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Home
Journal
Map
Destinations
- Historic Site
- National Park
- Nature
  - Arch
  - Bog
  - Canyon
  - Cave
  - Desert
  - Dune
  - Lake
  - Prairie
  - View
  - Waterfall
  - Wetland
  - Wilderness
- Point of Interest
  - Cemetery
- Transportation
Regions
- Mid-Atlantic
- Midwest
  - Indiana
  - Michigan
  - Ohio
- Northeast
- Southeast
  - North Carolina
  - Tennessee
- Southwest
  - Arizona
  - New Mexico
Prints & Downloads
About
Search

Van Nattas Falls

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American Byways

December 10, 2019

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The Bernice D. was a gasoline-powered fishing boat

The Bernice D. was a gasoline-powered fishing boat that once operated on the nearby Black River. It is now preserved and displayed next to the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse in #Michigan.

#boatlife #PureMichigan #AbandonedPlaces

Driving east on US Route 40 through Putnam County,

Driving east on US Route 40 through Putnam County, Indiana, the evening light struck a farmstead in warm gold.

Barns and grain silos rose against the sky, their shapes darkening at sunset. Strings of LED lights spelled out “Jesus Is The Reason” and “Noel,” a quiet roadside glimpse of local faith and rural life.

The farm, known as Shields Farm, includes a two-story brick house built around 1843. Its five-bay façade, gable roof, modest porch, transomed doors, and segmental-arched windows reflect Greek Revival and Italianate styles typical of mid-19th-century Indiana homesteads.

The farm holds historical significance. Locally known as the Shields Farm, it features a two-story brick residence built around 1843. The house combines Greek Revival and Italianate elements, including a five-bay façade, gable roof, modest entry porch, doors with transoms and lights, and segmental-arched windows, characteristics typical of mid-19th-century homesteads.

#RAW_landscape #AmericanRural #rawusa_nov25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa #SmallTownValues #LiveAuthentic #ThisIsHome #RoadsideAmerica #Indiana #VisitIndiana #igersIndiana #ExploreIndiana #myIndiana #putmeinputnam

Rising from the high desert of western New Mexico,

Rising from the high desert of western New Mexico, El Morro National Monument is a sandstone bluff that has served as a landmark for centuries. At its base, a year-round pool of water once drew ancestral Puebloans, Spanish explorers, and pioneers moving west. Each left their mark on the cliff face, where more than 2,000 carvings remain — from petroglyphs to elaborate Spanish inscriptions to simple initials scratched by settlers.

A short trail leads past the shaded pool and beneath the inscriptions, while a longer route climbs to the mesa top and the ruins of Atsinna Pueblo. From here, the view stretches across the Zuni Mountains and the black lava fields of El Malpais, a landscape that has shaped both history and tradition in the region.

El Morro is not only a striking natural formation but also a layered archive of movement and memory. Standing at twilight, when the sandstone glows and the inscriptions come into sharp relief, it is easy to see why travelers across so many centuries paused here — and why it remains a place worth seeking out today.

📸 Key:
1 - Inscription Rock
2 - Cuesta Top
3 - Cuesta Top
4 - Inscription Rock
5 - Mesa Top Trail Loop
6 - Tulip prickly pear (Opuntia phaeacantha)

#stayandwander #WildernessCulture #OptOutside #folkscenery #RAW_landscape #RAW_seasons #RAW_allnature #rawusa_aug25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa @visittheusa #NewMexico #NewMexicoTrue #NMTrue #VisitNewMexico #NewMexicoMagazine #NMMagazine

Winter travel set the pace for the day, with snow-

Winter travel set the pace for the day, with snow-covered roads and light traffic guiding a quiet drive through Putnam County, #Indiana. Moving steadily in my Subaru along secondary routes, the landscape drew attention toward creek valleys and crossings rather than distance or speed, leading naturally to Baker’s Camp Covered Bridge along Big Walnut Creek. Built in 1901 by Joseph J. Daniels, the single-span Burr arch truss reflected a period when timber bridges were engineered to meet everyday rural demands.

#WinterWonderland #VisitIndiana #RAWbridges #Total_Bridges

Over the New Year’s holiday, a winter visit to Hoc

Over the New Year’s holiday, a winter visit to Hocking Hills State Park in #Ohio followed an overnight snowfall that left roughly a half inch of fresh powder across the trails, softening sound and edges alike. We hiked at Cantwell Cliffs with my partner and Theo, our cattle dog, moving through long, quiet stretches shaped as much by cold as by terrain. The descent along Buck Run dropped into a narrow valley where rock shelters and tall sandstone walls closed in, the creek partly iced and moving slowly beneath them. From the rim, bare hardwoods opened winter sightlines across the gorge; below, the valley trail emphasized the scale of the cliffs from the cold floor of the hollow. Sparse crowds, kept away by snow and low temperatures, allowed the place to feel inward and deliberate, defined by season rather than momentum.

