October 2020

Morning Glory Pool does indeed resemble the shape of a morning glory; the pool is 23 ft deep and 158 degrees although we didn't feel that heat

Yellowstone was established in 1872 as the world's first national park; Old Faithful has always been the big draw but visitors can explore 1000+ miles of hiking trails

Heart Spring is a pretty pool of clear blue water, 15 ft deep and 10 ft across, enclosed by white sinter mats and orange-brown algae; it's supposedly shaped like a heart

Terrace Mountain at Mammoth Hot Springs is the largest known carbonate-depositing spring in the world; the Mammoth Terraces extend all the way from the hillside, across the Parade Ground, and down to Boiling River

We hiked to the Natural Bridge (note Lee inside); the arch is 51 ft tall and was created as water eroded through the surrounding ryholite rock

In the late 1800s Mud Geyser erupted every few minutes spewing water 50 feet into the air; by 1927 the eruptions stopped but now steam vents are active again so maybe the geyser will come back to life

Anemone Geyser has eruptions lasting 25 to 45 seconds every 6 to 10 minutes reaching a height of 6 to 8 feet; the geyser was named after the anemone flower

The cutest and most common animal we saw in Yellowstone was the chipmunk; most ignored tourists but some, like this one, were hoping for a handout

It was very chilly at sunrise around the Old Faithful basin; my only other visit to Yellowstone was way back in 1993

Scissor Springs; it seemed like most visitors simply wanted to see Old Faithful erupt and didn't bother to walk around the basin to see the many interesting geothermal features

Beehive Geyser is named for the resemblance of its 4 ft high cone to an old-fashioned beehive; the cone acts as a nozzle directing water up to 200 ft in the air

Depression Geyser was inactive prior to an earthquake in 1959 that caused changes in the behavior of many of Yellowstone's thermal features; the geyser erupts on average once a day, sending water 10 feet in the air over a period of 5-10 minutes

Thinner than normal crust depth and a huge magma chamber beneath the park explain Yellowstone's abundant geysers, steaming pools, hissing fumaroles and bubbling mud pots

Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes; this eruption was much less powerful and impressive than the one we saw at dawn

Grotto Geyser; the Upper Geyser Basin, home of Old Faithful, hosts the majority of the world's active geysers

The massive cone of Castle Geyser is a sign of old age; by altering soil chemistry, the geyser has devoured part of a pine forest

Geologists believe than hundreds (or thousands) of years ago, Grotto Geyser emerged in a stand of dead or dying trees and deposited layer upon layer of silica over the stumps

Belgian Pool was originally named Oyster Spring, but was renamed after a visitor from Belgium fell into it in 1929 with fatal results; the spring is less hot than other features in the area (about 180 °F), but still sufficiently hot for severe burns

The greenish-blue pool of Chromatic Spring is about 30 ft in diameter though the vent is much narrower; the water is colored rich shades of red and orange by cyanobacteria, the deep colors indicating that the water temperature is relatively low

The geysers and springs around Old Faithful displayed tremendous variety; the boardwalks were treacherous in the early morning as moisture freezes on the composite boards making them like ice

When active (last eruption was 18 months ago), Giant Geyser is one of the largest in the world; eruptions can expel more than a million gallons of water in a plume 250+ ft high

Fiori Boat, Dale Chihuly, 2016; this was my favorite Chihuly piece of the 5 I saw at the museum (the glass must be strong since this piece is outdoors)

Memory of Water; tickets for North Forest Lights at Crystal Bridges were $22 with the exhibition slated to run through April 4, 2021

The Golden Gate Before the Bridge, Ansel Adams, 1932; this photo was taken the year before construction on the bridge started but the focus is more on the clouds than on the strait

Mille-fleur, Kim Dickey, 2011; the ceramic rosettes in this sculpture were hand-painted, glazed and fired, yet together they resolve into one image which was inspired by a 16th century tapestry

Rio Grande Casino Landscape, David Bradley, 2000; this painting is a critique of the tourist industry's commercialization of Santa Fe and how non-Native influences have diminished the city

The Garden of Eden, Jim Dine, 2003; Dine's work (using gardening tools and a headless replica Venus de Milo) suggests that nostalgia is an Eden-like paradise, constructed in our memories over time

Flag, Jasper Johns, 1983; the artist painted the flag on an actual silk flag; in 2018, The New York Times called him the United States' foremost living artist

Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1932; in November, 2014, this painting was sold for $44.4 million at a Sotheby's auction

Blackwell's Island, Edward Hopper, 1928; known today as Roosevelt Island in the East River of NYC, the island's varied architecture and seclusion appealed to Hopper

Fly's Eye Dome, Buckminster Fuller, 1980; composed entirely of molded fiberglass, that simply connects together, this was Fuller's solution for sustainable and affordable living

Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife, John Singer Sargent, 1885; Stevenson thought the painting excellent but too eccentric to be exhibited and lamented that his wife looked like a ghost

Wild Turkey Cock, Hen and Young, John James Audubon, 1826; this is one of the first oil paintings Audubon created for his famous publication Birds of America

George Washington, Gilbert Stuart, 1797; the face of Washington on the one dollar bill is based on another, similar painting by Stuart

Stella, Andre Harvey, 2009; there are many trails on the grounds of the museum and both parking and admission to the museum are free

LOVE, Robert Indiana, 1999; the original image, with green and blue spaces backing red lettering, served as a print image for a Museum of Modern Art Christmas card in 1965

Cupid and Psyche, Benjamin West, 1808; born in PA, West impressed George III and was largely responsible for the launch of the Royal Academy, of which he became the second president

