1991 - America - National Parks
This was a whistlestop tour of 5 states, starting from Denver, Colorado and then travelling by bus through South Dakota (Lead, Deadwood), Yellowstone National Park, Arizona (Tucson, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley), Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, finally ending up in Las Vegas ('Lost wages' if you prefer).
Included in this was a DC3 flight over the Grand Canyon - I was glad the plane took off!, and a 7-seater plane trip over Monument Valley at sunrise - quite spectacular!
The Highlights included :
The Geysir field of Yellowstone National Park - left picture
The Grand Canyon - a ravine 125 Km long, up to 15 Km wide and 1.5 Km deep carved by the Colorado River
Bryce Canyon - a sandstone cliff carved into intricate peaks by ice and the wind - looks like someone has been busy with a very large icing gun!
Mount Rushmore - RHS image
The Grand Canyon is one of the Natural Wonders of the Earth.
It has been formed by the action of the Colorado River, cutting down through almost a vertical mile of rock strata, exposing rocks as old as 2,000 million years old.
It is over 400Km long, nearly 30 km wide and truely takes your breath away when you stand on the edge of the rim and look towards the opposite side.
One of the best times to view the canyon is just before sunset, when the rosy glow casts shadows across the layers of rocks and, if you are lucky, you can then see the stars of the Milky Way, along with the planets, rising over its eastern corner.
For those who like a bit more adventure why not try a small airplane flight over the area or even a mule ride down into the bottom of the chasm.
This a view taken from a DC3 aircraft
Monument Valley - as seen from a small plane
As a result, it has created hundreds of slim pillars which are deeply cut down the full height of the formation.
Because of the nature of the limestone, the rock acts as a good reflector of sunlight so, when you visit this place on a sunny day, it can be likenend to stepping into an oven at its hightest heat
Mount Rushmmore Monument
'Old Faithfull' in Yellowstone National Park
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Theodire Rosevelt and
Abraham Lincoln
It took 14 years to carve and is a lasting memory of the early years of the state of North America
The influx of water, in the past 1 million years and more has created a series of Geysirs, hot water pools, mud pools and warm water rivers that are situated all across this area.
At some time in the not too distant future [less than 1 million years], the magma plume that sits underneath this area, will break through to the surface, possibly triggering a super-volcano.
The eruption of this volcano may devastate an area within a radius of, perhaps, 200Km or more.
As these surrounding and overlying rocks have become worn away, by the effect of erosion, the granite, being much more resillient has stayed almost unweathered.
This formation can be seen for many miles around and, was used as a feature in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It is possible to climb this rock - though since the granite is quite smooth - it is quite a challenge.
Devils Tower - once used as scenery for 'Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind'
Zion National Park
It is well known for being a wonderful outdoor camping ground with stunning scenery in the form of high-walled canyons with plenty of scope for exploration, including walking, climbing and related activities.
It is composed of wind and water eroded siltstones.
The action of weathering has created many thin flat-topped pinacles with small areas on top from which to experience the views across many miles of the surrounding area.
The best time to see this area, from a plane, is just after sunrise