December 2015
During the winter months that we have spent in the Rio Grande Valley we
attend First Lutheran Church, Edinburg, TX. This is a small congregation with
a significant fraction of the members of Mexican ancestry.
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First Lutheran Church, Edinburg, TX
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Over the years we've actively participated in some of the activities sponsored by First Lutheran Church,
such as NOAH (Not Over Any Hill) social gathers. One of the more
interesting culturally activities is the traditional Mexican meal with tamales
during the Christmas Holiday. The NOAH group has assisted in the preparation of the
tamales for several years, and during this time together we have gotten to
know Eloy and Elma González, whose ancestors have lived in the Rio Grande
Valley since the Spanish colonization of this part of North America.
Tamale: A tamale is a dish made from a corn based dough, filled with meat, cheese, chilies, or vegetables, which is steamed
in a corn husk. The corn husk wrapping is discarded before eating. Tamales are an ancient Indian food dating from 5,000 - 8,000 BC.
In Mexican culture tamales are the traditional entree at the Christmas Eve evening meal.
"Las Posadas" means "the inns or shelters." It is a reenactment of Mary and Joseph's search for an
inn where Jesus could be born. Las Posadas includes decorations, a nativity set, songs, a parade, and a party with snacks.
After the parade comes dinner - traditional "Las Posadas fare" are tamales.
The "Las Posadas" tradition was brought to Mexico from Spain by Catholic Missionaries in the 1500's.
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Manger Scene
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March 2015
Petroglyphs are images carved on the rocks. The base rock is of
volcanic origin, and the artist used stones to carve away the desert
varnish revealing the lighter colored stone. There are an estimated 20,000 such images on the
rocks in the Petroglyph National Monument, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Scientist think the images of
circles and wavy lines may date from around 800 B.C. The images of small
animals and human like figures are thought to be from the period 900 -
1300 A.D.
January 2015
Our first hike in Ocala National Forest was in the Longleaf pine and
Oak forest. Growing very close to the ground was a very fragile looking
plant; it is Deer Moss Lichen. Our second hike was at
Alexander Springs and the trail was through Saw Palmetto and tall Palm
trees.
Central Florida has many springs, and Blue Springs is interesting
because the Manatees speed the winter in this area because the
spring water is 72 degrees. Manatees are manuals, eat only aquatic
plants, and have no known natural predator. Mature adults can weigh
as much as 1,200 pounds. Manatees are on the
endangered species list, and man is their major threat mainly do to collisions with motor boats.
We took a day trip to the Crystal River, FL, which is located on the Gulf shore. We found a small beach
and spent some time enjoying the sun. Most of the west Florida
coast is swamp land. A flock of Black Skimmers were on the shore. We had
hoped to find a seafood restaurant in the area but struck out; its hard to believe but fresh seafood isn't plentiful in Central Florida.
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On one of the beautiful days my Brother Ron took us for a boat ride. We passed through a lock on Haynes Creek
and traveled the channel to Lake Eustis where we had a wonderful lunch at
Al's Landing in Tavares, FL on the shore of Lake Eustis.
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Travel in 2014
November 2014
The campground at Cloud Lank State Park, Rising Fawn, GA is on top of
the mountain ridge that extends south from Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga,
TN . This was our second stay
at this campground, and during this stay we hiked the loop trail around the
west side of the gorge; it was a very scenic but a strenuous 4˝ miles.
The slide show contains views of some of the gorge cut by Sitton
Gulch Creek, which we could often hear but could never view due to the heavy
foliage.
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Cloud Mountain Gorge
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Jean at edge of Mountain Gorge
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Leon at edge of Mountain Gorge
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Travel in 2012
March 2012
There are four painted churches in the Schulenburg, TX area. We visited two of them in March 2012: St. Mary's
Catholic Church, High Hill, TX and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Praha, TX. The
parish at High Hill was established by predominately German immigrants and the current building was dedicated in 1906; the parish at Praha was
established by predominately Czech immigrants and the present building was dedicated in 1895. During our visit to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
a tour group
arrived just as we entered the sanctuary, and we learned from the tour
presenter that his Grandfather
helped with the construction of the current building.
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Blessed Virgin Mary at Praha, TX
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St. Mary's at High Hill, TX
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St. Mary's High Hill Site
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Blessed Virgin Mary site
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February 2012
The four fish were heavy, and pulling the largest one to the surface was
hard work. A total of 31 people were on the fishing trip and it took about
three hours to fill out everyone's limit of Red Snapper. The travel time to
the fishing location was 2˝ hours each way.
