Category Archives: On the Road

Texas – Houston – Water Wall

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The Gerald D. Hines Water Wall Park is 2.77 acres and features a 64-foot semi-circular architectural fountain that re-circulates 11,000 gallons of water per minute as it cascades down the structure’s inner and outer walls. Water cascades in vast channeled sheets from the narrower top rim of the circle to the wider base below, both on the convex side and on the rear side.

The cascading water together with stone creations when viewed from different perspectives creates captivating designs …

Texas - Houston - Water Wall

Texas – Houston – Water Wall

Texas – A Temple with Intricate Designs

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The Swaminarayan Temple in Houston is the first traditional Hindu temple of its kind in North America. It is a masterpiece of intricate design and workmanship, replete with its 5 towering white pinnacles, 12 smooth domes and glittering 136 marble pillars. Over 33,000 pieces of Italian marble and Turkish limestone were hand-carved by skilled craftsmen and assembled by volunteers in just 16 months. Ancient Indian arts, traditions and philosophy have been encompassed in this house of devotion and worship that is a testimony to human commitment.

Texas - A Temple with Intricate Designs

Texas – A Temple with Intricate Designs

New Mexico – Santa Fe – Colorful Handicrafts

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Weaving skills were handed down from mother to daughter. Mexico’s fabric crafting history originates with the Mayans who wove garments, rugs and art decorated with symbols, animals and plants. Mayans are credited with originating hammocks, hats and baskets and the patterns found on contemporary wares is extremely similar in shape and color.

Even the vibrant colors of the handicrafts in Santa Fe match the landscape of New Mexico. Love the antique looking lamp casting its shadow.

New Mexico - Santa Fe - Colorful Handicrafts

New Mexico – Santa Fe – Colorful Handicrafts

 

New Mexico – Santa Fe – Basilica of St Francis

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Arguably Santa Fe’s most photographed building, this ornate Romanesque cathedral stands in grandiose contrast to much of the city’s traditional Pueblo Revival architecture. The elaborate structure was commissioned in 1869 by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy—the founder of the Franciscan order immortalized in Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop. We were there on Good Friday and could not go inside as the cathedral was preparing for mass.

New Mexico - Santa Fe - Basilica of St Francis

New Mexico – Santa Fe – Basilica of St Francis

 

New Mexico – Colors of Santa Fe

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Nowhere else in the United States are you likely to see such extremes of architectural style as in New Mexico. The state’s distinctive architecture reflects the diversity of cultures that have left their imprint on the region.

Matching the hues of the land and rocks, the colors of Santa Fe are definitely in sync.

New Mexico - Colors of Santa Fe

New Mexico – Colors of Santa Fe

 

Arizona – The Crystal Forest

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The Crystal Forest is so named because many of the logs found here contained clear quartz and purple amethyst crystals making for beautiful logs. Unfortunately, souvenir hunters helped themselves long ago, taking the best samples away. A few crystallized logs remain but the more typical petrified logs are more abundant. The disappearance of the crystal logs led to the area’s ultimate protection as a National Monument in 1906 and finally a National Park in 1962.

Arizona - The Crystal Forest

Arizona – The Crystal Forest

Arizona - The Crystal Forest - From Petrified Wood to Crystal

Arizona – The Crystal Forest – From Petrified Wood to Crystal

It took a while, but we now move on to another state …..

 

Arizona – Petrified Forest – From Wood to Stone

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Arizona - Petrified Forest - From Wood to Stone

Arizona – Petrified Forest – From Wood to Stone

Arizona - Petrified Forest - Wood to Stone Images

Arizona – Petrified Forest – Wood to Stone Images

Petrified wood (from the Greek root petro meaning “rock” or “stone”; literally “wood turned into stone”) is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the stem tissue. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant’s cells; as the plant’s lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mold forms in its place. The organic matter needs to become petrified before it decomposes completely. A forest where such material has petrified becomes known as a petrified forest.

Arizona – Jesper Forest Petrified Wood

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Arizona - Jesper Forest Petrified Wood

Arizona – Jesper Forest Petrified Wood

The petrified wood strewn in the Jasper Forest valley was once encased in the surrounding bluffs. When erosional forces removed the softer rocks, the petrified wood tumbled and accumulated on the valley floor.

Arizona – Petrified Forest Formations

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Arizona - Jesper Forest

Arizona – Jesper Forest

Arizona - Petrified Forest Formations

Arizona – Petrified Forest Formations

Jasper Forest is a valley filled with the fossil remains of trees.

 The logs are scattered over the desolate valley. Many more existed until pioneers began removing the logs from Jasper Forest by the cart load.

Arizona – Petrified Forest Patterns

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Arizona- Petrified Forest Patterns

Arizona- Petrified Forest Patterns

More than 200 million years ago, flourishing trees and vegetation covered much of this area of Northeastern Arizona. But volcanic lava destroyed the forest, and the remains were embedded into sediment comprised of volcanic ash and water.