Mother Nature's display of Fall Beauty - The Great Smoky Mountain, TN
The sights & sounds of New Orleans
Cane River Creole National Historic Site
South Dakota - Sturgis & The Badlands
The Badlands - Homesteaders tried to settle here... they were met with many challenges and failures. Many left.
Nebraska -
Scotts Bluff, Chimney Rock, Agate Fossil Beds, Carhenge & Ft. Robinson
Fort Robinson - where I 'heard' dead people (check out our blog page), a place where many Indian battles were fought. Before the Indians, it was a battle ground for Mammoths - here they found a rare 'battle to the death' of two mammoths; in WW II it became a prisoner of war camp; and after that a training camp for war dogs. Today it is a National Historic Site.
Agate Fossil Beds - It was sooooo.... HOT.. l!!!!
An amazing find of an old watering hole where many mammals perished.
In 1880 a rancher by the name of James Cook alerted scientists about this rare find on his land.
The hills you see in the pics below are named University Hill (left) after the University of Nebraska and Carnegie Hill (right) after the Carnegie Museum which conducted the excavations.
Scotts Bluff - Where the overland trails converge: the Mormon trail, the Lewis & Clark trail, the Oregon trail, the California trail and the Pony Express.
Check also our 'Wild Life & Flowers' page for all the critters and the beautiful wild flowers we encountered on this hike.
Colorado - Co Natl Monument & Rocky Mountain Natl Park
Utah - Arches National Park
Idaho - Craters of the Moon!
The Magnificent Olympic Peninsula
Hoh Rain Forest
La Push - The Quileute Native American Reservation & a local surf spot
Neah Bay - The Makah (The people who lived by the rocks & seaguls) Native American Reservation
Sekiu Fishing Village and where we found over 15 BALD EAGLES, adults and juveniles .....
a spectacular display of pecking order. The brown speckled ones are the juveniles, they have not gained their colors yet.
Cresent Lake; Salmon Cascades; Sol Duc Waterfalls
Hurricane Ridge
R2AK - race to Alaska: All types of sea vessels as long as it is not powered by engines... even paddle & sail boards - start time 5:30am
start: Port Townsend, WA - end: Ketchikan, AK
Crater Lake, OR - the deepest & bluest lake in the USA - An absolute 'MUST SEE'
The crater is 6 mi across and 1,978 ft deep!
A massive volcanic eruption, 7,700 yrs ago left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood. Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, the island you see in the crater is called Wizard Island.
The East Rim was still closed for the season, but we were very lucky to see the lake at the West Rim just before the fog moved in. I have NEVER seen such deep blue water. The color of the water is soooo blue, it almost looks fake.
Yeah... that's me, crawling around on my belly to see over the edge... I'm also holding on to whatever I can hold on to to take a peek over the edge.
The East Rim was still closed for the season, but we were very lucky to see the lake at the West Rim just before the fog moved in. I have NEVER seen such deep blue water. The color of the water is soooo blue, it almost looks fake.
Yeah... that's me, crawling around on my belly to see over the edge... I'm also holding on to whatever I can hold on to to take a peek over the edge.
The Modoc War, the Lava Beds Stronghold - Tule Lake, CA
Chief Kintpuash aka Capt Jack!
In the late 1870's, during the Modoc War, Capt Jack and over 150 men, women, and children withdrew to a natural fortress, Captain Jack's Stronghold among the lava. From there fewer than 60 warriors held off a vastly larger army force for five months. Allan & I hiked the trail through this historic fortress and it gives you goose bumps to walk through the natural lava formation which was once a stronghold used to retain one's own land and a stand for freedom. The natural lava tubes became the Modoc people's fortress and from this stronghold, they repeatedly outwitted the larger US soldiers. Although they were eventually worn down and defeated, their plight became legendary.
Lehman Caves - The Great Basin National Park, NV at the border of Utah!
Cathedral Gorge, NV - what an amazing find!
Leaving Grand Canyon via Route 66 to Nevada - Seligman, AZ
For those of you who are old enough to remember, here are some old Burma Shave road side advertisements...
a little tongue in cheek humor! :-)
a little tongue in cheek humor! :-)
The sights along Route 66..... hmmm..... what were they smoking?
The Magnificent Grand Canyon!
Our heli experience... amazing to see the Canyon up close & personal! :-)
Climbing up to Balcony House... Cliff Dwelling 500 ft up!
Following a mountainous trail, climbing to Painted Hand Pueblo .... check out the trail markers...lucky we didn't get lost!
The Big Well - Greensburg, OK - the place of an EF 5 Tornado!
The well was 109 ft deep and 32 ft in diameter, equipped with a spiral staircase... you'll see me trying my best to check it out!
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We met with Helen Schneider who survived the tornado with her son & her cat by taking refuge in her hallway. After the tornado, nothing was standing. Somehow, all three of them survived. Helen now works in the museum of this Big Well. The only structure left standing was the Grain Silo seen in this newspaper clipping and it is still standing today. The city of Greenburg has re-built and has endorsed green sustainability... Cheers!
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