We met Bill and Marilyn in Mecca to hike the "Ladder Hike" through a canyon in the Mecca Wilderness. This hike had us climp and decend many ladders posing a challange to Marilyn with Jack a few times where he could not jump.

This short hike had a decend down a short but steep trail into the most amazing slot canyon.

We hiked a bit further until the canyon opened up to where jeep road converge but turned around to go through the slot again.

The end of the trail for most people is at this rock span.

The walls are made up of siltstone and mud.

It gets extremely narrow at places.

Time for a diet!

We decided to go back to the rig crossing the badlands on some very remote primative roads. Much more interesting than the highway.

Preparing to lift off.

Watching the ballons go up was a sight to see. Gives a whole new meaning to blowing up a balloon.

Starting to inflate a balloon.

So what could happen?

There were many "special shape ballons". This is Joey, Jolley, Lilly Little Bee and the Haunted Mansion.

From France.

See Darth Vader up there?

The ascention went on for many hours.

Cool!

Walking among the ballons was just an awesome thing to do! And all this before 7:00 am.

Zebras roam the grounds to assist in clearing the area around the balloons for ascention. Every sport needs a ref!

Must be very stressful!

The balloonists tried to drop a ring on a random pole, it's not an easy feat.

We opened our door on Monday and what a pleasant surprise!

We were told that we could just stay in our rig and watch the balloons pass by. We didn't have any until our last day when they not only passed but landed among us.

As you can see several balloons landed amongst us.

Tom fell in love with these oldies!

Beautiful church built in the rocks of Sedona. The front is a 90' cross with beautiful views from the inside.

We hiked up yet another dome volcano….will we ever learn? Tough going but more than worth the effort!

The largest volcano cone in park, 1000 feet high.

We climbed down into a lava tube for a quick look inside.

This village is well preserved and very little is restored.

Just one of the pueblos to visit in the park. There are many dispursed throughout the park if you know what you are looking for.

Showing how the pueblos were built into/onto the rocks.

Hiking to the top of a small hill to reach the remains of a dwelling, we had awesome views of the surrounding desert.

Hiing through the forest we were amazed not by the serenity but the noises we heard...chickmunks chattering, birds singing, and winds blowing through the trees.

Our hike to Avalanch Lake was absolutely beautiful through some very dense forest.

The waters of glacier fed lakes have amazing colors, are crystal clear and oh so cold!

At the gorge at the base of our hike to Avalanche Lake the water rush through a very narrow gorge.

Long, windy and very narrow, the Going to the Sun Road boasts the title of "The Most Beautiful Drive in America".

The sun is trying hard to peak through the dense clouds on to the valley below.

It seemed that for the most part when we got up towards Lagan Pass we were always in the clouds. This mountain top looks eerie at it peaks through.

We finally caught sight of a grizzly bear in the Many Glaciers section of the park.

It's always inspiring to get to see one of the country's vanishing glaciers.

Sept. 1st, our first full day here, and we got snow up at Logan's Peak.

Vally view along the Going to the Sun Road.

Ravished by fire many years ago, this if virtually all that remains of the town of Polebridge. They have a great bakery though and many come for miles.

Since the park was very, very crowded and busy, we took a dat to travel the western part of the park which is much less visited. Bowman Lake is one of the beautiful glacier lakes we came upon that day.

Our hike to the Virginia Falls took us past many different falls; this one is called St. Mary Falls.

The Virginia Falls; absolutely beautiful.

At the base of Virginia Falls still made a pretty picture and a great place to stop of a quick bite.

A few mountain goats came down off the mountain to graze along the Going to the Sun Road. We only ever seen one on our travels before.

Just one of the many, many streams along side the Road to the Sun Road. The streams are crystal clear and are an amazing blue-green color.

This beauty is called Clements Mtn. and is passed along the trail to Hidden Lake. Very colorful!

Two mountain goats making their way along a well worn path.

Atop Logan Pass (which sits on the Continental Divide) lies this beautiful gem.

A small part of the Continental Divide called the Garden Wall. Our Highline Hike took us along on the divide.

The recent snow brought out more flowers up at Tioga Pass.

Another view of our trail...you can see hikers in the distance and also part of the Garden Wall (Continental Divide).

View of the valley from our hike along the trail.

Just a small portion of the trail on our hike this day. We had to work our way over a small rock slide or two.

Along Highline Trail not looking down or thinking of a possible rock slide!

Our last day here, our last hike of our stay, we seem to be happy to be leaving, but Glacier is a sad place to put in your rear view mirror (if you had one).

Off in the distance you can see the snow capped peaks of Mt. Hood, Broken Top, North, Middle and South Sisters.

It is just amazing how many different types of flowers grow in the harsh environment of the lava fields.

Tom on our departure from the largest (1 mi.) lava cave in OR. After our visit to Lava Beds NM it was a disappointment.

On our hike in the Lava Cast Forest (where lava molded around trees) we came across these little beauties.

