Window on the Plains

Driving through the West and Southwest, one notices that every little town seems to have a museum. If the town has a post office, it has a museum. Perhaps it doesn’t even have a post office, but it may have a museum…

I decided to stop by one of these museums, the Window on the Plains Museum, as I was passing through Dumas (pronounced “Doomus”), TX. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much more than a small room with a few Texas “antiques” – items one would usually find at a garage sale or estate sale.

Was I surprised! The museum really did provide a wonderful window into the history of the plains!

[Photographs at end]

Artists

Smoke over the Rockies and flames in the Colorado sky…

Human artists work in clay and bronze to create beautiful objects of art. Human painters work on canvas to create spectacular pictures.  Humans are created in God’s image and copy their Creator.

God the artist works in living color. Living creatures created from the dust of the earth are His objects of art, and the skies are His canvas. He is constantly creating awe inspiring works of art, and no two are alike.

These are some of His artistic creations:

Dusk in the Rockies

Natural “fence” in Colorado foothills

Majestic creature invades the yard

“Smoking” Rockies panorama

“Smoking” Rockies viewed from Aurora

Sunset, Colorado prairie

Fire in the sky, Colorado prairie

Flames in the sky, Colorado prairie

Fire and smoke over Colorado prairie

Colorado prairie “Good night”

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Cherahola Skyway

All this year I’ve been looking to photograph fall colors in the mountains with minimal success. While visiting The Lost Sea Adventure, the attendant suggested I check out the Cherahola Skyway.
“It should still be good fall colors in the mountains, and it’s only a 20 minute drive from here,” she told me.

The Lost Sea Adventure

Driving on I-75 near Sweetwater, TN, I saw a sign next to the interstate, “The Lost Sea Adventure.”
Lost Sea? Adventure? In the middle of the Appalachian Mountains? This I had to see!

So I followed the signs about 10 miles off the freeway. Honestly, I didn’t expect much.
Upon arrival I found nicely kept grounds, but no water anywhere to be seen. Obviously the sea had been lost!

Nevertheless I entered what appeared to be the main building and asked the attendant about the adventure.
“We have a cave with the largest underground lake in America. You can take our 90 minute tour; we also offer special group tours with reservations, including the overnight Wild Cave Tour,” she responded.

[Pictures at end]

Shenandoah Caverns, Part 2

In order to attract return visitors and new visitors, Shenandoah Caverns offers not just an opportunity to explore God’s marvels 300 feet underground, but several additional exhibits:

• American Celebration on Parade is a fascinating collection of parade floats and inaugural props
• Main Street of Yesteryear is a wonderful collection of animated displays depicting American culture, characters, and stories
• The Yellow Barn is an events center and antique mall combined.

I visited the first two; time prevented me from exploring the Yellow Barn. The exhibits are perfect for a family and children. One can easily spend an hour or two viewing these exhibits, and a most enjoyable full morning or afternoon for a complete tour of the caverns plus all exhibits. The grounds provide space for family picnics to complete a full day of adventures and activities.

Photographs follow:

Shenandoah Caverns, Part 1

Caverns have always held somewhat of a fascination for me. While I don’t like the idea of crawling around on my belly in total darkness, I do find “civilized” caverns interesting. Shenandoah Caverns is one of these “civilized” caverns. In fact, it’s quite well developed with lighting and an elevator.

As with all caverns, a tour guide takes you through the caverns and points out the various formations and features. My tour guide was most knowledgeable and helpful in making the cavern tour a memorable experience.

Shenandoah Caverns is located in Virginia on I-81 at exit 269 and is definitely worth a visit.
[Photographs at end]

Scenes from Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on June 17, 1775, galvanized the colonial anti-British movement in Massachusetts and emboldened the revolutionaries.  Although technically the British won the battle because the American defenders ran out of ammunition, British losses were so great as to significantly diminish their fighting capability.  The Americans recognized this and were emboldened to stand up to the British army in subsequent battles.  Col. William Prescott’s command to the colonial defenders, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” still rings in our ears to this day.

Cole Land Transportation Museum

Every once in a while, as you’re driving along the Interstate something along the side of the road catches your eye, and you decide to go investigate. That’s exactly what happened as I was driving through Bangor, Maine, headed to the Bay of Fundy. There, on the right side, a Huey helicopter and a tank caught my eye – but no signs of any sort. I just had to investigate…

Canadian Rocks

While exploring the Big Salmon River on the Fundy Trail, I came upon the following beach:

On that beach I found the following two rock formations within about 10 feet of the water’s edge:

As I examined the rock formations, I wondered how they got there.  Did they get there because

A)     The water washed them up and left them there?
B)      Some wild animal came and stacked them there?
C)      Some human came and stacked them there?

Then I asked myself, “I wonder how long have they been here?”

D)     Days or weeks?
E)      Months or years?
F)      Decades or centuries?

After pondering the situation and analyzing it in great detail, I decided that some human probably stacked them there days or weeks ago.

I suspect that you, the reader, will come to the same conclusion. After all, options A and B are so improbable as to be impossible, and options E and F are highly improbable because storms and spring floods would surely topple the rocks.

“Now,” I thought to myself, “If rocks can’t even form into two simple stacks by chance, how logical is it to think that dirt will somehow acquire life – which is incredibly complex –  by chance, and also be stable enough for millions of years to accomplish it?  I wouldn’t bet my life on it.”

Then I thought of all those Darwinian evolutionists who are betting their eternal lives on just such silliness, and my heart broke.

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Canada: Miscellaneous Scenery

Some interesting pictures from the Bay of Fundy region.  Enjoy.

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