The Ozarks

We spent 2 days in the Ozark National Forest. The first day we went otthe Ozark Folk Center State Park. The Park is basically a old fashion village. Life in the village is lived simply, the way it was 200 years ago.

The next day we went to Blanchard Springs Caverns. It is part of the Ozark National Forest. The cave was very simialar to other caves i have been in with a few exceptions. There was a giant stalgmite ship clinging to the wall and an elevator to enter the cave. The cave actually as its name implies has a spring that flows through it year round. The spring is big enough for divers but of course is not allowed(something about protecting the resources). In the picture below you can see the waterfall exiting from the cavern.

Tennessee

Jen and I spent two nights inTennesse. While in TN we were able to see most of the usual tourist traps. Starting in Memphis we only went to the water front and the visitor center.

Then hopped back into the car and headed for Nashville. We went to the Parthenon and the Grand Ole Opry and visitied the Capital Building and took in a few other sights that make nashville Music Capital USA. Below is a picture of Jen and few Country Music Greats.

The last few days were Driving Days so here are some of the states we passed through mostly with few stops.

The Petrified National Forest

The Petrified National Forest is actually no longer a forest. I don't think that it ever will be one either. The wind was very strong ranging from 30 to 60 MPH while we were there. The wind is still uncovering the fossilized trees as well as other fossils. All 50 States have some Petrified wood to be found.














Following is a list of the elements that replace the wood in the petrifing process and the related color:

carbon - black
cobalt - green/blue
chromium - green/blue
copper - green/blue
iron oxides - red, brown, yellow
manganese - pink/orange
manganese oxides - black

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Jen and I Visited Walnut Canyon National Monument on our way out of Arizona. The Singua Indians lived in the sides of the canyon. The word "Sinagua" is a contraction of the Spanish words "sin agua," or, "without water," which is very fitting for a culture that thrived in the desert. For more info on the Sinagua Indian culture go Here

Meteor Crater

"Meteor Crater is the best preserved impact crater in the World" - NASA . Below is a picture of a fragment of the Meteor. Most of the Meteorite vaporized and splintered into millions of little peices. The peice shown weighs in at 1406 pounds or 7 of me.. it is only a 3-4 foot splinter of the 80 foot meteorite that hit and created the Crater in less than 10 seconds from first enter atmosphere. For future meteor predictions and possibilities NASA is monitoring and publishing their findings Here...

Goodbye Grand Canyon Hello Sedona

This is my final post from the Grand Canyon. Actually we are already in TN. However my blog has fallen behind so I will try to keep updating it until it is current once more.. These are some pictures from when my Cousins(Gordon,Beth & Jason visited Jen and I, at the Grand Canyon. While there we also went Bedrock the home of none other than Fred Flinstone. Of course I had a Bronto Burger at the Bedrock diner. We also took some pictures with Dino...














After the Grand Canyon Jen and I went to the town of Sedona, Az..
It was also voted the number 1 place in America to visit by USA Weekend Magazine. Sedona is known for its beautiful red rock formations. As you can see in the pictures below..














This one is called "The Cathedral" it is the most photographed mountian in the USA. or so they claim : ) However I have no proof but can understand why.

South Rim Grand Canyon

Jen and I then went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon . While there we were able to hike a few trails and watch a few sun sets. Below is a picture of a few furry friends along the way.
















Most nights while in the Grand Canyon we would pick a spot with a nice view,(pretty much everywhere) and watch the sunset while cooking and eating dinner. Which can be seen inthe next two pictures.































I still have some more pictures from the Grand Canyon to put up but for now here is one more this is of the watchtower.

Grand Canyon

Here are a few pictures from the
Grand Canyon's North Rim..

And here are a few pictures of the California Condor. At one point there were only 22 California Condors left in the world. Through a Captive breeding Program there are now about 300 being closely monitored in the wild. For more information Go HERE

The Glen Canyon dam

The Glen Canyon Dam was created in 1963 on the Colorado River just upstream of the Grand Canyon. Lake Powell was created by the dam and actually flows into Utah. This is also close to where we switched into Arizona from Utah.

Now to Zion National Park

When we arrived in Zion the first place we went was Kolob Canyon. While there we were able to go on a hike and saw many different lizards and a canyon tree frog.















The next day we day we hiked to the Emerald pools and to a bunch of other cool places.














Our last day in Zion we hiked The Narrows and Orderville Canyon. The narrows is a slot canyon that is prone to flash floods and was a lot a fun for cliff jumping. Orderville Canyon meets the narrows at Wall Street. So after hiking up the narrows we hiked up Orderville Canyon.

Yellowstone Continued

Here are a few more pictures from Yellowstone. This is the Yellowstone River and Yellowstone Falls. Most of Yellowstone is actually in Wyoming State. There were many other waterfalls in Yellowstone here are some of them..

Bison were everywhere we went in Yellowstone.

Bears on the other hand were hardly seen.

We also saw many other animals while there here are a few of them.

And no trip to Yellowstone would be complete with out a picture of Old Faithful.