Photo Page 0905

Pennsylvania has an outlet to the Atlantic via Philadelphia and one to the Great Lakes at Erie. That town of about 104,000 has an unusual feature in Presque Isle (literally "almost an island"). It is really a peninsula that is connected to the shore by a narrow neck. It is about seven miles long, and to drive around it is 16 miles. It extends in a curve and is broken into irregular bays, marshes, ponds, and wildlife protection areas. It is one giant park, and the philosophy seems to be laid back and "multiple-use". There's a lighthouse, a separate light, a U.S. Coastguard station, a nature center, miles of sandy beaches, loads of picnic areas, lots of trails and walkways, plenty of well-placed benches for resting and admiring the scenery, marinas, even a small houseboat colony, and, of course, lots of birds and other wildlife.

A person could see something new there every day of a lifetime. It participates in history too. Following the Battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry wintered at Presque Isle, sheltered from the storms and from the British, with his fleet of nine ships, two of which, the Lawrence and the Niagara, were built in Erie Bay. It was so horrible (winter of 1813-14), there was so much cold and so much sickness, that the place they anchored was given the name "Misery Bay" and off of it is a smaller body of water called "Graveyard Pond" because (they're pretty sure) the winter's dead were buried there. There is a rather beautiful monument to Perry at Crystal Point, built in 1926. These days, during summer, all is calm and beautiful, but back in 1812-13, Erie was an isolated village of 400 souls and there were some hard times indeed.

	Our Journey to Erie, PA - September, 2005 Our mini-vacation lasted but two days, but we saw a lot, ate too much, and had a good time. The photographer used his camera for the first time in several months, but it was attached to his head like an appendage while in Erie.. . Pennsylvania has an outlet to the Atlantic via Philadelphia and one to the Great Lakes at Erie. That town of about 104,000 has an unusual feature in Presque Isle (literally "almost an island"). It is really a peninsula that is connected to the shore by a narrow neck. It is about seven miles long, and to drive around it is 16 miles. It extends in a curve and is broken into irregular bays, marshes, ponds, and wildlife protection areas. It is one giant park, and the philosophy seems to be laid back and "multiple-use". There's a lighthouse, a separate light, a U.S. Coastguard station, a nature center, miles of sandy beaches, loads of picnic areas, lots of trails and walkways, plenty of well-placed benches for resting and admiring the scenery, marinas, even a small houseboat colony, and, of course, lots of birds and other wildlife. A person could see something new there every day of a lifetime. It participates in history too. Following the Battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry wintered at Presque Isle, sheltered from the storms and from the British, with his fleet of nine ships, two of which, the Lawrence and the Niagara, were built in Erie Bay. It was so horrible (winter of 1813-14), there was so much cold and so much sickness, that the place they anchored was given the name "Misery Bay" and off of it is a smaller body of water called "Graveyard Pond" because (they're pretty sure) the winter's dead were buried there. There is a rather beautiful monument to Perry at Crystal Point, built in 1926. These days, during summer, all is calm and beautiful, but back in 1812-13, Erie was an isolated village of 400 souls and there were some hard times indeed.



	On Presque Isle, there were monarch butterflies everywhere and the image below shows a big part of why they were there. These tough and long-lived insects dote on milkweed as a fine place to lay eggs. The big striped caterpillars fatten on the leaves of the milkweed and cocoon there as well.








	The Great Lakes are just as well called inland seas. They are impressive bodies of water on which the weather has sometimes dramatic effects, and even lethal ones to ships. Of course, like seas, the Lakes alter the weather, generally moderating it (if 200 inches of snow in Erie can be called moderation). The image below shows the Presque Isle's western shore of Lake Erie.








	This gull seems to be a young one. It would point its beak upward and give a begging call to any passing gull, but none came down to feed it. It will have to hustle for itself.








	When this colorful boat went puttering nearby, the gull ignored it as just a moving part of the scenery.








	The photographer could not resist taking a picture of this "postcard" view of Erie, PA as seen from Presque Isle.








	Oliver Hazard Perry Memorial at Crystal Point on Misery Bay.








	The art-deco style top of the Perry Memorial.








	This is an unusual pair, and it is doubtful if these very different birds -- gull and goose -- are often this close together. While the goose is interested in asserting a personal nobility of being and in food, the gull skips directly to food and lets proper demeanor go hang.








	Surprisingly, there were private houseboats on Presque Isle; some people know how to live.








	The watery world of Presque Isle has many beds of graceful reeds.








	The royal fellow itself -- one of so many!








