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Published: December 17th 2012
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This is the cover page for our trip to California. The impetus for the trip was Valerie's 50th HS reunion in Cupertino, California. As is typical with us, we decided to visit quite a few places on the way and back and our route was generally planned, but always open to change.
We started the trip with a visit to the "To Kill a Mockingbird" town of Monroeville, Alabama; wended our way through MS and LA, to arrive for Featherfest in Galveston, TX for about a week; skipped going to the planned Rio Grande Valley as it was too hot; headed toward El Paso, but discovered we were not that far away from Big Bend NP, which was on our initial plan; and then played around in NM, AZ, CO, and UT for the next several weeks.
Part of this trip's plans was to visit everything in the area rather thoroughly as we would probably not be back this way. Highlights include visiting:
• The old military hospital where our grandfather was being treated, where our grandmother worked as a nurse's aide, and our mother lived as a child for about 3 years in Fort Bayard, New Mexico.
The scenery of the White Mountains and the huge Copper mine near Silver City blew us away.
• The petrified forest, where we met 3 young men from Belgium driving a huge RV along Route 66 from Chicago to San Francisco; the painted desert; and the totally amazing Canyon de Chelly; all in northeast Arizona.
• The 4 Corners area and the spectacular Mesa Verde NP with all of the cliff dwellings in Colorado.
• The red mesas, arches, and bridges of several national parks in Utah; mostly near Moab and across the bottom part of the state.
• Two days at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which we enjoyed and thought it was much better, but less accessible, than the South Rim.
• The Death Valley breakdown; doing geneaology work in Independence, Bishop, and Laws, CA; and spending several days enjoying Mule Days in Bishop.
• Seeing the old mining, lumbering, and ranch towns of the Sierra Nevadas where our great-great grandparents and their families were raised. We didn't realize we had cousins about a 3-hour drive away from where we grew up in California.
• Spending time in the majestic environment of the coastal redwoods.
• Visiting friends and former classmates at
Valerie's 50th HS reunion.
• Driving back from there to Atlanta in 8 days with a wonderful overnight visit with Dad's only living first cousin outside of Salt Lake.
This trip was one of extremes with temperature highs of over 100 to lows hovering around freezing; from the starkness of the west Texas desert to the lushness of the Redwood forest; and from the quiet solitude of roads less traveled in New Mexico to roads over-traveled in the San Francisco Bay Area. We hope you enjoy a glimpse of this part of our country.
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