Monday, July 6, 2009

Summer Road Trip Overview

We’re back from our summer road trip, the laundry is done, and the stack of mail has been whittled down. We’ve given a first pass through our more than 4,000 photos, but I’ll only share a few.

Grand Canyon



© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Grand Canyon

This is actually our fourth trip to the Grand Canyon. It impresses us each and every visit. We stayed at Maswik Lodge in a tiny cabin on the rim.

Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Glen Canyon Dam

The Glen Canyon Dam and its reservoir Lake Powell (behind the dam) are part of the Colorado River Storage Project for the Upper Colorado Basin.

Antelope Canyon


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Antelope Canyon Light Beam

We took a pre-arranged photography tour led by a Navajo guide through Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. It is a Navajo Tribal Park. The famous light beams inside this slot canyon occur mid-day during April to September.

Bryce Canyon


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Bryce Amphitheater Vista Point

This is just one part of the Bryce Amphitheater view; the following Paiute Indian legend explains the rock formations here:

Before there were any Indians, the Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, lived in that place. There were many of them. They were of many kinds—birds, animals, lizards, and such things—but they looked like people…For some reason, the Legend People in that place were bad. Because they were bad, Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now; all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding on to others. You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks…”

Red Rock Canyon


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is in Utah's Dixie National Forest. There are also three Red Rock Canyons in Nevada, one being very near Las Vegas.

Zion National Park


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Majestic Zion

Originally named Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Taft in 1909, the name was later changed to Zion—an ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary. This park truly fits its name.

Valley of Fire State Park


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: The Arch at Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest state park and an unplanned detour we took on our drive to Las Vegas from Zion. The eroded sandstone formations and sand dunes are more than 150 million years old. In sunlight, the valley does look like it is on fire due to the rich red color of the rocks.

Las Vegas


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: View of Las Vegas from Paris’ Eiffel Tower

Las Vegas at night as viewed from the observation tower of the Eiffel Tower where we stayed at the Paris Casino Hotel for a couple of nights. You can go up to the observation deck day or at night—we opted for the latter.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Tubing the Lazy River

Here’s my sister Connie floating around Mandalay Bay Beach’s Lazy River which moves at 2½ miles per hour as it circumnavigates the beach/pool areas and through waterfalls. Connie and her husband met us in Las Vegas for this leg of our trip, arranging a Cabana Day experience for us on the Lazy River as well as a massage in our cabana as our anniversary gift. Total bliss!

Hoover Dam/Lake Mead


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam straddles the Nevada/Arizona border. Dub and I looked for the famous line painted across the road marking the border of Arizona/Nevada as seen in the movies, but it’s no longer there. We suspect it proved too much of a photo opportunity for visitors, thus impacting traffic flow.

London Bridge


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: London Bridge

London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ is #10 on the Travel Channel’s World’s Top 10 Bridges list. Built in the 1820s for walking and traveling by horse and buggy over the River Thames, the bridge became too small to accommodate London’s traffic so the city put it up for auction. It was bought for $2.5 million in 1968 by Robert McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City. The bridge took three years to make its way, piece by piece, to Arizona.

Lake Havasu City


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Sunset at Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu offers the requisite summer experiences: camping, swimming, boating, jet skis, dinner/casino cruises (it’s very near the California border), charters, and other assorted water adventures. We ate lunch at Barley’s Brothers Grill and Brewery, a micro-brewery at one end of London Bridge. The afternoon was spent swimming and relaxing, and then we wandered around taking sunset photos.

Tucson’s Fourth of July Fireworks


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Tucson Fireworks

We planned our road trip to end July 3 as July 4 is our wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate it in Tucson for the first time (having always been off on some travel adventure elsewhere in previous years). We packed a picnic supper and ventured forth to watch the fireworks. My fireworks photos came out looking like abstract flowers which I think is fun.

Other Places Visited

  • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Page, AZ and Big Water, UT
  • Montezuma Castle National Monument, Camp Verde, AZ
  • Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Page, AZ
  • Navajo Bridge, Lee’s Ferry, AZ
  • Marble Canyon, AZ
  • Grand Canyon, North Rim
  • Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Marble Canyon, AZ and Big Water, UT
  • Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Kanab and Big Water, UT
  • Paria Canyon, UT
  • Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, NV
If you’re still reading this vacation post, thank you so much for your patience.

23 comments:

Mademoiselle Julie said...

