Spirit of Photography

Share Your Work => Photo Essays => Topic started by: prairiedust on October 16, 2010, 07:57:25 AM

Title: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: prairiedust on October 16, 2010, 07:57:25 AM

I spent a few days exploring the Smoky Hills region of Kansas, mostly Horsethief Canyon, Mushroom Rock State Park, and some of the included wildlife areas. I was raised east of there and spent a lot of my early years on these trails. These are the remnants of ancient beaches, now colorful rolling hills of sandstone, sometimes with limestone caps. For well over a century visitors have inscribed their names and professions of love into the stone. The earliest date I found was 1722.
http://www.prairiepathways.com/galleries/loveletters/ (http://www.prairiepathways.com/galleries/loveletters/)

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: keithsnell on October 16, 2010, 08:12:23 AM

Wonderful work.  Thank you very much for sharing.

(Makes me want to get out and explore Kansas.  (One of these days when we're not traveling.))

Keith

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: Michele on October 16, 2010, 10:19:08 AM

Amazing images.  You inspire people, you know...

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: prairiedust on October 16, 2010, 10:20:43 AM

Thanks, also for the music recommendation. It really makes it works better.

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: TrvlRick on October 16, 2010, 05:55:43 PM

Great job, it makes me want to get out and explore. The slide show was inspiring!

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: RebeccaSnell on October 17, 2010, 10:11:49 PM

What a cool area.  Normally, I'm totally against defacing nature, but what history in all of those carvings and what works of art.  Thanks for sharing such a beautiful area of Kansas with us.  I'm with Keith, I'm ready to get out and explore Kansas!

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: prairiedust on October 18, 2010, 06:13:21 AM

Me too, I am especially troubled by continued carving into the mushroom rock formations which are rare here.

Title: Re: Love Letters in the Sandstone
Post by: marilyn on October 18, 2010, 10:51:25 PM

What a treat to get to bask in the richness of these images.  The light and colors and clarity are just astounding.  It's very interesting to contrast these "historical" accounts of lives and loves carved into stone with the rock art images of ancient people Clay and I saw on a documentation project in rural Nevada. Somehow seeing bighorn sheep and other motifs pecked into rock hundreds of years ago captures my imagination in different ways than the images depicted in your slides, Dave.  And yet, the way you put yours together with that catchy music and title clearly created a bit of dissonance for me!