Moab: Canyonlands, Island in the Sky

September 24, 2024April 6, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

7 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. Canyonlands National Park “Island in the Sky” and Dead Horse Point State Park. The “Island in the Sky” name refers to the 2,000′ high mesa the entire area is on (compared to the river valley floor below).

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iPhone_IMG_5897 — The Merrimack and Monitor: a pair of buttes named after the Civil War ironclad ships USS Merrimack and USS Monitor.

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CANYONLANDS NP_ISLANDS IN THE SKY_PanoUntitled_Panorama-4 — The road zigzagging down to the Colorado River Valley District in this photo is called The Shafer Trail. It’s a 19 mile long 4WD dirt road. The Shafer Trail road also shows up in the first photo of this post. It was originally a route made by Native Americans, then named after a 1916 era Mormon Settler “Sog Shafer” who improved it. The it was further improved and widened for large trucks bearing uranium rock by the Atomic Energy Commission. After Canyonlands became a National Park in 1964 it transitioned to today’s backcountry recreation trail. I couldn’t convince anyone to try it.

CANYONLANDS NP_ISLANDS IN THE SKY_PanoUntitled_Panorama-1 — Layers upon layers upon layers.

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CANYONLANDS NP_ISLANDS IN THE SKY_PanoUntitled_Panorama-7 — Arches National Park has lots of Arches but Canyonlands has some too. This one is the famous Mesa Arch.

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CANYONLANDS NP_ISLANDS IN THE SKY_DAD3066-NR — An Island in the Sky.

CANYONLANDS NP_ISLANDS IN THE SKY_PanoUntitled_Panorama-12 — View from the overlook at Dead Horse Point State Park.

Sweeping views across canyon from Dead Horse Point State Park.

Moab: Canyonlands, The Needles

September 23, 2024March 4, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

6 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. Monday 9/23/24. Canyonlands National Park is Huge. There are two distinct entrances to north and south sections that are completely disconnected by the deep canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Today we left Moab to visit the southern “Needles” section of the park. A park ranger at Arches highly recommended we visit the “Needles Overlook.” She said “not many people go there because it’s out of the way but it’s worth the drive. You’ll be the only ones there in the morning.” It really is a long, lonely drive, we almost turned around but eventually arrived at an incredible view of why the two halves of the park are not connected.

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CANYONLANDS NP_NEEDLES_DAD2876-NR (7) — Leaving the Needles Overlook we went further south and entered “The Needles” section of Canyonlands National Park. The day was filled with all kinds of awesome and unique rock formations.

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Leaving “The Needles” we headed north back to Moab stopping at a roadside attraction: Wilson Arch.

Moab: Arches National Park

September 21, 2024March 5, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

5 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series.

iPhone_IMG_5866 — After leaving interstate 70 to head south down to Moab the wind picked up and a rain storm blew in. Deanne and Becky were in the rental car. I was driving the RV and trying to stay in my lane when the wind gusted sideways. Fortunately there was not much traffic on the road.

Arches National Park_DAD2655-NR (1) — Next morning we headed into Arches National Park with our park visit reservations in hand. First stop, the Visitors Center for restrooms and gift shop.

iPhone_IMG_5864 — Becky was delighted when her sisters got her this quilt pattern for a small wall hanging of Delicate Arch. This is a picture of a sample finished product.

Arches National Park_DAD2655-NR (3) — Rock cliffs glowing red in the early morning sunshine.

Our first hike on the “Devils Garden Trail” started out chilly and got pretty warm by the time we got done. The trail goes to several scenic sites but the main goal is the thin “Landscape Arch”.

Our next hike was to Skyline Arch Trail. Jennie & Roni at Skyline Arch.

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Sand Dune Arch Trail was next. Becky and Deanne navigate a narrow passage.

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Delicate Arch Trail was longer and it was getting really hot so we didn’t go all the way to the Arch.

Balanced Rock.

Arches National ParkUntitled_Panorama-4 — Very tiny, in the center of this photo in the far distance are “The Three Gossips” which was our next stop. The Three Gossips are a 350′ high sandstone rock formation resembling 3 heads in conversation.

Arches National Park_DAD2655-NR (43) — The Three Gossips.

We went out to dinner in Moab after a long day of hiking and driving through Arches National Park. The onion rings were a big hit.

Colorado National Monument

September 20, 2024March 4, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

4 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. While at Glenwood Springs, CO for two nights Deanne rented a car that we all would use for our visits to National Parks in Utah, and we visited the Colorado National Monument.

iPhone_IMG_7158 — On our travel from Florissant Fossil Beds National Park to Glenwood Springs we saw some beautiful fall colors as the aspens turned bright yellow.

Below is a map of “US Terrain Regions” as mapped by the US Geological Survey. When we left Indianapolis in the Central Lowland Plains, traveling west through the Great Plains, then crossing the Rocky Mountain System, we arrived at the Colorado Plateau(s). I thought we were just headed to a bunch of National Parks in the Utah vicinity. I had no idea there was a name for this densely packed geological wonderland called “The Colorado Plateau”

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The Colorado Plateau – “the least tamed area of the lower 48 states.” The Colorado National Monument was the first of many National Parks all included in the Colorado Plateau.

Colorado National Monument_DAD2452-NR (18) — We visited all the National Parks shown on this map except Black Canyon (of the Gunnison) and Mesa Verde. We planned to visit Black Canyon but a bridge on the main road to the park was closed and the park itself was undergoing road repairs. We had seen Black Canyon on a previous trip so we skipped it. This gave us time to visit Colorado Monument which was a phenomenal treat.

There is only so much you can say about cool rocks and dramatic geology. Since that is what we would be seeing for most of this trip we will not be saying a lot about each picture. It’s a rock, a cool rock, but a rock.

Another map of the Colorado Plateau area; marked with places we visited for National Park Stamps. Starting September 20th at the upper right (Colorado National Monument) we traveled generally counter-clockwise, eventually arriving 20 days later at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta October 9th.

The Rental Car: We went to the airport in Grand Junction, CO to pick up a rental car. The first one they gave us had a serious alignment problem so we rejected that one and got an enormous GMC Denali.

Leaving the RV behind for the day, we took the rental car to spend the day driving through Colorado National Monument. It was an amazing day. Jennie had told us it was worth visiting but it does not get near as much publicity as the big Utah National Parks so I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. It is spectacular.

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Hoodoos, Deanne, and the three amigo tourists at Colorado National Monument.

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Colorado National Monument_DAD2452-NR (4) — Looking down into the canyon at birds flying below.

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Colorado National MonumentEast Entrance_Panorama-2 — Upper Serpents Trail is on the right.

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Colorado Springs

September 19, 2024March 4, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

3 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. This post covers 6 days in Colorado on our way to Utah.

iPhone_IMG_5748 — If you look closely at the horizon, THERE ARE MOUNTAINS! After long drives across the flatlands of Kansas and eastern Colorado this was an exciting sight. We stayed 3 nights at Garden of the Gods RV Resort which is very close to the rock formations. We visited several times.

Garden of the Gods is a registered National Natural Landmark. Visiting the park is free because of Charles Elliott Perkins and his family. Perkins was head of the Burlington Railroad and died in 1909. Two years later his children donated the land to Colorado Springs under stipulation that visitors would not be charged and it would be left in it’s natural state as Charles had wished.

Group photo taken by kind passerby as we stood in the red sandstone.

GoGodsDay 8 Garden of the Gods_Panorama-2

Above: The Garden of the Gods Visitors Center is a nice place to visit. They have some nice exhibits. This is where they collect $ from people visiting the free Garden of the Gods. Good coffee, hats, t-shirts, etc.
Below: The following photos from our drives and hikes at Garden of the Gods are some favorites. It is a beautiful place to visit, especially at times of sunrise and sunset.

The rock formation at the top of the middle photo is known as the “Kissing Camels”

iPhone_IMG_5774 — Pikes Peak is visible from Garden of the Gods. This sign at the Garden gives some history of Zebulon Pike. A visit to Pikes Peak was our next Colorado Springs activity.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5778 — View of Pikes Peak from our campsite at Garden of the Gods RV Resort.

