We visited the great state of Utah twice. (Three times if you count our little incursion through Mexican Hat when we were traveling from Monument Valley to Mesa Verde) We explored Arches National Park in 2001 while on a camping trip that took us through the midwest, Colorado, Utah and all the way to L.A., then back home via Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and then north through Tennessee and Kentucky. What can I say about Arches... red rock formations that are the dream of any photographer. Each arch trying to outdo the others in grandeur and sheer beauty. We drove the [View Full Entry]

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With our home base in Flagstaff, we set out to explore the many attractions in the immediate area. At the top of our list was Sedona. Situated at the southern edge of Oak Creek Canyon, about 20 miles from Flagstaff. The drive itself is very picturesque, the highlight being Slide Rock State Park where hundreds of people were picnicking, bathing or simply relaxing among the rocks and pools. Then Sedona itself, is a beautiful little town, very artsy with many craft shops and galleries. The red rock formations surrounding the town are a stunning backdrop and make it a hugely popular [View Full Entry]

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Now that we had wheels we decided to go ahead with our original plan and visit Monument Valley and Mesa Verde which is in Southwestern Colorado. Since both are roughly in the same area we thought we'd do both on the same outing. We left Flagstff and drove through miles and miles of NOTHING. The Navajo nation owns practically all of the land between Flagstaff and the Four Corners area that we wanted to explore. There are very few signs of modern life to be seen, mainly desert and once in a while the odd, humble home. We reached Monument Valley [View Full Entry]

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The first time we visited the canyon was with a group. At the Motel Dubeau where we were staying, they had an organized daily tour which we joined on our first day. . The distance from Flagstaff to the south rim is about 80 miles driving through Cococino national forest.The bus driver/guide was excellent. He cheerfully shared all the pertinent information with us and then left us to enjoy the magnificent scenery on our own. At the end of the day, he drove us back via a different route through Navajo land with a partial view of the Painted Desert. I [View Full Entry]

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In the summer of 1995, we decided to drive to Arizona to discover the Grand Canyon and other natural or man made wonders that we had read about. The nearest town to the canyon is Flagstaff, so that was our destination. However, we only got as far as Toronto when our vehicle developed some major problems. I guess you'd call having the entire muffler and tail pipe go crash, clatter, bang on the 401 a major problem! We had it repaired but our destination was too far to risk continuing the trip with that vehicle. So we went back home, very [View Full Entry]

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We had one more major stop on our list and that was Mount Rushmore. First though we took a quick tour of The Little Big Horn battle site where general Custer and his men were soundly defeated by Cheyenne and Sioux warriors in 1876. We then settled for the night at a campground in South Dakota where they had a really neat feature. In the evening, after dark, they had a resident native person, (I think he was Lakota), who gathered campers around a huge campfire and regaled us with legends of his people. He was a wonderful storyteller and he [View Full Entry]

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Next we made our way into Montana, Big Sky Country. It really was quite exciting driving through the rolling hills with nary a city or even a town for miles and miles. We left the interstate a little east of Butte heading for Yellowsone National park, which occupies the South East corner of Wyoming. It was on top of our list of places to visit and what a thrill it was! So much to see, so little time. Of course, Old Faithful was a must, and we spent quite some time waiting for him to do his thing. Finally, he blew [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Vancouver, we decided to go home via the United States, since there were many places we wanted to visit along the way. We stayed in Seattle one night. Considering the area's rainy reputation, we were lucky and got a fine evening in which to take a stroll on the waterfront. There was a Japanese "tall ship" docked in the port, and two of the sailors were kind enough to allow us to take a photo. We also came upon a street artist whose work we really enjoyed. We bought one of his paintings, it is still hanging in our dining [View Full Entry]

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After a week's driving, (with stops), we finally reached Vancouver. We settled in at Simon Fraser University. During the summer months most universities rent out their dorms to travelers for a very reasonable price. In this case, we were quite happy with our accomodations. We had a private room, (with public bathroom) and access to kitchen and laundry facilities. Since we were on a peninsula, we thought we might find a beach, for an evening stroll, so we set out. We asked, and were directed to a nearby stairway that would take us down to the water. Of course, it was [View Full Entry]

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From Calgary, we headed into the Rockies. Our first stop was Banff. After a little exploring of the town, we drove over to the Banff Springs Hotel. Eddy's company had designed and manufactured many of their lighting fixtures, so we sort of felt as if we owned the place. And what a place! And what a view! Afterwards we walked up to the Rimrock Resort Hotel and from there, took a cablecar to an observation point far, far above the valley floor. Again, what a view! We walked, (more like scrambled), down from the mountain top, catching sight of an elk [View Full Entry]

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