October we were on the road, once again with Brooklyn friends Mark and Joanne Guralnick, for more national and state parks, national monuments, etc. The main goal on this trip was to get to three in southern Utah that have long been on the bucket list, and somehow we’d never gotten there: Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. But as always seems to happen on a driving trip, we tried to cram as many other locations in as we could! And we did much better on this trip understanding the geology along the way.
We finally managed a trip back to Arkansas in coordination with Liza’s mother Alpha, to spend some time with family, but also to see some sights that had escaped us on many prior visits. We met up with Alpha in Dallas (thank you American Airlines for neither flight being late) and continued on to Little Rock. After telling the rental car company no, we don’t really want the behemoth SUV to drive down the road (seriously, a choice between an Expedition and an Armada … what are we, the Spanish off in search of gold?) we stopped in for “dinner” at the Flyway Brewing Company in Little Rock before continuing on to Hot Springs.
We decided this year to spend the Christmas holiday in New Mexico, to do some birding (sandhill cranes, rosy finches, etc.), see friends, and enjoy the cuisine (“red or green?” being the standard “which chile sauce do you like” question). We packed quite a lot into a one week trip!
In October we were delighted to attend the wedding of Richard Wanerman and Cindy Drakeman in Princeton NJ. (Richard’s father Rob is Robert’s second cousin.) And since we were “in the area”, it was a perfect chance to get to another national park (Valley Forge National Historical Park) and to go birding down in Cape May, at the very southern tip of New Jersey, home to the famous Hawk Watch.
As part of our continuing mission of “let’s see all the national parks” (must use Robert’s volunteer park pass, after all!), in August and September we visited three more biggies: Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park, finishing off in Wyoming with a national monument (Fossil Butte) and in Utah, a national historic site (Golden Spike).
It probably would surprise nobody that we could turn a four-day cycling trip into a month-long grand driving tour of the western US. 🙂 That’s exactly what we did, driving to and from a Bicycle Adventures cycling “Bend Breakaway” tour, and seeing lots of things along the way. Continue reading Cycling, Birds, Eclipse, and More! – Aug/Sep 2017→
Last year on a driving trip to Dallas, we made a whirlwind visit of Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park…and knew we had to return. This May we did, spending a few days in each place so we could truly enjoy the natural beauty, not to mention the birds and wildlife. (And the food, and the beer, and…) Read about the landscapes, birds and other wildlife.
This driving trip of the southwest started out as a planned visit to Las Vegas NV for the Conservation Lands Foundation’s Friends Grassroots Network Rendezvous (big name for a gathering of conservation minded folks; we were there representing the Friends of the San Pedro River). It soon turned into a chance to see more national parks and monuments in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah – not to mention visiting cousins Bob and Pam Deichmeister in Prescott, AZ.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, view from the Visitors’ Center
In September 2016 we embarked on a week-long driving tour of northern Arizona and southern Utah, joined by our friends Mark & Joanne Guralnick from Brooklyn, NY. While Liza and Joanne worked out all the accommodations, Robert was the daily trip planner (with the help of Arizona Highways and Highroads magazines), with a focus on national parks and monuments. Continue reading Arizona & Utah National Parks – Sept 2016→
In August, Liza needed to be in Dallas to see family, so we took the opportunity to visit, at long last, Big Bend National Park in Texas. It’s not exactly a quick stop off the interstate, you have to want to go there, but it is certainly worth the effort. It was a bit silly to have only one full day there, but this was more or less a scouting trip, and we’re definitely going back!
