Eureka Springs & Northern Arkansas Railway

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My husband, daughter, and I took a two-day trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas just before Memorial Day. It’s less than a 2-hour drive from our home in Missouri. The nav system took us on a scenic route…curvy 2 lane highway all the way, with frequent road cuts that were generally well back from the shoulder (I wondered if students on geology field trips use them to see the underlying rock of the area), and over a narrow part of Table Rock Lake.

We arrived a little early and drove through the town. I remembered the main street from more than 50 years ago; the streets that turn off are very steep and narrow up the side of the valley. The place is a driving adventure! We parked in the Eureka Springs & Northern Arkansas Railway just after the terminal opened; we had reservations for the morning excursion train. It was a cloudy morning and had rained recently; the first photographic opportunity of the morning turned out to be butterflies in the gravel parking lot! The mourning cloak on the curb was not moving but all the others took some patience to photograph.

There was collection of old rail cars and engines. I was interested in a tractor that must have been quite a change on farms where horses or oxen had previously done the heavy pulling.

The car and engine that took us on our excursion was waiting for us. They had a ramp mechanism that enabled wheelchair access to the car, but we could also get into the car using stairs.

The train follows a stream, and I managed a few pictures while we were in motion. I saw a pawpaw tree with fruit beginning to grow (but didn’t get a picture); pawpaw is the food plant of the zebra swallowtail butterfly (like I photographed in the parking lot for the train).

The route is only 4.5 miles up and back (and takes about an hour). At the halfway point, we got out and I took some track and vegetation pictures.

The conductor gave us a tutorial about putting pennies on the track as an optional activity for this excursion. My daughter had told us ahead of time (she had done the excursion last fall) so we came prepared. I gave a penny to a man that didn’t have any change with him. We all stood away from the tracks and the train rolled over our pennies – waiting to retrieve our pennies from the track until the conductor got the word from the engineer that it was safe to do so.

Below is a picture of a penny and a train-flattened penny. I am thinking about putting some earring posts on two of the flattened pennies….wearing them as earrings!

It sprinkled a little while we were on the train but had cleared by the time we returned to the station. The train was an excellent start to our Eureka Springs adventure.

Dickerson Park Zoo

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We made our first visit to Dickerson Park Zoo last week. It’s on the north side of Springfield MO – the closest zoo to where we live. We got there about an hour after their opening; the close parking lot was almost full…others taking the advantage of the cooler than usual August morning.

Colorful birds seem to dominate my pictures. Many times, I was photographing through fencing; sometimes you can see the blur/shadow of that barrier.

The preening Scarlet Ibis was one of my favorites. The surprise was seeing the nictitating membrane (an eyelid that is hinged on the inner side of the eye and closes horizontally across the cornea).

Flamingos were in the same enclosure as the ibis – feeding and preening. They feed with their bill toward their bodies. One of the birds had a range of colored feathers.

In the trees above the flamingoes, there were several roseate spoonbills. Their bodies are colorful…their heads and large bills are bare – at odds with the body.

Peacocks (and pea hens) roam the zoo; they are relatively acclimated to people. There were no males with full tails. All the birds I saw appeared to be juvenile birds (younger than 3 years).

There were two Gray Crowned Cranes. I had seen similar birds at the St. Louis Zoo too. The birds at Dickerson Park Zoo were better positioned for a photograph!

The turkey enclosure had one male and a lot of hens…some immatures as well. I heard a mother telling her child that it was a mom and babies; I guess she thought the male was the ‘mom’!

Black swans are dramatic. The pair seems to have more ruffled feathers than I expected.

There were several parrots; we heard them before we saw them! The one I photographed was using its beak like an appendage for balance as it moved around its enclosure.

There were two types of tortoises in different parts of the zoo with signage that they bite! The first one was large but not giant…and I was intrigued by the pattern of the shell…plates like flatted pyramids.

The second was a giant tortoise --- looking well fed!

There were monkeys – somehow they tend to look sad to me. The one I photographed had companions that were moving about, but he was sitting still.

The zoo was working on the giraffe exhibit (they usually have giraffe feedings) so we did not see them like they would normally have been out and about in the morning.

The zoo has a rescued bald eagle – large but one of its wings was not right. It didn’t move from its perch but kept a watchful eye on movements outside its enclosure.

There were metal statues for climbing on (with signs warning that the statues might get hot in the summer) and backdrops for photographs.

There was one elephant with the explanation that when the matriarch died, the two remaining females did not get along…so they each are outside on their own. They get socialization time off exhibit with a male elephant.

There were other animals to see but not easily photographed. The big cats and bears were either in their dens or sleeping.

We didn’t ride the train (I photographed it with a giraffe sculpture in the foreground) – but I like that it is available – another dimension to a visit to the zoo that we might try on a future visit.