The Manitou Incline shares the same parking lot as the Pikes Peak Cog Train so we saw it. 2,750 steps (originally railroad ties left after the tracks were removed). 2,000′ elevation gain in less than a mile. There were lots of people hiking the Incline. Here in Manitou Springs, CO it was a very hot summer day. When we were on top of Pikes Peak it was freezing with a 21 degree wind chill.

Pikes Peak_DAD2121 — MANITOU AND PIKE’S PEAK RAILWAY. The world’s highest cog railway, and the highest railroad in the United States. Trivia: The idea for a railway to the top of Pikes Peak came from Zalmon Simmons who was inspired to find an easier way after experiencing a two day mule trip to the top. Zalmon Simmons was the inventor of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company.

iPhone_IMG_5800 — Deanne and I at the very ‘peak’ of Pikes Peak 14,115′. It was crazy windy and freezing cold up there. The cog train goes almost all the way up but there is still some uphill walking and distance to get to this spot. There is very little oxygen. Becky was having a hard time making progress but she made it.

Tourists. After this we headed straight to the heated Visitors Center to hang out until the train was ready to take us back down.

Pikes PeakPikes Peak_Panorama-1 — Breathtaking views.

Pikes Peak_DAD2201 — The Visitors Center.

Pikes PeakPikes Peak Visitors_Panorama-1 — View upon entry to the Visitors Center. There is a big quote on the wall *“The summit of the Grand Peak, which was entirely bare of vegetation and covered in snow… I believe no human could have ascended to it’s pinnacle*.” Zebulon Pike.

I think we did well at the top with 40% less oxygen than we have in Indianapolis, IN (at 600′ altitude). Roni taking pics.

Pikes Peak_DAD2222 — Looking down, the red sandstone ‘fin’ outcroppings of Garden of the Gods are easy to pick out.

Pikes Peak_DAD2219 — Looking East from Pikes Peak. Amazing to be standing on top of a 14’er mountain on the edge of dry prairie lands stretching out toward eastern Colorado and Kansas.

iPhone_IMG_5820 — We left Colorado Springs and headed west again, stopping at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument on our way toward Glenwood Springs KOA where we would stay the next 2 nights.

There is a small Visitors Center at Florissant and some huge nearby petrified tree stumps. After viewing the stumps outside, and interesting insect fossils inside, we went on to an 1878 historic Homestead cabin that is also part of the Florissant park.

The 1878 Adeline Hornbek Homestead Cabin. Adeline came to the Florissant valley with her 4 children claiming this area of land through the Homestead Act and built it into a prosperous ranch.

iPhone_IMG_5825 — Charlotte Hill married at 13, had 7 children, and collected fossils in the fossil rich Florissant valley.

Kansas

September 15, 2024March 4, 2025 / dadartphotography / 1 Comment

2 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. This post covers 6 days of our trip from Clay Center, KS to Colorado Springs, CO.

iPhone_IMG_5656 — After our short stop at Marysville, KS and the closed Pony Express Museum we arrived at the Kamphaus farm in Clay Center, KS on September 12th. We enjoyed 4 days “on the farm” as we prepared for the long days driving West. The old farmhouse where Becky grew up is gone but was located just to the left of the swing set in the photo. Becky’s sister Deanne would be travelling with us in our RV and Jennie & Roni would travel along in their RV for much of the trip. This was the first time for us to travel with a third person who would be using the drop-down overhead bunk bed in our RV. We (Deanne) discovered that the original equipment Thor “Cotton Cloud” mattress was not very comfy.

The Farm Animals: “Gabby” (a Great Pyrenees) protects the farm and watches over visitors. She slept right outside the RV each night to keep us safe from coyotes. I think the donkey in the photo is “Daisy” but there are also two others named “Jethro” and “Sadie.” Then there is “Ginger”, a shy puppy that rules inside the house, and of course the chickens. Not shown are a multitude of cats that run around outside.

iPhone_IMG_5671 — A highlight event was dinner at the El Puerto Mexican Restaurant with Becky’s family in the Clay Center area. Good food, good company.

A sobering event: we visited the Republican City Cemetery to put flowers on Daniel’s grave. Daisies were blooming nearby. The windchimes had been a gift to Lizzy from her coworkers for Daniel’s memorial service. She didn’t have a place for the chimes so Deanne took them home to Kansas. They make a nice sound at the “old milk barn” where Becky grew up milking dairy cows.

Another highlight was riding in a combine with Becky’s cousin Ron. Ron makes it look easy doing 10 things at once while cutting corn. Here’s a a very wonky video I took of the amazing experience.

Two last pics before leaving Clay Center: The latest downtown ‘mural’ painting on a grain bin is called “Prairie Thunder” by Christian Stanley. It is awesome and so was the sunrise view from our RV. The mural recently won viewers choice in 10th place of “Best Murals of the World” and was the only mural in the top 50 located in the United States. Go Clay Center! Here’s a link to recent mural article: https://kclyradio.com/blog/prairie-thunder-lands-10-in-international-competition-of-best-murals-of-the-world/

The Kamphaus farm driveway is right on US Highway 24. We jumped right on 24 and headed West to a must-see Kansas attraction at Cawker City: “The Worlds Largest Ball of Twine”… circumference 46 feet

We stayed long enough to see the amazing sight… and read some signs explaining the history of the giant ball of twine.

Here’s how it began: Frank Stoeber was born in 1891. At the age of 62, in 1953, he stumbles across some twine and decides to gather it up to burn. Instead of burning it, he decides to roll it up into a ball. He must have enjoyed that, or there wasn’t much else to do in the 50’s (when I was born) because three years later, in 1956 the ball is 7′ around and weighs over 4,000 pounds. It progresses from there. You need to visit for the rest of the story.

Directly across the street (highway 24) was a restored old gas station that was more photogenic than the twine.

Next stop heading West was the National Historic Site Visitors Center in Nicodemus, Kansas. The town was founded in 1877 by recently freed African Americans, mostly from Lexington, Kentucky. It’s the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River.

This was an interesting place to visit. The visitors center is the nicest building in what is now a very small, nearly abandoned town. The 2020 census counted 14 people, 78% African-American. Some of the towns people and nearby residents are direct descendants of the original founders. I am so glad we stopped to see the town and learn the history of this place and period of American history. I am also glad my tax dollars are preserving a history that would otherwise by lost.

The founding of Nicodemus is tightly connected to the Homestead Act (visit to that National Historic Site is described in previous post) and Emancipation.

Still traveling West we visited a Kansas geological attraction:

People say “middle of nowhere” all the time but this remote State Park should be the definition. Early settlers called the area “Little Jerusalem” because they thought it resembled the ancient walled city of Jerusalem. Some also called it “Castle City”.

iPhone_IMG_5710 — This is Becky’s sister Deanne. She has lived her whole life in Kansas and never visited the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. You can’t tell that it is as hot as a furnace outside. I am dying in the heat and she is scampering about, ecstatic to finally visit this place and unfazed by the heat.

iPhone_IMG_5721 — The soft white rock is called Niabrara Chalk. Here at Little Jerusalem it is below the level of the surrounding prairie and easy to understand the formations result from erosion.

Moving on we drove a bunch of dusty dirt roads to arrive at another Kansas geological landmark called “Monument Rocks”. This place is just plain weird. There are no signs, no visitors center. If there was a sign it would say “No Really; the middle of nowhere”.

iPhone_IMG_5742 — Monument Rocks Natural Landmark (also know as The Chalk Pyramids). This is the same soft white Niabrara Chalk as Little Jerusalem but it’s just standing up in this one place on an otherwise flat prairie landscape.

iPhone_IMG_5727 — There is no parking lot (and no traffic). You just drive up on the dirt road, get out, and walk around. This is an unusual, interesting place to visit. Glad we got to see it.

We met back up with Jennie and Roni (they did not do all the sightseeing we did on this first day) and stayed the night in Colby, KS. We stopped at Walmart on the way out of Colby so Deanne could buy another foam mattress topper for the uncomfortable overhead bunk bed… We continued on to Colorado Springs. But that’s a story for the next post.

2024 Fall Trip – Utah National Parks & Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

September 10, 2024April 1, 2025 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

1 of 12 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. We traveled west to Utah and back; about 6,000 miles over 49 days from Sept 10 to October 30, 2024.

