136/365

Blue Door and Staircase

This blue door and filigreed metal staircase is seen on the outside wall of a business in 

Colorado City, Texas.  

It's been about 5 years since I've been there and this scene looks exactly like it did

5 years ago.  You don't see many staircase railings that are this fancy. It's just lovely.

090/365

Tree Trunk and Hydrant

One of my photo prompts was Lone Tree.  While I was looking around for such an object, I saw this tree with the fire hydrant in the background.  

I just thought the composition was interesting and there are times when I get desperate for an image of some kind.  I like the little touch of orange color in the background.

081/365

Sign at Zoo

This afternoon my daughter/grandkids and I went to the Cisco Zoo for an outing.  The weather was beautiful (maybe a little warm).  The Zoo was in operation between 1920-1930 so now there's just walking trails and the remains of animal enclosures along with several abandoned cabins that were rented to people wanting to stay on the grounds of the zoo property.  

We spent time walking the trails on the property at the opposite end from where the animal enclosures are.  Obviously, there's a Balancing Rock nearby.  I got a laugh out of the sign.

The kiddos had a great time and they were very sad when we said it was time to leave.

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Graffiti on Rock Wall

The abandoned zoo in Sisco, Texas is surprisingly undamaged considering that it closed in 1930. 

There were several animal deaths that were never solved.

There is some graffiti on the rock walls and the foliage is overgrown in many places, but there's about 1.4 miles of walking trails through the zoo grounds and it's open to the public.

It was a beautiful weather day so my daughter and I took the 4 grandkids to the zoo.  They had a great time running around, going into the enclosure caves and learning a little about the abandoned zoo.

272/366

Oil Silos

Driving north in Texas we came upon these oil silos next to an oil drilling field.  There were no

"No Trespassing" signs so we were able to get close for pictures.

70/366

Spiral Staircase

This spiral staircase is located inside a secure fence at an event center in downtown Abilene, Texas.  I LOVE spiral staircases and even though I've passed this location many times, I never thought of taking a photo of it until the other day.  

My heart is grateful that:

God is in control of everything, even is something seems like a tragedy at the time it happens

215/365

A new Coffee Shop

I went to an estate sale on the other side of town this morning, and made a detour on the way home to a complex of various eateries thinking I might find some photo ops there.  I got some pics and there was a coffee shop there that I decided to try.  

I got this totally delicious blended coffee.  

My heart is grateful for:

exploration

211/365

Stone Amphitheater steps

Stone steps and seats at the amphitheater at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX. 

My heart is grateful for:

getting out early in the cooler part of the day to get some images

89/365

Cholla Cactus in Pecos National Park, New Mexico

I've never seen a cactus like this.  They were all over the park and most of them had yellow flowers blooming.

Grateful for:

safe travels to New Mexico and back

2/365

Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech

Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,

O You who save these who trust in You

From those who rise up against them

       Psalm 17:6-7

Manoa Falls is on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  The hike is 1.6 miles RT uphill but not terrible and it ends at a waterfall/pool.   Some steps along the way.  The trail was pretty wet near the top but otherwise pretty well groomed.  We did the trail on a Sat morning so it was very crowded.

We started out at a Tea House, then made our way 

 to the trail which was a short drive from the Tea House.

Off to the left of the trail to the waterfall is another trail leading to an arboretum which

I hope to get to some time this winter.  

There usually aren't very many flowers blooming in the arboretums in 

Hawaii during the winter, but they're pretty interesting

anyway.

Britt & Betty.  

Britt recovering from rotator cuff surgery and 

Betty being her usual self.

Second Pond Trail,  5.4 RT

74/365

Another hike.  Another spectacular day.  However, I think I'm going to have to stop posting about our hikes.  Not that they aren't great, at least so far.  Not that they aren't worth writing about.  Not that they aren't a great opportunity to get outdoors and spend time with good friends. 

Just that they're beginning to look an awful lot alike.  Really....the woods are the woods are the woods, and even I'm beginning to think I don't really need to take photos every time we set foot on a trail.  So maybe I'll only post the images of whatever might be a little out of the ordinary.  

Now that we have a few "moderate" hikes under our belts, we're talking about tackling longer ones.  

Oi !!!  

But I digress.  Today's hike ended at a small lake, at a not-too-hiker-friendly area.  No comfortable place to sit, no way to get close to the water.  But we managed to eat our lunch and enjoy the breeze.  

the photographer

the doctor

the office receptionist

Just as we were getting ready to trek our way back to the car, one of the ladies  ventured off the trail for a few yards and found the real camping area where there was a wide open area and comfortable rocks.  Whatever~  we still had a great time.