Travel in 2011
November 2011
Each fall Mother Nature puts on a display of color that touches the
imagination of nearly everyone. In the eastern U.S. a drive along the Blue
Ridge Parkway provides one with the opportunity to see this spectacular
display of red, yellow, and green colors. We took two days to travel about 150 miles; of the Parkway -
from Cherokee to Boone, NC - to view the wonderful fall colors. Of course, the top was down on our Miata during
most of the trip.
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Scenic Road
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Colors Along Parkway
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Mountain View
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August 2011
The Boldt Castle on Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, NY was being built by George C. Boldt for his beloved wife, Louise. Mr. Boldt
was the most successful hotel magnate in America, who managed on a profit
sharing basis the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and the Bellevue Stratford in
Philadelphia. Approximately $2.5 million had been spent on construction of
the castle when work was stopped in 1904 upon Louise's death - Mr. Boldt
never visited the castle after his wife's death. The Yacht House is located
on Wellesley Island and has three slips each 128 feet long with interior space 64
feet high.
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Boldt Castle
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Yacht House
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Grand Staircase
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Travel in 2010
August 2010
Crater Lake was formed about 7,700 years ago when Mt. Mazama collapsed
into the magma chamber after a extended period of intensive volcanic
activity. The volcanic activity and the collapse of the mountain reduced the
height of Mt. Mazama by about 5,000 feet. Further volcanic activity sealed
the bottom of the caldera as well as creating Wizard Island and three
additional lava domes submerged in the lake. Snow melt is the water source
for the lake; no streams exit the lake.
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Pumice Castle
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Pinnacles
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Refreshing Dive
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The blueness of the water in Crater Lake must be seen to be appreciated. Click on the thumbnail to view a larger picture.
The Oregon coast is an interesting contrast of steep cliffs, sandy beaches,
and along the mid-coast about 50 miles of extensive and huge sand dunes. Unfortunately, during
our visit to the Pacific Coast the weather didn't cooperate - heavy
over-cast skies and fog with cool temperatures, and the locals said this is
the best time of the year to visit the Pacific Coast; this kind of weather
is not for us so the family doesn't have to worry about us moving to the
Pacific Coast.
During our visit to the Pacific Northwest we had the best tasting fresh salmon
we've ever eaten, outstandingly delicious local raspberries, tasty Oregon
blueberries, and fresh Dungeness Crabs. A single crab is essentially a meal,
but add a cob of fresh sweet corn and some wine, and one doesn't need
anything else for dinner. Oh yes, we cooked the crabs - 20 minutes in
slightly salty boiling water.
Fort Clatsop is the location were the Corp of Discovery spent the winter
of 1805 - 1806; it is located near the Columbia River just south of Astoria,
Oregon. The current fort is a reconstruction of the original fort based upon
drawings and notes found in Lewis and Clark's journals. During our travels
we have visited most of the important historic sites associated with the
Corp of Discovery's journey (Fort Mandan, the Great Falls on the Missouri
River, crossing the
Bitterroot Mountains, and Fort Clatsop) to and back from the Pacific Ocean
in 1804 - 1806. This journey was an amazing event in the history of the
United States. Leon is currently reading a book that describes the fate of
the Corp members after their return to St. Louis, Missouri.
July 2010
The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, British Columbia are a National Historic Site of Canada. These gardens are the best
we have visited in all of our travels. The Garden has several display themes
- Sunken, Rose, Italian, Mediterranean, and Japanese Gardens, the Concert
Lawn, Ross Fountain, the Rose Carousel, and the Todd Inlet. The Tibetan Blue Poppy is one of the unique flowers found in the Garden.
The hike to Hurricane Hill, Olympic National Park was about 3 miles round trip with an elevation
gain of 650 feet. Mount Olympus is the highest peak in this panoramic view.
A significant volcanic explosion occurred on Mount St. Helens on May 18,
1980. The major events of the explosion were a 5.1 Richter scale earthquake
that triggered a massive land slide on the north slope of the mountain
followed by a lateral explosion that reduced the height of the mountain by 1,300
feet; the stone-filled blast wind toppled trees over 150 square miles. The heat from the explosive gases resulted in
the sudden melting of glaciers on the mountain side causing a massive mud
slide; 57 people perished on the mountain on that fateful day. Today a new lava dome is growing
in the crater left by the 1980 explosion.
One visits Mount Rainier when the weather is clear; we made the visit on a day with a cloudless sky.
The mountain appears close and appears to be an easy hike to the summit, but
the Park Ranger said climbing the mountain can be very dangerous; a hiker
disappeared just a very weeks ago.
