Sunset At The Franklin Parker Preserve

One of my New Years resolutions is to post more on my blog.  Life sometimes becomes busy and things that I enjoy doing fall by the wayside.  I may keep my posts short and sweet but hopefully, I can keep it a bit more current than I have been.

I made the short drive to Franklin Parker Preserve a couple evenings ago.  Franklin Parker Preserve was once a thriving cranberry farm.  The NJ Conservation Foundation acquired the property and has allowed it to revert to a natural state.  It emcompasses 16 square miles of pine barrens habitat.  There are many miles of hiking trails throughout the property.

These images were taking near the Speedwell entrance of County Route 563 just outside Chatsworth.  The beautiful sunset made it worth my effort of braving the biting winds!  The incoming weather front can clearly be seen with the advancing clouds.

A few minutes later, the sky put on quite a show!  The reflections of the sun looked like fire in the water.

Click to find out more info about  Franklin Parker Preserve

Visit Kristia Adams Photography to see more of my photography.

 

 

 

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Historic Lansdowne Theater

I recently was able to participate in a photography workshop at the Lansdowne Theater with photographer Valerie Hoffman.  This beautiful old theater has suffered the ravages of time like so many other old buildings in our area, but thanks to the establishment of the non-profit organization, The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation, the theater has been undergoing some much needed repair.

The theater was designed by prominent theater architect William H. Lee and opened its doors on June 1, 1927.  Several retails stores were also connected to theater.  Tenants included a florist, bootery, a furniture store, and a tailor.  The theater was mostly a movie venue but also hosted some live performances.

The theater has changed ownership a few times over the years but remained operational through 1986, when it was purchased by a Philadelphia attorney and local resident, Jerry Raff.  Raff closed the theater in 1986 for cosmetic repairs.  Shortly after reopening, there was an electrical fire at one of the adjoining retail shops.  The electrical system to the theater suffered major damage.  Raff and his associates tried to fix the damage but lacked the financial means.

The theater sat languishing until the Greater Lansdowne Civic Association and the Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation were able to create the Historic Lansdowne Theater Cooperation.  Through grants, donations they were able to purchase the theater and hope to one day be able to open again.

There are so many beautiful photographic opportunities from the magnificent theater itself to the projector and film rooms.  Workshops like the one I participated in provide funds to help restore this majestic beauty.

If you would like to find out more information about the Historic Lansdowne Theater visit  Lansdowne Theater’s website.

 

Hiking The Vindicator Valley Trail

Throughout the state of Colorado, the landscape is dotted with memories of the silver and gold mining industries of the late 1800’s.  A high concentration of abandoned mines can be found about an hour outside Colorado Springs.  Miners came to the area trying to reach the Cripple Creek and Victor mining districts with the promise of wealth to be found in the area.   There is a great trail system in this area called the Trails of Gold where you can hike past the remnants of this interesting part of American history.

On this day, we hiked the Vindicator Valley Trail.  This trail is located off Rt. 81 just outside the little town of Victor.  It combines two of my favorite things…ghost towns and hiking! And it is great for photography.  Ok, three things!!

The trail is about 2 miles long is a fairly easy hike with some small rolling hills.  The scenery is spectacular!

The trail is bordered in most sections by split rail fencing which protects the ruins and hikers from unseen dangers.  Posted signs warn to stay on the trail and keep an eye on kids and dogs.  One never knows where an abandoned mine might lay as more than 500 mines once could be found in this area.

Many buildings along the trail have historical information markers.

I really wished we had been just a couple weeks earlier so that we could have seen the aspens.  It must be even more beautiful in the early fall.

 

This is one of a few powder magazines that have survived.  The explosives were safely and separately kept in these buildings far from the mining operations.

Our trip to Colorado was a short one and the Vindicator Valley Trail was the only hiking trail we were able to do this day since we had limited time.  There are nine trails in this area and I hope to explore more in the future.  Check here for trail descriptions and maps.

Stop by Victor for lunch after a day of hiking!