	This is the first of the images from the next day at the Erie Zoo. This chipmunk came and went at will from the cage of a red lemur. The lemur was thinking only of sun-bathing, an activity taken very seriously. We had intended to visit the Maritime Museum and the reconstructed ship Niagara, after a quick trip to the Erie Zoo. Well, we ended up spending the entire day at the Zoo. It is a small but very nice, professional, fully accredited zoo and botanical garden, on 15 acres, with a pretty creek running through it. There are friendly staff, interesting displays, lots of attractive little nooks and crannies, nice strolls along paths and wood walkways up and down a couple of levels (like a miniature version of the San Diego Zoo in that regard).








	The picturesque entrance of the main building near the entrance at Erie Zoo. The ring at the tip of the elephant's trunk was holding a big Halloween decoration, as the Zoo was gearing up for its annual "Zoo Boo" event. Very handy for the Christmas wreath, too, presumably.








	This is probably a lonesome being as there are no other gorillas present but that will soon change. Because of the warm weather, Samantha was able to stay on exhibit in this outside area during the renovation of the gorilla quarters to make them more comfortable for her and her new companion, a 15-year old male named “Kuba” coming from the Topeka Zoo. Update: Samantha's prospective mate Kuba and also a second male gorilla named Tumai died during the transit process of heart disease, so she is still alone as of 11/06.








	This superb sculpture pair is called "Old Man and His Dog" and is the work of Glenna Goodacre. The photographer sat beside the old fellow and looked into the dog's face, noting that the dog's head was shiny from being petted by children.








	A profile of the male giraffe whose slow and stately movements were a pleasure to watch. The other giraffe in the enclosure is this one's son. The female passed on recently. The photographer said he would be content to photograph the giraffes for hours.








	Rhino rears.








	Rhino ears.








	Rhino tail. If you are getting the idea that every part of the rhino is photogenic, you're right! As a whole creature, it is not easy to properly capture the essence of rhino-hood in a single image.








	Another piece of the puzzle that is the rhino. The rhinos were lazing in the pleasant sunlight. Though we looked and looked, we felt we were seeing something from another age and found them hard to grasp. Thank goodness the forces that took away the other "mega-fauna" let the rhino live on into our time.








	These grass flowers caught the photographer's attention. They positively glowed in the afternoon light.








	A warthog couple napping companionably. There was a lot of snoozing at the zoo. The weather was warm, but not hot, and the general feeling of the animals was to relax and enjoy life. This pair had a baby in June but couldn't quite get the hang of piglet-care, so the youngster is thriving in the care of the zoo's humans.








	Here is another illustration of the charms of Morpheus. Leo (or "old Simba," as his keeper called him) has found a concrete pillow at just the right angle of sun to be comfortable.








	This is the huge hind foot of a polar bear. The rest of him was in proportion. Easy to imagine this foot and its three companions hoofing it around the ice floes in search of inattentive seals. The zoo's polar bears have a lot more room now, since the zoo's Spectacled bears were moved to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY, in early September and this gives the polar bears access to both exhibit areas. Update: one of the polar bears has died during an operation to repair a badly broken leg (11/06).








	This little guy was fluttering up a bath in the mild sunlight.








	Back in the days of the horse, House Sparrows found abundant food in what horses leave behind. When horses were rapidly replaced with tractors, trucks, and cars, the House Sparrow numbers dramatically declined, but later rebounded as the assertive little birds found new food sources. Here is a scene as if from the past...








	Belgian Draft Horse nibbling a tossed handful of hay.








	Australian Black Swan and fountain.








	Another look at the Australian Black Swan, one of a pair of these lovely birds who have a nice pond near the giraffes. Their offspring are now in the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and in the Indianapolis Zoo.








	Is this female spider monkey shy or just sleepy?








	William Goat, a resident of the children's section of the zoo, relaxing in the afternoon sunlight.









	Black-footed Penguin torpedoing through the water. These birds live off the coast of South Africa and Namibia. The Erie Zoo has been recommended to receive two females from the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, and to let four of their pairs breed and produce eggs. With any luck, they'll have more penguin chicks. We learned that the chick hatched out last year is doing very well.








	Black-footed Penguin in dappled light.








	Another spider monkey, here expressing opinion about the intrusive photographer.








	This last image is another view of the sculpture "Old Man and His Dog". It was good enough to return to.




	*Hope you enjoyed this journey to Erie. There is a lot more to see there than we've shown, but with only two days to visit, we had to pick and we had to choose.*