Eva Armstrong's (environmentalvisions) Blog

We wake up to serious fog - or at an elevation of 5000 - serious clouds!  I could hardly see to drive!  So it was slow driving, and the wonderful colors we had been enjoying cast a faint glow overhead.Aunt G decided it was best, given the weather forecast for rain over the next two days for us to...

We have more time today - we only have to cover 50 miles of the Parkway.  Aunt Gina made reservations for us at the Bluff Lodge in Doughton National Park.  If you've never stayed at a national park, it is a unique experience.  It's like having your own national park all to yourself, or yourself a...

Day four dawned sunny and a little cooler as we set out again on our adventure.  Today we planned a brief (1/2 day) side trip to the little house know as Biltmore.  We even got up an hour early to accommodate this visit, as we also needed to be 150 miles down the parkway (eee-gads!!!) by the end ...

We started up the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway at the Southern end, which looks like the western end to me on the map, but we'll go with the official name.  From the town of Cherokee (interesting place!) we started the road up the mountain.I actually took some great pictures in Cherokee, but I'm s...

Sunday morning--- what a gorgeous morning to set out on the road!  I love traveling along uncharted territory, waiting to see what the world has in store for me.This day was a day of interesting surprises.  The biggest one was not pleasant.  But I'm a little ahead of myself.  We overnighted in Co...

It's been two years since I had a vacation, and in August I called my then 86-year young aunt who LOVES to travel and said "let's plan a trip."  Now this really means - "will you plan a trip, and I'll drive..." which works for me since I don't have the time or patience to put it together - and sh...

Ok - I needed a break from the serious stuff, so today I'm writing about Mallard Pond, which is basically my backyard!                                                                                                                                                         It is a lovely, 6-acre pon...

An even dozen (not to be confused with a baker's dozen!   Today I'm focusing on the five water management districts that receive funds from Florida Forever.  In Florida, our water resources are managed along geologic water basins.  The management of the basins is governed by independent boards, a...

Florida Forever has proven to be even more successful than its predecessor.  Probably because our rate of growth has remained pretty constant during the 16-year span of these programs and we've seen the face of Florida changing.  Places that used to be rural are now facing development pressures t...

At one time Florida was better known for it's land swindles than it's beaches and people are still trying to get rid of swampland or wetlands in the middle of nowhere that will never be the road to riches they imagined when someone called them or they responded to an attractive ad in a newspaper....