Here is a List of some interesting places we stopped at on this trip (bold/italic stops are where we got National Park Service Stamps), tan ALL CAPS hyperlinks to pages:

1– HOME TO CLAY CENTER, KS
Lincoln Home: National Historic Site, Springfield IL
Hamilton, MO (quilt shops)
International Quilt Museum, Lincoln NE (at Univ. of Nebraska)
Homestead National Historic Park, Beatrice NE
Pony Express Barn & Museum, Marysville KS
2– KANSAS
Nicodemus National Historic Site, Nicodemus KS
Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, Oakley KS
Monument Rocks National Historic Landmark, Oakley KS
3– COLORADO SPRINGS
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs CO
Pikes Peak Cog Rail, Colorado Springs CO
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Florissant CO
4– Colorado National Monument, CO
5– Arches National Park, Moab UT
6- Canyonlands National Park, (Needles) Moab UT
Needles Overlook, Newspaper Rock, & Wilsons Arch
7- Canyonlands National Park, (Island in the Sky) Moab UT
Dead Horse Point State Park
Bears Ears National Monument?
John Wesley Powell River History Museum
Capital Reef National Park, Torrey UT
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT
Valley of Fire State Park, Moapa Valley, NV
Hoover Dam National Historic Landmark
Pipe Spring National Monument, Kaibab AZ
Grand Canyon National Park (North Rim)
Zion National Park, Springdale UT
Glen Canyon Dam & National Recreation Area, Page AZ
Horseshoe Bend, Page AZ
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument, Flagstaff AZ
Petrified Forest National Park
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque NM (Adventure Caravans 6 day RV rally)
Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Springs NM
Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Los Alamos, NM
Pecos National Historical Park, Pecos NM
Tucumcari Route 66, Tucumcari NM
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo TX
Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Smith, AR
Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, AR

Here is a map of our route for this trip. The red spots are where we camped overnight, all the grey spots are places we visited.

We needed to do some “RV Prep” a few weeks before starting this trip when we discovered the front window was leaking at the top edge around the seal. Also added some back tail lights to be more visible.

If you want to skip the “RV Prep” section, jumping right to the Trip, click here: –>#Trip

The gasketing was never seated flush around the corners of the windshield and there was a gap in the gasketing at the middle top of the windshield (which should have been at the bottom…) Nathan took this pic of me and Damon standing in the loader bucket after pulling the gasketing out from around the windshield. We intended to reinstall the gasketing with the joint at the bottom but found it was too ‘formed’ to fit differently so we put some windshield gasket sealant in and reinstalled the gasket. There were some places where the gasket still didn’t seat flush so then we went to ‘Plan B’.

Plan ‘B’ was to rent scaffolding from Menards, mask around the upper windshield and install sealant to close the gaps. As it turned out we had almost no rain for the entire trip but since being back we have had plenty of rain, snow, and ice with no leaks.

We (the “royal we”, mostly our awesome mechanic friend Damon) installed vertical lights to make the RV more visible in hazy or foggy conditions. People who had followed us on trips had told us that the tail lights were not very bright in those conditions. The vertical lights also help others notice our blinkers during lane changes. At night backing into a campsite they really light things up.

Starting the Trip: with the RV ready to go we headed West early in the morning of September 10th. Our first stop for a National Park Service Stamp was Abraham Lincoln’s Home in Springfield, Illinois.

Lincoln SpringfieldIMG_5553 — Lincoln’s Home: 426 S 7th Street, Springfield, IL. The home of Abraham Lincoln for 17 years (1844-1861) until he left for Washington, DC. in 1861 to serve as our 16th President. The home and surrounding 4 block area are restored and free to visit. We didn’t stay long; we read some history at the Visitors Center and wandered around a bit before heading on West.

Above: Two other interesting old homes in the historical area.

Hamilton MO QuiltIMG_5564 — Hamilton, Missouri “Quilt Town, USA” is a fun place to stop along US 36. It was a beautiful day and a nice hour long break from driving. Becky bought a pattern and fabrics for making little “Sea Turtle Pincushions”. Interesting trivia: Hamilton, MO is the boyhood home of J.C. Penny.

After the Hamilton stop we drove on to Lincoln, Nebraska where we stayed overnight at “Camp a Way”. In the morning we packed up and went to Nebraska University to visit the International Quilt Museum; also known as the “Quilt House”.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5569 — Becky, about to enter the International Quilt Museum.

I thought this quilt museum stop would be great for Becky and boring for me. It turned out great for both of us. The quilts were amazing and the architecture to display the quilts was also amazing. The brick and stonework were quilt block patterned. Even the bathroom wall tiles had ‘quilt’ patterns.

Quilt Homestead ClayQuilt Museum — Looking down on the entry and gift shop.

Transparent pattern quilts and a ‘quiltish’ Abraham Lincoln poster linked together our visits to Lincoln’s Springfield, IL home yesterday, and Lincoln’s role in the Homestead Act which we would go to visit next.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5574 — The main exhibition of red quilt art was by Victoria Findlay Wolfe called “Option Expedition”

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5585 — We really enjoyed the astonishing galleries of quilts. Becky purchased a colorful purse with a quilt triangle pattern. We stopped at a Costco in Lincoln to purchase a new iPad for Becky. Her old one still worked but had a broken screen and was forgotten at home. We left Lincoln, NE and headed for Beatrice, NE and the Homestead National Historical Park.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5617 — This beautiful landscape painting is at the Homestead National Historical Park: Education Center. The rest of the photos to follow are from the Heritage Center. It’s worth visiting the Education Center just to enjoy this huge full height wall size painting. This picture doesn’t do it justice.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5599 — View of exhibits and out the windows of the Heritage Center. The National Historical Park is in this spot outside what is now Beatrice, Nebraska because this land was the first registered Homestead by Daniel Freeman (midnight, January 1, 1863).

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5610 — The role of Abraham Lincoln shows up again.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5616 — I thought that most Homesteaders were successful. Surprised to learn how few Homesteaders got to keep the land.

The last Homestead patent was issued in 1988. I was 33yrs old and had no idea that it was still possible to apply for a Homestead Patent.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5607 — Political party ‘spin marketing’ was a thing back then too.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5612 — “Experts” making confident claims hasn’t changed at all. Reminds me of all the current climate change prophecy being trotted out.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5620 — Pony Express Barn and Museum in Marysville, KS. Pretty much a volunteer operation. We found someone who told us it was closed because the volunteers were ill. This original stone barn was built in 1859. In 1860 it was leased to Russell, Majors, & Waddell to use as a livery stable for the Pony Express.

Quilt Homestead ClayIMG_5619 — One last photo of the Koester House in Marysville, KS. We didn’t visit because we needed to hurry on to Clay Center, KS to get set up for a few days camping at Doug & Dee Kamphaus home as we prepared for the big trip west.

2023 Fall – Canadian Rockies

August 14, 2023February 23, 2025 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

Preface:

Seven years ago (2016), while Becky and I were still working, we flew to Spokane, WA. for a whirlwind visit to Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies. We met up with Becky’s sisters Jennie and Deanne and Jennie’s partner Roni. That trip was breathtakingly majestic. We all wanted to go back someday. This more leisurely trip with our friends John and Pam Hanson was to be “the longed-for relaxing return visit.” The main goal was to enjoy an extended, unhurried time in the beautiful Jasper (#11 on the map), Kootenay (#12), and Banff areas (#13).

This was the Route map we planned for this trip. We left August 20 and planned to return October 15. We followed the plan up to stop #11 at Jasper National Park. The map below shows the route we took home.

The trip to Jasper was as planned up to Jasper National Park (where we were staying at Hinton KOA – #11 on the map). However, after 20 days, including five days at Jasper National Park, we got the terrible news that our son Daniel had died. We left John and Pam and headed straight home to Indianapolis from Jasper; as fast as we could. This revised map shows what we actually did and the sad, anxious 4 day trip back home to family and friends. There is so much that could be said, so many thoughts and prayers on that day and the days since; so much tension between ‘we don’t want to think about it’ and ‘we don’t want to forget’. It has taken so long to get back to this post that many things are jumbled and forgotten. But, up to that point, it had been a good trip with memories we do not want to forget so what follows are photos and memories of the first 20 days.

