Tag Archives: photography

What to Read Before a Safari in Africa

August 23, 2022 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

water buffalo eating grass in Kenya — a curious water buffalo in Kenya

When it comes to travel, anticipation is half the fun. That’s why I read a huge assortment of books—both fiction and non-fiction—before going on a safari in Kenya.

This was a shooting-only-photos sort of safari, of course, and promised mind-blowing close-up experiences with the animals. Yet, in my pre-trip reading I found stories of people through their memoirs provided amazing adventure, along with historical context of the British colonial era versus the modern-day politics of Kenya. You can’t top the excitement, drama and tragedy of real life there.

Not going to Africa any time soon? These books will take you there anyway. Here are a few favorites;

Out of Africa

Probably the most famous story and movie of Kenya is Karen Blixen’s (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen) Out of Africa. If you haven’t seen the movie in a while, go find it because it’s a great romance story and just stunning visually.When we arrived in Nairobi, we stayed at the House of Waine, a little hotel in what is now called the Karen District, which is mainly comprised of land that was once Karen Blixen’s coffee farm. Though it took forever for her to travel to Nairobi from the farm when she moved there in the early 1900s, the city has grown so that the farm is now simply part of the city.

Classic books by Karen Blixen (Isak Dinese) and Beryl Markham who lived in Kenya at about the same time and competed for the affections of Denys Finch Hatton.

home Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, in Nairobi — The home of Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), author of *Out of Africa*, is now a museum with beautiful grounds, preserved as it was when she lived there early in the last century.

Her home is open for tours and looks much the way one would imagine it, though I didn’t see anyone who looked like Meryl Street or Robert Redford.

Beryl Markham was a British-born Kenyan aviator (one of the first bush pilots), adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. She was Blixen’s contemporary and also a competitor for the affection of safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton. She wrote of her adventures in West with the Night and Paula McLain covered her story in the novel Circling the Sun.

Love, Life and Elephants

young elephant spraying himself with red dust in kenya — Elephants often spray themselves with dust to protect their hide from the sun.

We stopped by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi to see the staff there as they care for the baby elephants they rescue. The trust cares for hundreds of orphaned and injured elephants and re-introduces them into the wild. Elephants are super social animals that love to play and tussle in the mud and dust. I’m a proud adopted parent of a baby elephant named Esoit whose mother was mortally wounded and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust brought him to its Nairobi compound. Check out the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust web site to adopt your own elephant and find out more about this remarkable organization.

Dame Daphne Sheldrick tells her story of growing up in Kenya and the founding of this organization in her book Love, Life and Elephants.

Another must-see in Nairobi include the Kasuri bead factory where artisans who are single moms or developmentally disabled fashion beautiful beads by hand. And, they occasionally take breaks for beautiful singing.

giraffe eating at Nairobi's Giraffe Centre — Enjoying a snack at the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi, Kenya

Finally, Nairobi’s Giraffe Centre giraffecentre.org offers an opportunity to get up close to giraffes (close enough to feed them from your hand) and learn about efforts to save their habitat.

Born Free

Giraffe near Elsa’s Kopje in Meru National Park

In her famous novel, also later a movie, Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds, Joy Adamson recounts the story of Elsa the lion cub as she make the transition between the captivity in which she is raised and the wild to which she is returned. Our first stop in the bush was in Meru National Park and we stayed in a camp called Elsa’s Kopje. It’s located above the site of George Adamson’s original camp where he raised and released orphan lions. The intricately thatched cottages and other lodge buildings are sculpted right into Mughwango Hill. sometimes with boulders and trees inside, and look like hobbit houses. Here in the khaki colored grasslands we had our first encounters with with elephants, giraffe, zebra and birds galore.

We also visited Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Mara North Conservancy and Maasai Mara National Reserve where we saw herds of zebra and wildebeast that stretched for miles as they made the Great Migration across the Mara River between Kenya and Tanzania.