The summit of Mount Revelstoke in British Columbia has large meadows that once the snow melts
large expanses of wild flowers appear; during our visit the Glacier Lily
was in bloom with the flowers covering several acres.
Emerald Lake is located in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada. We hiked around the lake
and took a series of pictures that were stitched together into this
panoramic view - we think this is a beautiful site.
We played one of the most scenic golf courses in Canada, Tunnel Nine at Fairmont
Banff Springs Resort. The view from the Club House Veranda looks from the
ninth green toward the tee.
Leon had a great tee shot but his second shot ended up in a green protecting bunker. Jean missed
a birdie on the first hole when her pitch shot ricocheted off the flag stick.
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Jean's Tee Shot
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Great Tee Shot
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Tunnel Nine Golf Course
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Moraine Lake is about one-half the size of Lake Louise, but still is a spectacular site. It is located about eight
miles from Lake Louise nestled in the Valley of the Ten Peaks; five of these peaks
are visible on the left side of the lake. This picture was taken from a
look-out atop the Rock Pile, which forms the dam that creates the lake.
Lake Louise is regarded as one of the world's seven natural wonders. It is surrounded by mountains on
three sides and is fed by melt water from the Victoria Glacier that hangs on the
steep slope of Mount Victoria. The lake is 1.5 miles long, 1,640 feet wide,
and the maximum depth is 295 feet, the warmest summer temperature of the
water is 39°F.
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is one of the finest mountain resorts in the world; it is located on the
eastern end of Lake Louise. The Chateau was originally built by the Canadian
Pacific Railroad to attract rich clientele to the Canadian Rockies. Today it
still is a place for the wealthy - rooms with a lake view can cost
upwards of $800/night.
June 2010
The vistas, thermal features, and canyons in Yellowstone are what makes it a special place. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view; click the
browser back button to view the slide show.
The slide show contains views of thermal features and a segment of Yellowstone Canyon.
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A Cascade at Mammonth Hot Springs
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Old Faithful
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Morning Glory Pool
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Grotto Geyser
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Grand Geyser
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Yellowstone Canyon
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One of the special features of Yellowstone National Park is the variety
of wildlife a visitor can view. Some of the large animals we've seen during
our touring of the Park the last couple of days are in the slide show.
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Bull Elk
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Bighorn Sheep
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Pronghorn
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Black Bear
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Bison with young
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Using the newly passed Antiquities Act President Theodore Roosevelt declared Devils Tower a National
Monument on September 24, 1906; it was the first declaration under this
legislation to preserve scientific and man-made wonders in the United States. The Tower is 867 feet
high with a diameter at its base of 800 feet. The top is 450 feet north to
south and 250 feet east to west. The Tower was formed by magma that
forced its way through miles of sedimentary rock and then slowly cooled
to form a rock known as phonolite porphyry. Over millions of
years the Belle Fourche River eroded away the surrounding rock slowly
exposing the Tower. In 1977 the Tower was used as the setting for the
space ship landing in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Jewel Cave was declared a National Monument by President Theodore
Roosevelt on February 7, 1908. Until 1959 only about 1˝ miles of the cave
were known. Today about 150 miles have been explored and the end hasn't been
found making it one of the largest caves in the world.
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Small Draperies
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Small Stalactites
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A Calcite Deposit on Limestone
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Jewel Cave
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The date is June 5, 2010. Yes, we made it to the top, and we weren't the only old folks to make the hike. Needless to say we
took it easy the rest of the day.
This is the view of the Crazy Horse Carving taken from the Volksmarch trail.
Some of the early hikers are on the top of the arm. When completed the carving will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long. The face
of Crazy Horse is 87 feet high and the horse's head will be 219 feet high.
The blocking out of the horse's head is about 50% complete.
Travel in 2009
November 2009
The fall colors can be beautiful. The ginkgo tree in our front yard is particularly beautiful this fall.
In the campground at Lake Junalaska, NC very large and interesting toad stools were growing on the side of a hill.
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Two toad stools
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An inverted toad stool
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A pear shaped toad stool
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A pan shaped toad stool
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July 2009
The bar between the village of Bar Harbor and Bar Island is what gives
the village its name. The hike across the bar can only be completed at low
tide and you should return in about two hours or you have to wait ~12˝ hours
for the next low tide. We hiked many trails in Acadia National Park and
toured the Cranberry Islands.
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Bar Harbor Village from Bar Island
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View from harbor on Great Cranberry Island
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View from summit of Gorhan Mountain
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May 2009
Cumberland Mountain State Park, Crossville, TN is about 60 miles west of
our home in Oak Ridge, TN. The park was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in
1935 - 1940. The dam and the bridge are the largest built by the CCC. The
dam impounds a 30 acre lake on Byrd's Creek with the spillway 28 feet
above the stream bed; the bridge is 18 feet above the water level and is faced with Crab Orchard stone.