Part 1 – FROM INDY TO JASPER NATIONAL PARK

First stop – Indiana Dunes National Park/State Park (the campground and nearby areas are a State Park within the larger National Park). This was a stop we added at the last minute when we learned that our friends Bob and Lisa were going to be there and we could visit with them. I was looking forward to visiting Indiana Dunes. I thought I would enjoy lots of memories and ‘Deja-vu’ moments from childhood family weekend visits and camping trips in the sandy campground. Turns out I was wrong. My memories were from the Michigan “Tower Hill” Warren Dunes State Park which is closer to South Bend where I grew up. We stopped on our way to the campground at the National Park Visitors Center to get the stamp for one of America’s newest National Parks. We enjoyed the day and discovered a park I had absolutely no memories of. Unfortunately, on Monday night I began to feel poorly. Tuesday morning I tested for covid and was negative. Two days later I would test positive for covid. The weather started to really get hot so we looked forward to quickly getting further north and cooler temps. To finish the covid saga of the next two weeks; I got it, then when I started feeling better, Becky got it. Providentially, we were both over it by the time we met up with John and Pam in Canada.

2023 JasperIMG_3775 — Monday, August 21, 2023. All road trips seem to start with a stop at Walmart. In northern Indiana Amish country that includes a horse and buggy with railing to tie-up on.

2023 JasperIMG_3776 — It was going to be a really hot day so first thing Tuesday morning we went for a walk to the beach with Bob. We followed the “Beach Trail” from the campground to the beach.

2023 JasperIMG_3778 — Arriving from the trail this is the first view of the beach area. If I had ever seen this before I had completely forgotten.

2023 JasperIMG_3786 — This building, called The Dunes Pavilion, was originally a bathhouse with a restaurant, concessions, and a rooftop observation deck. It was built in 1929 for $100,000. The history of the “Dunes” area is interesting as the shoreline has been jerked back and forth between industrialization (think Gary steel mills) and conservation. Back in 1899, Stephen Mather, first envisioned a “Sand Dunes National Park” but it took 120 years for it to happen. Indiana Dunes received National Park designation in 2020 as the 61st National Park and the 1st National Park in Indiana.

2023 JasperIMG_3779 — Propeller from steamship that sank nearby in 1911

2023 JasperIMG_3781 — J.D. Marshall steamship signage

2023 JasperIMG_3780 — Becky and Bob exploring the Beach and Dunes

2023 JasperIMG_3785 — In the foreground is “Dunes Creek” which flows through the campground and out into Lake Michigan. In the background is the restored “Dunes Pavilion”. After our morning walk we went back to the campground, had lunch, and packed up at our campsite #119. We said goodbyes to Bob & Lisa then left early afternoon for Ludington, MI where it was about 10 degrees cooler.

2023 JasperIMG_3791 — The steep steps down to Lake Michigan from Buttersville Campground in Ludington, MI. We saw some colorful reddish sunsets from this campground which we later figured out were mostly due to the beginning stages of Canadian wildfire smoke in the air. The smoky air would get much worse as we traveled further north.

2023 JasperIMG_3796 — Leaving Ludington we headed north, crossing Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. No photos but we stayed one night at Fayette Historic State Park, and another night at Frontier Bar & Campground. The UP of Michigan is deeply wooded and beautiful to drive through. We especially enjoyed passing through the town of Escanaba.

2023 JasperIMG_3802 — Becky driving. She took over as I was feeling pretty sick at this point.

2023 JasperIMG_3819 — Saturday, August 26 we arrived at Itasca State Park, Minnesota. This is the shallow stream exiting the lake where Lake Itasca becomes the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Hard to imagine this little stream eventually drains 40% of the continental United States (all or part of 31 States).

I walked across the Mississippi on a log.

2023 JasperIMG_3824 — The 1783 Treaty of Paris (signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, etc.) included establishment of the Northwest Territories described as all the land east of the Mississippi River. As the river gets bigger and well defined that’s easy but at the northern end in Minnesota it was hardly clear but very important.

2023 JasperIMG_3826 — Not a National Park – so not an official NPS stamp – but in my mind a unique State Park with an interesting historical story. After one night at Itasca we went to nearby Bemidji KOA for two nights where we made last minute preparation to cross into Canada and meet up with John & Pam at Winnipeg West KOA. We did laundry and ate meals to use up things we couldn’t bring across the boarder like eggs, chicken, fruits, and vegetables.

2023 JasperIMG_3840 — Winnipeg West KOA bathrooms

2023 JasperIMG_3837 — Flowers outside the bathrooms

2023 JasperIMG_3841 — The land of Ketchup potato chips

Screen capture from my phone showing all the wildfires around where we were heading (Jasper and Banff National Parks are north and west of Calgary on the map). There were no fires directly in the areas we were going but they were all around.

2023 JasperIMG_3843 — Our motorhome and John & Pam’s travel trailer side-by-side at a rest stop.

2023 JasperIMG_3883 — River Valley RV Park in Langham, Saskatchewan. This was a really nice stop that we wished we could have stayed another day to enjoy. Beautifully well kept and clean. The only downside was the wildfire smoke was getting really thick so we stayed mostly inside.

2023 JasperIMG_3881 — Reddish sun seen through dense wildfire smoke.

2023 JasperIMG_3882 — Doing our part to reduce the Canadian insect population…

2023 JasperIMG_3895 — Rapeseed fields were abundant in Canada. A genetically modified version of this plant is where Canola oil comes from.

2023 JasperIMG_3893 — I was reading this book as we traveled. I am convinced this was Providential as it helped prepare my heart to receive news of Daniel’s death.

Our last stop before Hinton was “Camp N RV” in Lloydminster. This picture from my phone shows the worst air quality of “Hazardous” that we encountered.

2023 JasperIMG_3917 — Reddish smoky sky sunset as we arrived at Hinton KOA.

Part 2 – JASPER NATIONAL PARK

Jasper Day 1 – Old Fort Point and Five Lakes Hike

Becky was feeling better but wanted to wait one more day to be certain of not exposing John and Pam to covid. She stayed behind on this first day trip from Hinton KOA into Jasper National Park. The air was still smoky from wild fires but clearer then it had been on the trip into Hinton. The drive each day from Hinton into Jasper National Park (and back) took about an hour but each day the scenery was different and we almost always saw some beautiful sites and lots of wildlife.

Jasper day1_DAD8423 — The first drive into Jasper resulted in this beautiful bull elk standing majestically along the roadside.

Jasper day1_DAD8355 — Elk bull and cow showing off for the tourists.

Jasper day1_DAD8329 — The tourists all stop for the majestic wildlife. The locals get aggravated…

Jasper day1_5 Lakes Hike_DAD8307 — We saw Bighorn Sheep on the drive into Jasper. After stopping at the Visitors Center in Jasper and getting some advice on things to see and places to hike we started out to hike to an overlook called Old Fort Point (there was never a fort there).

2023 JasperIMG_3927 — Stairs at the beginning of hike up to Old Fort Point.

2023 JasperIMG_3945 — We hiked most of the way up and admired the smoky view of the Athabasca river valley and town of Jasper below. Pam and I were content to stop here but John needed to get to the top so he headed on up. When he came back down I met him and he asked “Where’s Pam?” Seeing she was not where she had been sitting and getting no response to calling out for her, John thought she might have headed up to find him. He hurried up looking for her and I headed down looking for her. Turned out she was just over the hill a little further down so after a bit of panic it all worked out. In that photo: nearly all of the trees in the valley and part of the town of Jasper were burned away in the wildfires summer of 2024.

2023 JasperUntitled_Panorama-1 — This is looking up to the top of the overlook. I think that is John talking with a couple other people he met up there. The elevation gain from the bottom of the valley at the stairs to the top is 130 meters (426 feet).

2023 JasperIMG_3947 — John and Pam reunited and relieved.
The next two pics (below) were from across the valley a few days later. They show the ‘hump’ where Pam and I stopped and the top of the overlook where John reached the peak.