Visiting With Wolves

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip out west to Colorado.  I plan to post about a few of the wonderful places we visited on our trip but I first wanted to share our experiences at a special place called Rocky Mountain Wildlife Foundation in Guffey, CO.  This place is a unique sanctuary for captive born wolves and wolf-dog hybrids that have been injured, abused and or neglected.  After meeting the founder, Mark Johnson, one can tell that he pours his heart and soul into caring for these canines.

RMWF started with a wolf named Cheyenne.  Johnson acquired her from another sanctuary when she was 4 1/2 weeks old.  He and his wife raised her and it soon became apparent that Cheyenne was very special. Cheyenne had a gift.  She was able to tell when a person needed her either emotionally or physically.  She was gifted with the ability to heal people.

Read about Cheyenne here.

Unfortunately, Cheyenne passed away in 2009, but the sanctuary goes on.

We were greeted by Mark when we arrived and were given a short presentation about the sanctuary and the story of Cheyenne.  After the orientation, it was time to interact with the wolves!

Even wolves love belly rubs.  Dan rubs Zoya’s belly.

RMWF charges no entrance fee for your visit and operates on donations.  When you visit, it is just you and your group.  It was only my husband and I at our visit.  Before visiting, you make an appointment.  They have several 2 hour appointments daily.  You will interact with the sanctuary residents with your group only.

Mark gives very specific instructions for each wolf you interact with.  He knows each wolf like his own child.  Some are too shy for guest interactions but we were able to personally visit with seven wolves/ wolf hybrids (I think).

Thor was another that loved to give kisses and get belly rubs.

Baby even gave us a howl!

Poor Kiska came from a shelter in Texas.  She is a wolf hybrid.  They are working on getting her weight up.  She is such a love!

A few more shots from the visit…

If you every find yourself in the Colorado Springs area, I highly recommend a side trip to Guffey to visit this special place.  RMWF is about 1 .5 hours from Colorado Springs. Visit their website Rocky Mountain Wildlife Foundation for information.  Appointments are necessary and all ages are welcome! They are a 501-c3 non-profit organization.

 

No pictures, but Guffey is a tiny town about 2 streets wide.  Visit the Rolling Thunder Cloud Cafe!  Wonderful owners and great food!  We stopped in after our wolf visit for lunch and had some excellent chili and conversation!

Jersey Goes West Pt. 8 – Mammoth Lakes and Devil’s Postpile

After our visit to Manzanar, it was getting a little late and we were ready for dinner.  We found this restaurant in Bishop.  It was a nice “home-cooking” type restaurant.  I had fried chicken and the hubby had meatloaf.  Both meals were huge portions and quite tasty!

It was close to 10 pm when we arrived at Mammoth Lakes.  We planned to go to Devil’s Postpile National Monument in the morning and wanted to stay as close as possible, so I chose to make reservations at the Mammoth Mountain Inn. They have pretty affordable rates during the non-ski season.

We were given an upstairs room in a wing near the main lodge and were told to take any food or smelly items out of the car and into our room as the bears had been quite active lately.

Going from -200+ feet below sea level to 10,000 feet above sea level in a few hours has its issues!  I remember telling my husband that I was out of breath just from brushing my teeth.  The other thing that I totally didn’t expect, was that our clothes in the luggage were soaking wet!  For the life of me, I couldn’t not figure out why our clothes were wet when the luggage was dry.  Then it finally dawned on me, that it was so hot in the desert that our clothes heated up and then cooled so quickly that water condensed on them within the luggage.  We had clothes hung up all over trying to dry them out!

Unfortunately, we were only staying in this beautiful place one night.  We fell exhaustively into bed.

The next morning we had breakfast in the main lodge.  The food and service were wonderful!  After breakfast, we needed to find the ticket office to buy passes to ride the shuttle bus to Devil’s Postpile National Monument.  During the busy season, no cars are allowed up the road to the monument unless you are going early in the morning or late in the evening.  The road is narrow and they try to limit traffic going to the monument.  They sell tickets near the sporting areas at the inn.  I took a few shots while trying to find the tickets.  More than once, my husband said, “We are coming back here and staying for more than one night!”.  He did not want to leave!

