Blue Mountains Anew
Father Gabriel leaves us in a couple of weeks. I have to say I am very sad about this, as he has been a great help, He has really brought our community together, like a Franciscan Mary Poppins! He will be missed!
We've been trying to squeeze in as much of Australia that he's not yet seen. Last Thursday, Fr. Gerard and myself took him to the Blue Mountains. I have already spoken about them in my blog before, yet they still take my breath away. It's really something you need to do when visiting me. However, I haven't the energy to give you a play by play with each of these 50 or so odd photos. But I will give you some of the highlights.
Though larger, seeing the Jamieson Valley (of the Blue Mountains) reminds me of the same feeling you get seeing the Grand Canyon : awe and wonder! On the way up, we read that the Blue Mountains are called that because of a bluish haze. The haze comes from a certain wave length of light hitting off the gasses emitted by the eucalyptus trees. The light appears bluish, hence the name.
Here is a shot of Fr. Gabriel posing with some giant ferns (6). These plants date back to prehistoric times. Can you see a dinosaur munching on them? I can! I love the way the clouds cast shadows like in this shot (7). The day was crisp (around 40-45) when we arrived, though there was no breeze and it felt warmer in the sun. Clouds rolled in later in the day.
The most notable feature at the Blue Mountains (as you can read in the photo of a sign) is a set of three sandstone pillars callled the Three Sisters (10, in the background, behind my head). The pillars are made of rocks that remind me of the sandstone blocks on the outside of the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, WI. We descended the steep steps (130 of them!) to get to the back of the last sister in the row (16-23). That's as far as you go, sadly. You can't go around them (no walkway) but we did touch them and take pictures. Here's a close up of the rocks (19).
Later in the day we ventured to "Scenic World" which is basically a series of tram rides to the valley floor and across the valley (photo 37 and following). The two trams going down into the valley are very steep. In one, you ride a cable car that is pitched forward with "stadium" style seating (37-38). The other is nicknamed the "steepest train ride in the world" and basically runs along a track on the valley wall (41). It used to be an open air train, but the newer one, which we rode, is glass covered. The seats swivel and you have to use your legs to keep you upright and from falling forward! It was exciting. Because it was mid-week, and not many people were around, we could ride the vehicles as many times as we wanted! We rode down and up on both.
At the bottom, we followed a walkway and found an old coal mine that is no longer operating. We came across a bronze sculpture of a miner and his mule (42). When you walk by it, a cheesey sounding recording starts up of the miner introducing himself and telling you to get on his mule for a photo. My brothers posed (I wasn't going to get on that cold thing) as I snapped the shot (43) freezing their bottoms! (Did I say it was a lot colder down in the valley. It's actually a rainforest down there with moisture collected and trapped by the walls, making us feel even chillier.)
The last ride (44) at Scenic World takes you across the valley and gives you a nice view of Katoomba Falls (45-49). The falls seem to drop and drop and drop. We couldn't get too close to them, but we could see them. Luckily Fr. Gabriel brought a nice camera with its multiple lenses shooting up some of these nice pictures. Towards sunset, the clouds started to come in and we were able to get some wonderful pictures of lights and shadows in the valley (50-51).