Medina River Natural Area

 

Medina River Natural Area

On a couple different days, we visited the Medina River Natural Area, just outside of San Antonio.  The first time, we walked along the prairie trail and the second, we followed the trail down along the river. 

The Medina River Natural Area is a 511-acre nature preserve, with over 5 miles of biking and hiking trails, although we didn’t see any bikers when we were there. 

When we walked along the first part of the prairie trail, we did notice some lovely wildflowers, including an almost ready to bloom prickly pear cactus, yucca plant, Mexican primrose and a yellow flower that looked like both a coneflower and sunflower.  It’s probably a variety that includes neither of these flowers!!

Buried in the trees and brush a bit, were what I think of as signs of civilization that once was in this area.  There were the remnants of a cabin, with a very unwelcoming front porch.  A bit further along, were 2 chimneys.  The interesting thing about these two chimneys is that although the style of them didn’t seem to belong to one home, they weren’t quite far enough apart to be from separate buildings.  Finally, almost overcome by the preserve claiming the land as its own, was what appeared to be a corral that belonged to some structure at one time.  It was a bit removed from both the cabin and the fireplaces to have been associated with them, so perhaps this was from another home in what may have been a small settlement.

On the outer perimeter of the prairie was a small pond.  You can see a small turtle sunning itself on the branch of a downed tree.  The area is known as a birding site, but on both mornings when we were there, no birds could be seen.  The turtle seemed welcoming, though!

On our second day of exploration of the Medina River Natural Area, we walked the River Path.  It was a very calm and peaceful walk along the river.  One of the interesting things was how the trees along the river would allow their roots into the river to get water.  You can see it in the image on the left, and a closer view on the right image.

Fishing was also allowed on the river, and just out of this image, off to the left, there were a couple of guys who were sitting on the shore and fishing in the river.  I enjoyed the canopy the trees provided for the river.

One last treasure before we left the area.  In a front area that seemed great for teaching kids (and older kids) about the nature in the area, was this lovely bloom – an orchid bloom on an orchid tree.  Kind of made me want one in our yard!!

Enjoy!

Elk in the Campground

 

Elk in the Campground

It’s fairly rare that Jeff and I get to see elk – deer are far more common.  However, just outside of the campground we stayed at in Ruidoso, New Mexico, while walking Max, Jeff saw this very large bull elk, and rushed back to the RV to tell me to grab my camera and follow him!

Jeff took me to the “pet walk” area, which was just on the outside of the campground.  Waking just a few yards, brought us to this big guy, kind of hanging out near the trees, and munching on some grass.  He seemed to peek at me through the branches.

Then, he started down the ravine that separated us.  He seemed pretty calm, so I wasn’t really worried about this 1200 lb. wild animal getting within a few yards of me and Jeff.

He walked along the bottom of the ravine, sort of thrashing around breaking off small branches of the trees and shrubs growing in the ravine.  Both Jeff and I were thinking that he was working at getting some of the velvety fuzz off his antlers.

After a few minutes of thrashing the branches, Jeff thought he might also be getting a bit irritated with us being so close to him.  He didn’t display any aggressive behavior but waiting until an elk so large he made me feel small, did so, was probably not a good idea, so we quickly retreated and left him to his personal hygiene!

Enjoy!

 

Middle Fork of Red River

One of the days that we visited Red River, New Mexico, we decided to explore a road that we hadn’t ever driven down, which meandered along the middle fork of the Red River.

As you can see, the middle fork doesn’t look much like a river – more like a stream or creek! And, It is very, very shallow.  It may be a bit hard to see, since the water is so clear, but I think perhaps my ankles may have become wet if I had waded into it!

Here are a couple of other views from along the road.  The river is certainly shallow, and yet it provides enough water to keep everything nice and green!  It looks positively lush!

When we look at the river from a fair distance, the flowing of the river looks pretty static.  However, when I looked at the rocks at the bottom of the river, you can get an idea of how quickly the water actually flows!

One of the nicest accents on the river bend are the flowers!  These remind me of Queen Anne’s Lace, but I don’t think that’s what they are.

And, finally, we wandered around and sort of jumped over this little stream.  I’m not certain if this is another fork of the Red River, but it’s certainly picturesque!!

Enjoy!!

Pool Table Road

One day, while visiting the area around Creede, Colorado, we decided to explore the back road called Pool Table Road.  I thought that was a rather unusual name for a road, but we soon discovered the reason for the name!

We started the drive on a road that was! in really good condition and offered up a beautiful view of the Rio Grande River!  We were climbing from the elevation of our campground, about 8400 feet.  As we drove, I loved how clear the air was – and kind of chilly, being up that high!!

