Spontaneous Southern Sojourn - Glen Innes and Inverell

With all the overseas travelling we had done in the last 18 months we thought that we would sit quietly at home over the traditional Aussie holiday period. That, however that did not happen! I have no idea, now, of what triggered our decision, arrived at during our family Christmas lunch, to spontaneously take off the next morning on a camping trip to Glen Innes in Northern New South Wales. 

Perhaps we would have been wiser to delay our departure for a day as we ended up crawling the approximately 140 kilometres to the State border, taking almost three hours instead of the usual one and a bit. That, and further traffic delay around Ballina meant that we had to make a pitstop for the night at Lismore, arriving there after 6pm to find everything closed and all the Caravan Parks full. Too tired to continue, I managed to persuade the Manager of the last park on the list to find a space for us for one night, promising to be gone by 10 am the next day. After a meal of Christmas leftovers and  a body soothing shower, we snuggled into our camper van cocoon and slept . . . and slept . . waking at 10am! Not to worry! The Manager's husband and dog came for a chat as we hurriedly cooked up a hearty breakfast. Soon we were back on the Bruxner Highway, heading for Tenterfield where we intended having lunch.

Road down to Crooked Creek

We enjoy travelling together, looking at the everchanging landscape, often stopping to take a closer look at something we've spotted so time passes very pleasantly. We were only about 40km from Tenterfield when we saw the sign for Crooked Creek Rest area and decided to go on down the steep gravelly road. This was a very pleasant spot so we spent sometime having a coffee listening to the birdsong and walking around.

Crooked Creek

The Leech that lives in Crooked Creek

We haven't previously seen any leeches in Australia so this one's attachment to a leg was a big surprise! Unlike the Sri Lankan leeches, it was able to be easily dislodged before it had partaken of its meal.

Our next stop, Tenterfield, came soon after and we lunched at a very busy, small cafe enjoying great food. Glen Innes was a further 90 plus kilometers down the road and we were soon setting up our camp in a very pleasant Poplars Caravan Park. Here we stayed for five days relaxing and sightseeing.

Glen Innes

I'm not sure why we choose Glen Innes, located at the junction of the New England and Gwydir Highways, as our destination for this trip. We have travelled the New England highway many times before when we have driven from Brisbane to Sydney and have stayed previously further south at Uralla and Tamworth. 

Although summer, we found it quite cool at night which is not surprising given that it is 1,062m or 3,481ft in altitude. It was settled around the 1820s onwards by mainly the Irish and the Scottish and was named after an Archibald Clunes Innes who arrived in 1822 incharge of a ship load of convicts. He didn't do so badly for himself, acquiring several large farming properties.

Glen Innes is very proud of its Celtic heritage and we heard many stories about the 'Beardies" - two stockmen whose exceptionally long beards are remembered today. Glen Innes is home to the Australian Standing Stones, high on the hill overlooking the town in Centennial Park. These were erected by the people of Glen Innes to mark their Celtic heritage and are also a monument to all the Celtic settlers who came to Australia. 

Standing Stones, Glen Innes

 The ancient Celts erected these stones as calendars to mark the seasons and summer and winter solistices. Such circles are found in Great Britain, Britanny and Northern Spain and there is considerable mythology attached to them. The Glen Innes Standing Stones  were inspired by the Ring of Brodgar in the Orkneys. There are 40 of these monoliths with 24 of them representing the 24 hours in a day being erected in a circle, 4 marking true North, South, East, and West.

Centre three Stones

 The three stones at the centre of the ring are the Australias Stone in the centre for all Australians, symbolising the link between the old and new worlds, The Gaelic Stone on the right [ behind] which is for Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man and the Brythonic Stone on the left for Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. All of these stones were located around Glen Innes and stand 3.7m tall. They had to be at least 5.5m in total length to be embedded in the earth.

View from the top of Centennial Park, Glen Innes

After wandering around the stones and reading up a bit about the Celtic culture and practices we walked up to the top of the hill where the local community radio is housed to enjoy the view down on to the farmland. As I stood there, a large branch came crashing from overhead, fortunately noisily enough to alert me to the hurtling danger and allowing me to avoid a sore head. This cockatoo was enjoying a large meal of bugs and grubs hiding inside the dead wood.

The Cockatoo that dropped a dead branch on my head as I enjoyed the above view.

Town Hall, Glen Innes

The Deer Head

 A walk around the town highlighted some interesting buildings. The Town Hall was most intriguing!

One day we drove west on the Gwydir to Inverell some 67km away. Whereas Glen Innes is a predominantly cattle and sheep farming area [ famous for its sapphires too ] Inverell is 500m lower and we saw more food crops than sheep and cattle.

Sunflowers, near Inverell

As we rolled around a corner and down a hill, our eyes were delighted to unexpectedly see a blaze of yellow covering the lower slopes. Sunflowers!