The day was a bit smoky from the wildfires in Sequoia and Yosemite.

We finally found a little stand that was selling excursions and asked about shuttle bus tickets.  Turns out, that yesterday was the last day for the shuttle bus, so we were free to drive up to the monument!  With that, we said goodbye to Mammoth Mountain Inn and hello to Inyo National Forest.

Devils Postpile National Monument is located within Inyo National Forest.  When driving, there is an entrance fee.  I think it was $10.  The shuttle is a bit more expensive.  The drive was a little scary as there aren’t many guardrails and the road is narrow.  Downhill drivers are supposed to give uphill drivers the right-of-way and there are some turnouts for photos and to allow faster drivers to pass.  I am a chicken when it comes to mountain roads so hubby did the driving.

It was a short walk to the postpile from the parking area.  On the way, we passed this beautiful meadow with the San Joaquin River running through it

Devil’s Postpile is located a short easy walk (about 0.4 miles) from the parking area.

This awesome geologic structure was once a lake of basaltic lava.  As the lava cooled it formed these jointed columns. What was left was a mountain of cooled basaltic columns.  These columns were hidden until glaciers eroded the face of the mountain and left the impressive columns exposed.  If you visit Devil’s Postpile, make sure you climb to the top!  It is a short 15 minute uphill hike and well worth the effort.  Nature is amazing!  The top looks like honeycomb of stone.  It looks like someone laid paving stones here.

If we are ever able to visit again, I would like to take the longer hike to Rainbow Falls but it was longer than we were prepared to take today. We wanted to make it to Yosemite in time to see a few things before nightfall.

A couple parting shots as we hiked back to the parking area…

After leaving, we stopped back in Mammoth Lakes for lunch. I am sure the locals had fun watching this Easterner trying to open a bear-proof trashcan.  I was a pro by the time we left Yosemite!

Stay tuned for our few days in Yosemite!

 

 

Jersey Goes West Pt. 7 – Manzanar

We were back on the road and headed west on 190 to the exit of Death Valley and into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.  It is a beautiful drive, but for us “flatlanders”  it was a little nerve-wracking! The views were spectacular, the guardrails barely there, and people flying around switchback turns that made us a just a hair uncomfortable.  We had to get used to it though as it was just the beginning of the mountainous portion of our trip!

Once on 395 North, it is a relatively short drive to the town of Lone Pine and and then Manzanar National Historic Site.

Unfortunately, we arrived after 5 pm, so we were unable to tour the museum and other exhibits.  There is a self-guided driving tour that is available after hours with a map of sites and short descriptions.

Manzanar was a “relocation center” or interment camp for Japanese Americans (US citizens) and resident Japanese aliens during World War II. Nearly 120,000 people were relocated to 10 camps throughout the United States and forced to live here until World War II was over. Two-thirds of those people were US citizens by birth.  Without notice or due process, the government gave anyone of Japanese ancestry, days to dispose of possessions and property.  Houses and businesses had to be rented, abandoned or sold at a significant loss.  They were put on buses and traveled for hours without having any idea where they were going.   11,000 people were processed through Manzanar and lived in 504 crowded barracks.  The camp was surrounded by barbed wire, had 8 guard towers with search lights and was patrolled by military police.  For more history on the people visit the NPS site People of Manzanar.

Manzanar is the most well-preserved of these camps. It was made a national historic site and serves as an important reminder of a dark part of US history and the fragility of American civil liberties. Every American needs to know that there were interment camps on our soil that imprisoned our citizens.  I am not sure that many know that.

Most of the sites within the park are just foundations or cleared sites  where buildings used to stand.  They have recreated some buildings and a few of the better built facilities still exist.  There are some remnants of life at Manzanar such as orchard trees and rock gardens that have been preserved.

