States – Page 35 – Wandering Dawgs

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Florida

January 26, 2017June 20, 2017Posted in Birds, Florida, Historic Sites, Lighthouse, National Parks, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged Big Cypress Preserve, Dry Tortugas National Park, Everglades National Park, Florida Keys, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Key West, Perky Bat Tower15 Comments

State 7:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states we have visited alphabetically. If you are looking for Connecticut or Delaware, we’ve never been to either of those states (except to drive through the Delmarva Peninsula without stopping) so the next state is

Florida

Florida became the 27th state on March 3, 1845. The capital is Tallahassee.

We started vacationing in Florida back in the 70’s and have traveled all around the state both before and after our RV travels began. For many years we traveled to the Florida Keys at least once a year. We’ve traveled all along the Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast, to small towns and big cities, gone scuba diving and snorkeling in the beautiful coral reefs, caught many fish, boated to remote islands, visited museums and lighthouses, attended sporting events, tasted amazing seafood and key lime pie, explored two national parks and a national seashore, observed graceful birds and other wildlife, kayaked and canoed in the rivers, swam in the springs, watched many sunsets, and walked on some of America’s most beautiful beaches.

Florida is famous for it’s beautiful beaches and theme parks.

Micky welcomes us to the Magic Kingdom — Mickey welcomes everyone to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World

There’s so much more to the Sunshine State than it’s beaches and theme parks.

With it’s many birds, wildlife, and beautiful landscapes, Everglades National Park is one of my favorite national parks.

Pa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park

The only way to get to Dry Tortugas National Park is to take a boat ride or seaplane trip from Key West.

Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park

Explore Fort Pickens and walk on miles of sugar white sand beaches in Gulf Islands National Seashore .

There are many small islands accessible only by boat. Picnic Island in the lower keys was one of our favorites.

Popular boating destination in the lower Florida Keys

Cedar Key is one of the small waterfront towns we love to visit.

I loved the Art Deco buildings in South Beach Miami.

It’s always fun to stroll along the waterfronts.

Shrimp boats on the Appalachacola Waterfront

There are interesting structures to discover. The Perky Bat Tower on Sugarloaf Key was built in 1929 to house bats to help control the mosquito population. Unfortunately, the bats flew away and never returned.

The Bat Tower, Sugarloaf Key — The Perky Bat Tower, Sugarloaf Key was built in 1929

The Spring House in White Springs on the Suwanee River was a huge tourist destination in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

There’s a famous headstone in the Key West Cemetery.

U.S. Highway 1 goes from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West and we’ve been to both ends. The Southernmost Point in the continental United States is also in Key West.

The variety of birds never ceases to amaze me.

White Pelicans and Cormorants around Cedar Key

Green Heron with fish in mouth Everglades National Park

Red Shouldered Hawg Big Cypress Preserve — Red Shouldered Hawk Big Cypress Preserve

Tiny key deer, endangered gopher tortoise, manatees, and of course alligators are some of the wildlife to be found.

Gopher Tortoise at our campsite Silver River State Park

Aligators along the Anhinga Trial, Everglades National Park 2012 — Alligators along the Anhinga Trial, Everglades National Park 2012

Manatee in Homossassa Springs — Manatee eating a carrot in Homossassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Florida is home to beautiful springs and rivers.

Don’t forget the lighthouses.

Nothing better than freshly caught fish for dinner! We cooked up this grouper after one of our most memorable fishing trips many years ago.

Henry with the biggest catch of the day!

Many Major League Baseball teams play their spring training games in Florida.

Atlanta Braves Spring Training at Disney's Wide World of Sports — Atlanta Braves Spring Training at Disney’s Wide World of Sports

The historic Fort Gates Ferry carries people and vehicles across the St. Johns River.

Waiting to cross the St. John's River on the Fort Gates Ferry — Waiting to cross the St. John’s River on the Fort Gates Ferry

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Colorado

January 18, 2017June 24, 2017Posted in Colorado, Historic Sites, National Parks, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged Garden of the Gods, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde National Park, Pikes Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, San Juan Skyway, Sangre de Cristo Mountains20 Comments

State 6:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically and the next state is

Colorado

Colorado became the 38th state on August 1, 1876. Denver is the capital.

It’s easy to see why Colorado is such a popular destination. With it’s spectacular mountain scenery, ancient ruins to explore, breathtaking scenic drives, picturesque small towns, Pikes Peak, and wildlife there was beauty every where we went.

As we visited the ancient cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park I couldn’t help but wonder about the people that lived there so long ago.

The San Juan Skyway through the San Juan mountains was one of the most beautiful scenic drives we’ve ever taken. Starting from Cortez, we took our time to enjoy the views from overlooks, stopped to stroll along the dog-friendly streets of Teluride and enjoyed lunch in Ouray before going by old mining camps around Silverton.

Another spectacular view along the San Juan Skyway — Spectacular views along the San Juan Skyway

Our campsite at San Luis Lakes State Park had spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and was a good home base to explore Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains from our camp site at San Luis Lakes State Park were amazing. — View of the Sangre de Cristo mountains from our camp site at San Luis Lakes State Park.

The people look tiny on the Great Sand Dunes

On the trail to Zapata Falls near the Great Sand Dunes

In the Colorado Springs area we visited Garden of the Gods and drove as far as we could go on the Pikes Peak Highway.

Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background

At elevation 11,424 feet, we were as far as we could go on the Pikes Peak Highway

The closest we could get to Pike's Peak was six miles away but the view was still amazing — The closest we could get to Pike’s Peak was six miles away but the view was still amazing

One of our favorite national parks is Rocky Mountain National Park. We love it so much we have been there twice. Our first visit was in the spring and even though there was a lot of snow we saw plenty of wildlife.

