Videos
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Video of the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park has the largest collection of fossilized trees in the world. 225 million years ago the trees, Araucarioxylon, Woodworthia, Schilderia, and others, fell into streams and washed into floodplains and mixed with silt, mud, and volcanic ash. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the wood tissue with silica. The silica crystallized into quartz, preserving the wood. Remnants of early human occupation of the area dating back to 1250 A.D. are found at Puerco Pueblo. The 100 room pueblo sheltered over 1,000 people. More recently, the Painted Desert Inn, built by Herbert David Lore around 1920, was used as the first overnight lodge in the area. The décor and architecture of the Painted Desert Inn reflects the awesome vistas of the surrounding beauty of the Painted Desert. The nearby trail head will lead you to a unique wilderness camping environment. Musice copyright 2008 by Maury Smith. Slide show and photographs copyright 2008, Creative Juice LLC.
Petrified Forest National Park
Map of the Petrified Forest National Park
Brochures in PDF about the lifeforms and history of the Petrified National Foreswt
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Timm’s Hill County Park, Ogema, Wisconsin
Timm’s Hill is the highest point in the State of Wisconsin at an elevation of 1951.5 feet. This Price County Park near Ogema, Wisconsin has 220 heavily forested acres. The Hill is surrounded by three small but spectacular glacial lakes where you can swim and fish. The 10 mile Timm’s Hill Trail is open year round for hiking, mountain biking, skiing and snowshoeing. It connects to the Ice Age Trail.
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Video of Devil’s Lake State Park – Baraboo, Wisconsin
Landscape architect, John Nolen, recommended in 1909 that this site be set aside for a park. Established in 1911, this 9,000+ acre park near Baraboo, WI draws over 1.2 million visitors a year. The 360 acre lake is spring fed giving fishermen, paddlers and swimmers a crystal clear water environment. The lake was formed by glacial activity during the last ice age. What was once the Wisconsin River is now a dramatic gorge cut off at the north and south ends by glacial debris. The quartzite rock formations of the park are over 1.5 billion years old and rise over 500 feet above the lake. The park takes its name from a mistranslation of the Ho-Chunk “Ta Wa-cun-chuk-dah, meaning “Sacred Lake”, “Holy Lake” or “Spirit Lake”. According to Ho-Chunk mythology the lake was the birthplace of the Buffalo Clan and is the site of the legendary battle between the water spirits and the thunderbirds. A number of effigy mounds are located throughout the park.
YouTube video of Devil’s Lake State Park
Devil’s Lake State Park images from the Wisconsin State Historical Society
Devil’s Lake State Park blog postings
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Video of San Rafael Swell, Utah
The San Rafael Swell is a geographical feature in southeastern Utah on the Colorado Plateau. It is about 50 miles long and 30 miles wide. This 600,000 acre area along Interstate 70 has many unique and spectacular landforms. Some of the landforms are slot canyons, sandstone cliffs, mesas, buttes, springs and canyons. Most of the area is under the management of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Early Mormon settlers eked out an existence by ranching and taming the herds of wild horses that still roam the area. Some uranium mining was done in the 1950’s. There are Native American rock art sites and the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry to explore as well.
San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia entry)
Blog entries for the San Rafael Swell
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Video of Belmont Mound State Park and First Capitol Historic Site
The French called this 1,400 ft. hill “Belle Monte,” meaning “beautiful mountain.” Today, this day use park is run by the Belmont Lions Club. From the observation tower you can view parts of Iowa and Illinois. The Territorial Legislature held its first session at Belmont in 1836; then after two sessions in Burlington, IA the Legislature moved to Madison. On April 30, 1836 President Andrew Jackson commissioned Henry Dodge as Governor of the New Territory. Numerous on site exhibits relate the story of Wisconsin history and the role these modest buildings played in our past.
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Video of Capital Springs State Park and Recreation Area
The 3,000 acre park, minutes from downtown Madison, WI was dedicated in 2000. The park has hiking/skiing/biking trails, picnic shelters, a boat launch and campground. The 54 site campground has 39 electric and 9 “smoke free” sites. Near the campground is the Lussier Family Heritage Center. This community facility in a unique natural setting is available for public or private events. The Capital City State Trail runs adjacent to the campground.
©2010 John Wanserski for Creative Juice LLC
Capital Springs State Park and Recreation AreaMap of Capital Springs and Recreation Area (PDF file)
Weather forecast for Capital Springs and Reacreation Area vicinity
Blog entries for Capital Springs and Recreation Area