We saw the “big five” —lions, leopards, rhinocerus, elephants and water buffalo. Half the fun came via the friendly hospitality of the Kenyan people as well as the incredible knowledge—and eyesight!—of the guides who drove us around. They helped us spot everything from ostriches to wart hogs, find elusive leopards and watch a pride of lions and their cubs right out of The Lion King.

I Dreamed of Africa

The Italian-born author and environmentalist Kuki Gallmann tells the story of her life in Kenya and its rewards and tragedies in her memoir I Dreamed of Africa. After reading that book, I was much more worried about puff adders than the larger animals I encountered. You can follow her on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/KukiGallmann

Unbowed

Masaai woman in traditional beaded garments

If you’re looking for something that isn’t all about white people coming to live in Kenya, Wangari Mathia’s autobiography Unbowed, reveals the struggles and accomplishments of an amazing Kenyan woman who grew up in the central highlands of Kenya when it was still a British colony. She became a politician, environmental activist, and in 2004, the first African woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. She founded the Green Belt Movement which had by the early 21st century planted some 30 million trees. Leaders of the Green Belt Movement established the Pan African Green Belt Network in 1986 in order to educate world leaders about conservation and environmental improvement.

It’s a terrific book to understand the interplay between environmental conservation and the local people’s economic well-being, and how humans and animals must co-exist.

Kansas, travel inspiration

A Road Trip Through The Flint Hills of Kansas: Part Two

November 22, 2019 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

The second half of a road trip through the Flint Hills of Kansas reveals more about modern life on the prairie and the pioneer spirit of the ranchers, entrepreneurs and artists who make the Flint Hills their home.

In my previous article, I covered a few of the surprises that await travelers to the Flint Hills if they leave the freeway and explore the tallgrass prairie of Kansas. But, the fun of a road trip here in the center of America is as much about meeting the people as seeing the unique environment of the prairie.

They’re the people bestselling Kansas author Sarah Smarsh wrote about in a New York Times op-ed “Something Special is Happening in Rural America” where she reported “a prairie trend of young people, drawn by family ties and affordable entrepreneurship, returning to rural and small-town homes” and bringing new life to the region.

Says Smarsh, “From where I sit, they are heroes of the American odyssey — seeing value where others see lack, returning with the elixir of hard-won social capital to help solve the troubles of home.” Some are young, yes, but you’ll also meet people staking a claim in the Flint Hills as a second career. They’re all pioneers, re-settling parts of this region that have emptied out. Like their forebears, they’re ready to take risks and pack with them an outsized dose of imagination and optimism. The newcomers are joining Flint Hills folks who have stayed for generations. They’re happy to share their ranching heritage whether you’re putting down stakes or just passing through.

Where the Deer and the Antelope and the Symphony Play

the audience at Symphony in the Flint Hills, — The massive audience enjoys the Symphony in the Flint Hills, which presents the Kansas City Symphony annually in spectacular prairie settings. (Photo courtesy of Kansas Tourism)

For imagination and optimism, you can’t beat The Symphony in the Flint Hills. Who would think of hauling gigantic pieces of sound equipment, generators, huge tents, stages, and the musicians of the Kansas City Symphony to a location in the wild tallgrass prairie? That’s while working to protect the delicate terrain below the feet of the 7,000-plus people who attend the annual event. And gutsy? Consider the likelihood of the Kansas weather holding out for an outdoor event in this land of twisters.

The Symphony in the Flint Hills debuted in June 2006 and has moved every year to different Flint Hills sites. The event also features educational activities and speakers who explore a variety of topics including the ecology, the people and the future of the region. It gained followers, plenty of press, and drew people in to experience the area’s small towns, activities, and art…until last year.

In 2019, storms slammed the concert venue with howling winds that shredded the huge tents and saturated the ground so completely it made parking in the pastures impossible. The event was cancelled and that left Symphony in the Flint Hills with huge bills to pay. Yet, with true prairie gumption, they’ve sprung back and plan to hold the next big event in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, on June 13, 2020.

New Life in Small Towns

Bill McBride is a Chicago architect turned prairie sculptor and conservationist in Matfield Green, Kansas.