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

Young Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

That's a lot of snow! — That’s a lot of snow!

At Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, about 11,000 feet

A hike to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Our second visit was in August when the weather was perfect and again there was plenty of wildlife. We were finally able to drive to the Alpine Visitor’s Center on Trail Ridge Road.

The Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

Alpine Visitor's Center View in Rocky Mountain National Park — Alpine Visitor’s Center View in Rocky Mountain National Park

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Arkansas

January 10, 2017July 11, 2017Posted in Arkansas, Historic Sites, National Parks, RVing, Wandering around AmericaTagged America the Beautiful, Fort Smith, Hot Springs National Park, Lake Chicot, Little Rock, Maumelle Campground, Mississippi River, Mississippi River State Park, Tom Sawyer RV Park13 Comments

State 4:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is

Arkansas

Arkansas became the 28th state on June 15, 1836. The capital is Little Rock.

When I was in elementary school my family lived on an Air Force base in northeastern Arkansas for four years. I remember there were cotton fields as far as the eye could see outside of the base.

Henry and I have traveled through Arkansas on several of our cross country trips and we have have made it a destination more than once. The Ozark Mountains, Hot Springs National Park, Little Rock, and several places on or near the Mississippi River were some of the places we enjoyed visiting.

We strolled along Bath House Row and the Grand Promenade at Hot Springs National Park. A relaxing day in one of the original bath houses was a real treat for me.

Hot Springs

The Grand Promenade in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Fordyce Bath House on Bath House Row in Hot Springs

Quapaw Baths on Bath House Row in Hot Springs

The magnolias were blooming in Hot Springs

At Fort Smith National Historic Site we toured the federal courthouse used by Judge Isaac C. Parker in the late 1800’s.

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Federal Courthousue at Fort Smith National Historic Site

The Gallows at Fort Smith National Historic Site

We loved watching the barges going by on the Mississippi River from our campsite at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Sunrise over the Mississippi River at Tom Sawyer RV Park

We watched the barges go down the Mississippi River from our site at Tom Sawyer RV Park

Some of the barges were small

Another small barge on the Mississippi

Maumelle Campground on the Arkansas River was a great home base for attending a Georgia – Arkansas football game in Little Rock and for taking a day trip to Petit Jean Sate Park.

Ducks on the Arkansas river

Tailgating on a golf course next to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock

Blondie and Henry at Petit Jean State Park

Canyon Overlook at Petit Jean State Park

We enjoyed the scenic drives around Mississippi River State Park and Lake Chicot State Park so much that we made two trips to each park.

Bear Creek Lake in Mississippi River State Park

Great Blue Heron at Bear Creek Lake

Cypress trees at Lake Chicot

Cotton is the number one crop in the Arkansas Delta

Egret on the fishing dock

Delta Cultural Center Depot in Helena, Arkansas

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Arizona

January 7, 2017January 10, 2017Posted in Arizona, National Parks, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around AmericaTagged Cattail Cove State Park, Four Corners, Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu, London Bridge, Meteor Crater, Monument Valley, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Vermillian Cliffs18 Comments

State 3:

Arizona

Arizona, nicknamed “The Grand Canyon State”, became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. Phoenix is the capital and the state’s largest city.

I first saw the Grand Canyon back in the 1960’s when I was in the third grade. I sat in the back seat of our Ford station wagon with my two brothers as our family went on a cross country trip seeing some of our National Parks and of course the Grand Canyon was one of the highlights of our trip.

Henry and I made our first trip together to the Grand Canyon in 1985 when we loaded up our mini van with our kids and tent camping gear and made the trek from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Henry returned the next year and backpacked into the canyon with three friends. Having done the South Rim, we decided to make the North Rim of the Grand Canyon our first major destination in our inaugural cross country RV trip in 2006.

Before we got to the North Rim we traveled across Arizona and took in the Meteor Crator, Petrified Forest National Park, Painted Desert and the Vermilion Cliffs .

Meteor Crater in Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park

Painted Desert

Vermillian Cliffs on way to Jacob Lake

Our home base for exploring the North Rim was in the Kaibab National Forest. We saw evidence of recent wildfires and beautiful meadows each day as we drove to and from the canyon.

Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial

Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook

Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial

Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal Overlook

Grand Canyon North Rim Point Imperial

Burned section of Kaibab National Forest on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Meadow on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Later travels through Arizona found us at Monument Valley, Lake Havasu , and the Four Corners.

The Mittens at Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Lake Havasu in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona

Cactus in Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona

London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Four Corners – the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada meet here. It is the only place in the U.S. shared by four states

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska

Wandering Around America one state at a time – Alaska

January 4, 2017November 28, 2017Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Road Trip, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, Arctic Circle, Bald Eagle, Denali, Haines, Ninilchik, Talkeetna17 Comments

State 2:

Alaska

Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. The capital is Juneau and it is the only state capital that can only be reached by air, boat, or birth. The largest city is Anchorage.

We spent 50 glorious nights in Alaska in the summer of 2013.

I loved meeting so many wonderful Alaskans and hearing their stories. Wildlife, glaciers, boat trips, a flight seeing tour, eagles, halibut fishing, Denali National Park, taking the RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines, and a train ride on the Alaska Railroad are just a few of the amazing things we experienced while we were there. Our favorite place was Haines. The most exciting thing we did was take a flight-seeing tour from Talkeetna to see Mt. McKinley and land on Ruth Glacier. The farthest north we went was Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle.