Joshua Tree National Park – day 2

Yesterday, we covered the top part of the park, which is where the Joshua Trees are, and most of the trails. Today, we drove all the way to the South entrance of the park (Cottonwood visitor center), which interestingly gets into a distinct desert.  The western half of the desert (yesterday)  is in the Mojave… Continue reading Joshua Tree National Park – day 2

Joshua Tree National Park

Today we did a loop inside Joshua Tree National Park, entering by the Joshua Tree station and exiting from the Twentynine Palms station. While the main attraction is the Joshua Trees, there is also a major component related to geology (aka rocks – once again…) We had lunch at Keys view, with a magnificent view… Continue reading Joshua Tree National Park

Saguaro National Park – day 2

As mentioned yesterday, Saguaro National Park is divided in two different sections.  One to the east of Tucson (the Rincon district) which we visited yesterday, and one to the west (the red hills district).  Yesterday, the loop drive was paved.  Today’s loop drive was just a dirt road, but there were several more trails, and… Continue reading Saguaro National Park – day 2

More Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

On our second day in the park, we did more hiking and taking in of the beautiful vistas.  One could stay in one spot and have an ever changing view of the Grand Canyon due to the ever changing light conditions as the sun moves across the sky and changes what portions of the scenery… Continue reading More Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

Grand Canyon National Park – first impressions

Our reaction at the first glimpse of the Grand Canyon is that pictures don’t do it justice.  It needs to be seen to appreciate the magnitude of it. To help with this, here are a few fun facts: The Grand Canyon is 1 mile deep (3 stacked empire state buildings), 18 miles wide, and 277… Continue reading Grand Canyon National Park – first impressions

White Sands National Park

Today we spent the day at White Sands National Park, including walking 4 different trails and walking a total of almost 6 miles. If that wasn’t enough, we also did some sledding down the sand dunes.  Interestingly, we only saw young kids doing that, with their parents supervising.  I guess we are kids at heart…… Continue reading White Sands National Park