A view of Granite Mountain from Williamson Valley. Topping off at 7,628 feet, Granite Mountain covers approximately 12 square miles. Originally known as Mount Gurly honoring the first governor of the Arizona Territory. Gurley, a congressman from Ohio, was appointed by President Lincoln to be governor but died before taking office. The southwest face has a sheer granite cliff 500 feet high providing excellent rock climbing opportunities.

Granite Mountain is at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas and borders Williamson Valley on the east, the Santa Maria Mountains on the northwest and Skull Valley on the west.

#GraniteMountain #WilliamsonValley #Prescott #PrescottNationalForest #SierraPrietas #MountGurly #JohnAGurly

On the road from Chicago to Prescott in 2016  I captured this scene on Route 50 through Colorado. It is the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The Blue Mesa Reservoir formed from the Gunnison River.
#Colorado #GunnisonRiver #CurecantiNationalRecreationArea #RoadTrip #BlueMesaReservoir

Kualoa Farms is a 4,000 acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch located in Kamehameha Highway on the east coast of Oahu. Kualoa Farms has 2 listings on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is open for tours and activities. Visit their website for more information www.kualoa.com/
#KualoaFarms #Hawaii #Oahu #CattleRanch #NatureReserve #NationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces

From 2012 - A couple of ducks fishing on Lake Michigan just off the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
#LakeMichigan #Fishing #Ducks #SheddAquarium #Chicago

Hanging Lake is a National Natural Landmark located in Glenwood Springs Colorado and is part of the National Park Service. Water flows over Bridal Veil Falls into the travertine lake. The lake is an extremely fragile ecosystem , which limits human contact. There is no swimming, wading or fishing and dogs are not allowed in or near the lake.

Access to the lake is via a steep trail which climbs 1000 feet in 1.2 miles.

The Grizzly Creek Fire (2020) and severe flooding in 2021 from the burn scar caused significant damage to the trail, which is under reconstruction in 2024. Because of this and other human caused issues, the National Park Service limits hiking the trail through the use of reservations.

#HangingLake #GlenwoodSprings #NationalParkService #Colorado

Completed in 1791, the Portland Head Light is the oldest lighthouse in Maine and the most photographed lighthouse in America.
#PortlandHeadLight #PortlandMaine #Lighthouse #CascoBay #Maine #AtlanticOcean

Picture from 2013 - A July sunset over Mooselookmeguntic Lake near Rangeley Maine. Mooseloomeguntic is an Abnaki word meaning moose feeding place. The Abnaki are of the Algonquian people living chiefly in Maine and Quebec.

I first discovered Mooselookmeguntic Lake in 2001 during a week long bicycle tour called the Moose Tour which began and ended in South Paris, Maine. Unfortunately I never saw a moose during the three years I rode on the tour.

#MooseloomegunticLake #Maine #RangeleyMaine #Abnaki #Algonquian #Quebec #Moose #TheMooseTour #SouthParisMaine #BicycleTour

Picture from 2011  - On this date in 1930 preliminary work commences on the Hoover Dam. Actual construction of the dam structure would not begin until 1931. The Hoover Dam Bypass opened in October 2010. The <ike O'Callaghan=Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.  The bridge is named for the Governor of Nevada (1971-79) and Tillman, who left a career in the NFL to enlist in the Army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  He was subsequently killed in Afghanistan in 2004.

#Hooverdam #Callaghan-TillmanMemorialBridge  #ColoradoRiver #Lake Mead #Arizona #Colorado

But aren't all rodeos? From 2014 This was my first Rodeo after moving to Prescott, Arizona - I was lucky enough to be in a front seat for the entrance at the beginning of the Rodeo before the playing of the National Anthem .


#Rodeo #World'sOldestRodeo #PrescottArizona #PrescottFrontierDays #Americana #AmericanFlag #StarsandStripes #Horse #GodBlessAmerica

From 2017 - When patrons were allowed to bring cameras into the arena. The World's Oldest Rodeo is held over the Independence Day week in Prescott Arizona each year in conjunction with Prescott Frontier Days Celebration. Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band mentions Prescott in the tune "One Hand in the Riggin' "  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmqdw4kwB5s
#PrescottFrontierDays #WorldsOldestRodeo #PrescottArizona #Rodeo #Cowboys #Horses