Natural bridges and Mesa Verde

Had a bit of lens flair which I really

tried to get rid of but....

there's only so much room on the little platform

so.....

its still cool to see - natural bridges. 

 This was just a weird shaped dome....

This one is tough to see even in real life.

And this was just gorgeous with the

 different colors.

 Mesa Verde (green table)

and up high on this mountain with its

death defying dropoffs are the most amazing cliff dwellings.

At one point there were 5 different dwellings in a row

so it was a big colony.

This one is the cliff palace.

The changing mountain terrains

They change around every turn.

And they are really amazing.

Especially snow capped.

 Jenga rocks are everywhere and I had to look it up.

There are a couple reasons - some religious or 

just to say 'we were here.'
I decided to build one.

Not as adventurous as some but.........

This snow capped mountain was everywhere.

Of course I have 39472938578472094 shots of it.

I think this is Glen Canyon Recreation area

but now everything is a blur and

my notetaking is woefully lacking.

We did boondock in the Cottonwood Mantila-Sal National Forest.

It was a pretty site but nippy and $0 for the night.

Took a shortcut through Brice canyon

We didn't linger too long as we had

been there before.

And its beautiful - you should, at some point, go...

 Every turn seems to take your breath away.

 And everything changes - the sky, the terrain.

 This was a tight fit it seemed.

 And I tried to catch this rainbow.

It was really bright and beautifull.

 We were in the clouds again with some snow.

 Deer were everywhere. Of course I only got one shot.

They are very twitchy and they don't even know

what they're gonna do - but its

gonna be something. 

This one listened and stayed put but it was close.

Deer in the headlights look.

Elevation Mountain High

Heading from Nevada/Arizona we took

to the Dixie National Forest  between Cedar City and 

Long Valley Junction - mountains.

The beautiful snowcapped mountains.

And we're wearing shorts - summertime clothes.

 and alas, we encountered real snow.

As in snowing, and sticking to the roads
and some poor person in a ditch.

 It was really pretty and a bit dicey

as Tom never drove the rig in snow before.

This was also happening on the second day of MAY.

We also changed time zones again.

 And here is the depth....

 We made it safely down the mountain.

And now we know - the rig is alright in the snow.

However, we did breathe a bit easier when we reached the bottom 

and there was no more snow.

Scrapping more pages on the road

Camped in Las Vegas and seriously I can only

take so much of the neon lights and zing

of the slots so I decided I needed

to catch up the book.

These are the photos I took in Sedona and on the way to Williams.

 And yes I'm mixing up rounded and square corners.

It really doesn't bother me, thankfully.

LOL.

But it probably could.

 Love adding the ephemera.

Still trying to figure out the amount of pages

to the amount of time we'll be on the road.

The great part about pocket pages is I can go back and

insert more if I desire and I probably will.

Or I can just roll with pedal to the metal - which I may

since I have to put Grand Canyon in there.

I consider that the highlight of the trip so far and I want

to add more pages.

Actually I think I'll go back and add 4x6's of some of the places.

I think this is my 4th addition - keepin' it current.

Sort of.

The Train ride to the Canyon

Of course we had to get the requisite hokey vacation photos 

out of the way...

 We sat in the dome and it was an amazing view 

my nose was totally glued to the window.

The photos that I took didn't work out - even though the train

was going 40mph there was a lot of blur.

 The train depot at the canyon.

 The historical El Tovar - where we honeymooned

17 years ago...

 The Hopihouse.

 And the south rim.

It never fails to take your breath away no matter

how many times you see it.

 Getting the passport stamped.

 Made a cheeky friend.

 Flirting with the edge.

 Another cheeky friend. 

This guy was doing some sort of crazy bird

dance with alot of huffing and puffing.

I managed to catch him when he took a breath.

 And the ride home.

Doesn't the weather look fun?

It was cold. 

The train ride is fun, lots of goofy jokes, music

and a train robbery.

It really was a lovely, laid back ride with great scenery.

On the way back I caught sight of 4 deer and a mess of prairie dogs.

Of which I have no pictorial proof.

I was too busy looking. 

LOL.