The evening had become smoky due to the wildfires burning in Sequoia National Park.  We visited the Manzanar cemetery.  150 people died while at Manzanar but most were sent to hometown cemeteries or were cremated to be sent back with relatives after they were released from the camp.  14 people, mostly men without families and infants, were buried here.  Only six remain here as family members had the others removed and reburied elsewhere.  It is a sadly beautiful,serene place and definitely a good place for reflection.

There was even a pet cemetery where people had left origami birds in remembrance and respect of pets lost.

Daylight was fading and it was time to say a quiet goodbye.

We drove past the last guard tower as we left.

Visit the NPS site on Manzanar to learn more.

Next up: The trials and tribulations of going from 282 feet below sea level to 10,000 feet above sea level in a few hours!  Welcome to Mammoth Lakes!

 

Jersey Goes West Pt. 7 -Death Valley

Yes, we braved Death Valley in the summer and lived to tell about it!  One thing I search for before we left was information on touring Death Valley in the summer.  I wasn’t sure that we should even attempt it, but after reading that people actually do visit in the summer, we decided to go.  I am really glad we did!  We heeded safety warnings, brought plenty of water, did not do any long hikes and stayed within sight distance of the car. We only had a partial day to spend at the park so it was a really quick tour and we only hit some of the highlights.

We started out at Harmony Borax Works.  The famous 20-mule teams were used for the difficult task of hauling the borax out of Death Valley to market.  The Harmony Borax Works played an important part of the history of Death Valley and the settlement of the Furnace Creek area.

Next was a short stop at the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center.  Check out that temperature!  It was about 11 am.  It is definitely a dry heat!  Make sure you drink plenty of water.  With the dry heat, you do not sweat and may not realize that you are becoming dehydrated until it is too late.

On to Badwater Basin and the salt flats!

Badwater Basin was as far as we went in the southern section of the park. We turned back toward Furnace Creek and stopped at Devil’s Golf Course.  Crystallized salt was deposited here by ancient oceans and then shaped by wind and rain leaving a sharp, ragged landscape that was said a place where only the devil could play golf!

Next stop on our whirlwind Death Valley tour was the Artist’s Palette Loop Drive. The colors on this drive are spectacular.  Pictures just don’t do it justice.  It was early afternoon when we drove the loop.  It is supposed to be even more scenic in the late afternoon or early evening sun.

We began to slowly make our way west towards the western exit of the park.  Before reaching Stovepipe Wells Village, we stopped at Mesquite Sand Dunes.  This place (according to literature at the visitor’s center) is one of the most dangerous places in the park.  The dunes look much closer than they actually are and most of the deaths in the park have been because people try to hike to the dunes in hot weather and become dehydrated and disoriented. We stayed close to the car and admired from a distance since the temperature had reached close to 120 degrees.

Our last stop in Death Valley was at Stovepipe Wells Village for some refreshments.  We needed to be in Mammoth Lake that night so we couldn’t stick around too long.

I really enjoyed Death Valley despite the heat.  I hope to plan a trip back one day, hopefully in February or March when the wildflowers are blooming.  There are so many more places to explore and I hate that we had to make it a super fast trip through, only skimming the surface of what the area has to offer.  It is possible to tour Death Valley in the summer, not optimal conditions, but it is possible!  Take A LOT of water with you and heed the “Turn Off Air Conditioning” warning signs when leaving the valley.  As you climb, the car can easily become overheated.  We had no problems, but did turn off the AC and had the windows open.

Coming up next….a stop at Manzanar, the Japanese Relocation Center that was in operation during World War II.

 

 

Jersey Goes West Pt. 6 – Rhyolite, Nevada

After leaving Nelson, we drove back through Las Vegas and on to Beatty, NV.  We made an overnight pit stop at the funky, retro Atomic Inn.  (Click on images to view in larger sizes)

We set out in the morning and made the short drive to Rhyolite.  We even passed a wild burro on the way.  He was not interested in posing for a picture.

In about 10 minutes, we arrived in Rhyolite.

