Having spend two days in Death Valley, it was time to head to Las Vegas and our flight home. However, we had two more places to see before returning home. Both of them were wildlife refuges. The US Fish and Wildlife Service manages refuges across the country. Their purpose is to protect and preserve native wildlife. We had visited wildlife refuges before in Washington and Hawaii. For the two that we visited in Nevada, the purpose was to protect desert…
United States
Hiking Hills and Sand Dunes in Death Valley
After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast at our hotel, we were ready to begin our second day around Death Valley. It was another clear blue-sky day which started out cold, but quickly warmed up with the sun. Our first experience when we arrived in Death Valley was a drive through the hills on the east side of the Black Mountains. The drive is called Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road. Those of you who are older might be…
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Exploring the Highs and Lows of Death Valley
I realized recently that I have been to almost all of the national parks in California. Only two remained, Death Valley and Sequoia & Kings Canyon. I had tried for a few year to make it to Death Valley, but no one would go with me. Finally I convinced my wife to go, and so we began to plan our adventure. Death Valley has hit 130 degrees twice in the last few years. This of course was during the summer…
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Family Adventures in Maui, Hawaii After Christmas
In England the day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day. In our family it’s known as Andrea’s birthday. Yes, my wonderful daughter chose to enter the world two weeks before her due date showing up the morning after Christmas. So every year we have to do something for her birthday. It hasn’t been easy. When she was younger, we would usually have a party for her before Christmas. We realized most people don’t want to think of a party…
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A Christmas Exploring Maui, Hawaii
When out kids were young, we had a fairly predictable Christmas pattern. For Christmas Eve we would go to a church service and then to my wife’s parents for dinner and presents. On Christmas Day it would usually be time to join my family for a celebration, and in the afternoon we would go see a movie. However, as the kids grew older, and family dynamics changed, Christmas became less predictable. In 2013 our kids said they wanted to have…
#Wordless Wednesday: Blacksmith
Photo taken in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, April 2012
Remembered Journey for an Arizona Christmas
At Christmas time many people travel to visit loved ones and friends. Some make the same Christmas journey every year. Others only travel occasionally. Today most people who travel any great distance do so by plane, but that hasn’t always been true. When I was a kid, flying was still somewhat of a novelty and certainly considered expensive. If we went anywhere, we traveled by car. At one time my mom’s parents moved to Glendale, Arizona outside of Phoenix to…
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#Wordless Wednesday: Water Play
Photo taken in Hilton Head, South Carolina, April 2011
#Wordless Wednesday: Autumn Mist
Photo taken in Leavenworth, Washington, November 2019
Memphis and Nashville, Hot Spots of American Musical History
In 2013 we decided to spend my spring break in Tennessee. While we spent a few days in Chattanooga, I want to focus on the two music cities of Tennessee, Nashville and Memphis. Each has a real place in music history yet are quite unique and different. Which should you visit? Well let’s look at some of the differences, and you can decide for yourself. Nothing says country music like Nashville. However Nashville is not just about country music as…
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