Jasper Day 4_DAD9655 — Old Fort Point Overlook

2023 JasperIMG_3954 — Our next stop was the Valley of Five Lakes. We hiked the 9a/9b short loop.

Jasper day1_5 Lakes Hike_DAD8533 — John and Pam taking a break at one of Canada’s “Red Adirondack Chair” scenic locations.

Jasper day1_5 Lakes HikeLAKE EDGE_PANORAMA-1 — Clear and beautiful lakes.

Jasper day1_5 Lakes HikeLAKE_PANORAMA-1 — The lakes are still there but from what I read online the lakes are now muddy and the trees are all burned away after the summer of wildfires in 2024. Grateful to God that we were able to visit Jasper again before the fires.

Jasper day1_5 Lakes Hike_DAD8566 — We saw Bighorn Sheep on our drive back to Hinton.

Jasper Day 2 – Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8571 — We were grateful that Becky was with us and the air was less smoky so we could enjoy the Beautiful Mountains and wildlife on the 2nd day.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8637 — Up close with Bighorn Sheep.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8860 — We really enjoyed Maligne Canyon. This is at the beginning of the canyon where the water is starting to carve down into the rock in smooth pools and eddies.

The next 4 photos show where swirling rocks and water have worn away smooth ‘pot holes’

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-LakeMALIGN CANYON POTHOLES2_PANORAMA-1

Jasper Day 4Canyon Bridge_Panorama-1 — The canyon hike is beautiful as the water cuts deeper down in waterfalls, sluices, and whirlpools. A series of bridges cross the river. Becky and I hiked to bridge #2 then turned around and returned to the van while John & Pam continued on to bridge #5 where we picked them up.

Jasper Day 4Canyon Falls_Panorama-2 — The name Maligne comes from the French word for ‘wicked’ or ‘evil’. While the English verb maligne is pronounced ‘muh-LINE’, the local Jasper pronunciation of the canyon’s name is ‘muh-LEEN’

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-LakeMALIGN CANYON COLLAGE_PANORAMA-1 — Panorama shot stitched together from 10 photos.

Jasper Day 4Canyon Bridge 5 Stream_Panorama-1 — View from the “5th Bridge” where we picked up John & Pam.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-LakeMALIGN LAKE MOUNTAIN SNOW_PANORAMA-1

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8867 — It had snowed on the mountaintops overnight which just increased the majesty of the surrounding peaks.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-LakeMALIGN LAKE_PANORAMA-1 — Maligne Lake. Becky and I enjoyed the gift shop and restaurant while John & Pam went for a hike.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8900 — A storm rolled in and rain started just as they got back from the hike.

2023 JasperIMG_3962 — Historic Boat House. The Boat House survived the fires of 2024 but much of the surrounding trees and infrastructure did not.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8886 — Not sure what bird this is in the bushes by the Boat House but the ‘birder’ lady that pointed it out to me seemed pretty excited about it.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8939 — John was driving and said “what else do you want to see?” I said “moose.” A little further down the road John pulls over and says “there you go”…

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8948 — Mama Moose nursing Baby Moose.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD9036 — Saw more Elk on the way back through Jasper while returning to Hinton KOA for the night.

Jasper day2 Maligne Canyon-Lake_DAD8996 — King of the road

Jasper Day 3 – Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls

2023 JasperIMG_3970 — More snow during the night on the mountaintops

Jasper Day3_DAD9092 — Saw more Elk along the road coming into the Park.

Jasper Day3ATHABASCA FALLS6_PANORAMA-1 — Athabasca Falls

Incredible amount of water pouring down the canyon.

To be so close, to feel the rock foundations vibrate.

Jasper Day3_DAD9282 — And we saw Bears. Up close, probably too close, but they seemed more interested in grazing on leafy greens.

Jasper Day3SUNWAPTA FALLS_PANORAMA-3 — Sunwapta Falls

Jasper Day3SUNWAPTA FALLS_PANORAMA-2 — Sunwapta Falls (means “Turbulent Waters”) is a series of cascading waterfalls.

Jasper Day 4 – Mt. Edith Cavell

Jasper Day 4Mt Edith_Panorama-1 — The hike from the parking lot is long, steep, and beautiful. A stream follows the path part of the way. Eventually the trees become little short stunted pines above the tree line elevation.

Jasper Day 4Mt Edith Lake_Panorama-1 — Mount Edith Cavell (3,300 meters=10,800 feet) and Angel Glacier.

Mount Edith Cavell is named after a British nurse executed during World War I for her part in helping Allied prisoners escape occupied Brussels.

Photos below from our visit in summer 2016 compared to 2023.

Jasper_GLACIER LAKE_PANORAMA1 — August 23, 2016

Jasper Day 4_DAD9571 — Annual lines in glacial ice.

Below: John making careful rock selections (notice the distended pockets) and posing by high elevation pine tree.

Jasper Day 4_DAD9616 — John taking a moment to enjoy the mountain views

Stream of meltwater from Angel Glacier

Melting Angel Glacier Waterfalls

Jasper Day 4_DAD9753 — We stopped to see a mountainside with lots of bighorn sheep.

Jasper Day 4_DAD9735 — A Canadian military plane surprised us as it flew low through the valley on our return trip to Hinton.

2023 JasperIMG_3998 — Our campsite at Hinton KOA as we prepared to say goodbye to Hanson’s and head home.

Our last drive of the trip as we headed home was back through Jasper National Park and on down the Icefields Parkway, past the Athabasca Glacier, and Banff National Park.

A little post-trip travel analysis:
This is all based on only our RV mileage (we traveled lots of other miles in Jasper NP with John & Pam in their van).
4,636 miles according to RVparky route, 4,691 actual miles.
436.25 gallons of gas. Cost – $1,761.77 for average cost/gal $4.04
10.75 miles/gal
22 nights/23 days total = average of 204 miles/day
13 different overnight places/14 days of traveling = 335 average miles per travel day
Our longest Travel Days were the days coming home:
1st day: 638 miles from Hinton, British Columbia to Ponderosa Campground, Swift Current, Saskatchewan
2nd day: 362 miles to Old Settlers Park in Burlington, ND (includes border crossing)
3rd day: 623 miles to Stoney Creek RV Resort, Osseo, WI
4th day: 530 miles to Home = 2,153 miles home.

2023 Summer Family Gatherings-Kansas & Missouri

July 7, 2023February 19, 2025 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

This is about our trip west for family gatherings in Kansas and Missouri, June 14 to June 30. It is also our first post composed entirely of iPhone photos. I had the big camera but never bothered to pull it out.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3613 — Our first camping spot on the way to the Kansas family gathering was Mark Twain State Park, MO. Becky was sewing quilt blocks and I was playing with watercolors. It was getting pretty warm out so we had fans going. I’m looking a little heat stroked…

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3461 — Entry to Monroe School in Topeka, Kansas. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3609 — Got the passport stamp.

We stopped here on our way from Mark Twain State Park to the Kansas Family Gathering at Acorns Resort on Milford Lake in Kansas. On our many trips to Kansas over the last 40 years we have driven past Topeka and the signs for Brown v. Board of Education NHS. This is a thought provoking bit of historic preservation. Wish we had taken time to stop with the kids but we were always in a hurry to see family.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3457 — Becky checking out the information panel in front of Monroe Public School – Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Site. Monroe is the only remaining school of the four original buildings for black students in Topeka.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3455 — Plat drawing for Monroe School (on Monroe St). The schools for blacks and whites in Topeka were designed by the same Architect and while not exactly the same they were very similar in quality. Same windows, classroom sizes, finishes, etc. The issue in Topeka wasn’t regarding equal quality of educational facilities, it was equal access to education. The biggest issue (in Topeka) was that black students (even very young students like 3rd grader Linda Carol Brown) had to travel much longer distances, crossing busy streets and riding buses to get to one of the 4 black schools instead of attending a nearby school.

