It is time for my annual list of favorite places. I have done this list every year since we retired and started traveling. It is a review for Tom and me and a way to relish our memories of places together. You can read previous lists from 2017, 2016, and 2015. You can also see …
From National Parks
Fallen Timbers Battlefield National Historic Site
On the same day we visited River Raisin, we stopped at the Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site. A really long name for a National Park site! But the long name is appropriate because this site is a partnership between the National Park Service, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Toledo Metroparks. …
River Raisin National Battlefield
Adventure days with my parents are lots of fun and we decided to visit a couple of National Park sites in November before it got too cold. Ha! Of course we picked the coldest day in November! But it was clear and sunny and we had a very interesting visit to River Raisin National Battlefield …
New Mexico Grand Canyon: Rio Grande del Norte
While we were in New Mexico, of course we had to visit the New Mexico Grand Canyon. Rio Grand del Norte National Monument was established by President Obama in 2016 and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. But monuments don’t come to the attention of the President by accident. The Rio Grand del …
Los Alamos, New Mexico, Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park has three sections in various stages of development. Overall the Manhattan Project tells the story of the development and deployment of the first nuclear weapon. The atomic bomb is credited with ending World War II, although that point is open for debate. The project was top secret and different …
Valles Caldera National Preserve New Mexico
After spending the morning at Bandelier National Monument, Tom and I headed to Valles Caldera National Preserve. The Preserve is 18 miles further up NM 4 with some interesting switchbacks and great views of the valleys on all sides. Surprisingly, there was also excellent cell service thanks to the Los Alamos National Laboratory all around …
Bandelier National Monument New Mexico
Tom and I spent some time in the Sante Fe, New Mexico area because there were a bunch of National Park sites we had not seen. We stayed in a central location and ventured out each day to see what we could find. The first National Park site we visited in Sante Fe was Bandelier National …
Chaco Culture National Historical Park New Mexico
Tom and I saw just about every Ancestral Puebloan site in the southwest during our explorations in October. I’m sure you can’t tell one site from another based on my pictures. But it was interesting to see the progression of the society from large, communal villages in fertile valleys to dispersed family dwellings in cliffs …
El Morro National Monument in New Mexico
The day after hiking in El Malpais National Monument, Tom and I visited El Morro National Monument. The two monuments are only a few miles apart, but they are extremely different. Those of us who only speak English would say that the two names look alike but that is just because the start with “el” …
El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico
Just off I-40, west of Albuquerque New Mexico, is El Malpais National Monument. Although Tom and I had seen the signs for the monument many times, we had never stopped until this trip heading east. El Malpais is a beautiful and surprising landscape in New Mexico. El Malpais National Monument gets its name from the …