Mount Rushmore

Well, I can now cross Mount Rushmore off my list. I've been there and done that!

Mount Rushmore is very impressive not only for the massive carved busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln but also for the Avenue of Flags displaying flags of the states, districts, commonwealths, and territories of the USA.

Each president was selected for an important moment in American history by the artist Gutzon Borglum. George Washington, a general during the Revolutionary War, was chosen for the birth of our country. Thomas Jefferson was chosen for expansion, as the Louisiana Purchase was completed during his term of office. Theodore Roosevelt represents development for his conservation of natural wonders, and Abraham Lincoln was selected for preservation for saving the union during the Civil War.

Some trivia for you:

Each face is 60 feet tall.

Each eye is 11 feet wide.

George Washinton's 21 foot nose is one foot longer than all of the other presidents.

And last but not least, Washington's mouth is 18 feet wide.

If you go to my blog below, you will see the profile of George Washington, our first president.

Painted Desert/ Petrified Forest National Park

This national park consists of two sections. The southern part of the park is famous for its large concentration of petrified wood. The northern section is home to colorful banded badlands of the Painted Desert. Great fossilized logs can be found throughout. The colors of the Painted Desert change with the weather and the time of day.

How Dry I Am

Oh dear
What’s happened to me?
I’ve dried up
Like a shriveled green pea!

My skin is so scaly
I’m dry from head to toe
I’m using tons of lotion
But you wouldn’t even know!

It started when we left Mandeville
And began our trek out west
The climate is so different here
Even my hair is not its best!

There is no humidity
No moisture in the air
I never knew I needed it
I gave it not a care!

Now I want that humidity
I need some curl in my hair
I want my skin smooth again
This dry climate I cannot bear!

Canyonlands

We spent a chilly day in Canyonlands, but it was definitely worth it. This is possibly the most beautiful national park that we visited on our trek across the United States.

Canyonlands National Park, located in Utah, is divided into three distinct districts, Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. Segments of the Colorado River and the Green River flow through Canyonlands and divide the park into these three sections. Our photographs were taken while driving and walking through Island in the Sky. The Needles is made up of red and white pinnacles towering over 400 feet tall, and The Maze is a very remote part of Canyonlands and has very few roads.

Arches National Park

Arches National Park, located in Utah, preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches along with balanced rocks and pinnacles. Most of the formations in the park are made of soft red sandstone deposited 150 million years ago. The arches were once vertical rocks called "fins". Through the passage of time, sections of these fins wore away forming the arches.

My visit to the Arches began with a mile walk through the canyons below. Joe and Alice stayed back and picked up David, Mel, Ruth, and I at the other end. The views were breathtaking, and at each turn they appeared to be more beautiful.

I felt bad that Joe didn't get to make it, but as we were hiking, he sat outside with Chloe and Buster. When Chloe ran under the motor home, Joe had to get under the motor home to get her out. That was when Joe discovered that he could tow the jeep after all. So, it turned out that Joe was very happy to stay back

Enjoy the rest of our photographs.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park (located in Colorado), was our third stop on our trek across the southwest and the first of eight national parks that Joe and I have seen on our California vacation. Mesa Verde is home for a 13th-century ancestral Puebloan site. The cliffside villages are visible from park roads and overlooks. Alice and David, Ruth and Mel, and Joe and I walked down a quarter-mile trail to view a Pueblo up close. It was easy to go down to the cliff dwelling but very difficult to climb back up. We even got to climb down into an underground ceremonial room by way of ladder.

Dead Horse Point

Here's the whole family--Joe, Meredith, Chloe, and Buster. This picture was taken at Dead Horse Point, a state park in Utah. Dead Horse Point gets its name from a sad event. The point is a narrow cliff that drops off to 2000 feet below. Cowboys would corner the mustangs at this point, pick out the best, and let the rest go. Legend says that when the cowboys returned to the point after one dismal winter they found numerous dead horses. The horses had been left trapped at the point to spend the winter without water and could only look at the water 2000 feet below that was unreachable.