Blowing Rocks

At the beginning of August I decided to post some of my favorite pictures of summer. As I sorted  through endless photos, I decided to share pictures of my favorite, local, summer place; Blowing Rocks Preserve.

Blowing Rocks Preserve is 73 acre island sanctuary located in Jupiter, Florida. It has the largest stretch of Anastasia Limestone (anastasia limestone is composed of the remains of ancient coral reefs and shells) in the Atlantic Coast. During high tide, the ocean breaks against the rocks and forces the water up about 50 feet in the air, which gives the preserve its name.

Plan your visit...

Entrace to the beach is $2. The beach is open daily, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (In my experience, this time schedule is very strict. I once lost track of time and the attendant almost locked my car in the parking lot and I had to run almost a mile on the sand to catch up to her). Other than the crazy attendant, this place is beautiful.

Almost forgot, no food or pets allowed. When I visit, I normally stop for a nice breakfast before getting to the beach and bring water bottles in my beach bag.


 



The tide in this picture is not too high, you can still climb down the rocks and walk on the sand. You can also walk a little ways and reach the sandy side that doesn't have any rocks.

During low tide it's very easy to walk on the rocks and see the formations made by water erosion (erosion has carved out the rocks and created cave-like features).

photos by Olema Lewis

Yellowstone National Park

When I was nine my mother signed me up for a subscription to National Geographic magazine and insisted that read about nature. Since then, I've wanted to visit Yellowstone; I was finally able to go this past May :O) ... Yellowstone is an active volcano that has more geysers than anywhere else in the world. About 640,000 years ago it exploded to create the beautiful landscapes we have today. The park is filled with wildlife and beautiful waterfalls. Along our drive we were lucky to see buffalo, deer, a coyote, three grizzly bears, and elk. From the south entrance we were able to stop at Lewis Lake, and West Thumb Geyser Basin.  To the west is Old Faithful and Madison. To the north, we visited Norris, Mammoth, and Tower Falls.

Lewis Falls

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Map of Yellowstone

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Admission: $25 per vehicle
National Geographic - Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park

photos by Olema Lewis

Grand Teton National Park

Yes, Grand Teton means "large tit" in French.  According to Wiki, they were named by a French members of an expedition. However, they could have also been named after the Teton Sioux tribe of Native Americans; I think the name "large tit" is much more fun!

Once you're in the park, the Teton range is toward the west and it's about 5 1/2 hours from the Great Salt Lake.  A little further north is Jenny Lake.  From the lake, we took a ferry over to hidden falls which was great.  The trail to hidden falls was still icy in May and it was a little challenging to climb to the top.  However, it was worth it.

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Map of Jenny Lake



Jenny Lake ferry

Trail to hidden falls (it was icy and a little muddy)

Great Salt Lake

Great Salk Lake

Salt Lake 101: Antelope Island State Park is the perfect place to view the Great Salt Lake and it's also home to about 500 bison. The first thing I want to let everyone know about the salt lake is that the flies are not that bad.  Yes, the flies are a little large and eat the brine shrimp that live in the lake, but it isn't catastrophic like some make it out to be.  Since the lake's only outlet is evaporation, it's salinity is higher than the ocean and doesn't support any other marine life. The lake is very large and there's plenty of room for walking and taking pictures.  The lake also has a newly renovated lunch spot (they have really good bison burgers) and a beautiful visitor's center.

Visitor's Center

Salt Lake

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Admission: $9 per vehicle
Great Salt Lake State Park

Lake Powell, Page, Arizona, U.S.A. - August 2009

Lake Powell is an artificial lake created by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Taking a dinner cruise around the lake is the best way to see it's beauty.

Picture by: O.Lewis

The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A. - August 2009

The Canyon is beautiful and peaceful.  The silence and the distant view of the Colorado river is amazing. Although our visit to the Canyon was in August, the elevation makes for nice weather, about 70-75 degrees. Mule trips are available to the bottom of the Canyon.  There are also white-water rafting and kayak trips available.


Grand Canyon National Park
Picture by: O. Lewis

Ruby Falls

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, U.S.A - December 2008

Those mountains are really smoky! As the fog thickens, driving through them in the winter can be tricky business, but they are still amazing.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Picture by: O.Lewis