Tower Fall - Wyoming, United States

Tower Fall is one of the prettiest waterfalls on Tower Creek in the northeastern region of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in the United States. The fall is about 1,000 yards upstream from the creek's confluence with the Yellowstone River, plunges 132 feet (40 meters). Tower Fall name comes from the rock pinnacles at the top of the fall. The breathtaking waterfall plunges a water column crashes onto the rocks at its base.

In 1870, Samuel Hauser, the member of the Washburn party, notation the name in his diary. The Tower Falls and Creek Falls are located just three miles south of Roosevelt Junction on the Tower-Canyon road. This is more graceful and eye-catching waterfalls which formations looming over the canyon it was nestled in.

You would love to hear the rush of the water and the calls of wildlife at this tranquil and scenic natural area. Tower Fall has enchanted the imaginations of travelers, explorers, and even legislators for more than 140 years. Further, until 1986, visitors could see a large boulder perched on the edge of where the fall drops.

Trail of Tower Falls

It is an easy little trail, as many people walking it in flip flops. Tower Fall Trail passes through a lovely pine forest and is well maintained. Some visitor gets the better view to have a hike down a paved steep ¼ mile trail. Every year thousands of visitors putting pressure on the unstable streambank undercutting the paved path.

It is highly recommended to safely pass the trail when dry, but better not to try during icy wet and slippery. The Tower Falls is eerie-shaped minarets or towers sculpted from rhyolitic basalt. The trail is still restoring, but after washouts, so you can only go about a quarter mile beyond the upper viewing platform for the falls.

Also, see the rainbow arched across the mist of Tower Falls, adding the majestic beauty. In 2004, the last part of the trail was washed out by rock and mudslides, and the trail to the base of the waterfall remains closed. Also, sadly the park has yet to reopen trail to creekside view, it’s been decades now.

When to Go to Tower Falls

Well, even from the viewing area at the top, you get a sense of how breathtaking the waterfalls in Yellowstone can be. This is particularly to visit in May and June. When the snow melts and rain produced some fabulous water flowing in the rivers and over the falls.

The major drawback in those months is incredibly busy and you must wait your turn for top view and take photographs. Many people don’t wait a lot and pushing you, that ultimately distract your focus on taking photos. Hence, to come early to avoid the rush.

Nearby Attraction

The nearby viewing point of Calcite Springs also offers scenic vistas of the zone, including the rare hexagonal basalt pillars, were created by lava flow the cracked as it cooled. Also note, that during the winter months, the entire tower waterfall is encased in an ice dome and the frozen falls are accessible via cross country skies. Moreover, many other marvelous sights and waterfalls in the area.

A Sign Board at the overlook explains how Tower Fall was Formed?

“Like many of Yellowstone’s waterfalls, Tower Fall began as a low ledge at the junction of two different bedrocks. Rock at the brink and underlying the fall is a tough, volcanic breccia; the weaker downstream rock erodes faster. Where Tower Creek drops into space, imagine the missing streambed—a channel of softer rock long since worn away. Just downstream from the base of the Fall, the Yellowstone River enters a narrow, swift-running gorge. Tower Creek cannot downcut fast enough to keep pace—and is left hanging high above the river.” Source: CP

Wahweap Hoodoos – Untouched Scary Pristine Land

If someone mentally and physically fit, he/she can hike for 4 to 5 hours. Then you should plan to visit the dry lands of Southern Utah, where one of the strangest geological sights on the continent. The most astonishing Hoodoos on planet earth lies almost, three hours north of Grand Canyon’s rarely used 9.2 miles out and back trail. The Wahweep Creek and Nipple Creek shinning under direct sunlight on the Wahweap Wash. This hike is through a wash that can be very slippery if wet. When it’s dry and hot there is little reprieve from the sun. The hoodoo’s wildernesses safeguard some of the most dramatic scenery in the United States, from mountain vistas to snug canyons and everywhere in between.

The trail usage may be low, a dilapidated Hanging Fence will be first of Wahweap Hoodoos. The strangest rock formation formed more than 100 million years ago when T-Rex’s roamed Utah. These hoodoos are the column of weathered rock formed due to the thick layer of soft rock is covered by a thin layer of hard rock. Sometimes, when cracks in the hard rock allow the underlying soft rock to erode, one small cap of the hard rock is resistant to cracking, and it protects the underlying soft rock. This cone of protected rock eventually takes the shape of a vertical pinnacle. The Wahweap Hoodoos – generally described as three separate groupings or ‘coves’ – the White Hoodoo, Hoodoo Central, and the Towers of Silence – are separated by just a few miles.

