Our World: Park Avenue

Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah. June 23, 2011.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah. June 23, 2011.

Park Avenue.  No, not the one in New York — the one in Arches National Park in Utah.  Park Avenue is one of the trails in Arches that we hiked during our June, 2011, visit.  The trail got the name ‘Park Avenue’ because the rock formations resembled skyscrapers.

Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah. June 23, 2011.

We got to the trail head in the morning before too many others were around.  It was a nice hike through the canyon, which we finished before the day got too hot.

Our World: Calabash, North Carolina

Calabash, North Carolina, waterfront. May 7, 2013.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Betsy and I just got back from a week at the beach.  We stay at a wonderful inn in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, but we head to Calabash, North Carolina, each evening for dinner.

Shrimp boat tied up in Calabash, North Carolina. May 9, 2013.

Calabash is a fishing village that calls itself the ‘Seafood Capital of the World’.  I’m not about to argue with that description.  Calabash seafood is delicious, and there are several restaurants right along the docks where the fishing boats come in.  You can buy fresh seafood right off the boat, or enjoy a meal at a restaurant as you watch the boats coming in.

Calabash scallops and shrimp at the Dockside restaurant, Calabash, North Carolina. May 5, 2013.

The photo above shows some Calabash shrimp and scallops.  It’s definitely worth the trip from Tennessee to enjoy these yummies.

Our World: Biltmore’s Walled Garden

Tulips in the Walled Garden of the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Earlier this month Betsy and I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  We go several times a year, and this time we hoped to be able to see the tulips in bloom.

As you can see from the picture above, our timing was just about perfect.  There were tulips at the entrance to the estate, but we went on to the Conservatory and Walled Garden.

Tulips in the Walled Garden of the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

The Walled Garden is a formal ornamental garden.  Part of the Walled Garden is a permanent rose garden, but plantings in the remainder of the garden are changed throughout the year.

Biltmore Estate’s Walled Garden, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

After walking through the tulips, Betsy and I walked to a hill where we could look down on the Walled Garden.  In this picture you can see the design of the garden.  The flower beds on the other side of the arbor are mirror images of the beds on this side.

Brush Creek Falls

Brush Creek Falls, Pipestem Resort State Park, West Virginia. April 23, 2010.

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As most of you know, Betsy and I enjoy tracking down and visiting waterfalls.  They don’t have to be big or well-known for us to enjoy them.  We visited Brush Creek Falls in April of 2010.  It is located in the Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia, but it required some hiking to get to it.

Our World: Yaki Point, Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon from Yaki Point. June 16, 2011.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

In June, 2011, Betsy and I visited the Grand Canyon.  It was everything we were told it would be and then some.  I don’t think any picture could do the scene justice, bt we took many anyway.  This picture of the canyon was taken from Yaki Point.

SkyWatch Friday: Utah Skies

Scene on the highway from Kanab, Utah, to Bryce Canyon. June 19, 2011.

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This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

On going through my archives recently, I found some pictures taken in June, 2011, as Betsy and I drove from Kanab, Utah, to Bryce Canyon.  The morning was very overcast, so we weren’t sure of what the weather would be like at Bryce, but we headed out anyway.

As we drove along we were impressed with both the Utah landscape and the vastness of the sky.  We stopped several times along the way to get pictures.

Scene on the highway from Kanab, Utah, to Bryce Canyon. June 19, 2011.

At times the clouds were so low that they they touched the tops of the mountains in the distance.

Scene on the highway from Kanab, Utah, to Bryce Canyon. June 19, 2011.

At other times the clouds would part enough for us to see blue skies and the beautiful red cliffs of Utah.

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On a more personal note, I had my first date with my Beautiful Bride on March 29, 2001.  She was a minister at Hendersonville (Tennessee) First United Methodist Church, and we made a dinner date to discuss some Bible Study lessons I had missed because my work took me out of town.

The Bible Study never came up the entire evening.

Mill Creek

The Shoals of Mill Creek, Cohutta Wilderness, Georgia. March 8, 2011.

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It should come as no surprise that Betsy and I have favorite places we have visited several times.  Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina is one, and Mt. Nebo in Arkansas is another.

But there are other places we have returned to as well.  One place a little closer is Mill Creek in the Cohutta Wilderness of northern Georgia.  We came across Mill Creek almost by accident the first time we were there, but there was a short hike from a campground along the creek to what is called the Shoals of Mill Creek.  There are several places along the creek where we could sit and enjoy the beauty and the sound of rushing water.

It takes a fairly long drive along a gravel Forest Service road to get to Mill Creek, but we both definitely think the drive is worth it.

The photo above, from my archives, was taken during a visit to Mill Creek in March, 2011.

Our World: Little River Falls

Little River Falls, Fort Payne, Alabama. March 8, 2013.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Earlier this month Betsy and I went to Fort Payne, Alabama, to celebrate my birthday.  One of the first places we visited was Little River Falls in Little River Canyon National Preserve.

Little River is unique in that it flows for almost its entire length along the top of Lookout Mountain.  As such it doesn’t have much depth, but there was a good water flow when we were there in March.

Betsy and I at Fall River Falls, Fort Payne, Alabama. March 8, 2013.

We have been to Little River Falls before, but this time we found a new boardwalk and observation deck.  The deck allowed us to have a wonderful view of the falls.

Little River Falls, Fort Payne, Alabama. March 8, 2013.

Little River Falls is a 45-foot waterfall that marks the beginning of Little River Canyon.  The canyon is approximately eleven miles long and is up to 700 feet deep.  Little River Canyon is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of the East.”

Little Missouri Falls

Little Missouri Falls, Langley, Arkansas. February 22, 2010.

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Betsy and I don’t always agree with the writers of the books we use to find waterfalls.  We haven’t been disappointed as much as we’ve been surprised.

We read about Little Missouri Falls in one of our books on Arkansas waterfalls.  The description in the book talked about a waterfall on the Little Missouri River with multiple drops in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.  Since we were getting pretty good at navigating Forest Service roads, we decided we would check it out.

We found Little Missouri Falls (above), but we both thought it was more of a cascade than a falls.

Little Missouri Falls, Langley, Arkansas. February 22, 2010.

Don’t get me wrong — it was very pretty, especially as the water rushed over the rocks.

Little Missouri River, Langley, Arkansas. February 22, 2010.

A nice bonus was the color of the Little Missouri River below the falls.

Our World: The view from Grandfather Mountain

The mountains of western North Carolina as seen from an overlook on Grandfather Mountain. November 8, 2011.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Since Betsy and I live in Tennessee, we’re naturally fond of the Smokies.  We visit the Smoky Mountains whenever we can.

But the mountains of western North Carolina are pretty neat as well.  I lived in Black Mountain, North Carolina, for thirteen years and enjoyed exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is Grandfather Mountains.  (Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the state is in the Black Mountains.)  Betsy and I visited Grandfather Mountain in November, and I was able to capture this panorama view of the surrounding mountains from one of the overlooks.