Love the pix! Hope you had a good time off! I am yearning for Vegas & hope to celebrate New Year's there. I'll be sure to visit the Canyon too as I am drawn to red dirt/sand - just can't explain it, but it is so. Cheers, Julie

Heidi said...

My gosh, you know how to pack a lot into a vacation! (Me, I prefer to relax in a slug-like fashion.)

The Antelope Canyon photograph is absolutely fantastic. It looks other-worldly.

Thimbleanna said...

Oh. My. Gosh! June -- your pictures are SO fantastic!!! I'm sitting here squirming in my seat -- I'm soooo excited -- only 5 more days 'til we leave. Thanks for this little appetizer to our banquet! I LOVE that picture in the slot canyon -- I'd love to be able to take a photo tour. Hubby loves photography but not roadtrips, maybe this would be the thing to get him out there!

You're my kind of vacationer -- Most Excellent Breadcrumbs!!!

dutchcomfort said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful road-trip and photos! I love to see the Rocky Mountain pictures! I think it makes you feel so tiny when standing there!?

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Welcome back June! I love the SW and all the areas you visited --your photos are specatular! It sounds like you had a wonderful time!

I'm like you and like to see and do a lot when I go away...but I never took 4,000 pictures ..lol!

Happy belated 4th of July!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

PS HAPPY belated ANNIVERSARY!!

:-))

X0 Pat

calamity kim said...

WOW!!!! You could get a job as a post card photographer! Those were lovely and believe me- we'd all love to see more! I have loved the light shining in antelope canyon since X Files!!! I am so glad you had a wonderful time! I am still exhausted from my trip to Pa. Happy Summer time! xo, kim

Anonymous said...

What an amazing road trip! The photography tour sounds really cool.

Jennifer W. said...

WOW - what a trip! Gorgeous pictures!

Sammy said...

During exercise workout, you will break down muscle tissue by producing micro tears. After you perform a strenuous physical activity, your muscles automatically get into “repair mode” and so you will need ample amount of protein to aid your body’s muscle repair. This will prevent your muscles from breaking down further to create fuel in lieu to lost glycogen.

Junie Moon said...

Dear Sammy:

Thank you for visiting my blog. Forgive my confusion, but I honestly don't get the connection between your interesting comment and my post. However, I will take into consideration what you shared when I exert myself in future. Heavens only knows I don't want to tear anything at my age, cannot be good for me.

Lisa said...

What a trip, and your photos are spectacular! Enjoyed scrolling up and down to see them over and over :)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! The pic of the fire-work made me take a second look. How awesome!

FinnyKnits said...

Gorgeous GORGEOUS photos, June! And what a great trip, with some decadence in the middle for your anniversary. Love it!

Thanks for sharing it all with us :)

Shauna said...

June, the pictures were amazing!! And the one of Mom? Fabulous! I'm so glad you guys had a great time on your trip. You really know how to vacation! ;)

Love,
Shauna

rohanknitter said...

I really enjoyed reading about your vacation and seeing the lovely photos! You sure got to see and do lots, how fun!!

Kristie said...

Antelope Canyon--that's where those caves are? How wonderful! And your photos are amazing.

Jane said...

Beautiful photos, June! Sounds like a fantastic trip. Happy Anniversary! We just attended a Fourth of July wedding, the second one I can recall.
Glad you're back home safe and sound. Do show more of the 4000 photos if you want. We won't mind!
Jane - Jacksonvillericibig

Jane said...

Oops, I wondered where those "word verification" letters had gone!
That was supposed to be Jacksonville.
Jane

Diane Schuller said...

welcome back! Oh how great to see all those familiar places. I'm so glad you went to that micro brewery in Lake Havasu. My husband still talks about their raspberry beer/ale. I had their homemade root beer - yum.

I LOVE the first image of Grand Canyon because you got the depth of field so well. Most times people's photos are flat when taking the GCanyon but you did a great job showing that dof. A lot of really wonderful photos and, again, what a treat to revisit these places through your photos -- thanks June!

Khris said...

AWESOME....hubby and I went to a lot of these places and the Antelope Slot Canyon has to be one of the best places....we LOVED our trip to the States and the amazing canyons you guys are so lucky to have there...hugs Khris in Oz

beth said...

Sounds like a great vacation. Love your photos too.

Clint Moore said...

Going on a summer road trip is a fine way to expel the stress that plagues and eats you from the inside for a very long time. That's why every summer, I and my friends organize a road trip around Canada to taste their delicious food from each of their cities. Even though it involves a lot of money, especially for the gas and the maintenance by the Burlington auto service, the experience was what matters.