Ashley Fetner Fine Art Photography

 Zion National Park, located near Springdale Utah, is the oldest national park in the state. It is a landscape of sculpted rock formations, cliffs and canyons that was carved through the native sandstone by the Virgin River. Zion National Park is about 150,000 acres of wild canyon country and one of the best ways to explore this amazing landscape is by taking the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. It travels along the Virgin River where you are exposed to even more diversity with hanging gardens, waterfalls, meadows and many varieties of plants and trees.  The Virgin River runs beside this trail that leads you to the entrance of The Narrows.
Kay

 Arches National Park located near Moab Utah, contains the world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. Within the 76,518 acres there are over 2,000 arches. Water, ice, extreme temperatures and an underground salt movement are responsible for the spires, arches, balanced rocks, sandstone fins and eroded monoliths that stand alone on flat desert terrain. In order to be considered an arch the openings have to measure three feet in any direction. Balanced Rock, the size of three school buses, appears to have been carefully placed on top of its pedestal. But the weaker sandstone base has been worn away over millions of years. Unbelievable—and I was standing there!
Kay

 Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, built in 1823, is the oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina, and is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation. The lighthouse is located on the east side of Ocracoke Inlet, stands 75 feet tall and has a beam seen for fourteen miles. Ocracoke was first found when an English sailing ship wrecked on the shoals in 1585 and by 1718 the island became the favorite place for Blackbeard the Pirate (Edward Teach) to anchor. In 1798 the first wooden lighthouse was built on Shell Castle Island to help ships navigate between Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands. The light was not adequate and by 1818 the sand bars had shifted so that the lighthouse was a mile away from the inlet. Also that same year the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage was struck by lighting and was completely destroyed. When the new brick lighthouse was built it was coated with a white wash mixture of lime, salt, ground rice, whiting and clear glue. These ingredients were mixed with boiling water and applied to the bricks while still hot. During the Civil War the fourth -order Fresnel lens was dismantled by Confederate Troops but was re-installed by Union Troops in 1864. The lighthouse and the keeper’s cottage was built on higher ground and served as a refuge by locals during hurricanes.  A storm was brewing the afternoon we were there –  wind stirring up  waves and dark sky with flashes of lighting all around made our ferry trip across the Pamlico Sound to Hatteras a memorable one!
Kay

South Rim

 
The Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage site. The 1,218,375 acres on the Colorado Plateau in North West Arizona is the most geologic studied landscape in the world. This great chasm that has been carved by the Colorado River gives us magnificent views that are almost unbelievable. The Grand Canyon is 6,000 feet at it deepest point and 15 miles at it widest point. Since the Grand Canyon National Park is involved in the reintroduction program of the California condor, it is one of the easiest places to view this rare bird.
Kay

 
  St. Thomas Episcopal Church built in 1734, is the oldest church in North Carolina and it is located in Historic Bath, which is the oldest town in North Carolina. The Reverend John Garzia was called to be the rector. He brought several valuable gifts to the parish which included a silver communion chalice from the Bishop of London, two silver candelabras which was presented by King George ll and also the purchase of the Queen Ann’s Bell that was cast in 1780. The Pamlico River area was being settled in the 1690’s and this led to the town of Bath being incorporated in 1705. It is said that Edward Teach, Blackbeard, married a local girl and settled in Bath in 1716.
Kay

 In 1894 the Catawba County Commissioners ask the owners of the Bunker Hill Farm in Catawba County, North Carolina if they would build a bridge to cross Lyle’s Creek near their farm. The creek was on the old Island Ford Road which was a former Native American Trail. The bridge was built in 1895 and is the only remaining example in wood of the Improved Lattice Truss that was patented by General Herman Haupt. Therefore it was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2001. Also receiving this award in North Carolina is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Dorton Arena. The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is also one of only two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina, the other being Mt. Pisgah Covered Bridge in Randolph County , North Carolina. Originally the Bunker Hill Bridge was constructed as an open span bridge and in 1900 was covered with wooden shingles. Then in1921 the 91 foot wooden shingle roof was replaced with a tin roof. In 1985 the Bolick Family donated the bridge to the Catawba County Historical Society. With the expertise of master bridgewright, Arnold M. Graton, from Ashland New Hampshire the bridge was restored. The bridge is open every day from sunrise to sunset.
Kay

Nautical twilight is defined when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. At the beginning or end of nautical twilight, under good atmospheric conditions and in the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable, but detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon is indistinct.  We enjoyed this view as we drove along the highway from New York to North Carolina!
Kay

Sitting on the Utah and Arizona border, Monument Valley is a small part of the 16 million acre Navajo Reservation. The valley itself is 9,696 acres of wide flat desert with rich red buttes, mesas and canyons. The rock formations that stand alone and rise hundreds of feet are the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the region. The Three Sisters are a group of thin pinnacles that have eroded from a narrow ridge that extends from the corner of Mitchell Mesa.
Kay

“ Christmas Tea”

“Shiloh, a place spoken of as a scared place, a place set apart, and a place kept plain, natural and simple, seems to live up to the meaning of its name-place where God dwells”-

Kay

 Christmas Tea

Communion is offered for those who wish to partake –

Kay