Bill McBride loves the prairie. You have to have an overwhelming passion for open spaces, nature and trains, too, to trade Chicago for tiny Matfield Green which sits adjacent to the Flint Hills Scenic Byway and the BNSF railroad. McBride, a Harvard-trained architect ran a successful firm in Chicago and designed prize-winning buildings until he chucked it all and moved to Matfield Green about 13 years ago. Once a small town of 350 with shops, a post office and a school of its own, the village almost vanished into the prairie like a tumbleweed until a small band of artists, writers and musicians came here lured by the beauty of the prairie and and affordable real estate. They’ve upped the population to around 60.

Artist Bill McBride stands aside his work, “Timber Arches,” on the PrairyArt Path in Matfield Green, Kansas.

Now McBride concentrates on sculpture. Our journey with Prairie Earth Tours stopped to see his work along the PrairyArt Path. It makes a great place to take in McBride’s large sculpture installations while strolling through prairie grass and flowers, over a stone arch bridge, and through the remnants of Matfield Green’s historic cattle pens. Also on the property: old railroad bunkhouses that once housed workers for the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. They’re among the very few such bunkhouses left in the country and lasted only because they were used as storage. McBride and friends restored the bunkhouses and turned them into guest casitas now called Matfield Station, and you can rent them on Airbnb.

For a more posh place to rest your head, check into the Historic Elgin Hotel in Marion, Kansas, where you’ll meet other modern-day prairie pioneers. Wichita natives, Jeremy and Tammy Ensey operate the Elgin which was built in 1886 and billed as “a monument to Marion’s glory and a common pride to citizens.” The hotel offered 42 rooms and shared bathrooms. From those glory days, it gradually collapsed into disrepair before it was renovated and re-opened in 2009.

Tammy Ensey greets guests at the door of the Historic Elgin Hotel in Marion, Kansas.

salad at Elgin Hotel — A colorful salad at the Historic Elgin Hotel’s restaurant, Parlour 1886.

Guests of the Elgin’s shared-bathroom days in the 1800s would be astonished to see its 12 plush suites with bathrooms equipped with jacuzzi tubs and spa showers. The Enseys took over the property three years ago and added a restaurant, Parlour 1886, and imported executive chef Michael Trimboli from New York City.

Back at the Ranch

A good portion of the Flint Hills lies in Chase County, or simply “the county,” to many locals. In his book PrairyErth, William Least Heat-Moon describes Chase County as the most easterly piece of the American West. The county, he says, “looks much the way visitors want rural western America to look.” Drive the backroads here—with vast open spaces, cattle ranches and wild mustangs—and you’ll see just what he’s talking about.

The county looks much the way visitors want rural western America to look.

We stopped by Pioneer Bluffs Center for Ranching Heritage, a 12-acre homestead that is now a National Historic District. Their mission is to preserve the heritage of the Flint Hills and to educate the public about ranching in history and how it’s practiced today. You can tour Pioneer Bluff’s classic 1908 farm house and log cabin. They’ve also amassed vintage film clips and filmed a series of interviews with Flint Hills ranchers and cowhands that are great to watch. It’s especially interesting to hear the pride everyone takes in their long family connection to the land, something few people experience.

Kristen Cloud and her dogs help drive cattle and guide guests on horseback at the Flying W ranch.

For an extra dose of cowboy and cowgirl culture, we spent the night at the Flying W, where fifth generation cattle ranchers Josh and Gwen Hoy run cattle and entertain guests on their 7,000 acre ranch. I was delighted to learn that Josh Hoy is related renowned plainsman Charles Goodnight, who was the inspiration for the Woodrow Call character in Larry McMurtry’s classic novel, Lonesome Dove. See more about Goodnight in my article about Amarillo, Texas.

The “calaboose” in one of many guest accommodations at Flying W ranch.

After a chuckwagon dinner, we saddled up for a sunset horseback ride, ride, posse-style–no boring nose-to-tail riding here. Guests may also participate in cattle drives, go hiking or simply put their boots up and relax in accommodations that include a large lodge, a bunkhouse, and smaller cabins, all appropriately western and rustic.

