GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT
Waterfalls— The Finale
From chasing waterfalls to hidden surprises
What a month it has been. While my life has changed directions, location and everything in between, I have tried to stay on top of my editing duties at Globetrotters reading all the wonderful essays you’ve submitted about waterfalls around the world.
This month the total submissions to the challenge went up again while the quality still remained high. Something we like seeing even if it makes our choices at the end of the month even more difficult.
Either way, it’s time to share and highlight your wonderful masterpieces.
JoAnn Ryan
Seeing all the beautiful and majestic waterfall photos everyone submitted with their stories was really the best part of this challenge for me. Of course, I still love reading the stories as well.
Enjoyed, reading this story about the ups and downs of Jacqueline Jannotta’s relocation to the state of Oregon: Falling for Oregon: The Turbulent Story Behind Her Beauty.
Also loved reading about the lovely state of Minnesota from Melissa Rock in this story: You Can Have Your Tall and Mighty, I’ll Take My Small and Plenty. And I always enjoy reading about and seeing photos of Ukraine from Serhii Onkov: How Tiny Waterfalls Helped Me to Save My Face.
Ian Hanson really stunned me with his beautiful writing and photos with these three stories: Seeking The Tallest Waterfall, This One Waterfall Will Show You the Way, and Looking for Falling Water.
Another story that really knocked my socks off with photos and wonderful descriptions was Rhonda Carrier’s Northern Ireland: Friends, Fields, Forest and a Waterfall. Now I want to go… in the summer.
Ultimately though, this story by Allisonn Church ended up being my fav, which included her ‘secret’ waterfall and some endearing family photos. It was just so well written. I’ve had the chance to visit this state a couple of times now and each time I just absolutely love it. So much beauty and rich history:
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted stories to this challenge. See you again next month for more challenge stories!
Adrienne Beaumont
After reading many stories about Niagara Falls, I’ve decided it’s off my “places I want to see before I die” list. But the photographs are simply stunningly beautiful — all of them. So thank you, Purbita Chakraborty, Bell, Chaudhry Writes., and Belcairn for your stories and photos. My favourite Niagara Falls story is the one written by The Travelling Programmer.
There were so many waterfalls that were hidden or discovered accidentally or simply part of the writer’s local area. My favourites here were Krasi Shapkarova’s “Having the Best Time, Ending up Where I Didn’t Plan to Be”, Allisonn Church’s “Waterfalls of Western Massachusetts” and Bebe Nicholson’s “Searching for Waterfalls and Finding Something More”
Thank you to everyone who entered stories in this challenge. I loved them all!
Michele Maize
I am a sucker for a good waterfall and chase them while I am on my travels. A hike is always better if you see a waterfall, in my opinion. So, it was no surprise that I loved the challenge stories this month and added so many new waterfalls to my list. It was so hard to pick a few favorites!
One that I can’t even believe I’ve missed in my travels up the Pacific Coast Highway is McWay Falls in Big Sur. Thanks to Ian Hanson and his stellar writing and photography, I have made a note to head back to Big Sur. It’s definitely a place you can see more than once, it is that beautiful. He has a chance encounter at the coast and it is a lovely story.
As someone who would love to move to Oregon, the title of this story drew me in. I found this story to be funny, enlightening, real, somber, and lovely — all in one. Jacqueline Jannotta shares her thoughts after moving from California to Oregon, the waterfalls she visited, some history about the state, and what we can learn from nature.
Joe Guay - Dispatches From the Guay Life! visits beautiful waterfalls in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. The part of his story that struck me the most was that after having contracted West Nile Virus amidst the Covid times, he went through a lot and he thought he might not make it back to a waterfall that he wanted to see. But, this is a beautiful story of triumph in the end.
Anne Bonfert
I loved the load of waterfall pictures and descriptions of dropping rivers we received this month. I could see you all put so much effort into your submissions and appreciate it. However, I have to make my own choices, so here are my favorites listed in categories.
The surprise
When her friend got injured and the original hiking plan wasn’t going to work out, she decided to simply venture out and explore an area she had no expectations about.
When you’re out at the Grand Canyon, a waterfall is not the thing you would expect to encounter and this was why the excitement was even bigger.
“As soon as I came across the first pool of water, I dipped my face in the cold, refreshing liquid of life. And I smiled.” — Krasi Shapkarova
The personal
The story began as just a list of stunning waterfalls but then quickly turned into something more personal, something deeper. Our mental health has never been more in danger than today and many have noticed how nature and waterfalls in particular can have healing effects on our wellbeing.
Do yourself a favor and read this story to the end. You might join the writer and shed a tear in the last lines.
“How is it possible that this water all comes from an underground spring, running all day everyday, through every season, for all these years, in a state that seems to perpetually fight drought?” — Joe Guay - Dispatches From the Guay Life!
The pictureless
This story differs on so many levels from all the other submissions we have received and yet it strung me deep inside. The essay is very personal and shares some deep emotions from the writer.
What fascinated me the most was how he pulled me into the scene of a time long gone without having a single photograph of the actual scene. To share a story of a waterfall and making me not only hear but see it without adding photographs is demonstrating the power of words.