Brown v. Board of Education originated as a class action lawsuit in Topeka in 1951 and was ruled by the Kansas District Court in favor of the Board of Education. The case that later went to the Supreme Court was a combination of 5 different lawsuits (all of which had failed to the local Boards of Education). They were from Topeka-Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington DC. The combined case was brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP. Thurgood Marshall at that time was chief counsel for the NAACP and argued the case for the plaintiffs. Thurgood Marshall would later be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1967.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3458 — South Carolina did have a quality issue… top photo is the one room shanty black school and below is the white students school. The photos make them look similar size so below is a photo of scale models of the buildings.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3459 — Separate and Unequal.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3456 — “Segregated educational facilities are inherently unequal” – unanimous Supreme Court ruling, 1954.

It is hard for me to wrap my head around some of the things happening around the time I was born… I know I’m old but I tend to think of stuff like this happening back in my grandparents day.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3451 — Monroe School from the parking lot looking across the playing field. The mural in photo below is to the right of where this was taken.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3454 — Mural on an adjacent building. Colorful, but so much going on it’s hard to tell what it all means.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3464 — Rainbow at Acorns Resort on Milford Lake. Jennie and Roni’s RV is the one on the left. Deanne’s and ours were just to the right out of this picture. We enjoyed three nights visiting and eating together. Wish we had taken a family photo with most everyone being there but didn’t think of it at the time.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3466 — Sunset at Milford Lake, Acorns Resort.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3468 — Traveling to our next stop we visited two places to get National Passport stamps. First stop was Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City, KS. We visited the barn and the house but did not hike out to the prairie pasture where the bison roam (it was too hot).

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3611 — Got the passport stamp and enjoyed the nice Visitors Center.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3467 — Beautiful stone fence and wide open Kansas Flint Hills.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3478 — The property is known as the old Spring Hill Farm. The huge stone barn and impressive house still stand on the property but much of what is shown on this old lithograph is now back to prairie and pasture for a herd of Bison. The house cost $25K and the barn cost $15K to build back in 1880’s

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3470 — The limestone barn. Wall at base are 20″ thick.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3482 — This view makes me feel better about the ramp into my yard barn…

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3475 — The Chicken House with a sod roof. The backside is built into a hillside. The building kept the chickens cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3472 — Approaching Spring Hill Farm House.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3477 — View from from the front entry steps of Spring Hill Farm House.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3481 — Crazy massive walnut newel post at bottom of entry stairway.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3480 — Bedroom at Spring Hill Farm.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3483 — One last photo of the amazing stone fence. From here we headed to Fort Scott.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3610 — We had been to Fort Scott previously and by the time we got there it was getting really hot so we just got the passport stamp. Advice for others – do not blindly trust your Garmin to lead you to the RV parking lot.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3485 — This is the only photo I took at Crawford State Park where we stayed for one night. I should have taken a video instead of a photo. All those white spots are a swarm of flying bugs (not mosquitoes fortunately). It was really hot and really buggy so we didn’t see much of the park but from our windows we watched the local fire department play with fire hoses on the Crawford Lake Dam.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3494 — Next stop was Roaring River State Park near Cassville, MO. We stayed here for three nights. Dale and Gwen (and their dogs KC and Mason) also came and stayed with us in their RV. Linda, Dan, and Charlene drove down to visit from Monett and took us to the nearby Roaring River Spring and Fish Hatchery.

Video of Rainbow Trout in the spring.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3495 — Lots of people fishing below the spring and hatchery created this unique bit of Missouri folk art of line and lure…

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3496 — Brother Dan welcomed us with this puzzle he found at the very popular Monett “Bin Barn”. First puzzle I’ve completed in decades.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3614 — Gwen painted this cool watercolor of our RV from the vantage point of the picnic table at their site.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3608 — Watercolor dabble started at Mark Twain State Park and finished at Roaring River. Credit to brother Dale for motivating me to loosen up the pine tree that was more symmetrical until he described it as a “very happy little Bob Ross tree” after which I got sloppier with it and liked it much more. Thanks Dale!

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3612 — Becky and Gwen played with various quilt block pattern ideas.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3615 — My first attempt (not finished) at landscape watercolor with expert guidance from Gwen Campbell (and editorial comment from Dale)

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3499 — After Roaring River we headed to Monett for a few more days of visiting but discovered a front tire was wearing unevenly. With help from nephew Chris we made an early morning dash to Joplin to get an alignment and tires rotated.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3503 — We visited the new Monett Historical Museum and enjoyed their quality exhibits. Theodore Roosevelt made a “whistle stop” here in 1928.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3505 — 1908 downtown Monett street scene.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3506 — Closeup of woman apparently astonished by meals for 25 cents at the “Indiana House”. Haven’t figured out what connection Monett, MO had with Indiana to warrant an establishment named “Indiana House” but I’m curious.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3507 — Terrifying 120volt apparatus for hair curling.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3521 — We visited “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” in Bentonville, Arkansas. This is a gleaming stainless steel tree sculpture near the entry. Bentonville is home of Walmart headquarters. The museum is free, envisioned, and funded by Walmart heiress Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3529 — Beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures like this giant spider.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3538 — Robert Indiana sculpture.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3543 — Dale Chihuly glass “snakes” sculpture.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3544 — After walking the grounds we headed inside to escape the heat. This is a huge exhibit of Arkansas quartz crystals with Chihuly floating glass orbs and the “Great Hall” in background.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3540 — Interior of the “Great Hall” meeting space. I was more impressed with the Architecture, structure, and quality of construction than the art exhibits. The building housing the art exhibits is intentionally a work of art itself.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3547 — Albert Bierstadt 1870. Sierra Nevada-Morning.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3546 — George Inness. An Old Roadway ca. 1880. Seeing the original paintings and being able to get right up close to them was a real treat.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3525 — This Frank Lloyd Wright home was moved from it’s original site along the Millstone River in New Jersey to Crystal Bridges because of repeated flooding. Another example of the Art of Architecture being preserved and made accessible to the public at Crystal Bridges. Tickets are required to tour the house but they are free.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3524 — We toured the house but no photography is allowed inside. Here’s a link to a google maps walkthrough: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3804834,-94.2040374,2a,75y,290.01h,98.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sK1d9fFiq9_0AAAQvyAW9lQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3565 — On our way to Crystal Bridges we stopped at Pea Ridge National Military Park to see the new Visitors Center and get the passport stamp (it was under construction on our last visit). On our way back to Monett, after Crystal Bridges, we drove the auto trail around the battlefield. The battlefield is 4,300 acres; it’s a long drive.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3563 — Once again we forgot to take a family photo with everyone gathered together in Monett. Leaving Monett to head home we stopped at Alley Spring. A picturesque mill powered by a beautiful blue water spring.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3562 — Alley Mill and water from the spring.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3566 — National Parks Passport Stamp for Ozark National Scenic Riverways from Alley Spring Visitors Center.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3575 — Continuing on through some very winding roads through the Ozarks we camped one night at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park near Middle Brook, MO. We had reservations for two nights but the next day was forecast to be over 100 degrees so we did a quick morning walk to the “Shut-Ins” then headed for home.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3574 — The “Shut-Ins” is an interesting geological area where the East Fork of the Black River narrows as it cuts though harder volcanic rock. We were there early in the morning but later in the heat of the day the pools of water are filled with bathers. The Black River is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3579 — Interesting hole formations.

It had not rained in awhile so there was not much water flowing.

2023 Kansas Missouri VisitIMG_3584 — Driving through Illinois and southern Indiana we encountered dense Canadian wildfire smoke. Happy to be home after a long hot day of driving.

Wrap-up: 1,845 Miles total. 16 days. 10.11 MPG avg. $3.16/gal avg. $576 for gas. $130 for alignment and tire rotation in Joplin. We drove some really hot days with the RV (gasoline) generator running so we could run the house air conditioning and the engine AC. Running the generator seems to reduce MPG by about .3 MPG. We now have over 20,000 miles in the RV and will add another 6K this fall with trip to Canadian Rockies.

New River Gorge National Park and Babcock State Park, WV

May 7, 2023May 21, 2023 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

13 of 13 Jekyll Island Trip Series.

The New River Gorge National Park and Babcock State Park in West Virginia were our last stops of this trip.

New River Gorge NPNEW RIVER SANDSTONE FALLS_PANORAMA-1 — Sandstone Falls on the New River (near the town of Hinton, WV)

New River Gorge NP_DAD7060 — Our first stop was the Sandstone Visitors Center to get passport book stamps and to learn about the park. The National Park is mostly about the history of the New River and the Gorge, and the preservation of some of the old towns along the river.

