Category: State & National Parks
Magic along the Rio Grande
February 19, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Few can dispute the importance of nature tourism in Texas, especially within the Rio Grande Valley. Visitors to Santa Ana are often greeted with the raucous cry of the drab brown, scrawny-looking, turkey-like bird called a plain chachalaca, a bird that reaches its northern limits in the Valley. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved According to a study conducted by Mathis and Matisoff (2004), Texas is the number one birdwatching state/province in North America, and The Valley is considered the number two birding destination in North America. Nestled between the Gulf of Mexico and the Laguna Madre, South Padre Island acts as the easternmost gateway to the Rio Grande Valley. This four-county area of extreme deep South Texas is, in all actuality, more of a delta than a valley, and its southern border forms the present-day wide, sweeping flatlands of the once mighty Rio Grande River. The unique climate in South Texas attracts nature aficionados from all over the nation and the world, especially... [Read more...]
BIG WHEELS KEEP ON ROLLING -Friends, Family and Funerals
February 18, 2012 by Professor95 · 2 Comments
After a long and difficult illness, Nancy’s Mom died peacefully Sunday night. While it is always sad to lose a loved one, especially a parent, it is also a relief to know her human suffering was over. Born in 1920, she would have been 92 next week. We had been planning on joining a group of our friends in Florida on the Gulf Coast beginning March 1st for a couple of weeks – then suddenly, plans changed. The funeral was to take place in Bryant, Arkansas, some 1,200 miles away, on Saturday. We could fly, drive a four-wheeler or take the RV. We decided to take the RV to Arkansas and then to slowly work our way down to Florida after the Funeral. We found ourselves in a real frenzy preparing for a memorial service in our hometown on Wednesday and de-winterizing the RV for the trip. Somehow, we got it all together and pulled out Thursday morning a little before 5 a.m. It was raining. As most of you know, it is no fun driving in the rain – especially with a big RV. It rained... [Read more...]
Crooked Water: Tuzigoot National Monument
February 7, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
For thousands of years, Verde Valley has been a human melting pot. Hunters and gatherers came first, searching for wild game and grasses. Traders followed, digging salt and minerals, and then settlers farming the fertile bottomlands. Built by the Sinagua about the year 1000, Tuzigoot sits on a ridge high above the Verde Valley. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Perched atop a ridge high above the Verde River two miles east of Clarkdale is Tuzigoot National Monument, one of the largest pueblos built by the Sinagua. Tuzigoot (pronounced ‘Two-z-goot’) is an Apache word meaning “crooked water.” The term applies to the nearby Peck’s Lake, which is a runoff from the Verde River. The pueblo grew slowly over the centuries. Like most modern cities, there appeared to be no master plan—it just sprawled across the hilltop, wherever there was space. At its peak in the late 1300s, about 225 people lived within the pueblo, which contained about 86 rooms on the ground floor and 15 or... [Read more...]
Montezuma Castle and Well N.M., AZ…
January 31, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
While we were in the beautiful Verde Valley a couple of weeks ago, we were sure to visit Montezuma Castle and Well National Monuments in addition to Tuzigoot N.M. We were glad that we did Tuzigoot first, because, while it is interesting and a great place to visit, it doesn’t hold a candle to Montezuma Castle! Course, the nice thing about Tuzigoot is that you can walk to and in the actual ruins, while the Castle is up out of reach. Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well are one park on the NPS webpage, and they share a Jr. Ranger program, but they are in separate locations about 6 miles apart. We went to the castle first. Montezuma Castle is an incredible cliff dwelling. We have seen quite a few cliff dwellings over the last couple of years; in fact, when I told the kids that we were going to MC, and that is was a cliff dwelling, I had a couple of kids that said, “not another cliff dwelling!” LOL! So, spirits as they were, I drug them along anyway so that we could earn... [Read more...]
Mount Mitchell Drive Receives Scenic Byway Designation
January 30, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
The Mount Mitchell Scenic Drive is the latest route to receive an official “scenic byway” designation from the state of North Carolina. Recognized for its outstanding beauty and unique cultural features, this 52-mile drive begins atop 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi and traverses a national forest, state park, and National Park Service land. Welcome to Mount Mitchell State Park. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved “It’s a beautiful corridor for a number of reasons,” says Jeff Lackey, manager of scenic byways for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). ”It has scenic quality, and also a tremendous amount of cultural and historical aspects, which is rare in a byway experience.” “When you go around every curve, you’ll find something new and interesting,” says Wanda Proffitt, a local DOT board member and advocate of the route. The route begins on N.C. 128 in Yancey County atop Mount... [Read more...]
