Site was Last modified: February 09 2021.
What's New: Recent additions and updates to the site
Joy of road trips:Interesting sights found while driving
In our trips we've found many interesting sights that are worth a short stop to explore. Some of them we've been able to find information about, but others look like they have a story to tell, but we haven't been able to uncover it. This section highlights some of our finds both near home and in our cross country trips.
Big Cypress National Preserve protects the large Big Cypress swamp. The freshwater of the swamp are essential to the health of the nearby Everglades and the marine environment of southwest Florida coast. It is the first national preserve in the US.Keep reading
Overlord Arch
Check out our visit to D day memorial
Several sections have been updated especially about National Parks
Ive update the pages about Grand Canyon National Parkto include some of the history about creation of the park. Plus some more information and photos of our visit. Enjoy the new information.
Alaska Pages have been updated
Udates
I've updated the page on the state of Lake Mattamuskeet. It appears that the lake is in real trouible with poor water quality, invesive carp, and other factors.
Recent Additions
I've added more information about Zion and Grand Tetons National Park. These are both beautiful spots.
Olympic National Park
A few places in Olympic National Park have been added
A page on Denali National Park has been added.
Amicolola Falls
Amicolola Falls added to exploring Georgia
Lake Santeetlah
Paddling Lake Santeetlah
Lake Santeetlah is often called one of the most beautiful lakes in the country. We decided to rent a cabin on the lake and load our Kayak Clem on top of the minivan and do some paddling on the lake. We also thought we would attack the Tail of The Dragon while we were there.
Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge
Garibaldi and Seaside have been added to Exploring Oregon.
Trees in Redwoods National Park
Redwoods National Park
As part of our 2019 trip west we visited Redwood State and National Parks in northern California. This is a unique partnership between the State of California and the United States National Park service to save and preserve some of the last old growth redwoods in the US. The redwoods are the tallest trees on earth. It is a great experience to walk in the forest of these giant trees.
Fall on the Eno River
Eno River State Park NC
When we moved to Durham in 1971, there was no Eno River State Park. The mill at West Point was falling down and someone had stolen the mill wheel. Durham had proposed building a reservoir in the river valley. A group of concerned citizens led a campaign to save the Eno and formed the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley. The association proposed a state park be established and, in May of 1972, the state of North Carolina approved the idea. The city of Durham withdrew its efforts to construct the reservoir and in 1975 the state, with help from the Eno River Association and the Nature Conservancy, opened the park with more than one thousand acres of land.
Pages that have been update with new information or image
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Overview of Aztec Ruins, New Mexico
I'll start with Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. This large complex of an Ancestral Pueblo site has nothing to to with the Aztecs in Mexico, but was misname by the first explorers to see the site who assumed that the ruins were from the Aztecs in Mexico.
Great Sand Dunes Naional Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
I have always wanted to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, but never had the chance until August 2018 when we took a road trip west. We've visited Jockey's Ridge State Park in NC, the tallest active sand dunes in the Eastern US, and we were expecting something similar in Colorado. We were not expecting the shear size of the sand dunes in the park. Jockey's Ridge covers 426 acres, whereas the Great Sand Dunes cover about 30 square miles and the tallest is about 750 feet high they are big.
Several new websites have added to the Resources (books and web sites) resource section.