The Arches in Utah

During our three week trip out west in June,   our last stop in Utah (as we headed to the Rocky Mountains) was the ARCHES National Park.  We left home on June 10---and when we got to the Arches,  it was June 23... We were both tired and VERY hot by then...  SO--because of this,  our experience at the Arches was not as good as most other places we visited on this trip. I guess that is why I've waited so long to pull out this set of photos... BUT-- now that I'm looking at the photos,  I really know how pretty it was there...

SO--my advice:  unless you don't mind the 107 degree heat,  don't go there in Summer..  Also--I despise crowds --and there are always tons and tons of people there in the Summer... We will go back ---but not in Summer...

I do have some wonderful photos to show you from the Arches ---so today will be just one group of them... Hope you enjoy them!!!!!  The above picture shows one of the many crazy rocks --just sitting up there...  I still don't think I'd want to stand under that thing though... ha  (Be sure to enlarge photos for bigger shots.)

I loved the shape of this tall one---standing there just like a watch tower,  checking out everything!!!!   Water and ice,  extreme temperatures and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of the Arches National Park.  It's hard to imagine how the 100 million years of erosion or such violent forces that created this land caused one of the world's greatest densities of natural arches...

The American Indians used this area for thousands of years.  The Archaic peoples, and later ancestral Puebloan,  Fremont, and Ute peoples, searched the arid desert for food animals,  wild plant foods,  and stone for tools and weapons.

This photo looks like the Titanic to me!!!!!  What say you????

They named this one "The Three Gossips".....  Can you hear them chattering???? ha ha

Here is another interesting rock formation...  What does it look like to you?  I can almost see some praying hands!!!!

This is appropriately called  "Sheep Rock"... See the sheep on top?????

Here is what they call the Tower of Babel (on left) and the Organ (on the right).  I took this one at the La Sal Mountain Viewpoint---but was more interested in the rock formations than I was in the mountains in the distance.

Can you believe that I've shown you 7 pictures at the ARCHES, and I still haven't shown you an 'arch'?????   That will be coming up in a future post....

On another note,  have you noticed what Blogger has done for all of us--which is GOOD???  If you click on my first photo,  you'll get all of the photos in a slide show... Neat, huh?????

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We're headed to the Smokies today to see what kind of Fall color is there...  I will see you Monday!
Hugs,
Betsy

A Different Visit to Biltmore House and Gardens

Unless you are new to my blog,  you will know that George and I bought season's tickets to the gorgeous Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville,  North Carolina this year.  (This will be my 19th blog post about Biltmore!!!!)  We love that place and try to get there every couple of months... What we love the most are all of their gorgeous flowers.

BUT--this month's visit was 'different'..  There weren't many flowers in bloom.  They had some Mums --but most were not blooming on the day we were there (Oct. 11, 2011).   SO---we decided to check out something we have not seen before at Biltmore...

We had seen gorgeous photos of the back of the Biltmore House taken from the water ---but had never found where those photos were taken.   SO---this time we went 'hunting' for it... AND--we found it!!!!! 

On the road to the Winery,  there is a little lagoon on the left.. AND--there is a little rock road which leads back into that area..  WOW---did we ever find a gem!!!!!   The road winds back into an absolutely gorgeous area.  The lagoon is on one side and the French Broad River is on the other side...  There are pull-offs all along the way --for picnics, hikes,  and just plain relaxation...  We will definitely go back to this area.

We also had hoped to see some gorgeous Fall colors at Biltmore --but were surprised that the leaves have not changed much there...  We did get a few colorful pictures ---but not nearly as many as we got here on the Cumberland Plateau when we visited Cumberland Mountain State Park recently...

Today,  I'll share some photos with you from the lagoon area at Biltmore... Above is a picture of a little color we saw on the road toward the lagoon.  Below are more.  Be sure to enlarge the photos for some larger pictures.

This was our view --when we got to the lagoon.  There were Canada Geese EVERYWHERE... They must love that area!!!!!   AND--as you can tell,  there was a tiny bit of Fall colors.

Here is that beautiful view from the lagoon ---looking toward the back of the Biltmore House... Isn't this just tremendous?

Here's another picture  taken in a different place along the lagoon... Doesn't that house look like a palace up there on the hill?????

I was sitting on a rock admiring the beauty around me --and some of the Canada Geese came to visit me... We had our picnic lunch there ---so I'm sure that the geese thought they were going to get some lunch!!!!! ha

See how many geese were in that area!!!!!  AND---there were many, many more around!

Since George and I like to make our memories through pictures together,  we again got the tripod out and took our pictures at the lagoon... Great setting,  don't you think?

We also went a couple of other 'new' areas for us on that day ---so stay tuned for more pictures!!!!   It was a great day ---even though 'different'.... We always seem to have a marvelous time!

Hugs,
Betsy