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Nature at work in the Royal Gorge

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Train depot The Arkansas River begins high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, taking the melted snows and rains on a 1,460-mile path through Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas before it flows into the Mississippi River. Like all rivers, its size and power changes with the seasons and the weather. While it is usually a calm, beautiful waterway, the news this spring covered massive flooding that occurred in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Two months later, the river still fills the banks of the Royal Gorge as the spring snows melt upstream. We recently took a train ride through the Royal Gorge and I have to admit that watching the power of the river was as fascinating as the gorge it has created over the centuries. The river flowed with enough force that it was easy to imagine the swift waters carving a path through the hard rocks. The Arkansas River The gorge is only about 50 feet across. The train runs from Canon City to Parkdale, a 12-mile trip through the gorge, before making the
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A Giant in the World of Nature

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Roger Tory Peterson was many things; a naturalist, an artist, an ornithologist, an environmentalist and an educator.  If you’ve ever browsed a nature store, chances are you’ve seen a Peterson Guide. He brought birding and nature to national prominence through his guides and illustrations. Les Line, a former editor of Audubon, wrote: “Because of Peterson, we became watchers not just of birds, his greatest love. Through the magic of The Peterson Field Guide series, which grew to more than 30 volumes under his editorship, we became watchers--and, more importantly, protectors--of every form of life on our planet.” I n the 1930s when he submitted his first field guide, publishers turned him down. Houghton-Mifflin finally agreed to publish his book, anticipating little success. However, the first printing of 2,000 copies sold out within a week. His fame soared and over the next fifty years, Peterson wrote nearly as many books. Peterson changed birding from a narrower “sports
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Sometimes when I visit a place, I know instantly that it will be with me for the rest of my life. That's the story of our latest visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were with our Colorado family and chose to spend the day at the park. Over the years we've been blessed with wildlife sightings, but this trip definitely raised the bar. What a day! As we drove up Trail Ridge, we saw elk, deer and bighorn sheep in the distance. Yes, I was thrilled even though most were too far away to photograph. It was the 4th of July weekend and the park was filled with visitors. Every parking lot was filled and I was gratified to see so many enjoying Colorado and all it has to offer. As we headed back down toward Estes Park, the traffic cleared a little. Then we saw the cars stopped along the road. As we slowed we spotted two beautiful elk, with huge antlers still covered in velvet. As they rustled their way through the trees, we followed. Then they vanished. We drove to the fir
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A Quick Visit to Omaha

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We only had a short weekend but what a great trip! We had three fun experiences - each worth a repeat performance. Union Station Saturday we visited the Old Market District ( https://oldmarket.com ) in downtown Omaha. Since this was our grandson's trip, we visited the important things - an old time candy store and the old soda fountain at the Durham Museum ( https://durhammuseum.org ) in the old Union Station. While he enjoyed the goodies, my son and I explored. We visited several art galleries and small shops as we walked around. We had already eaten lunch so we'll have to save the restaurants for another visit. The outdoor dining looked inviting! An interactive exhibit at Union Station In the old Union Station, we spent time at each of the interactive statues recreating the era. At its height in 1946, 64 steam locomotives brought up to 10,000 passengers a day in and out of Omaha. The building is magnificent, an Art Deco treasure that is on the National Register
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Take time for serenity

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If you need to de-stress or you simply want to stop your crazy days long enough to enjoy some peace and quiet, you'll find the soul-nourishing beauty you seek in an arboretum. I recently spent an afternoon at the Overland Park Arboretum in the Kansas City metro area, and for a few hours soaked in the quiet beauty and stunning colors of the diverse plant life, sculptures and walking trails. My favorite was the Monet gardens. Surrounded by the lush flowers and plants, it's easy to imagine Monet at work, creating yet another nature-inspired masterpiece. Most cities can boast of botanical gardens or an arboretum. Take advantage of someone else planting and/or maintaining beautiful landscapes for your enjoyment. The Overland Park Arboretum is located just off US Hwy 69 at 179th Street.
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A fragrance to remember

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For years, my sister-in-law and niece have raved about the Lilac Festival held each May in Rochester, NY. 2019 is my lucky year! I was in town in May and the festival truly was as spectacular as they had promised. One of my earliest memories is the spring smell of lilacs. When I was young, we had one big lilac tree (as least it seemed really big at the time) at the back corner of our house. Nothing says spring to me more than that heavenly smell. I'd open the back door and there it was! It's as much in my memory as the smell of my mother's apple pie and fried chicken. That fragrance enveloped me again as we walked around Highland Park in downtown Rochester. According to Highland Park's website ( https://www.highlandparkconservancy.org/lilacs ), the park's twenty-two acres is home to 1,200 shrubs with more than 500 varieties of lilacs. John Dunbar planted the first lilacs at Highland Park in 1892. Since the first lilac celebration in 1905, hundred
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New blog address

For some unfathomable reason, I lost my www.iwritemyworld.com domain name. My new blog is www.writingmyworld.com. Please join me as I continue my journey. Unfortunately, I've lost nearly 500 posts until I can figure a way to forward them to this site. For now, we're on our way to Sodus, NY, to launch my latest book, Spirits of the Sodus Bay Shakers: The Alasa Farms Chronicles. It's a cold and wet night in Illinois - 49 degrees in May is not my cup of tea. We plan to visit the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, KY, tomorrow afternoon. I'm continuing my research for my second novel in The Alasa Farms Chronicles . But for now, please follow me on this site.
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