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…
Continue Reading “Hiking Hills and Sand Dunes in 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…
Continue Reading “Exploring the Highs and Lows of Death Valley”
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…
Continue Reading “Family Adventures in Maui, Hawaii After Christmas”
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…
Photo taken in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, April 2012
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…
Continue Reading “Remembered Journey for an Arizona Christmas”
Photo taken in Hilton Head, South Carolina, April 2011
Photo taken in Leavenworth, Washington, November 2019
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…
Continue Reading “Memphis and Nashville, Hot Spots of American Musical History”
When people consider where to travel within the United States, National Parks often rise to the top of the list. However, to limit one’s options to just the 62 designated National Parks is to miss out on many other opportunities across the United States. The National Park Service oversees 423 units or parks along with some 150 areas. In previous posts I have noted the National Historical Parks as well as the National Monuments which other government agencies sometimes oversee.…
Continue Reading “National Park Service: More Than Just Parks”