New River Gorge NPIMG_3362 — Got stamps for both New River Gorge and Gauley River. We didn’t visit the Gauley River on this trip but Daniel, Nathan and I rafted the Gauley River with Songer Whitewater (years ago) so I felt like I’d earned the stamp. Someday we’ll need to visit Harpers Ferry to fill out this page.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7149 — Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Catholics going to church together “…and we all got along good together and we all enjoyed church together.”

New River Gorge NP_DAD7059 — The area of the New River Watershed is huge. It begins at the very south end at a little spring near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. We had been at Blowing Rock while on the Blueridge Mountain Parkway several days before. From that little spring, water flows north and is joined by other rivers, including the Gauley, eventually joining the Ohio River, then the Mississippi; and finally ending up in the Gulf of Mexico. Interesting that one of our first stops on this trip was at Gulf State Park on the Gulf of Mexico and our last stop was here in West Virginia. It’s raining torrents at Babcock State Park now while I work on this post. This rainwater will wind up in the Gulf… which is a long way from here… I never would have guessed that long-distance relationship so stopping here helped me understand something more about how interconnected we are. The Little Buck Creek in our backyard in Indianapolis also winds up in the Ohio River so it mingles with water from that little spring at Blowing Rock, NC.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7064 — The park ranger said “no problem” to drive an RV to Sandstone Falls; “I’ve seen school buses down there”. The winding access road got narrower and narrower until it was just a single lane where we and oncoming traffic had to get well off the sides to get past each other. We made it, and it was worth the trouble.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7105 — There is a nice “boardwalk” for viewing the falls.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7066 — I thought it was just a short boardwalk out to an island with nice views of these falls.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7076 — Closeup of a small portion of Sandstone Falls

New River Gorge NPSANDSTONE FALLS_PANORAMA-1 — Then I realized the boardwalk kept going past the “minor falls” at the beginning to “the big falls” on the other side of the island at the end of the boardwalk.

Impressive Sandstone Falls on the New River

New River Gorge NP_DAD7106 — Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park. Fully functional replica (built 1976) assembled from parts of three other mills. There were over 500 mills in West Virginia in early 1900’s. Read more about it here on the park’s website: https://wvstateparks.com/glade-creek-grist-mill-babcock/

Would like to come back to visit in the fall when it looks like this! Photo snip from website noted above. According to the website it is the most photographed mill in the US.

More pics of the mill. Getting these pics was providential. If we had known how small and tight the parking lot was we probably would not have taken the RV down to this mill. We just followed the sign that said entrance to Babcock State Park (which really meant just the entry to this mill and a bunch of cabins) and wiggled our way into a parking space. The campsites were at a different entrance further down the road. Alas, there were no signs telling us that…

New River Gorge NP_DAD7125 — Quintessential Appalachian mountain beauty.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7131 — Our nice private campsite overlooking a wooded ravine at Babcock State Park. We were happy to get to camp and relax after a day of driving mountain roads and navigating the mill parking lot.

New River Gorge NP_DAD7130 — Drifts of wildflowers at campsites looked like snow.

New River Gorge NPIMG_3372 (1) — Wildflowers

New River Gorge NPIMG_3371 — I took a long exposure night photo with my phone while sitting outside at night. It turned out sort of watercolor-ish.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7138 — The next morning we visited the New River Gorge Bridge and Visitors Center as our last stop before heading home. It’s a beautiful structure. It’s intentionally not painted and meant to look rusty to minimize maintenance.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7136 — Completed in 1977, it was the tallest roadway bridge (876′ above the river) when it was built. It is still the third highest in the United States. It was also the world’s longest single span arch for 26 years. It is still the longest in the United States but there are four longer now in China.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7132 — This information plaque has a photo of the old bridge at the top which is still there but it was built down much closer to the river. The red line shows the crazy mountain road that took 45 minutes to navigate down the mountain and back up before the new bridge was built.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7148 — The gorge was a secluded area until lumbering, coal, and railroads changed all that.

New River Gorge NP-Bridge_DAD7147 — Rapids on the New River.

New River Gorge NP-BridgeIMG_3375 — One last selfie at New River Gorge Bridge Visitors Center looking down the gorge.

New River Gorge NP-BridgeIMG_3376 — Kentucky has some big, yellow, bugs… they made a mess on the RV during the 400 mile drive home from New River Gorge, WV to Indianapolis, IN but it was good to be home.

Blue Ridge Parkway: Asheville, NC to Fancy Gap, VA

May 5, 2023May 20, 2023 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

12 of 13 Jekyll Island Trip Series.

We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway on two beautiful sunny days, May 3 from Asheville to Boone, NC and May 4 from Boone to Fancy Gap, Virginia.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_UNTITLED_PANORAMA-1 — May 3rd was sunny but with crazy winds. We met some people who where driving the parkway instead of visiting Biltmore because the Biltmore was closed due to high wind and danger of falling trees. Below is a video taken from the same overlook as the photo above.

Windy Video.

Blue Ridge Parkway3__DAD6955 — We went through lots of tunnels on the BRP. We were always driving when we came to the tunnels so I couldn’t get a picture but this is one that was coming up right after an overlook where I could get a pic.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_LANE PINNACLE_PANORAMA-1 — Panorama from Lane Pinnacle Overlook.

Blue Ridge Parkway3__DAD6975 — Grandfather mountain is part of the United Nations’ Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve. It is thought to be one of the oldest sections of the Appalachian Mountains. The mountain is estimated to be 300 million years old — with certain rock formations dating back 1.2 billion years.

Blue Ridge Parkway4_GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN_PANORAMA-1 — Grandfather Mountain.

Trivia: This is not the Blue Ridge Parkway (and not my photo), but it must be noted (for history’s sake) that for 5 seconds in the Forrest Gump movie he is running around this curve of Grandfather Mountain.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_ROADSIDE ROCK_PANORAMA-1 — Roadside Rocks and Rhododendrons.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_LINVILLE VIADUCT_PANORAMA-1 — We went for a short walk to see the underside of the Linn Cove Viaduct. The 1,243′ long “S” shaped bridge follows around Grandfather Mountain at Linn Cove. At the time, it was considered the most complicated concrete bridge ever built. It is made of 153 curved segments that were precast individually nearby. Each segment weighs 50 tons. They are epoxied and cabled together and supported on seven piers. This last link in the Blue Ridge Parkway was completed with a ribbon cutting dedication 9/11/87. The Viaduct was built from the surface of the Viaduct itself, with minimal impact on the area below it (they did not build a road below it to build it from).

I know it’s nerdy but I thought it was interesting that the entire viaduct “balances” on the point of cones on the seven piers.

Here’s a link to more info on the Linn Cove Viaduct from NPS: https://www.nps.gov/blri/learn/historyculture/linn-cove-viaduct.htm#:~:text=The%20viaduct%20was%20constructed%20from,heavy%20equipment%20on%20the%20ground.

Blue Ridge Parkway3__DAD6960 — Closeup of Glassmine Falls. Back in the day they mined mica at the base of the falls (they called the shiny mica flakes “glass”).

Blue Ridge Parkway3_IMG_3347 — Shocking isn’t it! That’s how we felt after coming off a day of driving the Parkway and hitting civilization again. While in Boone, we stopped for groceries and supplies at a Walmart. There was this huge stack of bright pink $89 Barbie Dream Campers piled in the middle of an aisle. It had to have been a sign… We’ve been wondering if our RV needs a name. Dream Camper comes to mind…

A Trio of Trilliums from our hike on Cascades Trail.

Video of the Cascades. Not impressive but a pleasant walk and beautiful surroundings.

Mountain Laurel has interesting stringy bark.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_IMG_3352 — We met a nice couple from Toronto on our Cascades hike. Afterwards we saw them in the parking lot trying to take a selfie so we helped each other.

