Yellowstone Visit 9/2012

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone  (109 feet)

I  cannot believe that I never did finish my blog posts when we took our WEST TRIP from Sept. 12-27, 2012.   I did 16 posts and then stopped in April --once we got busy in the yard...  I was (AM) trying to post about this trip day by day in order (as my journal) ---and even after 16 different posts,  I am only halfway through September 20.

In order to see any or all of these 16 posts so far,  you can click HERE.   The posts will come up with the last one I posted in April coming up first.   It was a fantastic trip --and Yellowstone is one of our favorite places that we have EVER visited.  AND--this part of Yellowstone---the Canyon area, is a favorite!!!

Going back to September 20, 2012 (which was when all of these photos were taken),  we first visited the NORTH RIM (Lookout Point,  Red Rock Point,  Grand View and Inspiration Point).   I have already blogged about all of these...

SO--after some lunch that day,  we headed to the SOUTH RIM in order to see Upper Falls,  Crystal Falls,  to hike down Uncle Tom's Trail to get a close-up view of Lower Falls,  and then to Artist Point.   Today's post will be about that visit to the South Rim.

The photo above is of Upper Falls --which can be seen from the South Rim.  Be sure to click on the photos for enlargements.

George took this photo of me standing at  the Upper Falls overlook.

Crystal Falls at Yellowstone  (129 feet)

After seeing Upper Falls,  we hiked along the South Rim Trail --so that we could see another waterfall which many people don't even know is there.   This waterfall is not nearly as large as both Upper Falls and Lower Falls,  but it is pretty.   Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you... The waterfall is blurry since my camera focused on the beautiful greenery.  But--I still like the photo.

Steps going down the Uncle Tom's Trail at Yellowstone

Next,  we hiked DOWN--DOWN--DOWN 500 feet on the Uncle Tom's Trail to get an up-close view of Lower Falls.  There are 328 steps down that steep trail.... Going down was easy--but coming back up can really make one PANT HARD..... It's rough!!!!  But--we did it!

You can tell how steep it was going down into that canyon.  See the Yellowstone River at the bottom??????

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone  (308 feet)

We MADE it ---and seeing this gorgeous waterfall from here made that hike worthwhile....  (Wait a minute:  We haven't gone back up yet!!!!!! ha)

They say that between 5000 and 60,000 gallons of water rush over Lower Falls every SECOND, depending upon whether it is the dry or wet season.....  Wooooooo!!!!

Me at Lower Falls (on Uncle Tom's Trail)

George took my picture to PROVE that I made it!!!!  Believe it or not,  I was still smiling..... NOTE:  I'm still wearing shirts too large for me on this trip  (after losing weight)...  We had/have so many shirts that we have bought through the years --which don't fit me anymore... I have gone from a 2XL or XL down to a Medium!  AND--I'm about 8-10  pounds lighter now than I was in Sept. 2012.

While looking at Lower Falls,  we saw a RAINBOW ---where the sun was still shining on the mist... Neat,  isn't it?

Us at the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone,  on the Uncle Tom's Trail Overlook

A nice man took our photo together while we were down there at the overlook.  Of course,  we reciprocated and took their picture also.

This was taken from Uncle Tom's Trail (South Rim) at Lower Falls --looking across the canyon to two places where we had been that morning on the North Rim (Lookout Point and Red Rock Point).    I knew that our hike down the mountain from Lookout to Red Rock Point  was a hard hike---but when I saw it from this angle,  I realized what a steep hike we had taken.  It wasn't quite as long and hard as Uncle Tom's Trail --but it was steep.  (If you look carefully, you can see people standing at both overlooks.) Sorry about the HAZY photo.... It was getting late in the afternoon.

Us at Lookout Point (North Rim) with Lower Falls in the background--taken that morning

I just have to include these next two photos --which will give you an idea of what Lower Falls looked like from those two lookout points on the North Rim. (Note photo above.) Both of these photos were in previous posts when I was talking about these areas on the North Rim.

We were WAY up there at Lookout Point ---and couldn't believe the difference  while seeing a waterfall from 3 different locations.

Us at Red Rock Point (North Rim) --with the Lower Falls in the background--taken that morning

This photo was taken at Red Rock Point ----which was our favorite view of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.   Amazing how different things look from different areas!!!!   The Lower Falls look quite different from these two overlooks than it did when we were down there next to the falls..

If you want to see our other photos from Lookout and Red Rock Point,  click HERE.

NOW---it's time to head back up those 328 steps.... Pant Pant Pant....