Rhyolite was started with just a few miners’ tents in 1905.  By 1907, it was a city of 3500.  Many mining towns grew just as fast or maybe faster but what makes Rhyolite remarkable is how quickly and completely it collapsed.  In 1909, most businesses had been abandoned and a mass exodus of residents followed over the next 3 years.  By 1920 only 14 people remained.

These days, rattlesnakes outnumber people.  There are a few caretaker residences in the town.  If you visit, heed the warning signs.  There are definitely rattlesnakes in the area.  This one was more interested in taking a snooze in the shade than bothering me.

The Las Vegas Tonapah Depot is one of the most complete structures on the property.  Due to poor structural integrity, you can not enter the building and an unsightly fence surrounds the building.  On this day, the gate was open, so we were able to walk around the building.  It was considered the grandest depot in all of Nevada.  Due to construction delays, it was one of the last buildings finished in the town in 1908.

The Cook Bank was one of four banks that operated in the town of Rhyolite and was the largest building in the town.  More of the building would probably have survived today except that the supports were taken when the town was abandoned.

The other remaining bank ruins are the Overbury building ruins.  It is fascinating how well the vault areas have held up in these structures.

Another large structure that is still partially standing is the Rhyolite School building.  Unfortunately, the school wasn’t finished till 1909, well after the downfall of the town began.  The school opened with a huge debt and and the school bonds were not paid off until 1978 by the residents of Beatty.

A short distance from the main town site, is the Bullfrog-Rhyolite Cemetery.  It is certainly a peaceful final resting place in the desert for the souls who lived in Rhyolite.

Jersey Goes West Pt. 5 – Nelson, NV

When my husband and I first started planning this trip, I knew that one place I definitely wanted to see was Nelson, Nevada.  I had seen many wonderful photographs of this area and it was a must do for me.

Nelson lies about 25 miles from Boulder City, NV so it makes it a great place to visit after a trip to the Hoover Dam.  The area is rich in history and sparse in population.  During its heyday, Nelson was an area that was home to one of the first gold strikes in the area.  Spaniards who first made gold discoveries called the area Eldorado.  The mines in the area produced several million dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead from 1858-1945.  Now most of the people have left and all that remains are a few private homes and a mine tour business.  The mine tour business operates out of an old Texaco building.

Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours are the caretakers for the “Nelson Ghost Town”.  A few movies including 3000 Miles to Graceland where shot at this location.  This site is eye-candy for photographers!  There are many old buildings and cars littering the landscape.  The current owners have placed items in such a way that are quite aesthetically pleasing.  Its not a true ghost town in the sense that it is kept up and some of the buildings are newer but made too look old.  There are many great artifacts and antiques that look perfect in the settings.  If visiting, be sure to stop into the store to check in before looking around outside and be respectful of the property.  The caretakers also live on site. Based on my research, there is a fee for professional photographers as this is a popular place for photo shoots.  There was actually a model shoot going on while we were there.

Visit my site for more images and prints

Jersey Goes West Pt. 4 – Valley of Fire (one last time)

Today is just a short post to finish up Valley of Fire.

When last I left you, we had visited the White Domes at the end of White Domes Rd.  We drove back towards the main road towards the East entrance.  On the way we passed the Seven Sisters which are seven lone, tall rocks.  There  is a little picnic area in this spot.  We continued onwards toward The Cabins and Lone Rock.

This image was taken near Lone Rock which is kind of what it sounds like.  It is a large lone rock which a picnic area has been set up near.  We hiked back towards a little canyon and took a picture inside one of the little mini caves that dot the rockscape within VOF.

The light was fading, but I wanted to see the Cabins, which I had missed during my visit last December.

These cabins were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 to provide shelter for travelers and campers that came to visit the newly established Valley of Fire State Park.

I originally had planned to bring my tripod for some sunset shots but totally forgot it in the hotel room!  This one was captured hand held as the sun started going down.

It was a beautiful end to our day at Valley of Fire State Park!