Town Hall, Inverell

Court House, Inverell

As usual, our brief visit has us planning to come back! We'd like to go further west along the Gwydir Highway. So many places to see . . .

Tiny taste of Outback Queensland

Although we have lived here in South East Queensland for more than two decades, we had not been further west than Toowooomba despite making plans to do so many times. Our exciting camping trip in Yellowstone and elsewhere along the way in America got us all enthused about that holiday style again. When we came home we converted our long wheel base van that had sat in the garage for five years waiting for just that, into a camper van and promised ourselves that we would definitely follow our dormant camping dreams to see the western part of our State. We accordingly made plans with the family to clear our diary for a long weekend and one Saturday morning in October we set off, destination for the long weekend, Roma.

Distances on Warrego Highway from Brisbane CBD

 From where we live the distance is more like 490 km to Roma, about 6 hours driving time. 

When we awoke early Saturday morning we heard the crash and banging of an irate thunderstorm and the lashing of rain on the roof. A look out of the window confirmed that this was indeed the "Mother" of all storms. The radar map of the region was consulted and we learned that the storm was coming, and therefore clearing, from the west which was where we were heading. Breakfast was quickly organised and the last minute things stowed in the van. These storms don't last for long . . . except that this one did! Eventually there seemed to be a lull so we thought that the end was near and set off heading for Ipswich, a city on the western outskirts of the greater Brisbane region and about 55 km from our home. That would take us a bit more than an hour. Except that the storm got renewed strength and lashed furiously at the van and progress was very slow. Two hours later we stumbled into a Mc Donalds outlet in Ipswich to have a coffee while we discussed our predicament. A phonecall to a camping ground in Miles reassured us as to the viability of our journey. The storm had passed over mIles early in the morning and there was not a  cloud in the sky!

 

Along the Warrego Highway

The storm lessened as we drove and after Toowoomba we were driving along a soggy road with the skies bright and blue. This area was badly hit by the tremendous flooding early in the year [2011] and we came across a lot of major roadwork sites where the whole road was being dug up and reformed.

Warrego Highway between Miles and Roma

We took our time driving, enjoying the food farming areas around Toowoomba and Dalby. everything was so green and lush, an unusual thing for the end of the winter months. As we went further west, the red soil and gum trees dominated the environment. We watched hopefully for kangaroos without luck. We have seen them on our travels only a few times in more than twenty years.

By early afternoon we arrived in Roma and found a spot in one of the Caravan Parks. Our stay there for four nights was quite interesting as we met travellers from Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria and had pleasant discussions about where they and been and so on. The most common observation they made about travelling in Australia was about the great distances between places and how they set their navigation thingy and it spoke to them only after many hours or even days. In Europe the distances are so small that they said they are used to hearing navigation instructions every minute or so! These travellers had all hired massive motorhomes and stayed only a night. Pity about not staying long enough to look around Roma as we found it an interesting place and the Caravan Park comfortable and relaxing.

Kids on the steam train at the Big Rig Park

Outdoor display at the Oil Patch, Roma

We spent half a day at the Big Rig where the area's oil and gas history is recorded with an outdoor display called the Oil Patch. A tour here begins with information about the aboriginal group that lived in this area then goes on to the accidental discovery of oil and gas while drilling for water on Hospital hill and takes you through the trials, efforts and successes in finding oil and gas, refining it and making ithem taken for granted fuels of today. Engineer Sam found the push the button see and hear display which explains how the earth was formed over the ages with the gases being trapped very interesting,  

Oil fields machinery display at The Big Rig, Roma

The Oil Patch, Roma

 The outdoor area is very pleasant with native bushes, bees and  a few monitor lizards that can be seen on sunning themselves during quiet spells.

The above picture is that of Lenroy's Slab Hut which was built from rough hewn cypress pine in 1893 and later moved, finally to this site where it served as the Information Centre until the present one was built gives a reminder of the reality of bush life in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  The hut now has a galvanised iron roof which replaced the original Box tree bark just a year after it was built, according to an inscription on the ceiling.

Inside Le Roy's Hut, Roma

Life for women would have been extremely difficult in the early days of the oil and gas fields. The heat and its variations would have been very trying - no aircon or easy heating - but to have to cook, wash and do the other labourious household tasks would have been back breaking. Life definitely was NOT better in the past!

Oil drilling Machinery, the big Rig, Roma

Roma town stretched along the highway and has nowhere near the number of pubs it had in the past. But there were still a few, considering the population. Oil is big business and we noticed a lot of young mothers with their children having a social get together in the park. They looked quite well off and we couldn't help overhearing conversations that revealed their spouses were in the industry and were doing quite well even in these current difficult economic times. As none of them had family living within several hundred or even a thousand plus kilometers they had formed strong supportive bonds, akin to family. Quite a necessary thing for survival in unfamiliar remote and difficult environment, I thought as I watched.

