Chaumette Winery

This is one of many wineries in Missouri. It is located not far from Historic Ste. Genevieve, an original French settlement on the Missouri side of the Mississippi river.

Wine making in Missouri goes back to the 1830s and is know for some of the finest wine in the United States. While this area is along the Mississippi, the first vineyards were developed west of St. Louis along the Missouri River.

Currently the eastern side of the state there are many of these wineries along with bed and breakfasts.

21

The previous photo was sunset from this deck. This is sunrise from Villa 21 at Chaumette winery. I used a 10mm lens to get the converging lines from the deck and the horizon with the sunrise. Staying in this Vialla, at 7:00 am, I stepped out onto the deck with camera and tripod. Took the photo and went back to bed!

This is a high area in the Ozarks with few Ozark type “mountains.” The view is outstanding!

Sunset at Chaumette

This is one of my all time favorite photos from Chaumette Winery. One day I rented one of their villas and captured this sunset photo from the porch. While Chaumette is in the Missouri Ozarks, this is an area of low rolling hills but the height of the property gives a spectacular view.

This photo was taken with a 10-20mm Sigma lens which is perfect for this photo. The wide angle allows for a view of the buildings, the road disappearing into the distance and the dramatic sky.

Click on the photo to enlarge and get the stats of the photo (little i at the bottom right of the phot).

Chaumette Villas

Chaumette Villas

One of my favorite places to visit. These are the Chalets at Chaumette Winery in Ste. Genevieve Missouri. A 90 minute drive from St. Louis, this is a great place for a day trip or overnight.

You can get one of their very nice Villas for the night; you can have a nice dinner at the winery and then spend the night in your VIlla.

Chaumette is on a large parcel of property with a number of lakes an walking trails. It is also close to historic Ste. Genevieve. Stay for several days and do some exploring.

Loop Trolley 002

Loop Trolley

University City’s Loop Trolley. This is an antique streetcar recently installed in the the University City “Loop” area and terminates in Forest Park by the Missouri History Museum (in the background). This project was very expensive for the St. Louis area and it remains to be seen if it will payoff.

The photo was processed in Topaz Labs Impression software to make it look like it was painted by an impressionist painter (but we know better). Click on the the photo to see full frame.

Bridge in Forest Park

Suspension Bridge

Walking around St. Louis’ Forest Park, you can find scenes like this. This is a suspension bridge near the landmark Great Basin. 115 years ago this would have been the location of the 1904 World’s Fair Sunken Garden and Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. Now it is a little crossroad of walking paths, streams and lakes.

 

Lone Lily

Jewel Box

A lone lily in the reflecting pools around the Jewel Box in Forest Park. The Jewel Box is a display greenhouse in the park with flower gardens surrounding it. For more photos from the Jewel Box and Forest park visit: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Forest-Park/

Columbia Bottoms Sunflowers

Sunflowers in Columbia Bottoms in Northern St. Louis County. This is the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. After visiting the Sunflowers, go to view the merging of two of the worlds major rivers.

Note that currently this area is closed due to flooding.

Mackinac Bridge

Driving across this bridge is not for the fainthearted. The bridge is over 26,000 feet long and if going, it is best to go to the bridge website for a weather report as the deck will sway in high wind. Since the deck is 200 ft above water chances for high wind are pretty good.

There are a number of parks around the bridge for great photo opportunities. Spend a little time here and then head for Mackinac Island!

See more of Northern Michigan: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Up-North/

Echinacea

Jewel Box

Coneflowers at Forest Park’s Jewel Box. This is an area around the Jewel Box’s reflecting pools and one of Forest Park’s very scenic areas.

I wanted to say something about this flower for this post but had little idea what it was. With the magic of Google, I looked up “daisy with big center” and presto, found it!

If you are not familiar with St. Louis’ Forest Park, here is a link to my photos of this very impressive park: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Forest-Park