Mosey Into town

With its old brick streets and vintage buildings, the town of Cottonwood Falls in Chase County looks like a great watering hole for not only the cowboys of the 1850s, but also modern-day cowhands and girls in search of a weekend getaway, too. Read about the historic red-roofed Chase County Courthouse that crowns Broadway street in my post about the jail there. Stroll the Broadway’s three-block span and you’ll find art galleries (including the lovely Symphony in the Flint Hills shop/gallery), boutiques, Metamorphosis Day Spa, restaurants and antique stores with merchandise that would please HGTV “Fixer Upper” fans.

The Chase County Courthouse sits at the end of Cottonwood Falls’ main street, Broadway.

After living in southern California for over 20 years, Kris and Pat Larkin settled in Cottonwood Falls to pursue what seems like a very ambitious “second act” in life. They bought and renovated numerous historic properties (including a church) around town and in neighboring Strong City and turned them into guest houses. They also opened the popular eatery, Ad Astra. “We love it here,” says Pat. “The values, affordable entrepreneurialism, and especially the people.”

You can kick back with Flint Hills residents at Emma Chase Friday Night Music. These free jam sessions take place indoors at the Prairie PastTimes artist cooperative. Or, in summer, bring your lawn chair and plunk it down right in the street for a concert in front of the Symphony in the Flint Hills gallery. Depending on the Friday, you’ll hear local musicians perform bluegrass, country and gospel music.

You may not want to move from your home in the city to put down roots here on the tallgrass prairie. But for a short time, even visitors can tune into the Americana vibe that is part of life in the Flint Hills.

Kansas, travel inspiration

A Road trip through the flint hills of kansas: Part One

November 11, 2019 Terri Peterson Smith 6 Comments

On a road trip through the Flint Hills of Kansas, travelers experience the otherworldly beauty of America’s prairie and meet the people who make the Flint Hills their home.

The middle of the U.S. seems like a featureless place, “Flyover Country” and for road trippers, “Drive-By Country,” that’s easy to dismiss on your way to a more interesting destination. Even though I live in Minnesota, which often falls in that “flyover” category, I’ve been as misguided as all the other travelers who eschew the plains and prairies for more dramatic place with mountains and oceans. Without slowing down to look, I didn’t see the quiet drama of the land here, or the interesting people who are so proud of the land where their families have lived for generations.

Actually, if you’re looking for dramatic scenery, put prairie fires near the top of your list.

For example, on road trip to the southwest last spring, we blasted by the Flint Hills of Kansas making a beeline down the center of the country on I-35. The only thing we noticed on the way past the edge of the Flint Hills was that much of the land was on fire. “Those poor people,” I thought. “Their land is in flames.” (Actually, if you’re looking for dramatic scenery, put prairie fires near the top of your list.) But I didn’t know the significance of those flames, which are far from accidental.

The Lure of the Prairie

Our trip started in Wichita, the largest city in the state of Kansas. Before the trip I read Sarah Smarsh’s bestseller Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth. Her book covers many of the reasons why farm families and women in particular stay trapped in a cycle of poverty. She depicts what was both beautiful and sorrowful growing up in this region.

However, Smarsh’s New York Times op-ed “Something Special is Happening in Rural America” offers a more upbeat view of what’s going on in rural areas across the country. She reports “a prairie trend of young people, drawn by family ties and affordable entrepreneurship, returning to rural and small-town homes around college graduation. They’re opening restaurants or starting small, unconventional farming operations.”

Casey Cagle, owner of Prairie Earth Tours discusses native grasses and plants in the Flint Hills — Casey Cagle, owner of Prairie Earth Tours

We met these folks in the Flint Hills, starting with our tour guide, Casey Cagle, owner of Prairie Earth Tours. He grew up in the region, traveled the world as a tour guide for other operators, then came home to start his own business.

First Stop: Elderslie Farm

goats in goat barn at Elderslie Farms in Kansas — Friendly goats at Elderslie Farm. Check the farm’s website for timing of farm dinners, often featuring their own goat milk cheese.