“Without warning, the world suddenly shifted. Instead of one drop dripping, I saw the flash of a drop. The next instant, the flash of a drop lower down. And the next, a third flash of a drop near the bottom. It was as if the three drops were on a movie reel, slowed down enough that I could see each individual frame.” — Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur
The photographic
And after the pictureless comes the one(s) with award-winning photographs. Yes, I did use the plural because I could not decide between these two essays for this category.
Both of these writers have an incredibly fascinating skillset not only behind the camera but with the pen as well. The essays are well-written, captivating and stunningly decorated with breathtaking photographs.
Simon Whaley - Author | Writer | Photographer takes us to the Welsh countryside and displays a long-hidden waterfall on a gray day in the fall.
And then there is Erika Burkhalter who takes us once again to the very North. All her stories of Alaska are incredibly fascinating but this one took my breath away.
Once again, we thank every writer who has contributed to this writing prompt. The stories were all interesting and inspiring. I loved hearing all those stories about different kinds of waterfalls.
If you missed the deadline and still want to share a travel story presenting waterfalls around the world, you can do so. The article will not be part of the challenge. We are always open to travel posts.
I also encourage you to stay tuned for our next writing prompt for April. We will announce it here on Globetrotters on the 1st.
The team of editors also contributed to the challenge with the following articles. These posts never join the contest.
JoAnn Ryan with “Exploring and Learning About the Wonder of the Snake River and Idaho Falls” (BOOSTED)
Michele Maize with “Eat More Plants, Do More Yoga, and Hike to More Waterfalls” (BOOSTED)
Adrienne Beaumont with “Don’t Go Chasin’ Waterfalls” and “We Chased Waterfalls”
Anne Bonfert with “Reflecting Raindrops Instead of Snow-capped Mountain Peaks” (BOOSTED) and “From Glaciers in the Clouds, Waterfalls in the Forest and Glowing Worms”
And now, please give credit to all participating writers and read these awesome submissions if you haven’t checked them out yet:
Brad Yonaka with “The Pristine Beauty of Angel Falls”
Jewel Allen with “The Smoke that Thunders”
Erie Astin with “Watching Waterfalls in Glacier National Park”
Barb Dalton with “The Misty, Magical and Marvellous Montmorency Falls”
Oksana Kukurudza's Sunflowers Rarely Break with “The Waterfalls of Milford Sound”
Simon Whaley - Author | Writer | Photographer with “Pistyll Rhaeadr”
Ronald Smit with “Mosi-oa-Tunya” and “Stunning Waterfalls”
Joe Guay - Dispatches From the Guay Life! with “Tears Shed At McArthur-Burney Falls After A Mental Health Scare”
Michelle Lawson with “Up and Down the Ars with Moonboots”
Melissa Rock with “You Can Have Your Tall and Mighty, I’ll Take My Small and Plenty”
Vickey Maverick. with “From Tegallalang to Tegenungan”
The Travelling Programmer with “Iceland — The Land of Fire and Ice” and “Iceland — The World’s Most Beautiful Sunset”
Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur with “The Waterfall That Changed My World”
Scott-Ryan Abt with “The Waterfalls of Jamaica”
Allisonn Church with “Waterfalls of Western Massachusetts” (BOOSTED)
Carol Labuzzetta, MS Natural Resources, MS Nursing with “Hiking To Waimoku Falls On The Pipiwai Trail”
CosmicDancer with “Nordic Waterfalls”
Belcairn with “Waterfalls? At This Time Of Year?”
Chaudhry Writes. with “3 Continents, 3 Waterfalls, and 3 Key Lessons”
Julia A. Keirns with “An Amazing Waterfall in Downtown Ithaca”
Claire Elizabeth Levesque with “A Natural Wonder, Gone Commercial” (BOOSTED)
Bell with “The Most Famous Waterfalls in the World?”
Serhii Onkov with “How Tiny Waterfalls Helped Me to Save My Face”
Jacqueline Jannotta with “Falling for Oregon and the Turbulent Stories Behind Her Beauty” (BOOSTED)
Rhonda Carrier with “Jewel’s Waterfall: A Gem of Technology” and “Northern Ireland: Friends, Fields, Forest and a Waterfall”
Krasi Shapkarova with “Having the Best Time, Ending up Where I Didn’t Plan to Be”
Ian Hanson with “Seeking The Tallest Waterfall”, “This One Waterfall Will Show You the Way” and “Looking for Falling Water”
Todd Castor with “An Unlikely Waterfall Discovery”
Sondra Singer - Still Vital with “The Waterfalls and Sights of Glacier National Park and Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park”
Harshita Kasera with “Bow Glacier Falls : Beyond the Viewpoint”
Purbita Chakraborty with “One Waterfall That Captured Three Beautiful Phases of My Life”
Bebe Nicholson with “Searching for Waterfalls and Finding Something More”
Christina Daniels with “How I Took a Coracle Ride to See India’s Niagara Falls”
Roberta Patellaro with “The Waterfall That Will Heal All Ails”
Erika Burkhalter with “Finding Permanence in Impermanence at the LeConte Glacier, Alaska”
Your Globetrotters editing team (JoAnn, Adrienne, Michele & Anne)