Blue Ridge Parkway3__DAD7044 — If you are old enough, you may know the song “Tom Dooley”. A folk song based on a 1866 murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dula (pronounced locally as Dooley). The song had been around for a long time but in 1958 the Kingston Trio version hit number one on the music charts. Tom Dula, a confederate soldier had just returned from the civil war which ended the year before. Here’s an interesting NPR article: https://www.npr.org/2000/07/31/1080167/npr-100-tom-dooley. Perhaps everyone having syphilis (Tom Dula and his three girlfriends: Laura Foster, Anne Melton, and Pauline Foster-Laura’s cousin) had something to do with it…

Blue Ridge Parkway3_IMG_3345 — We did not see any bears but we did see deer several times on the Parkway. This is a quick iPhone shot.

Blue Ridge Parkway3_IMG_3356 — We stopped for lunch and ate in the RV. This guy was hanging around trying to get in…

Thoughts on the Blue Ridge Parkway;

It’s a wonderful experience to drive for three days and never see a billboard, never see power poles and power lines, never see a semi-truck, never see a McDonald’s or any other of the ubiquitous stores that are seen at every intersection of an interstate. Each evening, when we got off the Parkway to camp, it was with a sense of loss, not comfort, to again encounter traffic, and traffic lights, and the cacophony of development stimulus we have become acclimated to.

The three driving days on the Parkway were similar in many ways but different in a few:
1. From Cherokee to Asheville, the scenery was very wooded and mountainous with lots of tunnels through the mountains and lots of steep uphill’s and downhills. Very few intersecting access roads and an awareness that there is nothing as far as the eye can see.
2. From Asheville to Boone, the scenery was less wooded, less tunnels, and a bit more gentle grades. More access roads and seeing towns and a few houses off in the mountains.
3. From Boone to Fancy Gap, the scenery is pastoral, with some open fields and gentle rolling pastures. Cattle and horses and passing some farms and towns within sight of the Parkway. I don’t remember any tunnels. Much more populated areas but still quite a secluded drive. They were beginning to start paving work on parts of this section. We encountered a closed portion and a long detour. After the detour and returning to the Parkway we waited for another section of single lane. By then it was getting late so we jumped off and took highways to Fancy Gap.
4. We enjoyed driving on the Parkway because there was almost no other traffic. We could look around, stop at any of the overlooks, and seldom saw other cars. The tunnels were not a problem. The only thing we needed to watch out for was overhanging branches but with no oncoming traffic it was easy to move over to miss them. I am sure it is a beautiful drive in the fall but I would not want to crawl along with lots of leaf peepers.

The entire BRP is 469 miles long. We drove 84 miles, from 469 at the southern end to 384 at the Asheville Visitors Center on the first day. 93 miles from 384 to Boone at 291 on the second day, and (most of) 92 miles from Boone to 199 at Fancy Gap on the third day. So we traveled (mostly) 270 miles on the Parkway (57% of the whole). Hopefully, someday, we can travel the northern end to Shenandoah National Park.

Tomorrow we leave the Blue Ridge Parkway and head north to West Virginia, New River Gorge National Park, and Babcock State Park.

Blue Ridge Parkway: Cherokee to Asheville, NC

May 3, 2023November 10, 2023 / dadartphotography / Leave a comment

Blue Ridge Parkway_RESTAURANT_PANORAMA-1

11 of 13 Jekyll Island Trip Series.

The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. A panoramic series of shots stitched together.

Before jumping onto the Blue Ridge Parkway we filled the RV up with gas. While I was doing that, Becky went into a little restaurant for coffee and donut holes. Highly recommend Mable’s Kitchen for breakfast. They don’t have donut holes on a shelf, you order them and they put them in the fryer. They are hot, fresh, and delicious.

Blue Ridge Parkway_IMG_3328 — Just getting started on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). This sign at the Cherokee entrance.

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6834 — Didn’t get very far and had to pull over on one of the many overlook parking areas. Very little traffic and plenty of space. We only went 84 miles but it took us all day because we stopped at so many of the overlooks.

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6840 — It being May 1st we were not expecting “fall colors,” but the “spring colors” were great!

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6897 — Rhododendron were not flowering; but the Dogwoods were.

We (and the RV) made it to the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 6,053′.

It was a cool spring morning when we left Cherokee. The rocks along the parkway had little waterfalls of melting water. Up here the rocks were covered with sheets of ice and icicles. We didn’t see it snow but people at the Pisgah Inn where we had lunch said it snowed the night before.

Blue Ridge Parkway_BUNCHES BALD_PANORAMA-1 — Panorama from “Bunches Bald” overlook.

The photo on the left is from “Waterrock Knob” Visitors Center when Becky and I visited 10 years ago in September 2013. Our plan then was to visit Smoky Mountain NP and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway… but, because of the fog, we got this far and decided to just come down out of the mountains and drive east to visit Kitty Hawk.
The weather in 2023 was wonderful. The photo on the right is from the same place (Waterrock Knob Visitors Center) but looking a bit to the ‘left’ of the 2013 photo.

Blue Ridge Parkway_OVERLOOK2_PANORAMA-1 — Waterrock Knob looking to the right.

Blue Ridge Parkway_PISGAH_PANORAMA-1 — Panoramic view from the observation deck at Pisgah Inn.

Blue Ridge Parkway_IMG_3335 — There is a nice restaurant at Pisgah Inn. We enjoyed lunch and the beautiful view out the big restaurant windows. Someone offered to take our pic. If we look a little frazzled there is a reason. The parkway is a two lane road with no curbs on the edge and almost no guardrails. It was really windy. As we rounded a bend there was a tree fallen across both lanes and well beyond. The tree had just fallen and a few cars were driving down a grassy ditch, out around the tree, and back down and up to the road through the ditch on the other side. There was no place to turn an RV around and cars were starting to stack up on both sides of the fallen tree. Not knowing if we would sink into the grass or bottom-out in the ditch we went for it. Rolling back and forth like a drunken sailor we made it around. Praise the Lord. That was not the Blue Ridge Parkway experience we expected… We will be getting a dash camera so we have proof next time we go off-roading in a 12,500lb RV.

Blue Ridge Parkway_QUALLA INDIAN RESERVATION_PANORAMA-1

Blue Ridge Parkway_OVERLOOK4_PANORAMA-1 — Last panorama from the BRP on our first day. So grateful that the generations before us decided it would be a good idea to use taxpayer dollars to build a parkway through the mountains and to protect a large portion of the mountains from development so we can all enjoy these views.

We stayed at the Asheville East KOA for the night then visited the Ashville BRP Visitors Center and the Folk Art Center the next day.

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6931 — Quote on the wall entering the Visitors Center. Vision Statement for the Parkway.

Entry to Asheville Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center

Blue Ridge Parkway_ASHEVILLE VISITORS CENTER_PANORAMA-1 — Interior of the Ashville Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center.

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6930 — Examples of wood work done with Chestnut Tree wood. Most chestnut trees were wiped out by blight.

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6921 — The green line is the BRP. The small portion we drove on May 1st is from Cherokee (at bottom right) to Ashville (basically where it says Folk Art Center a little left of center on the map).

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6922 — The entire 469 mile long Blue Ridge Parkway from Shenandoah National Park to Smoky Mountain National Park. We drove a little over 1/2 of the length in 3 days of about 90 miles a day.

Blue Ridge Parkway2__DAD6920 — Couldn’t resist a pic of this pic. Not sure if the guy in boots and stubby tie is an Engineer or a Landscape Architect. Whoever he is it looks like he’s trying to impress the photographer. I am impressed by the stone masons building the nearly flat arch in the background!

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6924 — Another pic of a pic. We will be driving on this Linn Cove Viaduct tomorrow (but without the fall colors or the helicopter view).

Blue Ridge Parkway__DAD6938 — This orange flowering azalea is the only photo I have from the Folk Art Center. No photography is allowed. There were so many things I wanted to take photos of to remember! Alas, they would prefer we purchase them but that would require winning the lottery.

The Folk Art Center is incredible. It is home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The woodworking, quilting, textiles, carving, wheat weaving, pottery, etc., etc. is mind-blowing, beautiful, best-of-the-best stuff. This is a “must visit” place. I was thinking that visiting Biltmore was the most impressive thing to do in Asheville. The Folk Art Center may top that.

DADart Photography

Duane & Becky; Retired and Wandering

Author: dadartphotography