#WinterWonderland #HockingHills #OhioTheHeartofitAll #OhioStateParks

Forty Mile Point Light stands on a low bluff along

Forty Mile Point Light stands on a low bluff along Lake Huron in Presque Isle County, #Michigan, about midway between Alpena and Cheboygan. The station was completed in 1896 after Congress appropriated funds in 1893 to close a long, unlit stretch of shoreline that had concerned Great Lakes mariners. Its square white tower rises from a two-story red brick keeper’s dwelling, a practical design used widely by the Lighthouse Board in the late nineteenth century. The original fourth-order Fresnel lens gave the light a range of roughly 15 nautical miles, guiding ore carriers, lumber steamers, and passenger vessels moving along Michigan’s northeastern coast.

Automation came in 1969 under the U.S. Coast Guard, ending the era of resident keepers. In 1996, ownership transferred to Presque Isle County, and the property gradually reopened as a museum while remaining an active aid to navigation. Visitors today can walk the grounds, view exhibits in the former keeper’s quarters, and follow the shoreline north of the station to see timbers from the 1905 wreck of the steamer Joseph S. Fay, still embedded in the sand. The setting is open and exposed, shaped by wind and water, much as it was when the light first went into service.

#HistoricPreservation #GreatLakesLighthouses #LighthousePhotography #PureMichigan

Driving east through the Oklahoma City area along

Driving east through the Oklahoma City area along old U.S. Route 66, we had set our sights on Yukon, mostly to pass by Garth Brooks’ childhood home. But scanning the map to see what else was in Yukon, another pin caught our attention: “Prairie Dog Field.” It seemed out of place among the usual chain fast-food restaurants and gas stations, so we decided to take a short detour.

At the corner of the 1958 alignment of U.S. Route 66 and Caravel Road, a public field once held a large colony of black-tailed prairie dogs. Even though much of the land had been sold for development and part of the colony relocated in 2024, we could still see the small animals darting in and out of their burrows, standing upright to chirp warnings to one another. The field was surrounded by signs of growth, construction equipment, and new commercial projects, but the prairie dogs carried on, reminders of the wildlife that once dominated this stretch of prairie.

These colonies are fascinating to watch. Black-tailed prairie dogs are the only species in Oklahoma, and they live in tightly knit communities with complex burrow systems. Their barks carry across the grass, each signaling that the group heeds. Despite the encroachment of neighborhoods and shopping centers, some colonies like this one manage to adapt to the Great Plains’ urban edge.

#RAW_allnature #rawusa_sept25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa #Route66 #HistoricRoute66 #MotherRoad #Oklahoma #TravelOK #OKHereWeGo #DiscoverOklahoma #OklahomaPhotographer #OklahomaTourism #ThisIsOklahoma #OKC #OklahomaCity #SeeOKC

In addition to the better-known waterfalls within

In addition to the better-known waterfalls within Clifty Falls State Park, the Madison area is home to several smaller cascades, including one along Crooked Creek along US Route 421. This particular waterfall features a drop of approximately 20 feet and a crest width of about 8 feet. Though modest in scale, it contributes to the area’s broader landscape of seasonal and perennial waterfalls that emerge from the region’s limestone ridges and wooded ravines.

#folkscenery #folkgreen #stayandwander #WildernessCulture #OptOutside #earth_shotz #raw_country_spring #raw_landscape #Water_Perfection #Water_Brilliance #wb_water_brilliance #Waterfall #raw_seasons #Spring #Springtime #AmericanRural #rawusa_mar25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa #Indiana #VisitIndiana #igersIndiana #ExploreIndiana #myIndiana #IndianaDNR #VisitMadisonIN

Presque Isle Lighthouse occupies a wooded rise alo

Presque Isle Lighthouse occupies a wooded rise along Lake Huron north of Alpena, #Michigan, overlooking one of the lake’s most reliable harbors of refuge. The name derives from the French presque île—“almost an island”—a reference to the narrow peninsula that sheltered vessels and once served as a portage for Native Americans and early voyageurs. Today, the site reflects successive phases of Great Lakes navigation, with three distinct lights marking the evolution of maritime commerce along Michigan’s northeastern coast.