The Dickerson Park Zoo might be my favorite. It is not overwhelmingly big or crowned…and its design provides plenty of shade along the paths.

30 years ago – October 1991

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Looking back at the pictures from October 1991 – it was a pleasant month. Work was still challenging but not as overwhelming as it had been in the previous months. One of my sisters came to visit with the priority to enjoy activities with my two-year-old daughter. We went on a steam train trip near Gettysburg, visited a toy store in Ellicott City, and bought apples at a local orchard (my daughter ate an apple on the spot to the delight of the owner).  I remember the outing to Mount Vernon vividly. We had lunch in the restaurant with my daughter in a highchair (antique style) pushed up to the table; she was thrilled with the arrangement and enjoyed the meal tremendously…charmed the wait staff. Then we opted to not go through the house…enjoying the grounds thoroughly. She hugged a big tree that George Washington had planted!

My sister was moving into a new house and had packed everything before her visit…and then moved almost immediately when she returned to Texas. It was a busy month for her. Another sister was pregnant with her second child and had some difficulties early in the month which were quickly resolved to the relief of the whole family. My parents were still working and trying to help everyone through the flurry of the month.

The leaves started to fall later in the month and my daughter became more enthusiastic than ever about being outdoors. Leaves and acorns are easily picked up and enjoyed. Her favorite movie was ‘Little Mermaid.’ She finally made the connection between saying numbers and counting things; that was the big ‘light bulb’ moment of her development in October 1991.

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We borrowed a special costume for my daughter’s Halloween – a flowerpot for the body and headpiece with big yellow petals for around her face. It was very cute but not something she liked very much.  At that point in her life, she was not eating candy so there was little joy for her that Halloween!

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Great memories from 30 years ago…

Pocket Prairie at Josey Ranch

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My morning walk at Josey Ranch (Carrollton, Texas) started at the Pocket Prairie which is easily accessed from the library parking lot. This is a great time of year for wildflowers. The grasses are high this year and make the wildflowers harder to see; on the plus side – the grasses probably protected the flowers from the colder temperatures over the past week. The insects still find the flowers when the temperatures get warm enough for insects to be active. I was disappointed that the only bluebonnets I saw were ones that has been cut by the weed eater during trail maintenance. There were probably more down in the grass that I missed. There were bluebonnets growing along the interstate from Tyler to Dallas, so they are probably not done with their season yet. I’ll go to the Pocket Prairie again next week.

I left my car parked near the Pocket Prairie when I walked over to the lake (to photograph birds). Along the way, I noticed the grackles all leaving the trees with noise of a train and positioned myself to get a picture of it (and some fishermen). Evidently the trains are not as frequently as they were in years past; I was in accidentally in the right place at the right time!

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On the Train to Providence…and Home Again

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Last week, I went to the Certified Zentangle®  Trainer (CZT) class in Providence RI. I decided to take the train since the hotel in Providence was within walking distance of the train station…and I had never taken more than a day trip on the train. The class started in late afternoon and the train from the Baltimore Washington International Airport train station was about 7 hours. I left in the early morning. It was a little daunting when my husband dropped me off in the dark at a station under construction (or renovation…not sure…most of it was not open). I was glad it was not a cold morning. There were no Amtrak personnel around that I noticed but there were enough experienced train riders to reassure me that I was in the right place. I also learned about the quiet car…what luxury. The sunrise (blur) happened not long after the trek began.

The gentle rocking of the train and the quiet was very calming…so different than an airport. The seats were larger than an airplane seat – and therefore more comfortable. Overall everything was roomier than an airplane. There was never a wait for a bathroom. A lot of people got off at New York and I moved to a window seat – still in the quiet car. I tried taking some pictures from the train window. Many of the views were of cities (construction, debris and trash, industrial areas) and forests.

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As I got off the train in Providence, my seatmate – a native of Providence - pointed me in the right direction for the hotel and Google maps on my phone picked up the directions shortly after I started walking. It was gently downhill! I realized that several days later it would have to maneuver up the hill.

That is what happened on the morning I left. I got some ‘active minutes’ on the walk to the train station and took more pictures as I got tired – crossing the Providence River

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And the landscaping in front of the train station. The landscaping seemed new and I wondered how long it had been since the station has been renovated. Hopefully the one at BWI will be improved by the construction that is happening now.

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The station in Providence was closer to what I expected – a large indoor area where there were wooden benches (like pews) for sitting around an open area…some places to get food. My train did not leave until almost 9. There were marques that were like ones in airports that directed people to the right track a little before the train arrived. I took the elevator down rather than the stairs since I had luggage that was OK rolling…but not carrying.

And then I was on the train for 7 hours – enjoying a good book and journaling the events of the week. Overall the train was a good experience and I found myself wishing that it was possible to take trains to more places I travel.

More posts about my Providence experience in the next few days…

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.