April 2024
Flowers of Spring
28/04/24 15:35 Filed in: Photography | Oregon
In helping a client with some community cats in her neighborhood, I came across at her house a flower bed with lovely tulips and bluish ground cover plants. Taking photos while there created a beautiful art-like picture with the colors. Spring with the flowers just coming out and sunshine is wonderful.
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Stillness At Appomattox
Bob and I were staying at a lovely B&B just outside Charlottesville, VA while doing a drive around northern Virginia. We were seeing historic sights, beautiful countryside, and battlefields. At one breakfast there, we heard another party at the B&B talk about a visit to the Appomattox battlefield area and where Lee surrendered to Grant at the end of the Civil War. They commented that the area seemed to have an extra "quiet" and "hush", likely a stillness to it due to the significance of the surrender. Bob and I talked and decided it was worth a 3 hour drive to the location to see it. It was definitely worth a visit and there was a stillness to it.
Here is info on the site from the list of battlefields to visit:
No battlefield tour is complete without a visit to the village of Appomattox Court House, the place where the American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865. After a series of battles known as the Appomattox Campaign, which engaged almost 90,000 soldiers, Confederate General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at McLean House, bringing an end to the war. The park covers approximately 1,800 acres and encompasses many of the village’s original structures and over two dozen restored buildings, including a reconstruction of the McLean House. Visitors can walk on the same dirt road where Lee’s army folded their flags, visit the Confederate cemetery, and discover the quaint village of Appomattox Court House.
Our photo of McLean House.
An old photo from an internet site.
Here is info on the site from the list of battlefields to visit:
No battlefield tour is complete without a visit to the village of Appomattox Court House, the place where the American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865. After a series of battles known as the Appomattox Campaign, which engaged almost 90,000 soldiers, Confederate General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at McLean House, bringing an end to the war. The park covers approximately 1,800 acres and encompasses many of the village’s original structures and over two dozen restored buildings, including a reconstruction of the McLean House. Visitors can walk on the same dirt road where Lee’s army folded their flags, visit the Confederate cemetery, and discover the quaint village of Appomattox Court House.
Our photo of McLean House.
An old photo from an internet site.
Gettysburg-The Turning Point
20/04/24 15:40 Filed in: History
Bob and I visited Gettysburg one summer and made the driving tour around the town and battlefield. It is an amazing location and story of a battle that changed a war, then history.
We stayed at a lovely B&B there and had dinner with a person Bob knew from his work in logistics. It would be great to go back there. Here is more on Gettysburg…
"Those immortal words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address — “four score and seven years ago…” — were inspired by a major turning point in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which took place from July 1 to 3, 1863, marked the end of General Robert E. Lee’s second failed invasion of the North. The Union victory defeated the Confederacy’s ambition of bringing the war to a swift end, but with over 51,000 casualties, the battle stands as the deadliest in the war."
The Angle
Seminary Ridge
We stayed at a lovely B&B there and had dinner with a person Bob knew from his work in logistics. It would be great to go back there. Here is more on Gettysburg…
"Those immortal words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address — “four score and seven years ago…” — were inspired by a major turning point in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which took place from July 1 to 3, 1863, marked the end of General Robert E. Lee’s second failed invasion of the North. The Union victory defeated the Confederacy’s ambition of bringing the war to a swift end, but with over 51,000 casualties, the battle stands as the deadliest in the war."
The Angle
Seminary Ridge
Silver Lake and Dining
15/04/24 18:09 Filed in: Oregon
A travel article today listed towns that were remote locations in the United States to other towns. One of the places listed was Silver Lake, OR which is in south central Oregon. One of the highlights is dinner at Cowboy Dinner Tree which we have eaten at twice. The photo below was taken in 2019 at our anniversary dinner there. Always tasty and lots of food to take away and eat later. We have not visited the geological site called Crack in the Ground but will look to make a trip to do so. This is within a day's drive from our home.
Silver Lake is a town of roughly 150 people in southern Oregon, 39.3 miles from the nearest other town. It was founded in the late 1800s and remains quite small, with a single gas station and a handful of restaurants. One such eatery is the Cowboy Dinner Tree, which was inspired by an eatery that existed many decades ago. Back then, a wagon set up underneath a large juniper tree and sold beans and biscuits to passing cowboys. While that wagon is gone, the restaurant serves up local fare in a rustic albeit slightly more modern setting.
The town is also home to a fascinating nearby geological site known as the Crack in the Ground. This volcanic fissure is two miles long and 70 feet deep, and formed due to volcanic activity that occurred thousands of years ago. Today, it offers a great opportunity for curious hikers looking to explore the country’s volcanic history.
Silver Lake is a town of roughly 150 people in southern Oregon, 39.3 miles from the nearest other town. It was founded in the late 1800s and remains quite small, with a single gas station and a handful of restaurants. One such eatery is the Cowboy Dinner Tree, which was inspired by an eatery that existed many decades ago. Back then, a wagon set up underneath a large juniper tree and sold beans and biscuits to passing cowboys. While that wagon is gone, the restaurant serves up local fare in a rustic albeit slightly more modern setting.
The town is also home to a fascinating nearby geological site known as the Crack in the Ground. This volcanic fissure is two miles long and 70 feet deep, and formed due to volcanic activity that occurred thousands of years ago. Today, it offers a great opportunity for curious hikers looking to explore the country’s volcanic history.
Coolest Waterfall Category
07/04/24 16:23 Filed in: Photography | Travel
A recent article on special sights to visit included Yellowstone Falls. The photo that I took when we visited in May 2023 was taken from Artist's Point. It is clear why this viewpoint is so named since the photo looks more like a painting than a photo. It is lovely!
Info about the Falls follows:
"Rushing through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Falls is actually two enormous waterfalls connected by the Yellowstone River, traveling downstream from Yellowstone Lake. This waterfall is known for being festooned in rainbows, reaching across the cascades like banners in the mist. Uncle Tom’s Point is the best way to see the falls up close but Artist Point offers a picture-perfect view of the falls from down the gorge, framed in the very golden rock that gave Yellowstone its name."
Info about the Falls follows:
"Rushing through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Falls is actually two enormous waterfalls connected by the Yellowstone River, traveling downstream from Yellowstone Lake. This waterfall is known for being festooned in rainbows, reaching across the cascades like banners in the mist. Uncle Tom’s Point is the best way to see the falls up close but Artist Point offers a picture-perfect view of the falls from down the gorge, framed in the very golden rock that gave Yellowstone its name."
