Today we left behind the big city traffic of Bakersfield and headed toward the central California coast. It was a pretty ride. The highway passed rolling golden hills dotted with dark green California oak trees. Here and there black cattle were scattered like pencil points on the hillsides. We had traveled through the orchards and fields of Bakersfield and now we were in cattle ranch and vineyard country: the San Joaquin valley. The road through the valley to the central coast was curvy and had steep grades. Our first stop on the coast was Morro Rock, a huge volcanic (what else) [View Full Entry]

---

---

We were up early this morning (5:15 am) to catch sunrise at Zabriskie Point, a recommended place to see first light shadows on the colorful formations. I clicked away along with a number of other photographers. The light show was over in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, haze dulled the colors. Next we drove to Badwater, the lowest point in the US; 282 feet below sea level - - very barren. The temp in the morning was comfortable, but it warmed up quickly. We made a few more stops of geologic interest and decided to move on to Bakersfield which is mid [View Full Entry]

---

---

After seeing the layout of Hoover Dam last night we knew we wanted to take an early tour and get ahead of the crowds. We were there by 7:30 am (it opens at 9:00am). There was plenty of parking! Nevada is the warmest place we’ve been on the trip. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was hot. We took our time and walked the top of the dam (next to the road) down to the tour site (at least a half mile). Homeland Security operates road inspection stations in both states. RV’s are always stopped. They did a quick once over [View Full Entry]

---

---

We left the Sedona area this morning and headed northwest toward the Hoover Dam, about a 4 hr drive. We enjoyed the Red Rock area and would consider coming back to hike and bird. Frank had marked some geology stops he wanted to make as we drove back through Oak Creek Canyon toward I-40. He takes the roadside sign “Watch for Rocks” literally! Stopping CT on hairpin curves to look for rock samples makes life interesting. About 40 miles south of Hoover Dam we saw a sign advertising the West Rim of the Grand Canyon and Skywalk, only 45 miles away. [View Full Entry]

---

---

This morning we went to Jerome, a little town about 12 miles from the campground. The geology guidebook had mentioned some sites Frank wanted to check out. We ended up at Jerome State Historical Park. Jerome had a BIG copper mine operation from the 1880’s to the 1950’s. Millions of dollars of copper, gold and silver were mined there. It sure looked like an easier life than the copper miners had in Alaska! In its heyday, 15,000 people lived in Jerome. The city is built on the side of a mountain. The narrow road keeps zigzagging up the mountain and the [View Full Entry]

---

---

It doesn’t seem to get as cold at night in Arizona. It was 61 degrees this morning. We knew we had to hike in Sedona so we did the Airport Mesa loop. It’s 3.5 mile, fairly level trail with great views. We got to the trailhead early (7:30 am) because we knew the parking lot would get crowded. It was beautiful day - - sunny with clouds and a cool breeze, not too hot. As promised (in the guidebook), the views of the red rock formations that the area is known for were outstanding. I was excited about the number of [View Full Entry]

---

---

We left Canyon de Chelly this morning after spending the night in the free U. S. Park Service campground (very nice). We headed for Sedona. The guidebook said there is no town in the southwest that is prettier with its red buttes and mesas. We decided to forego Grand Canyon since we have both seen it and have a look at Sedona. It was only 60 miles off our route. It was about a 4 hour drive from the canyon. I think Ginny took us the back way. There were no road signs or route numbers and not many cars (we [View Full Entry]

---

---

This morning we traveled northwest to Canyon de Chelly, a place of historical and spiritual significance for the Navajo people. The Canyon is part of the Navajo reservation and there are restrictions as to where you can go without a native guide. It was about a 2 hour trip from Gallup. On the way we stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post , a National Historical Site. It’s the oldest continuously operating trading post in the Navajo nation. John Hubbell was of Spanish decent and opened the trading post in 1877. He and his family ran the post for 50 years. Hubbell [View Full Entry]

---

---

We continued westward today. The landscape was red mesas and sage colored desert. The “green” season is actually in the summer when the rains come. Right now it’s very dry. We got off the interstate and took a secondary road to El Mapais Nat’l Monument where evidence of former volcanic activity is plentiful. NM really is the “volcano state”, which we hadn’t realized. In this area the lava is similar to what is in Hawaii. There are lava fields, lava tubes and caves, but you have to hike to them. The fields we saw from the road were mostly covere [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today we got an early start to Albuquerque ( not only I have visited the city; I also know how to spell it.), It’s only about an hour from Santa Fe. The morning was cool (37 degrees) and sunny. Our first stop was at the NM Museum of Natural History and Science. It was located off I-40 in the museum district, easy to find. We spent 2 hours viewing the exhibits which were well done; lots of dinosaur fossils, rocks and geological stuff. After lunch we walked to Old Town (about 3 blocks away). It was touristy with lots of shops, [View Full Entry]

---

---