We saw some wonderful mountain meadow views, and discovered the reason for the name of the road – there’s a mountain up there named Pool Table Mountain!  We decided that perhaps the reason for the name was the flat top of the mountain, rather like a pool table.  I guess the person who named the mountain may have had playing pool as a hobby!! Oh, and as an aside, the brownness of the pine trees didn’t seem to be from fire.  It may have been from beetles.  Colorado has been hit hard by them over the past several years.

We drove through a few stands of aspen, and I took several photos of them.  I then thought it might be nice to display them with a variety of techniques and effects.  Hopefully, you’ll enjoy the different views of these picturesque trees.

There were also a number of wildflowers that we saw along our explorations!  Dandelions, a variety of daisy (I believe) and a beautiful white bloom that I think might be called a Bear’s Breeches.  Whatever they all are, I thoroughly enjoyed them!!

What an amazing bird!!  When we first saw it, we wondered if it was a very large hawk, but then the closer we got to it, the more we could see that it looked more like a young golden eagle.  I was lucky enough to capture him perched on a tree, then taking off and flying out of my camera’s view!!

And, then the road got rough, and that’s easily the understatement of the past several years!!  We saw a sign that said “Road Damage Ahead” and we thought, ok, it may be a bit rough, like you see in this photo.  However, this was what one could call “very good shape” compared to how bad the road got!  I’m a lapsed Catholic, but I admit, I did offer up a couple of prayers as we traveled further down the road.  If we could have turned around, we would have!! 

Finally, toward the bottom of the mountain and lower portion of the road, we got a beautiful view of the area around the town of South Fork.  It is a small town, and not nearly as built up with shops as the town of Creede is.  Still, a welcome sight, after that rough road!!!

Enjoy!

The Beauty of Bonaventure

One of my favorite cemeteries (and, yes, I know that sounds odd) is Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.  Bonaventure is more than a cemetery; it’s more like a collection of art.  Bonaventure is also known for the best-selling book from several years ago – “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”.  If you have the book, or see it, you will see a garden sculpture on the cover.  That sculpture is one that used to stand in Bonaventure Cemetery.  It’s now located in the actual city of Savannah, but it truly represents the magic of Bonaventure.

Our trip to Bonaventure begins with a walk down a tree lined lane, complete with the hanging moss Savannah is known for.  More park-like than cemetery.  Bonaventure Cemetery was originally known as Evergreen Cemetery, and was designed as a traditional Victorian cemetery.  In 1907, the cemetery was purchased by the City of Savannah, and its name was changed to Bonaventure.  There are far too many beautiful sculptures to show you here, so I’ll limit them to some traditional cemetery type grave markers, and then show a few of the more eclectic ones.

Of course, angels can always be found at cemeteries, and in this regard Bonaventure is no different.  However, angels here have become an art form!  They are on the top of various headstone forms, but in Bonaventure, you can also find them sitting alongside the marker.  And, if you remember from my Facebook page, some are even standing next to a sculpture of a piano!

Another typical marker in a cemetery is a cross.  The crosses in Bonaventure find themselves in a truly park like setting.  Originally, the cemetery was intentionally designed this way so that those coming to visit the graves of their loved ones could also enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds.  Sounds a bit odd to us today, but this was back in the late 1800’s.  One interesting thing we noticed on several of the graves was a small stylized cross – you can see it at the base of the grave in the middle photo above.  This is an indication that the person buried in this grave was a veteran of the Civil War, and the marker indicates he was fought for the Confederate States of America.  This is not unusual, considering we are in the South.  Just another piece of our Nation’s history, albeit a very sad one.

Some of the most interesting grave markers are the headstones, and there were numerous pairs of them at Bonaventure.  I found the center photo in the bottom row, above, rather charming.  It appears that the wife is snuggling up to her husband.  I know it’s really the settlement of the ground, but it did take on a bit of whimsy.  The headstones on the bottom right above were of 2 brothers.  I liked the park-like setting of the one on the left, bottom row, and truly loved the ornate 3-D effect of the top one.

This is one of the most visited gravesites in Bonaventure.  It’s the grave and marker of Little Gracie, and is surrounded by a little fence.  Little Gracie is also one of Savannah’s most popular ghosts. In life, she was known as Gracie Watson, daughter of W.J. and Frances Watson. She would often play in the Pulaski Hotel (now demolished) in Johnson Square in Savannah.  Her parents managed that hotel.  Gracie died just two days before Easter in 1889.  Her parents were understandably heart-broken and hired a sculpture to create their daughter’s grave marker.  Reportedly, Little Gracie’s ghost has been seen on Johnson Square, wearing a white dress, playing where the hotel once stood.

This grave marker isn’t nearly as popular as Little Gracie’s, but I found it to be almost hauntingly beautiful and incredibly detailed.  This person must have inspired a great deal of love.

And, we found someone with a rather sarcastic sense of humor, too!  We loved the sentiment reflected here, and we kind of think it may have been inadvertent humor!  In any event, we got a chuckle!

Enjoy!