Holy Grail, Garland County, AR, 2016; this piece is regarded by many experts as the single greatest quartz cluster found in America due to the shocking size, aesthetic formation and quality of the crystals

Self-portrait, Rembrandt Peale, 1846; acclaimed for his portraits of Washington and Jefferson, I was very impressed by Peale's ability to capture his own image

Built in the 1840s, Rowan Oak had fallen into disrepair when William Faulkner bought it in the 1930s; now owned by the University of Mississippi, it was closed during my visit due to Covid

The Lyceum is the oldest building on campus and the only original building that still remains; built in 1848, it became famous in 1962 when riots erupted here following the attempted admission of James Meredith, an African-American, to the segregated campus

I saw several of these robots on campus which I guess have replaced couriers and/or interoffice mail; you put items inside them and program their delivery (I did see one having issues with a lost wheel)

The courthouse square is the geographical and cultural center of Oxford; the 1907 courthouse is surrounded by successful local shops, restaurants and services (a stark contrast to the typical dying downtown I've seen across the South)

One of the most successful independent book stores in America, they also have a kids store and a used store elsewhere on the square; John Grisham (he has a house in town) had autographed all of his books

William Faulkner won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature and twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; his most famous novel is probably The Sound and the Fury but I was never a fan and couldn't handle his stream of consciousness style

Nielson's is the South's oldest documented store having opened as a trading post in 1839; Neilson's has a framed letter from William Faulkner, who repeatedly refused to pay debts owed to the department store

One of the huge sorority houses; the college has produced 3 Miss America's as well as famous grads John Grisham, Archie and Eli Manning, Kate Jackson (Charlie's Angels) and Grand Slam doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi

More than 300 journalists converged on Oxford to cover the race riots in 1962; a French journalist was murdered on campus and his death is the only known case of a journalist being killed while covering the civil rights movement

The first presidential debate in 2008 was held here between Senators McCain and Obama; the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is the state's largest university with 23,000 students(UT Austin has 51,000 and UNC Chapel Hill 30,000)

Faulkner's Rowan Oaks is separated from the Ole Miss campus by Bailey's Woods; trails now lead from the house to the university art museum and the rest of the Ole Miss campus

This 1931 house, very close to the center of town, belonged to Faulkner's parents; they spelled their name Falkner but a typesetting mistake on his first book prompted Faulkner to stick with the error

Chimney Rock State Park is named after this 315 ft high granite monolith which overlooks Lake Lure; the park was operated privately until NC bought it in 2005 and converted it to a state park

I was the first person to reach 404 ft Hickory Nut Falls on the day of my visit so I was able to enjoy the tranquility of the spot; Chimney Rock is only 25 miles SE of Asheville

Chimney Rock is a relatively small park but is extremely vertical!; I climbed thousands of steps but you can opt to take a free shuttle bus from the parking area up to the main lookout

This lookout gets my award for best name!; at 2480 ft. above sea level the point is one of the highest spots in the park and overlooks Hickory Nut Gorge

Aptly named Devil's Head; Chimney Rock is the only NC park with an admission charge (a hefty $17) and for some strange reason doesn't even open until 8:30 am

The Last of the Mohicans, the 1992 epic romantic adventure starring Daniel Day-Lewis filmed major scenes here; Firestarter, the 1984 thriller starring Drew Barrymore and George C. Scott (based on the book by Stephen King) also filmed at Chimney Rock

The day before visiting Chimney Rock I hiked along the wild Green River in Saluda NC; the trails were steep and I was virtually the only person out there

The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is an amazingly creative adaptation of an old roadway!; built in 1925, the bridge was replaced by a newer span in 2011 so local residents turned the old bridge into a gorgeous flower garden

Flowers and whimsical displays of art are packed into the 155 ft long bridge; the displays are constantly changing but it's free to visit with convenient parking

I was so impressed with the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge!; most of the plants were identified at this destination perfectly made for Instagram

The easiest way to reach the Chimney is to ride an elevator up a 26-story shaft blasted through solid rock called Henderson Gneiss; on weekends and holidays the park can often fill up and the gates will close until space becomes available

Running cedar was once widely harvest as Christmas greenery (as my Mom will attest); the 1987 romantic blockbuster Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey was filmed at Lake Lure

President Hoover designated Black Canyon of the Gunnison as a national monument in 1933; in 1999, an act of Congress signed by President Clinton made the area a national park

Behind Lee is the Painted Wall, Colorado's tallest vertical wall at 2300 ft; if the Empire State Bldg stood on the canyon floor it would only reach slightly more than halfway up the cliff

The canyon's name owes itself to the fact that parts of the gorge only receive 33 minutes of sunlight a day; at its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 ft wide at the river

We walked through the centuries-old juniper and pinon trees but failed to see any noteworthy animals; on the day of our visit, others saw a black bear and a bald eagle while earlier visitors spotted big-horned sheep and a mountain lion

The river can also be accessed by steep, unmaintained trails from the north and south rims; all inner canyon descents are strenuous and require Class 3 climbing and basic route finding skills (we didn't even try!)

We drove down East Portal Road which is the only way to access the river by car from the park; the curvy road takes you down 2000 ft in just 5 miles

In 1909, President Taft dedicated the Gunnison Tunnel, a 5.8 mile irrigation tunnel costing nearly $3 million; at the time, the Gunnison Tunnel held the honor of world's longest irrigation tunnel

The west side of the Rockies is considerably drier than the east side; hay and corn are being grown near Montrose thanks to irrigation

No bridge spans Black Canyon so to drive from one rim to the other takes 2-3 hours; the South Rim is much more visited due to its proximity to the city of Montrose