Rocky Mountain Adventure: Day 2

Our second day of travel found us driving from Amarillo to Estes Park, a route that took us through New Mexico’s Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. The highlight was the Capulin Volcano, an extinct cinder cone volcano that was designated a national monument 101 years ago. Considered relatively young, the volcano was formed about 60,000 years ago…

A Revolutionary Idea

While reading a story in The New York Times about Tarrytown, New York, a village of 11,000 people about 25 minutes from Midtown Manhattan, it suddenly occured to us that we know very little about the American Revolution. According to The Times, the area was first inhabited by the Weckquaesgeeks Indians. Tarrytown was settled by…

The Grandest of Canyons

Halfway to Yosemite, we decided to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon. In a word, the canyon is spectacular. We had both seen it on previous visits, but the effect was the same: overwhelming. We brought Baxter and Ranger along for the experience, and they quickly became “celebridogs.” Some Aussies even asked to…

The Better Half

Although we saw Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome on our first visit to the valley, we didn’t really appreciate its grandeur until we trekked to Glacier Point. Arriving at the point, we were quickly overwhelmed by Half Dome’s immediacy and enormity. The imposing granite crest was offset by a cloud-filled blue sky above a carpet of…

Living Large in a Small Space

We’re spending Labor Day weekend at Lake Texoma, one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S., and we’ve set up camp at Eisenhower State Park, which occupies an area of 423 acres. The lake itself is nearly 90,000 acres. The park is named for Dwight Eisenhower, the heroic Supreme Allied Commander of the American Expeditionary…