Congress first appropriated $5,000 in 1838 for a harbor light, and Jeremiah Moors completed the original stone-and-brick tower in 1840. Modest in height, it guided vessels into Presque Isle Harbor but proved increasingly inadequate as traffic expanded. In 1869, Congress funded range lights to better define the channel; plans by engineer Orlando Metcalfe Poe were implemented in 1870, allowing mariners to align the front and rear lights for safe entry.

A larger coastal beacon followed. Authorized in 1870 and placed in service in 1871, the New Presque Isle Light rose 113 feet, making it the tallest lighthouse on the Great Lakes. The double-walled brick tower, connected to a two-story keeper’s dwelling, housed a third-order Fresnel lens visible for more than 10 miles. Keeper Patrick Garrity, appointed during the Lincoln administration, and members of his family maintained the station for decades.

Automation in the late twentieth century ended resident keeper operations, though the light remains active under the U.S. Coast Guard. Both the 1840 and 1871 towers are preserved as museums, and the relocated front range light, once tended by Anna Garraty, one of the few women keepers in the service, stands nearby as part of the larger complex. Together, the structures trace a continuous line from early harbor refuge to modern navigational aid.

#GreatLakesLighthouses #LighthousePhotography #PureMichigan #HistoricPreservation

Concrete pouring is underway on the Sunken Garden

Concrete pouring is underway on the Sunken Garden fountains at Garfield Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is part of a large-scale renovation project began to restore the park’s historic Sunken Garden fountains. Construction and testing are scheduled to continue through spring 2026.

Thank you to @fogpindy, @indyparks, the donors, and the laborers for making this work possible.

#Historic #HistoricPreservation #Deserve2Preserve #rawusa_june25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa #bestoftheusa_urban #SeeYourCity #Indiana #VisitIndiana #igersIndiana #ExploreIndiana #myIndiana #Indy #loveIndy #igersindy

Just outside Boulder City, in a quiet corner of th

Just outside Boulder City, in a quiet corner of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a 3.6-mile loop through the White Owl Canyon offers a compact but rewarding journey through the stark beauty of the Nevada desert.

The hike begins with a brief but steep descent 33 Hole Road trailhead into the sandy entrance of White Owl Canyon. Quickly, the land closes in. Smooth sandstone walls rise on either side as the trail winds southward for nearly a mile through the narrow passageway, ducking beneath a concrete culvert under Lakeshore Road where barn owls occasionally roost in the shaded overhangs.

At the canyon’s end, the trail climbs a short, rocky path to reach the River Mountains Loop Trail—following the roadway of the old Lakeshore Road—for a half-mile stretch that runs northwest. Though popular among cyclists, this section sees few hikers.

Roughly halfway through the loop, the route veers north onto an unmarked trail that leads into a second, unnamed slot canyon. Though less dramatic than White Owl, this narrow passage has its own quiet appeal—subtle curves, layered rock, and shafts of evening light that pool along the canyon floor. At times, the path all but disappears into the gravel, but the natural contours of the land pull you forward.

After roughly six-tenths of a mile, the slot opens into a wide wash that bends eastward. From here, a faint trail threads back toward the main wash below White Owl Canyon, completing the loop with a 1.1-mile traverse across low hills and dry channels.

While short in distance, this route offers a rare combination: solitude, geological variety, and a rhythm of movement shaped by the land itself, a trail that feels discovered rather than designed.

1 - White Owl Canyon
2 - Bowl Step in an unnamed slot canyon
3 - River Mountains Loop Trail / Old Lakeshore Road
4 - Muddy Mountains
5 - The Pillars

#folkscenery #stayandwander #WildernessCulture #OptOutside #earth_shotz #raw_country_spring #raw_landscape #raw_mountains #raw_seasons #rawusa_june25 #VisittheUSA #wanderingusa #AmericanRoadTrip #Nevada #TravelNevada #LakeMead #ExploreNevada

Near Sturgeon Point in #Michigan stands the Bailey

Near Sturgeon Point in #Michigan stands the Bailey School, built in 1907 of Norway pine at the site of the C.A. Johnson logging camp west of Mikado. Constructed for the children of logging crews and named for a lumberman who helped build it, it is one of the few remaining one-room log schoolhouses in the state. Partially restored in 1973, the structure was later disassembled, moved, and fully restored in 1998 to its present location at Sturgeon Point. Maintained by the Alcona Historical Society, it is furnished with period pieces, including a recitation bench, student desks, a drinking pail, and a coal stove.

#PureMichigan #HistoricPreservation

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