Queens Arms, Roma, Queensland

Roma, Queensland

As we relaxed in Roma we began to rekindle our idea of going further to explore Western Queensland and up through Injune and through the Carnavon Gorge to the Dawson Highway and on to Biloela and Rockhampton on the Capricorn Coast. This trip will need to be done in the dry winter months as the rain in summer makes the roads almost impassable. Trouble is, winter is really cold! We are now working on this dream! Again!

Further up the Highway towards Injune

Outback Queensland

Our tiny taste of Outback Queensland was soon over and we turned for home, relaxed and planning for a come back and do more trip in the near future. We were only an hour back on the Warrego Highway before we felt the need to dally longer with a coffee break in the bush.

Outback Queensland

 Next time . . . we'll stay longer and go further, travelling together through this surprising and ever changing land that is our home.

Timely visit to Colarado's Capitol Building

Wherever I travel I like to pick up the local newspaper and browse through it to gain an idea of the community I am visiting. On this occasion, had that not been my habit, I would have missed the opportunity to see an important part of Colarado's beautiful and important building, known as The Capitol. When I turned to page five my eye caught a paragraph that reported that the Capitol Building Dome would be closed  the following day until the middle of 2014 for renovations and repairs. This information had me pulling on my outdoor gear, grabbing my camera and hurrying down the street to catch the next city bound bus and in a very short while I was standing in the park opposite this lovely building.

With the five-foot thick exterior walls of granite, here it is standing proudly with its gold dome dominating one end of downtown Denver.

Colarado State Capitol Building

The building was designed in the Corinthian style, similar to that of the National Capitol Building in Washington, by one Elija E  Myers. He was sacked before the building was completed which reminded me of the architect of the Sydney Opera house who was also sacked before completion. Not a secure profession - architects. Anyway, the names of the streets around were familiar to me and I discovered that they are the same as those around their Washington cousin, Grant, Colfax, Pennsylvania, Lincoln.

Due to the need to go immediately or miss out for a few years I did not have time to research this visit and so followed the sign to the visitors' entrance on the south side of the building, missing the front steps and the marker that exactly indicates Denver's one mile high status on the 13th step. Apparently there is also a marker indicating the same altitude on the 15th step, placed there  some time ago. Subsequent measuring in 1969 had a marker placed in the 18th step claiming this honour but again, in 2003, with more accurate equipment the 13th step won the title.

Glold Dome, Colarado Capitol State Building

This dome was originally made of copper and had problems with oxidization so, in 1908, gold was applied so that it now shines brightly. However, the 24 carat leaf thin gold  has to be replaced from time to time, as in 1950, 1980, 1991 and during the current renovation period. 

Once I had passed through a security check a sign indicated that I should take the lift to the first floor, which is where I would have come in had I come up the west entrance and seen the famous 13th step. I would also have seen the magnificent marble staircase in all its glory. 

It's a google image but it gives an idea of the magnificance of this marble staircase.

Instead I saw these lifts with engraved pictures of a bison, Indian teepees . . .

lift, Colarado State Capitol Building

 The building core was circular and there were murals telling Colarado's water story on one half and pictures of the Presidents of the United States on the other half.

Colarado State Capitol Building

From here, I walked up the wide staircase to the next level where the Legislative Chamber is housed. These stairs were really lovely and are made of a white marble which was quarried in Colarado. 

Legislative Chamber, Colarado state Government

Initially, I was surprised at the small size of this lovely room but I learned that  this State of just over 5 million has 65 representatives.

Rocky Mountain Painting

The chamber was really lovely with paintings around the carefully lighted walls. this one was above the Speaker's chair and above the painting was . . .

Picture above speaker's Chair, Colarado Legislative Chamber

. . . this one. I don't know who inspired this picture but it was very lovely!


After a time is the Legislative Chamber where I experimented with my newfound camera knowledge to obtain pictures in difficult lighting, I continued  up the cool stairs to Mr Brown's Attic. I have no idea as to the origin of that name but it was an information room and access to the 99 steps up to the dome.

Depiction of early Denver

Photo of the Colarado State Capitol under construction

After an interesting walk around the exhibits and pictures and a talk with the attendant the access door was unlocked for me and up to the dome cavern I went!

Looking down from a high place!

Inside view of the Dome

The open terrace was unsafe and barracaded off which was disappointing but ilustrated the need for urgent renovation and strengthening so I had to take pictures from the interior.
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Looking toward the Rockies

The day had warmed up and I had discarded two layers of outer clothing but the sky was somewhat hazy and the Rockies not as clear as they often are.

One of the many downtown Denver churches

Although I asked several people, I was unable to name this church or cathedral and I didn't have time to visit it. It looks quite majestic despite being surrounded by buildings of lesser grandeur.

Dome Tower of Colarado State Capitol Building

In the above photo you can see the terrace that was closed to the public, being in a dangerous state.

Down town Denver with its State Capitol building glinting in the winter sun.