Tuzigoot National Monument and Jerome, AZ…
January 28, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · 4 Comments
We recently spent a week and a half near Cottonwood, AZ (which is located between Sedona and Prescott). Because of it’s elevation of 3300 feet, the nights were chilly, some of them getting below freezing enough that we would have to unhook our water overnight. Despite it being cooler than I had anticipated, we still enjoyed our visit very much, and the days warmed enough that, during a few of them, the kids wore out the rope swing hanging temptingly out over the creek that bordered the park, and the kids spent many afternoons at the basketball court and playground. We had such a fun time meeting a few other fulltime traveling families, and we had the opportunity to spend a morning with my aunt and uncle that live in Prescott. We also took a few days to check out the surrounding area; and found that Cottonwood boasts quite a lot to do within a short distance! One of the first places in the Verde Valley that we went to was Tuzigoot National Monument. Tuzigoot is a 110 room pueblo... [Read more...]
Death Valley National Park…
January 25, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · 3 Comments
One of the National Parks that has surprised me the most was Death Valley. I expected it to be a vast valley with nothing but barren sand dunes for miles and miles. I didn’t give it much thought, but just figured that it was worthy of it’s National Park status due to the fact that it is deemed the hottest spot in the United States. And to be honest, the only reason that we gave it a day’s worth of our time was because we are on a mission to collect Jr. Ranger badges from every National Park that offers them! view from the Furnace Creek visitor's center Since the park covers 3 million acres of land, there is plenty of park to explore! We drove in through Death Valley Junction from Pahrump. We left with enough fuel to last the day, and that is one tip that I would highly recommend for anyone driving the park – it’s a big park! While there is fuel at Stovepipe Wells, it is about $1.50 more per gallon than if you just fill up before leaving... [Read more...]
Crater of Diamonds State Park Report Successful Year
January 22, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Looking back over the past 12 months, the year 2011 has been a successful one for park visitors who hunted for diamonds in the 37 ½-acre search area at Arkansas’s diamond site, the Crater of Diamonds State Park. David Anderson with his recent find, a 3.83-carat diamond he named the Wolverine Diamond. (Credit: katv.com) According to Park Superintendent Justin Dorsey, over 500 diamonds were found by visitors last year. Of the year’s diamond finds, 30 weighed over a carat each. The year’s largest diamond find was an 8.66-carat white diamond found in April. And on December 12, David Anderson of Murfreesboro found the year’s 535th diamond. His 3.83-carat pear-shaped, yellow diamond marks the fourth largest find for the year. Park Interpreter Margi Jenks said, “This has been a great year for our park visitors here at the Crater of Diamonds. During every month this year, a visitor unearthed a diamond weighing over a carat. And in April, six diamonds weighed over a carat including the... [Read more...]
Yuma Named Sunniest Place in America
January 14, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
The sun is out and the weather is great, just like any other day in Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison, also known as "Hell Hole" and "Devil's Island" opened in the Arizona desert on July 1, 1876 when the first 7 inmates entered the prison and they were locked into the new cells they built themselves. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved It should not surprise anyone that US News and World Report again named Yuma as the number one “sunniest place” in America to spend their golden years. Yuma’s wonderfully temperate winter climate also makes this southeastern Arizona city a popular destination for snowbirds escaping their cold winter homes. Arizona’s warmest winter city and the sunniest year-round spot in the U.S., Yuma has an annual average of 4,133 hours of sunshine. Yuma has a classic low desert climate with extremely low relative humidity and very high summer temperatures. Located at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers, Yuma began as a... [Read more...]
Stunning Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
January 11, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
During our recent stay in Las Vegas, we were looking for some family friendly places to visit. While we had noticed Valley of Fire NV State Park in our atlases, we really didn’t have a great desire to visit it. The surrounding landscape didn’t seem overly scenic when we had driven by the exit to the park off the Interstate, and we had not seen any overly inviting advertising of the park. Our oldest son had flown out to spend his 2 week Christmas break from Basic Training with us, and the day that he had to fly back, we really needed something to keep our minds off of missing him. Valley of Fire was about all we had left on our list of places that we would like to visit near Las Vegas. We had already been to Lake Mead, Red Rock Canyon, and Hoover Dam (which is NOT ideal to visit during Christmas vacation!). Needing to get out of the ‘house’, we packed a lunch and drove northeast of town, over an up and down, windy little road until we entered a shallow... [Read more...]