After getting back to the top,  we headed to Artist Point (also on the South Rim).  Again,  I apologize for the hazy photos.  Late afternoon is not the best time to visit Artist Point.  BUT---you can see Yellowstone River as it POURS down the canyon.   AND--you can see Lower Falls in the distance (which is about a mile away).   Upper Falls is beyond Lower Falls --out of sight. 

Here is a photo of George at the overlook at Artist Point.

Another nice person took our photo together at Artist Point..  This overlook is one of the most popular in the park --so we would  love to go back at another time of day,  maybe the morning... The sun was WICKED --as you can tell by my squinting! ha

I'll close with a beautiful view of the canyon --taken from Artist Point.  You can see a tiny bit of the river in a few spots.  BUT--I wanted you to see the colors all around us.  What a marvelous place!!!!!

As you can see,  we took in everything we could on both the North Rim and the South Rim of the Canyon at Yellowstone.   If you ever go to Yellowstone and can hike,  we recommend Uncle Tom's Trail and also the Red Rock Point Trail... IF you cannot do much hiking,  we recommend  Lookout Point (Parking is nearby),  Inspiration Point,  and Artist Point... There are great views of the canyon from all of those areas.

Well--that completes my 3 posts from the Canyon area.  BUT--there's still alot more of Yellowstone to see... I'll try to continue sharing our wonderful trip in September of 2012 with you during the next several months (YEARS)... ha

Hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Hugs,

Emoticons

Romantic Sunset Cruise on the Schooner Alliance, Yorktown, VA 9/22/13

When George and I took our 10 day trip to Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland from September 20-29, 2013, we had many many highlights. However, if I had to choose an overall favorite event, it would be this one, the cruise on the Schooner Alliance on the York River at Yorktown, Virginia, on September 22.  

George has always loved tall ships ---but neither of us had ever sailed on one before. We picked a PERFECT evening since there was quite a bit of wind and the weather was perfect. Being out there on the water sailing ---with no engine noise-- was AWESOME. It was so peaceful!!!!!

WELL--as you can imagine, we both took a bunch of photos. I'll share some with you today --beginning with photos we took on the day BEFORE  (Sept. 21). We drove to Yorktown to see where we would go the next evening.. While there, we watched the ship as it left the dock.... SO--the first 6 photos were taken the day BEFORE we cruised. (We are glad we didn't take the cruise that evening since rain was very close!)

The photo above shows the sign at the dock where people board the ship. Be sure to click on all photos for enlargements.

This is a photo of the Schooner Alliance  waiting to board folks.  The smaller ship there is named Serenity.  It left shore with a small group before the Alliance left.

This is our ship (with a group on Saturday night), as it left shore.

After getting away from shore,  the crew began to hoist the sails.. I enjoyed watching the crew as they worked HARD while we just enjoyed ourselves!

Now there are 3 sails up... There are two more smaller sails on the bow of the boat.

We took this photo of the Alliance from the Yorktown Victory Monument (which I will show you in an upcoming photo taken from the ship that next evening). 

NOW---it is OUR night to enjoy the cruise!!!!!!   The sky was just awesome.  Don't you just love seeing the sunbeams?

One of the crew members took our picture together on the ship.  I was cool --so had my jacket on.  George never gets cold like I do!!!! ha.   (There were probably about 20-30 people total on the ship.)

Here's one more photo taken from the water --looking at the gorgeous sky and the sunbeams.

Since this was a Romantic  Sunset Cruise,  the sun and its colors really showed off JUST for us!!!! The bridge you see is Highway 17 which goes from Yorktown toward Fredericksburg. 

I loved seeing the sun's colors reflecting on the water!!!!  Can you just imagine being on a boat sailing along and looking at this sky????  It was magical!

Here's another photo showing the sun and sky---and the reflections.   I took so many photos and had a hard time choosing what to include here.  SO--I'll just show you several and you can pick your fav's.

This is the Yorktown Victory Monument.   This gorgeous and HUGE monument commemorates the victory,  the alliance with France that brought it about and the resulting peace with England,  which brought about independence for the United States of America in 1783.   (NOTE: The monument is where we took the photo above of the Alliance the day before we sailed.)

What can I say????  I just kept on snapping photos of the gorgeous sky.

Okay---this is enough!!!!!!! ha..... Hope you enjoyed seeing these photos taken from the Schooner Alliance.   I would go on that ship again in a heartbeat!!!!!   It was awesome.  If you ever get to Yorktown,  take a cruise... AND--we recommend the sunset one!!!!

After that 2 hour cruise,  George and I went to a great seafood restaurant in Yorktown on the water for a late dinner... The Riverwalk Restaurant is a great restaurant --and we also recommend it.

Take a minute and go over to my Photo Blog (click HERE) to see one more amazing photo from our cruise.  It is one of my favorites!

Hugs,

Emoticons