Ricketts Glen State Park

June 21, 2013

 I am linking up with Gemma's  Scenic Weekend 

Last weekend we visited Ricketts Glen State Park in Benton Pennsylvania. This is the third time we visited this park.The first two times hubby and I hiked the loop trail that passes the 22 named waterfalls. The 13,050 acres is known for its old growth forest. This time we started the trail from another direction and saw only some waterfalls. I am sharing the waterfalls that I was able to see on this trip.

This waterfall above is called Murray Reynolds. This park is named after R. Bruce Ricketts a hotel proprietor. Mr. Ricketts also built the trail along the waterfalls from 1873 to 1903.

This waterfall is called Sheldon Reynolds.

These are some cascades that were close to the area called "The Waters Meet". Actually two parts of Kitchen creek  follow the loop trail and meet at this spot. I read that the trees in this area have never been cut.

This waterfall is called Harrison Wright.

 The tallest waterfall Ganoga Falls is 94 ft. The park is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. It is also named an Important Bird Area by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society. The Waterfalls loop trail is very popular and is considered one of the best hikes in the Eastern United States.

 These are some links to my previous post on our visits to Ricketts Glen :  Ricketts Glen falls trail and Ricketts Glen State Park

I hope you enjoyed my scenic weekend.  I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.  

 Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments. Thanks for stopping by to see my post and thanks to Gemma for hosting Scenic Weekends.

Grand Caverns, Grottoes Virginia

  I am linking up with Gemma's  Scenic Weekend 

A few weekends ago hubby and I took a tour of the Grand Caverns in Grottoes, Virginia. The Grand Caverns were discovered in 1804 by trapper Bernard Weyer. The Caverns were declared a National Natural landmark in 1973. It is the oldest opened show cave in North America.

These photos are much nicer to see on a larger image, so please click on the photo to see the scene enlarged.  I have to say I am sorry for posting so many photos, but I took so many and it was hard choosing which ones to use.

 

The colored light were pretty, I was not able to capture the reflection in the little pond in front.

I believe some of the shapes like above are called draperies.

The various shapes and colors are kind of neat. My hubby is the spleunker in the family, he is a member of the Baltimore Grotto Club. I do not mind going into the commercial caves but I have some awful experiences going into the private caves with my hubby.  

It is hard to believe but these caverns were opened to the public in the 1800's and one room in the cavern is called the Grand Ballroom. They actually held dances with bands and refreshments by candlelight back in the early 1800's . Electric lighting was not added until 1889.

The tour is approximately 1 mile of walking and around 70 minutes long.

This round disc shape was really cool. This cavern has over 200 rare shield formations.

The shapes were amazing, it was a shame to see some pieces were broken off.

It is hard to photograph some of these shapes...but they are thin and disc like in shape. These were the shield formations.

This shot shows just how big some of the shapes were compared to the people on the tour. I would highly recommend visiting the Grand Caverns if you are in the area. It is not too far off from the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.

Some of the other posts I did from our cave visits in other areas: this was in Curacao More scenes from Curacao and another cave visit in Bermuda here Bermuda's Crystal cave


I hope you enjoyed my scenic weekend.  I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.  

 Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments. Thanks for stopping by to see my post and thanks to Gemma for hosting Scenic Weekends.

Backyard Blooms

  I am linking up with Gemma's  Scenic Weekend 

For this week's Scenic Weekend  I am sharing my backyard blooms. Hubby has the green thumb and the flowers are looking beautiful this spring. You will see that purple is the theme of our gardens and yard. Purple irises, purple clematis, purple rhododendrons.

You can click on the photos for larger viewing images.  

 In my yard these irises look purple but when taking their photo they show up more blueish?

I hope you enjoyed my bloom. 

I hope you enjoyed my scenic weekend.  I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.  

 Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments. Thanks for stopping by to see my post and thanks to Gemma for hosting Scenic Weekends.