While visiting the park the Mountain Laurel was in bloom - scroll through the slide show to view pictures of these beautiful flowers. See the
Travel News webpage to learn more about our
stay at this park.
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Cluster of Mountain Laurel
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Close up of Laurel blossom
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Cumberland Mountain Dam
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December 2009
Part of the wall that is being built on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande near Progreso, TX. It is interesting to note that President Reagan ask the Russians to take down the Berlin Wall, but
President Bush built a wall separating the U.S. and Mexico. According to an article in the local paper the construction cost is ~$9.3 million per mile - a questionable use of our national resources.
Travel in 2008
August 2008
Scenes in the northern section of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan.
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Snowfall Gauge in Keweenaw County, Michigan
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Snowfall information in Keweenaw County, Michigan
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Abandoned mine lift house - sentinel of the past
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Our view from Houghton, MI RV Park
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US41 starts in the woods
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Views of Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore on Lake Superior at Munising, MI.
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Miners Castle
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Caves of the Bloody Chiefs
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Capel Rock
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Lovers Leap
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Testing the water of Lake Superior
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July 2008
The historic sites in Boston, MA date from the pivotal period of U.S. history - events leading up to and the initial
battles of the Revolutionary War. The War started with Paul Revere's ride, signaled by two lanterns from the Old
North Church steeple, followed by the battles at Lexington - Concord and
Bunker Hill. The British victory at Bunker Hill was a tactical success but a strategic failure because it brought the colonialist together with the
realization that they could defeat the British Army and gain independence.
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Old State House - Boston's oldest public building
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Steeple of Old North Church
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Paul Revere's house - Boston's oldest private building
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Bunker Hill Monument - last Revolutionary War battle in New England
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Downtown Boston, MA from the top of Bunker Hill Monument
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Acadia National Park is a beautiful and peaceful place. This was our third visit; yes we've seen just about everything,
but we still enjoy going to Bar Harbor. This year the blueberries on top of the hill in the campground were exceptionally plentiful - we picked about four gallons of wild blueberries.
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Lobster men checking their traps
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Blueberry Pop-Over at Jordon Pond House
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The harbor at Bar Harbor
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Shore looking toward Sand Beach
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April 2008
Spring in East Tennessee is a beautiful season with trees, shrubs, and perennials painting the landscape.
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Dogwood blossoms
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A single Dogwood flower
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Iris flowers by our pond
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Spirea flowers around our pond
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Rhododendron flowers
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April 2008
Jean is resting on the porch of Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, MS. The house is very small!
Natchez, MS has probably the largest number of antebellum houses of any city in the South. These were and still are grand houses.
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Natchez, MS
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March 2008
Holly Beach was totally destroyed by hurricane Rita in September
2005. The first picture shows the ruins of a house build on stilts as
protection from storm surge; obviously, the high storm surge and the
wind blew the house away. The other pictures are general views of the remains of Holly Beach, LA. In April 2008 only nine structures were being
reconstructed.
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Ruins at Hollybeach, LA
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A street without buildings
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The remains of a house
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This picture shows the ruins of a church in Cameron, LA, which is located east of Holly Beach, LA and was destroyed by hurrican Rita in September 2005. The items remaining include the steel and
laminated beams that supported the A-frame roof and the foundation of the educational wing.
The Goose Island Tree is the oldest living tree in Texas - approximately 1,000 years. The tree is a live oak, has a crown spanning ~89
feet, and is ~44 feet high. It is located on Goose Island near Aransas, TX.
February 2008
We attended the performance of the "Ballet Folkloric" at the University of Texas - Pan American on February 9, 2008. The music, dance,
drama, and the performance excitement of Mexico's culture was absolutely splendid.
NOTE ADDED March 7, 2017: We attended a combined Folkloric, Mariachi and Conjunto performance presented by the students
at La Joya High School, La Joya, TX. This was an absolutely wonderful afternoon of excellent music and dance performance by very talented high school students.
The video is a small sample of the total performance - ENJOY😊
NOTE ADDED January 18, 2024: In mid-February 2023 we attended Folkloric and
Mariachi performance presented by students from La Joya
and Palmview
High Schools; we simply cannot comprehend the talent displayed by these
students. Videos of approximately 30 minutes in length from each high
school's performance can be viewed by clicking on the preceding links - ENJOY😊 To view details of these videos click on the link.
