Tourist Attractions – Page 10

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:

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

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

Celebrating 100 years of the National Park Service

September 1, 2016August 14, 2017Posted in National Parks, Nature, Tourist AttractionsTagged National Park Service Centennial Celebration, photo essay19 Comments

Our wandering has taken us to many of our wonderful national parks across the United States. We loved each one of the parks that we visited.

The national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, and other national areas are managed by the National Park Service which celebrated it’s 100th anniversary in August, 2016. To celebrate this anniversary I am sharing pictures of the national parks we have visited throughout the years.

Arches National Park Landscape Arch — Arches National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon Hoodoos — Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

Moose beside the road in Denali National Park, Alaska

Pa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park, Florida

Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal, Arizona

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Cataloochee Valley Overlook Great Smoky Mountains — Cataloochee Valley Overlook in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

The Big Tree, Redwoods National Park, California

Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California

The Tree Patriarchs in Zion National Park, Utah — The Three Patriarchs in Zion National Park, Utah

Thanks to Travel with the Slowensky’s for giving me the idea for this post.

Girl’s Trip

June 27, 2016Posted in Florida, Restaurants, Road Trip, Tourist AttractionsTagged Darien Georgia, Disney Springs, Girl's Trip, House of Blues, Skipper's Fish Camp, The Whiskey, Two Buck Chuck13 Comments

Last week two of my girlfriends and I made a road trip to a resort in Orlando near Disney World. Our goal was to hang around by the pool, do some shopping, go out to eat, and have a few umbrella drinks.

Spent a lot of time chilling by the cascades at the pool — Spent a lot of time chilling by the pool

One night we arrived at The Whiskey during happy hour. We were the only tourists at this hip locals hangout and also the oldest people there! The wait staff was great, the food was good, and we enjoyed watching the young crowd.

There is no Trader Joe’s near where I live so I am always happy to find one when I am on the road.

Got my Trader Joe's fix — Got my Trader Joe’s fix

To celebrate my birthday on Friday we spent the afternoon at Disney Springs. This used to be called Downtown Disney and since my last visit seven years ago it has totally changed. Parking lots have been replaced with new upscale shops and parking garages have been added.

There is no fee to go to Disney Springs and parking is free. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. Although we didn’t give ourselves enough time to really enjoy it all I was able to find gifts for my grand children that can only be purchased in the shops there or in one of the theme parks.

Rent an amphicar to tour the lake — Renting an amphicar is one of the attractions at Disney Springs

Birthday dinner at House of Blues Orlando

On the way back home we stopped at Skipper’s Fish Camp in Darien, Georgia for some delicious fried shrimp and a great view of the shrimp boats.

Shrimp boats in Darien, Georgia

Shrimp boat Grave Digger

Shrimp boat Miss Jackie

After three days of laughter and fun, I returned home exhausted but with happy memories of a great adventure with my friends.

Exploring Fort Pickens

March 11, 2016Posted in Florida, Historic Sites, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Battery Worth, Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Bay, Rodman Cannon30 Comments

We spent some time exploring Fort Pickens and some of the batteries that are located within the National Seashore.

Fort Pickens was the largest of four forts built in the 1800’s by the United States Government to protect Pensacola Bay and the Naval Yard. Although it never had to be used against foreign enemies, it was used by the Union Army during the Civil War to protect against the Confederates. Ranger led tours are available but we chose to go on a self-guided tour of the huge fort.

Much of the fort is built using arches.

Another view of the arches at Fort Pickens

Civil War era cannons and a mortar are also on display at the fort.

One of the cannons atop Fort Pickens

The American Flag waves behind a mortar

With clear views of Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Pickens was in a great location to protect the area.

A great view of the Pensacola Lighthouse from the top of the fort

A great view of the Gulf of Mexico from the top of the fort

There are several batteries located throughout the area. Some were built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Endicott Batteries from the 1890's — Endicott Batteries from the 1890’s

We explored Battery Worth where huge gun pits held twelve inch mortars that could launch 700 pound projectiles 7 to 9 miles away. After World War I all but four of the mortars were scrapped. In 1942 the battery became part of the Army-Navy Harbor Defense Command Post for the Pensacola area during World War II.

There were big guns lining the shoreline ready to protect against enemy ships.

Big Guns Along the Shoreline

Aimed over the Gulf of Mexico

One of the Batteries

This gun would pop up above the wall and come back down after firing

Two of the big guns in the dunes

Next up: aircraft and a lighthouse.

Our first cross country camping trip – in 1985!

January 10, 2016Posted in National Parks, Road Trip, Tourist AttractionsTagged family vacation, Grand Canyon, tent Camping24 Comments

A new Toyota mini van + 2 tents + 2 parents + 2 kids = 2 weeks of fun!

We’ve had some wonderful adventures since we began traveling in our fifth wheel nine years ago but our first cross country journey when our kids were 14 and 10 will always be one of my favorites.

Way back in 1985, over twenty years before we bought our fifth wheel, we packed up our new mini van and and set out on a trip from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim, about 2600 miles each way. We had been taking our kids camping around Georgia and Florida many times but this was the first time we ventured west.

Our plan was to drive as far as we could each day and stay in motels until we got to the Grand Canyon. Loaded down with two tents, coolers, and all the camping gear we owned, we were ready for anything.

Our longest driving day of the trip was on our way to the Grand Canyon when we drove 694 miles across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Once we reached Arizona we slowed down to take the scenic drive through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks.

Our Campsite at the Grand Canyon South Rim in 1985

Of course the highlight of the trip was at the Grand Canyon South Rim. After setting up camp we went exploring and planned a hike on the Bright Angel Trail for the next morning. Keep in mind we were there the first week of July and it was HOT! With backpacks filled with water, trail mix and other snacks we set off down the trail early in the day. Going down into the canyon was fairly easy. The temperature kept rising as we got deeper into the canyon and my daughter and I decided to return to the rim while Henry and our son continued on to Plateau Point (about 5 miles from the rim) where there is an overlook into the canyon and a view of the Colorado River.

Going up was hard. There were few places to sit and rest and almost no shade. When my daughter and I got back to camp we went in the tents and collapsed on the cots hoping to cool off. After a short rest we were no cooler so we went to the snack bar for air conditioning and ice cream. We were well rested when the guys got back.

On our return trip to Georgia we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns before driving all across Texas, this time on I-10 instead of I-40. We spent a night in New Orleans and visited the Tabasco Factory before stopping at a beach front hotel in Ft. Walton Beach. We all enjoyed the huge swimming pool and finally felt cool!

I recently came across a log I kept of our trip. We drove a total of about 5200 miles and spent a whopping $321 on gas!

We travel much differently these days. We have the luxury of being able to take our time and rarely travel more than 300 miles in a day. We set up our fifth wheel and usually stay 2 or 3 nights in each location. And we can turn on the air conditioner and go inside to cool off without leaving our campsite!