The white sandstone spires, which have been named everything from goblins to white ghosts, are unique geology of the sun-scorched lands of the Southwest.  Moreover, close to Wahweap Hoodoos you can take a short walk to the darker side where you can find brown "toadstools" make an appearance just off the highway at the Rimrocks. The Wahweap Hoodoos are a pictorial group of pinnacles and balanced rocks enclosed by undulating mounds and cliffs of white Entrada sandstone. The Paiutes believed that hoodoos are the remnants of people who were turned to stone.

Guadalupe Peak, Texas

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

If you’re an American and living in Texas. Do you know the highest natural point in Texas? The Singal Peak, also known as Guadalupe Peak is the highest natural point in Texas located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Guadalupe Peak is one of the major parts of Guadalupe Mountains range in Southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. 

The national park includes the mountain range Guadalupe Peak, El Capitan, Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line near the Pine Springs visitor center. Although, there are six 8,000 feet peaks in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The most famous is El Capitan, the first sight you see in park with the towering shock of limestone that surges right off the desert floor.

The weather of Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The Guadalupe Mountains normally have hot summers, mild autumn and calm weather, cool to cold in winter and early spring as well. Also, snow storms, sleet storms, freezing rain, or fog may happen in winter. Regular high wind warnings are issued during winter through spring. Also, the nights are cool even in summer and late summer monsoons produce thunderstorms.

Where is Guadalupe Peak?

The Guadalupe Peak is 140 kilometers east of El Paso and 80 kilometers southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. It has an elevation of 8,751 feet above sea level and rises over 2,967 feet above the arid floor of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Guadalupe Peak Trail and Summit

A beautiful well maintained a stony trail of 6.8 kilometers each way with an over 3,000 feet elevation gain during the round of the year. This trail is one of a major part of network hiking trails in the surrounding national park. Moreover, a stainless-steel pyramid marks the summit with American Airlines logo in 1958 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail. However, the other side has United States Service tribute to the Pony Express Riders of the Butterfield stage. Also, the third side shows a compass with the logo of the Boy Scouts of America.

Guadalupe Peak Hike

The peak trail is about 8.1 mile offers to see magnificent wildlife of this area. The Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests with views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert. The hike considered a bit difficult as many activity options are accessible year-round. The tail is moderately trafficked but a rewarding strenuous hike introduces hikers for parks ecosystem, high desert and forest high elevation. You must be very fit for Peak hike as it will take 7 to 8 hours round trip. The Guadalupe Peak Hike provides fantastic views from the highest point.

The first few miles are steepest but get easier and shady after that. Also, the last ¼ mile is treacherous and gets narrow. You must be scramble on the side of the cliff. Don’t forget to bring plenty of water, food. It could be nice to start early before heat sets in, with shoes with good ankle support and a sturdy running stick are highly recommended. Also, must be careful to hydrate well with little breaks in the shade when possible. Further, you must follow the hiker tail signs otherwise you may have lost your way to took extra efforts to reach the destination. Read More - Fairyland Caverns – Breathtaking Homage to Rock City Gardens

Fairyland Caverns – Rock City

Fairyland Caverns is high outcropping atop on the east face of Lookout Mountain in Walker County, Georgia. Fairyland Caverns is located at 1400 Patten Road in Rock City is open for 8:30 am. to sunset. Rock City is 1,700 feet above sea level. Rock City named as people believe the rocks on top of Lookout Mountain Looked like city building and natural pathways seem city streets. The ancient Rock City formation wander through sedate woodland paths zigzag through the fourteen acres of majestic greenery. The geographic authenticity of Rock City is more like a fun hike with a lot of meandering and a ton of surprises.

The beautiful trail carries you through Goblin’s Underpass, almost under the one-thousand-ton balanced rock to a one-hundred-foot waterfall. It cascades down the mountain to the popular Lover’s Leap and Swing-A-Long Suspension Bridge spanning about 200 feet. The trail is “sort of” in a cave, because Fairyland Caverns is between two large rocks, pressed so close together that they appear to make an underground trail.

Huge swings are carved from logs with a lot of fun to explore all the meandering paths and discover strange new things around every corner. Albino deer! Gnomes on a swing! The fairyland cavern with thousands of pieces of coral thoroughly glued to the ceiling! The Rainbow Hall, a short walkway with seven windows that had been covered in the colored film so that you could walk through the soft light.

On a sunny day, standing on Seven States Flag Court, you can view the Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama in the distance. Also, you can see solitary red-capped gnome which sits on the brink of a mountain boulder (like Rodin’s ‘Thinker’ statue) looks down into the valley. Eventually, you will find yourself at the tunnel entrance to Fairyland Caverns. As you walk through a long series of cave-like galleries, elves and gnomes are perched on trapezes and simulated rock shelves. A beautiful Gnomes Castle, the Carnival of Gnomes brewing moonshine in a still.

At the end of Cavern, you can enjoy the Mother Goose Village, Little Boy Blue, Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffit and Cow that jumped over the Moon. Moreover, Rock City introduced an audio tour and return of the gnomes in the new Gnome Valley installation. Also, a mascot is a white-bearded gnome, appears on advertising brochures in a form of person in a Rocky Costume welcomes the tourist in the park. The educational show about birds of prey, rescued birds unfit for re-release found new careers as ambassadors to Rock City visitors.

In 1924, a real estate developer Garnet Carter called the neighborhood Fairyland due to his Wife, (Frieda) love with European Folklore. This awe-inspiring citadel evolved into a nationally recognized tourist attraction, developed the natural marvel into the Rock City Gardens.  Garnet named the streets after fairytale characters. Garnet Carter was the inventor of miniature golf, owned the Tom Thumb golf franchise. It's a weird and whimsical combination of beautiful nature and goofy added touches. Frieda planted 400 species of trees, flowers, shrubs amidst the big stone bounders near the Fairyland housing development. Hence, in 1932, Frieda’ graceful garden was opened for the public to observe the natural wonders of the mountains. The garden was dotted with beautiful imported German gnomes.  

In 1947, Carter wife decided to start drilling through the rock to create the cave for Fairyland Caverns.  Thus, the narrow man-cave has black-light-sensitive 3-D dioramas of gnomes and fairy tale scenes every 10 feet or so. In 1964, the Mother Goose Village completed with various nursery rhymes. Which situated in the center of a dark room the size of the small auditorium toward the end of Fairyland Caverns.

To entice the visitors to Rock City Gardens. Carter came with the idea to paint the message “SEE ROCK CITY” on barns and birdhouse. The idea worked all over from Michigan to Texas to Florida. The iconic “SEE ROCK CITY” billboards painted on barns across the south might be the most famous series of billboards ever. Garnet was passed in 1954 and Frieda in 1964 after that ownership of the Rock City attraction has remained in the family.  CP

The Painted Desert Arizona

The Painted Desert is a badlands in the Four Corners area running from near the southeast into Petrified Forest National Park and east of Grand Canyon National Park.  But it is easily accessed in the north side of Petrified Forest National Park. The brilliant and varied colors include more common red rock and shades of lavender. It took millions of years for nature to form this natural canvas of unbelievable design that some describe it as a multi-colored layered cake.

The Painted Desert was named by an expedition under Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on his 1540 quest to find the Seven Cities of Cibola.  Hence, passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area El Desierto Pintado “The Painted Desert”. The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert is a living history book. The majestic colors, hues, and shades paint a tapestry of time. Visualize that once this was a tropical forest! Dinosaurs walked here.

The most part of Painted Desert is protected as Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area. Nonetheless, the area is easy and longer hikes into the colored hills. The magical Painted Desert continues north into the Navajo Nation, where off-road travel is allowed by permit. Wind and rain, the sedimentary composition of the rocks and the lack of protective vegetative, all subsidize to the rapid erosion of the Chinle Formation.

The Painted Desert is composed of stratified layers easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. The fine-grained rock layers comprise plentiful iron and manganese compounds that offer the pigments for the various colors of the region. Thin resistant lacustrine limestone layers and volcanic flows cap the mesas. Further, several layers of silicic volcanic ash occur in the Chinle and provide the silica for the petrified logs of the area. The erosion of these layers has resulted in the formation of the badlands topography of the region.

In the southern portions of the desert, the remains of a Triassic period coniferous forest have fossilized over millions of years. Wind, water and soil erosion continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting sediment and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. An assortment of fossilized prehistoric plants and animals are found in the region, as well as dinosaur tracks and the evidence of early human habitation.

Painted Desert Weather?

The Painted Desert has a cold desert climate with hot, dry summers and cold, though virtually snow-free winters. The annual precipitation is the lowest in northern Arizona. In several places is lower even than Phoenix. Most area of Painted Desert is accessible only by foot or unpaved road through major highways and paved roads.

Where is the Painted Desert?

The towns of Cameron and Tuba City are two major settlements roughly from Cameron - Tuba City southeast to past Holbrook and the Petrified Forest National Park. The Painted Desert is about 190 km long by about 97 km wide, making it roughly 19,425 km2 in area. Nowadays, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest are well-protected lands? Which provides a rich history of various ancient peoples, a breathtaking assortment of views, and a picture of life as only the dinosaurs knew it. Source: CP

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area. The park is covering approximately 46,000 acres located 26 km south of Overton, Nevada and 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The park name derives from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone. These are formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago. On a sunny day, these rock formations look like they are on fire, giving the park its name, the Valley of Fire. This is Nevada's oldest park, was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968.

Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape. The rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain brilliant formations of eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. Other important rock formations include limestones, shales, and conglomerates.

History of Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire included the Ancient Pueblo Peoples “Anasazi”, who were farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley. They were mostly involved in hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited their stay. A perfect example of rock art (petroglyphs) left by these ancient peoples can be found at several sites within the park.

In 1931, the Valley of Fire State started to create initiated by Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The work lasted into the early 1940’s. They built campgrounds, trails, stone, visitor cabins, ramadas, and roads.  However, the Valley of Fire Park was opened in 1934.

Climate of Valley of Fire State Park

The Valley of Fire State Park has a dry and warm climate typical of the Mojave Desert which means it comes with all the weather extremes associated with a desert climate. Winters are mild with daytime temperatures ranging from 12 °C to 24 °C. The overnight lows in the mid 3-8°C. Storms moving east from the Pacific Ocean occasionally bring rain during winter months. Daily summer highs usually range from 46 °C may reach near 49 °C. Thunderstorms from the Southwestern Monsoon can produce heavy showers during summer. The best times to visit are spring and fall. 

Valley of Fire State Park Road

The Valley of Fire State Park can last just an hour or two, only stopping at scenic overlooks and hiking one or two short trails or all day. If you choose to explore every nook and cranny of this place. The main road which is leads to Valley of Fire Road and traversing through the park. The 16.9 km section of the road is Nevada Scenic Byway on June 30, 1995. Mouse’s Tank Road is probably one of the most scenic and photographed spots in the park.

Things to do in Park

Driving through the Valley you can enjoy majestic view of Pink, red, and orange sandstone rocks create amazing vistas that you can see from your car. Pink Canyon, also called Pastel Canyon, is a spot that many people don’t seem to know about. It’s an unmarked spot to visit but it’s one of the prettiest places we saw in the Valley of Fire.

The valley of fire has a visitor’s center plus facilities for picnicking, camping, and hiking.  Petroglyphs are seen throughout the park, with Mouse's Tank and Atlatl Rock two areas in particular with numerous petroglyphs that are relatively easily accessible. The park also preserves three stone cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Towards to east entrance an arch rock formation look like an elephant, with a little bit of imagination. White and red zebra print sandstone creates a great photo opportunity. It’s a 1.5-mile round trip hike out to the Fire Wave. Also you climb the staircase at Atlatl Rock to see the best display of petroglyphs in the Valley of Fire. As you are in the desert, so bring plenty of water, sunglasses, hats, sun screen and comfortable shoes. Valley of Fire is a popular filming location for shooting automobile commercials and other commercial photography. It has provided automate setting to film making sites TV shows.

Valley of Fire Plants and Flowers

The valley of Fire is dominated by creosote bush, burro bush, and brittlebush.  Cactus species such as beaver tail and cholla are also abundant.  The springtime blooms with desert marigold, indigo bush, and desert mallow.  This makes the park look especially spectacular in the spring.

Valley of Fire Wildlife

Valley of Fire is teeming with wildlife, but most of the animals that reside in Valley of Fire are nocturnal.  There are many species of lizards, snakes, coyote, bobcat, kit fox, skunk, jackrabbit, and antelope ground squirrel.  It is always a nice treat to see desert big horn sheep and you are likely to see sheep in the middle of the day.  The desert tortoise is a rare species and is protected by state law. Source: CP