Rock Our World: LAPC #295

/ April 17, 2024

This week Donna at Wind Kisses offered a beautiful post and tribute to nature for Earth Day. She asked us to share photos of rocks and what inspires us in her tribute called Rock Your World. Anyone who has followed me for a while knows that nature is my passion, my inspiration, and my foundation. I didn’t pay much attention to rocks until I moved to the Ozarks. With limestone rocks seemingly everywhere, I’ve learned about their story and unique character.

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The Maroon Bells, near Aspen Colorado, are one of the most photographed areas in the state.

Let’s start with the Rockies, which are a dramatic mountain range with high sharp peaks, running north to south through the whole state. Many of the peaks are over 14,000 feet in elevation creating a hiking obsession to “bag” as many “fourteeners” as possible. I only hiked a few fourteeners in my three and half years living in Boulder CO, but I did hike a lot near town. One of my great joys was to be able to access the foothills of the Rockies right at the edge of town.

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The Flatirons of Boulder are also very well-known and photographed. Amazingly, they are visible from virtually everywhere in town. Boulder CO is an outdoor lovers’ delight with many parks, green spaces, and hiking and biking trails. But that popularity and limits on development have created a crazy real estate market.

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Another beautiful spot in Colorado is the Great Sand Dunes National Park with its dramatic layers of mountains, dunes, and grass valley.

Generally, mountains are formed by the folding and faulting of large blocks of earth. They are bent, folded, and changed by large sections of the Earth’s crust pushing against each other. Entire sections lift up to form what we think of as mountains like the Rockies, Cascades, and Appalachians, which are older and more worn down.

The Ozarks are different, formed by layers of sand, silt, coral, and dead animals. The layers collected, built up, condensed, and were part of an ancient sea bed that drained, later raised up, and wore down over time, leaving a mixture of hills, plateaus, and valleys.

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The bluffs at Steel Creek on the Buffalo River are a classic example of Ozark bluffs and part of our state treasure with the Buffalo being the nation’s first National River.

So the Ozarks are not so much a mountain range as a very old eroded plateau with distinctive flat-topped ridges and narrow hollows.

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Here at Yellowrock Trail in Devils Den State Park, you can see what appear to be gentle mountains and valleys but are actually worn-down limestone plateaus.

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A typical Arkansas creek bed filled with a jumble of limestone rocks.

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Another example of the flat-topped bluffs left after erosion. Here the bluffs form the sides of a natural depression turned into a small local lake, Lincoln Lake.

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To balance out my post, here is a photo from the East Coast, showing off the rocky jumble known as Great Falls on the Potomac River and part of the National Park near where I grew up in McLean, Virginia.

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Nature is our essential self, our sustenance, and our home. May we protect, preserve, and appreciate her every day.

Happy Earth Day!

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74 thoughts on “Rock Our World: LAPC #295”

  5. I’m a fan of rocks, Brad, as you can imagine since I share your reverence for the natural world. The geology is fascinating, isn’t it? There are some great places in the west (Grand Canyon) where we can see exposed rocks that are almost 2 billion years old. Your photos are stunning and I’m glad you’ve gotten to explore so many of our marvelous mountains. Great post, my friend.

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  7. Love this post Brad and our shared feelings about Nature as a central part of our lives. The photos are stunning. I loved seeing and hearing about Colorado, as we spent a lot of time there when we traveled through the Rockies during RV living. So many of the places you shared were familiar spots visited. I have not been to the Ozarks, but would love to explore there too. I’m such a rock hound and always enjoy discovering amazing finds along hikes. Thank you for sharing all the great info and looks at these wondrous places and for bringing attention to Earth’s many gifts that come in all shapes and sizes!

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    • Thank you dear Tanya. You take your love of nature to another level. I admire your conscious communion with nature and all her creatures, elements, and energies. You would probably enjoy the Ozarks. Arkansas even has a public park where you can mine for gems! I’m very grateful for my travel adventures around this beautiful country and hope to muster the courage to travel abroad.

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  9. You wowed me with your awesome photos Brad and descriptions, I grew up in a Limestone Valley, in the Derbyshire Dales, my Dad worked in a Limestone Quarry, .. They were always discovering fossils too.. ..
    I hovered over each picture, drinking in the beauty.. I loved the Lincoln Lake view.. My hubby and I flew over the Rockies in a helicopter ride in the year 2000 for our Silver wedding treat when we went to Canada.. Something I have not forgotten.. They are magnificent now matter where viewed from..

    Happy Earth Day Brad… and thank you for those awesome shares.. 🙂 💚💚💚

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  10. Wow, Brad.. you sure did learn a lot about the mountains and your picture perfect pictures reflect that. Just gorgeous. Lovely. I miss those big mountains with my hips but my hips and feet have many a memories of them💕

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  11. It’s amazing to think of the history of all these ranges isn’t it. Wonderful post and gorgeous images Brad. Here’s to appreciating and protecting our natural Earth. 🩵💚 x

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  12. How beautiful this is! The photos in Colorado are gorgeous. As for the fourteeners, you’ve hiked more than I (not a single fourteener). Lincoln Lake and Great Falls took my breath away.

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  17. Terrific response Brad. My brother lives in Colorado (while we are at sea level in SC!) so we visit often. Have hiked many of their beautiful mountains and my husband fly fishes in their streams, also rocky. I remember the Bells really well, so photogenic as you’ve shown! Wonderful variety in your response.

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  23. A lovely post to remind us of the beauty of this Earth, Brad. I’ve heard much about Rocky mountains over in your part of the world, and from your photos, they look magnificent. Each is certainly a unique character. So expansive and much scenery to take in. Nature nourishes us in so many ways and for that, we should look after our planet.

    Really enjoyed these photos. Great photography from you. Thank you so much for sharing and hope you are doing well 😊

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    • I’m very grateful for all the beautiful places and parks in the US. I’ve seen many photos that suggest Australia has a similarly diverse and fascinating geology to explore. I appreciate you and your kind, uplifting words Mabel. 🙏

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      • Australia is a very, very big country. It takes 3.5 hours by plane from the east to the west of Australia. Or three days of driving. Definitely a lot to see and nature to enjoy all round here. Always love coming over here, Brad. Thank you for sharing so honestly 🙏

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