Drive just a few minutes from the Wichita city limits and you’ll find yourself in farm country. We stopped at Elderslie Farm on our way to the Flint Hills, a cool place where George Elder (a former teacher) and his family have turned family land into a “small unconventional farming operation” like those in Smarsh’s essay. They offer an array of opportunities for visitors to enjoy “agritourism” at its best.

For example, their family home has become a restaurant where you’ll see family portraits in the dining room and menus that incorporate regional food. George’s wife, Katharine, is the executive chef. You can pick blackberries, meet their herd of goats and slurp tasty goat milk gelato and outstanding goat milk cheese, too. At Elderslie Farm they also mill local black walnut trees into boards and slabs that architects and carpenters value to create stunning furniture and other decor.

Katherine and George Elderslie at Elderslie Farm in Kansas — Katharine and George Elder at Elderslie Farm.

Mouthwatering goat cheese from Elderslie Farm goats in Kansas.

Grace Hill Winery

From Elderslie Farm, you may want to stop at Grace Hill Winery in Whitewater which the Sollo family launched in 2008 on an abandoned homestead. Their wines revolve around cold climate grapes grown on the farm and from other parts of Kansas.

The 23 types of wine they offer tend to the sweet side and come with distinctive names such as their best-seller, Peckerhead Red, as well as Dodging Tornadoes, Flatlander and Cloe’s Cuvee (named after the family dog) with equally clever labels to match. For me, the dryer white Vignoles offers more crisp and fruity appeal. They’re happy to sell you a few bottles to take along on your trip.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

The Flint Hills run through Kansas roughly from Wichita in the South to Topeka in the north. In the southern Flint Hills, you’ll find Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, which the National Park Service operates in partnership with the Nature Conservancy.

Stretching 18-to 20 feet deep, the massive root system of prairie grasses–big bluestem, wild alfalfa, switchgrass, Indian grass and buffalo grass–sequester more carbon than a forest.

This 11,000 acre preserve is a portion of the vast tallgrass prairie that once covered more than 170 million acres of the United States, from Indiana to Kansas and from Canada to Texas. Nearly all of it is gone, plowed under for agriculture or urban development. Of the roughly 4 percent that remains today, about two-thirds survives in the Flint Hills of Kansas and in Oklahoma.

Early explorers considered the tall grass prairie “the Great American Desert” but on a park service tour of the preserve, I learned there’s much more going on in the waving grasses than meets the eye. Stretching 18-to 20 feet deep, the massive root system of prairie grasses–big bluestem, wild alfalfa, switchgrass, Indian grass and buffalo grass–sequester more carbon than a forest.

Tall grass and flowers stretch as far as the eye can see at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Flint Hills, Kansas.

Author William Least Heat-Moon wrote in great detail about this section of the prairie in his 1991 book, PrairyErth (A Deep Map). I mean huge detail, so you may want to do some skimming to get through this 600-plus-page volume, but it’s worth it for the background and wry observations that Heat-Moon offers.

Standing in the middle of this sea of grass, one feels as William Least Heat Moon described it, “open to the elements—wind, rain, cold and fire.”

Especially the wind. He says “the grasses are the “offspring of the wind.” The wind he says, “works to the detriment of trees, but grasses bend and keep their wild parts under ground.” Stretching 18-to 20 feet deep, the massive root system of prairie grasses–big bluestem, wild alfalfa, switchgrass, Indian grass and buffalo grass–sequesters more carbon than a forest.

naturalist at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve — Hold onto your hat. The wind is factor in prairie ecology as you’ll understand on a visit to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

And, though you’d never expect it, prairies are second to the rainforests in biodiversity. The preserve holds 500 species of plants, nearly 150 species of birds, 39 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 31 species of mammals. It’s a critical habitat for monarch butterflies and prairie chickens, too. In 2009, The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service reintroduced bison to the preserve. The herd has reached 100 bison and you may see them on your tour.

