A rough Painted Hills trail meanders ahead
Curving towards colorful hills of mystery
Cutting through foliage, shriveled and dead
Through an ancient landscape filled with history
Covered with ash spewed by Cascade volcanoes
Compacted, sculpted into hillside rainbows
Layered with varied stripes of red, green, and gold
Reminders of climates, hot, humid, and cold
Jo’s Monday Walk (JMW)
What’s so special about the metropolis of Thermopolis? It’s a great place to stay to see several amazing attractions nearby.
Thermopolis is a small city located in central Wyoming. In 2020, its population was 2,725. Its name means “hot city” in Greek. Here’s a view of it in the distance from Hot Springs State Park. Though I didn’t take pictures of the downtown, the sights within and near the city are very photogenic.
As you can see in the photo below, they proudly advertise their hot springs. “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring” is spelled out in big white lettering. Visitors can pay to soak in two commercial hot springs or soak for free in the state-owned State Bath House.
We stayed in our campervan for much of our recent multi-state trip, but our driver needed a break, so we stayed in a Thermopolis hotel for a couple of nights.
The view from a Badlands bench in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Why are they called the Badlands? The Lakota name for this place is mako sica, which translates to “bad lands.” Later, when early French fur trappers moved through this land, they called it les mauvaises terres a traveser, which means “bad lands to travel across.”
Hot, dry summers and cold, windy winters, combined with few sources of water, make this an inhospitable environment. During times of heavy rainfall, the soil becomes slick and sticky. The jagged mountains and canyons are hard to navigate through. Though evidence of Indigenous people hunting in this area has been found, it was used seasonally, not year-round.
We were at this Badlands bench scenic viewpoint in the beginning of June, early in the morning. Temperatures were already in the low 90s. It must get really hot in the middle of summer. The layered mountains are photogenic, probably even more so after a good rain.
Garden art may be realistic and small
Or tall and abstract, casting striking shadows
You may hear garden art bark from the shadows cast by trees
Continue readingIn the moments before dawn,
Light from a single star
Awakens the spirit
Hidden within
Slumbering winter trees
Today I’m sharing an apple drawing I did using the stipple technique with pen-and-ink. I used hundreds of tiny dots of ink to portray this red delicious apple.
Most of the time when I’m working on a final version of a drawing, I work on it from start to finish. However, when I’m doing a stipple drawing, I often take breaks. Sometimes I go back to it the next day. You have to concentrate on not overlapping dots in most of the drawing. If you’re too hyper or too tired, you will mess up. I was happy how this drawing turned out after working on it for a couple of days.
To go with the drawing, I’m sharing a photograph I took of a red delicious apple. For this portrait, I used the Food setting on my Samsung Galaxy phone. I like how it blurred the background. It reminded me I should experiment more with other settings on my phone.
Continue readingI was driving near my house early one morning when I saw this sight. It was a hawk eating breakfast on the road.
I had interrupted a Red-tailed Hawk while it was feasting on a rabbit or hare. The local Black-billed Magpies appeared out of nowhere to get the leftovers.
As you can see, if you zoom in, the magpie pictured below was moving at a speed of 0 MPH. 😉
The hawk wisely decided to move its breakfast off the road.
A colorful daylily trail in the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon.
These perennials have showy, long-lasting flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Daylilies grow well in full sun to partial shade.
Here’s a closer view of violet purple daylilies with bright yellow throats. I’m not sure what variety of daylily this is, but I loved its ruffled edges.
Sounds of wild creatures, the large and the small,
Pulling our attention, leaving us enthralled
Small Black-throated Sparrows pause and perch high
Singing unforgettable melodies to deep azure skies
Large Wild Turkeys graze and promenade
Chortling calls rise, then fall in cascades
This handsome mule deer buck was searching for a sweetheart in my front yard.
Wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day, filled with love (and chocolate)!
Paddling beneath the clouds
Floating lacelike
Over lakes of lifegiving water
Puffs of pale exhalations
Follow meandering rivers
The spirit of a sea creature living on, forever guarding its seaside home
Fiery red maple leaves, trembling in autumn’s cool showers
The edges of never-ending books, revealing themselves on rolling hillsides
Continue readingToday I’m showing a few pen-and-ink vine maple drawings I created. Years ago, I took a Scientific Illustration course during spring quarter at the University of Washington.
The teacher had us take a cutting from a tree or shrub and place it into a glass of water. I clipped off a piece of vine maple, Acer circinatum, growing in my yard. Each week, we drew the twig using a different technique. The twigs leafed out a little more throughout the course. I thought it was one of the most clever teaching ideas I’d ever seen.
The first drawing shows a vine maple line drawing with varying weights of line. With certain nibs, if you press down the line becomes heavier. This is a view of blooms close up.
The second drawing shows the stipple technique. It takes a steady hand to do all those tiny dots of ink.
