Welcome to the world famous Columbia River Gorge! We hope that you enjoyed your hike and waterfall tour. Our day was filled with "postcard" and "calendar" worthy scenery.
All of you have similar sites in your home regions. Tell us about one of your natural or cultural attractions that visitors come to see. Please include any links to the site that we might enjoy!
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Meridian Hill park is a 12 acre plot of land in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is just north of the office/business district, and borders 15th and 16th streets to the east and west and Euclid and W streets to the north and south. I enjoying showing visitors this park because it is nestled in the middle of an urban setting. The north end of the park sits atop a large hill, offering a view of the Washington Monument and US Capitol Building. It is a favorite spot among locals of "The District" (as we call it) to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July.
One of the intriguing features of the park is the thirteen cascade fountains found in the center of the park. Water spills down from the top, filling one bowl, then overflowing into the next, until it reaches the large reflecting pool in the plaza at the bottom. You can check it out here: http://www.nps.gov/mehi/
The history of Meridian Hill is also very interesting, as the site is also known as "Malcolm X Park." This is because the park was once a gathering point for many of Washington, DC's political rallies and protests (especially after Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination.)
Meridian Hill park also is home to various sporting fields, honorary statues, and a drum circle every Sunday afternoon.
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in SW Wyoming and northern Utah features over 100 miles of shoreline. The Flaming Gorge Dam was built in 1963 on the Green River as part of the Colorado River Storage Project, providing water to Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. The brilliant red rock walls tower above the reservoir. There are petroglyphs dating back 3,000 years. There are also tee-pee rings near the northern end of Flaming Gorge Reservoir left from the ancient tribes who camped there so long ago.
Boaters and anglers come from all over the world to catch German brown trout, kokanee salmon, smallmouth bass and huge lake trout, some weighing 50 pounds. Juniper trees dot the rocky hillsides and one can spot a titmouse and kangaroo rat. If you like tall red rocks, miles of sandy shores, crayfish and watching birds this is the place to go. The town of Green River, WY is the place where John Wesley Powell began his expedition down the Green River, long before the dam was built. The Forest Service has many visitor centers that will assist with the interpretation of the Flaming Gorge. You can still get away from people and feel like you are the only persons on the Gorge. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area is a beautiful place and you really ought to come on down and visit!
I am going to Meridian Hill Park and Flaming Gorge Reservoir! Wow. Talk about fireworks!? You folks are awesome like the hike we did today! Thank you IEI, World Forestry Foundation and our bus driver! :)
Carrick Falls at Table Rock State Park in SC has some nice waterfalls - not behemoths like we saw today. They mostly tumble and bubble but are relaxing to watch. Another nice place for waterfalls is Caesars Head in the western part of SC in Jones Gap State Park. In North Carolina, the closest to where I live in Charlotte is Looking Glass Falls, one of the most popular falls in the Southeast because of their accessibility (US 276 passes right by them) and their nearness to the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is a short trail of steps to the base for a closer view of the 60-foot falls.
My "Show and Tell" is on the book table. It has travel brochures, maps and other things from North and South Carolina as well as Georgia, each in its own pocket. At the end of the institute you may take them if you want. I can't bring them back if I want to take my rocks and I do want the basalt! Let me know if you want to talk about any of it.
There are some pictures that show one of the waterfalls we have in Costa Rica, I just read that the place is open again after the earthquake we had in January.
www.waterfallgardens.com
There are two sites in New Hampshire that come to mind in response to today’s travels. The first, and what was probably the biggest attraction in New Hampshire, no longer exists. The Old Man of the Mountain, a natural rock formation composed of 5 separate granite ledges that when viewed from a certain angle formed a man’s face, collapsed on May 3, 2003. Some of you may have seen the image on the back of the NH state quarter.
Daniel Webster commented about the Old Man:
“Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."
For further information on the Old Man, visit: http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/state-parks/alphabetical-order/franconia-notch-state-park/old-man-of-the-mountain-historic-site/
Some great images of the Old Man are available at http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/emblems/nh_old_man.htm
The second site is probably the most similar to today’s waterfalls, although not as big and grand. It is known as The Flume. The Flume is a granite gorge and you can walk up the gorge between granite walls less then 20 feet apart that extend up to ninety feet in the air with the water falling beside and under you. More information about it can be found at: http://nhparks.state.nh.us/state-parks/alphabetical-order/franconia-notch-state-park/flume-gorge-and-visitor-center/
There are some great images of it at: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/OfvbkMjwxLBWRMIMPuowaA?select=1AuBAsacfA9WUFC3R3uJ4g
What a an amazing sight. I am lucky that I live very close to Silver Falls State Park. We also have pretty waterfalls that can be explored by trail. Super day. Thanks.
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