Prairie Fires

Even this small remainder of tallgrass prairie wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the layers of chert (flint) in the ground here that gave the Flint Hills region its name. Thankfully, the rocky terrain the Flint Hills region was too rocky to farm, saving it from the plow. However, the rich grasses were perfect for animal grazing, first buffalo, then cattle. But, without the natural prairie cycle of weather, fire and animal grazing the land would become forested. That’s why, since the days of the earliest human occupants of the prairie, people have burned the land to renew the grass and keep trees from taking over.

fire on flint hills prairie at night' — a controlled burn of the prairie grassland in Kansas

Each spring, Flint Hills ranchers set fire to the grassy land, often dragging a device called a fire stick (basically a long pipe connected to a gasoline tank) behind an ATV. Unlike other regions of the U.S., fire here means renewal, not fear. In a few weeks, the land is green with fresh grass and the cycle resumes.

See my next post for more on the Flint Hills.

(The striking fire photos at the beginning and the end of this article come courtesy of Kansas Tourism.)

Kansas, Photography, travel inspiration

The Old jail, cottonwood falls, Kansas

October 1, 2019 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

rectangles and squares formed by metal slats in the old jail in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas — Heavy metal slats are riveted together to form a grid of squares and rectangles in the old jail of the Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

Tucked inside the beautiful Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, you’ll find the nastiest, roughest little jail you’ve ever seen. It seems like one night here would be enough to set anyone on the straight and narrow. Still, judging from the names repeatedly scrawled on the walls, there were several inmates who just couldn’t stay away.

Unlike other old jails I’ve seen where cells are enclosed by bars, the cells here are made from crossed slats of heavy metal. They form a pattern of rectangles and squares that creates a dreary feeling, impenetrable and unforgiving. Nonetheless, it’s fun to see if you’re only there for a visit. You get there through the jury room adjacent to the imposing courtroom.

With its red mansard roof, the Chase County courthouse is a Kansas landmark

The ugliness of the jail contrasts with the beauty of the rest of the building which was built in the French Renaissance style. Completed in 1873 the Chase County Courthouse is the older Kansas courthouse still in use. It’s constructed constructed of walnut and limestone, topped with a red mansard roof that stands high over this Flint Hills prairie town.

The courthouse is characterized by the distinctive shape of the roof. Standing 113-feet tall, you can see the courthouse and its red mansard roof from vantage points throughout the county on most days.

While you’re at the courthouse, be sure to look for more shapes in the architecture.

Look up from the bottom of the spiral staircase Chase County courthouse

more shapes to see in the staircase at the chase county courthouse — Looking down from the third floor of the Chase County courthouse

Photography, travel inspiration, United States, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, One of My Favorite Places

May 10, 2018 Terri Peterson Smith 2 Comments

Ever since I worked as a waitress in Yellowstone National Park in college it’s been one of my favorite places in the world. A couple of years ago I went there with my family in winter which made it even more special. Very few people, just animals, geysers and solitude.

Hawaii, Photography, travel inspiration

The Honolulu Fish Auction

March 7, 2018 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

SONY DSC — Wholesalers bid on tuna, opah, snapper and more, fresh off the boat, at the Honolulu Fish Auction.

A Visual Fish Tale

All that goes on behind the scenes at the Honolulu Fish Auction in Honolulu, Hawaii, makes a fairly complex story . Yet, this photo delivers the gist of it.

It’s around 4:30 a.m. Fishing boats have arrived in port through the night and unloaded their ocean catch at Pier 38 on Honolulu Harbor. Auction workers have set out the ice-covered pallets of fish in the damp and extra-cold air of the market building.

Wholesale buyers arrive around 5:00 or earlier to examine the fish–thousands of pounds of tuna, marlin swordfish, snapper, opah and many others–and carefully evaluate it for freshness, fat content and other qualities. At about 5:30, a bell rings and they gather in a competitive scrum around the auctioneer who quickly takes their bids.

These are valuable fish and it’s serious business. A single fish may go for upwards of $1000. Each fish is tagged with the name of the winning bidder and sent off to the buyer’s wholesale or retail operations, in Hawaii and on the mainland.