Elk sculpture in snow at High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon with infrared processing.
a placid ocean
embraces rocky seastacks
sculptures of the wild
Today I’m featuring quotes related to snow next to snowy pictures taken in my yard. Winter has finally arrived here in Bend, Oregon.
A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.
Susan Orlean
Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
cat seeking comfort
tolerant dog shares her bed
warmth on a fall day
Finding drama in branches haphazardly woven together
Or planted in concise rows bearing intoxicating fruit
A bony seat and view at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.
This bench fit right in next to the enormous wall full of dinosaur bones.
It’s a wonderful place to visit for those who love dinosaurs and fossils.
Here are some of my 2023 favorites. Enjoy!
Quiet places to sit and ponder the wonders of nature
Bridges swaying over stormy seas, with thundering waves below
Landscapes uplifted over eons to reveal the colors of earth’s core
I saw this Western Bluebird at a park in Bend, Oregon. At our house, a ten-minute drive away, we only see Mountain Bluebirds. Both species have brilliant blue plumage, but the Western Bluebird males wear a “vest” of rust-orange.
It was nice to see this guy making sure he was following all the park rules and regulations. 😉
Colors of the season seen up close in a park in Bend, Oregon.
Sunday Stills – Monthly Color Challenge – Red & green
Friday Flowers (and leaves)
Noticing…
unique landscapes
with rivers rolling on and on
and hills full of stories,
repeated and remembered
Noticing…
the brilliant colors
of a new day in the skies
Remembering moments of magic in Oregon
Rambling past remnants of history with curious children in tow
Watching bird broods on windswept islands stretch their wings to flutter and fly
northern winds swirl, sting
snowflakes dance, drift, and alight
kisses of winter
Here’s a picture of beautiful purple clematis blossoms up close in July of last year.
Clematis vines do well in sunny locations with moist, well-drained soil. A thick layer of mulch over their roots helps keep them cool, which they prefer. Once mature, these plants can reach a height of 10 to 20 feet. There are nearly 300 species of clematis. The distinctive blossoms of clematis come in a wide variety of colors, including white, yellow, pink, purple, blue, green, and bi-color.
You’ll see unique sights if you visit Hot Springs State Park in central Wyoming. Unlike other state parks in Wyoming, entrance to this park, located in the city of Thermopolis, is free. I’ve included a map of this day-use park at the end of this post.
In 1897, Big Horn Hot Springs State Reserve became Wyoming’s first state park. The park, now called Hot Springs State Park, has always been famous for its therapeutic mineral hot springs.
On the iconic Monument Hill, you’ll see the words “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Springs” in large white letters.
Today I’m sharing a pen and ink drawing I did of a painted turtle. I have fond memories of them as a child, when I kept painted turtles as pets.
I’m also sharing a couple photos of them I took in Custer State Park in South Dakota. When we made a quick stop to walk the dogs, I was surprised to see this “island” near the road.
When I took a closer look, I discovered the island was covered with painted turtles, taking a break in the warm sun. Cool! 🙂
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
First Friday Art (FFA)
On our road trip last June, we saw several memorable sights that were notable for the emptiness around them.
We drove past miles and miles of vast landscapes with few occupants. Near Carter, Wyoming, we spotted hundreds of sheep grazing by the road.
A little bit farther down the road, we were fortunate to see sheepherders and their five dogs at work guiding this herd.
On our way to South Dakota, we took a side trip to see a unique attraction near Sundance, Wyoming.
In July, I hiked the 2.6-mile South Falls Loop trail through the wilderness of Silver Falls State Park, Oregon. This route, past South Falls and Lower South Falls, is part of the Trail of Ten Falls. See the map of the trails at the end of this post.
I parked in the lot near South Falls, hiking north along the Canyon Trail and then heading south along Maple Ridge Trail. Though I’ve visited the park before, I had my dogs, and they are only allowed on a few trails. This time I was going solo.
I took the short trail to the South Falls overlook from the parking area. You get great views from above of the 177-foot-tall waterfall.
If you have limited time, take the ¼-mile trail to the South Falls overlook. If you have more time, walk the 1-mile loop trail behind the falls.
After a brief stop at the overlook, I walked to the lower trail that goes behind the falls. Cool (literally)!
Visitors can enjoy unique attractions at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado. While visiting here, I found myself constantly shifting my field of view to things above and below me. Colorful tilting rocks in vast landscapes showed geology in action. Petroglyphs and pictographs told stories of Indigenous people from long ago. An amazing collection of dinosaur fossils took me even further back in time.
The Monument also includes places to hike, fish, river raft, picnic, and camp. There’s a visitor center in Utah, and another in Colorado.
The small Visitor Center in Utah features informational exhibits and a store.
A fall view by the Bend Whitewater Park in Bend, Oregon. The path leads to two benches surrounded by fall leaves. You can also see a few realistic-looking Canada Geese sculptures in the foreground.
Green up close
In triangular Vanilla Leaf leaves
And tiny Huckleberry leaves
Green
In splitting Gingko leaves
Green up close
In frond fans of Maidenhair Fern