Visitors may tour the market. Afterward, head over to Nico’s restaurant on Pier 38 for breakfast or shop at their market. You can’t get any fresher tuna for sushi or poke than right here.

Photography, Utah

Silence of a Ghost Town—Grafton, Utah

January 19, 2018 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

Silence. No people, just empty buildings and cobwebs gathering in the windows.

Aside from the occasional door creaking in the breeze, there’s no place more silent than a ghost town. Travel down a rough dirt road from Utah Highway 9 to find one such place, the desolate Grafton, Utah.

Beautiful But Brutal

This ghost town was a Mormon settlement located near what is now Zion National Park. Grafton was established in 1859 on beautiful and fertile land in the Virgin River floodplain. (The Virgin River is the one that carved out the spectacular canyon that contains what is now Zion National Park and its the location of one of the world’s most famous hikes, The Narrows.)

Grafton was pretty yes, but not a top-notch place to live. These farmers experienced floods (no surprise in a floodplain) and Indian attacks as well as brutal weather in both summer and winter. Before long, most residents packed up their wagons and headed to nearby Rockville, though the last of them didn’t leave until 1944.

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Serene Yet Haunting

Now, visitors may stroll around the five buildings that remain from the town’s 30-some structures. Peak into the schoolhouse/church, walk inside a home, wander around farm buildings and the old cemetery. The Grafton Heritage Partnership has restored them. The surrounding farmland and orchards are still used, but you’ll probably be the only person there.

Enjoy the silence.

Utah

Arches National Park, Utah

October 26, 2017 Terri Peterson Smith 2 Comments

The WordPress photo challenge this week is “rounded” which immediately brought to mind my recent trip to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Sculpted by wind, water and time southern Utah is like a geological Disneyland. It’s no wonder there are five national parks in the region (and some stunning state parks), each quite different but equally amazing.

In Arches, giant rounded rock forms have emerged over thousands of years as potholes near cliff edges grow deeper and deeper until they wear through the cliff wall below them.

Park ranger Victoria Coraci was our guide on Arches’s aptly named hike, The Fiery Furnace.

We arrived in Moab during the heat of August, with temperatures soaring to 100 degrees. “Dry” heat or not, that hot! Consequently, we ducked into a few shops in the afternoon to get out of the heat. One was a terrific bookstore on Main Street in Moab, Back of Beyond Books. There I discovered the work of the revered environmental writer Edward Abbey. In Desert Solitaire, which I highly recommend for anyone planning a visit to Arches.

Regarded as one of the finest in American literature, the book recounts his time as a park ranger in Arches and his opinions of the crowds that flock to national parks. He’d be apoplectic is he could see the throngs now in many parks. Still, if you go at the right time of year and early or late in the day, you too can experience “desert solitaire.”

We trekked out into Arches at night with Moab photographer Dan Norris for a little starlight photography. Here’s Dan’s amazing photo of the the Milky Way:

FinsMilkyWay1_fb 2 — A photo of rock “fins’ and the Milky Way in Arches National Park. See more of Dan Norris’s photography and his photo tours see his web site.

Italy

A Place to Relax in Tuscany

December 2, 2016 Terri Peterson Smith 1 Comment

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Italian cities are fascinating places to visit but they’re often crowded and hectic. So, I look for places to relax in the Italian countryside. A great example is Frances’ Lodge Relais, a rustic yet elegant old farm, just outside Sienna. Hosts Franca and Franco provide great touring tips, luxurious breakfasts in the garden and, sometimes, a picnic dinner of homemade pasta under the olive trees. Best of all, relaxing “under the Tuscan sun” with wine and a book by their beautiful pool with a view of the Sienna skyline.

This is my entry for this week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge with the topic of Relax.

Morocco

Fun: in Marrakesh, Morocco

Image August 12, 2016 Terri Peterson Smith Leave a comment

This is in response to the weekly Photo Challenge: Fun. Woohoo!

Off The Beaten Page Travel