The youngest lava flow in OR (1300 years old) have over 170 million cubic yards of obsidian and pumice. Obsidian is a black glass rock that was used (and is used) for tools. Today it is still used for surgical blades that are sharper and smother and any metal.

From atop Inferno Cone you can see much of the Great Rift in Craters of Moon National Monument. (You can just make out 2 people at the top.)

Many long fissures across the Snake River Plain known as the "Great Rift" created the weirdly beautiful landscape of the park.

This rope-like lava is called "pahoehoe". It is formed from fluid flowing lava.

We've seen many colors of rocks in our travels but this is the first for us---blue!

Looking out over the "Great Rift" which covers over 52 miles of volcanic cracks and fissures.

Inside a lava tube. The park has several caves but this is a minor one; the cave area was closed due to construction.

The entrance of this cave was the smallest that we had to go through and inside it didn't open up all that much--had to watch your head!

Crusts form when hot lava comes in contact with cooler air. Pressure builds up underneath forcing the crust upward and buckling.

Notice the cool blue color of this lava flow. We were quite surprised to find color among these rocks.

The only fossils we saw were at the very small Visitor's Center in town. On our "drive" tour of the park we saw mostly plains. This here is overlooking part of the old Oregon Trail.

We've seen lots of "balanced rocks" before but this one was pretty amazing. The picture just doesn't really show the immense size of the rock.

Castle Rocks SP, adjacent to The City of Rocks NM is renowned for attracting rock climbers from around the world.

Up close the rocks are immense.

Ok, again how many times can you look at rocks? They are all amazing!

We got into our CG late so we just took a short hike into the State Park.

Looking out over part of the Circle Creek Basin.

Small primative campsites are among the rock formations. This one has a pretty good view.

Wish we could have camp in the preserve we would have had these georgous views!

We caught glimpses of several climbers on our way through. The park attracts climbers from around the world.

This guy was making really good time. Climbing is on my "bucket list".

This group of rocks had several sections being used. On the left you can just make out the climber in the previous picture.

Emigrants heading west traveled through the City of Rocks along the California Trail.

Our first view of Crater Lake with Wizard Island. Awesome!

The lake was formed when the volcano, Mount Mazama, collapsed upon itself during massive eruptions that emptied the magma chamber creating a huge caldera.

Wildflowers abound in the meadows, along the roadways and steep cliffs of the surrounding area. With eight and nine months of snow, they don't appear for very long.

Here we are hiking for a view of the elusive Phantom Ship Rock, an isle of rock 400,000 years old, the oldest exposed rock in the caldera.

These spires are called fossil fumaroles and each mark a spot where volcanic gas rose up through ash deposits cementing the ash into solid rock.

Called so because it resembles a small priate ship, Phantom Ship can only be seen along the southeastern shore.

Crater Lake is the deepest in the US at 1,943 ft. There is no inlet or outlet to the lake. It filled over the last 5,000 years with snow (as much as 44' during the winter) and rain. The orange rock is a layer of pumice and resembles a castle.

Crater Lake is truly one of the Earth's natural wonders.

Surrounded by canyons, forests and mountains, the lake is one of the most pristine in the world.

The inky blue water is truly a beautiful sight.

The lake area gets over 40 feet of snow yearly keeping the level almost constant...it varies about 3 feet.

Wizard Island is a volcanic cone that built up after the caldera was formed.

The different hues of the water surrounding the island are very reminiscent of the waters of the Bahamas.

The cliffs surrounding the lake are 2,000 ft. high. There is one path down to the water, a very steep 1.1 miles down.

As with most of the caves the entrance was a bit tricky.

A relatively short cave walk, the Big Painted Cave held several historid Native American Pictographs. This was the only one we found.

The pictographs in Symbol Bridge Cave were more readily seen.

More Symbol Bridge Cave pictographs.

Part of the ceiling of the Golden Dome cave. The color results from light reflecting off water droplets that bead up on hydrophobic bacteria.

Tom exploring Golden Dome. Now you must remember that these caves are pitch black. Flashlights are a must! We did the "experiment" of turning off our lights at one point and you really cannot see your hands before your eyes.

The entrance ladder into Golden Dome. The opening above hold "headache rock".

You must stoop in Sunshine Cave which gets it's name from two collapses that allow sunlight to enter.

Ceiling in Sunshine Cave (where the sun doesn't shine!)

Tom leading the way into Sentinel Cave, the only cave to have an opening at both ends.

Created by a different lava source than most of the other caves. Very interesting.

These "drips" on the ceiling are common in the caves...they're formed by cooling.

Mammoth Crater seen here erupted on many occasions about 30,000 years ago creating many of the lava tubes in the area.

Lava boulders surround this very lovely, serene valley.

Hiking the rim of the valley.

Tom checking out the valley below.

Overlooking the Tulelake farmlands and the lave flows from nearby Schonchin Butte.

A small "twilight lit" cave, Heppe Cave had some interesting colors.

Schonchin Butte is another cinder cone where the lava is forced through the bottom and spreads out around the butte and surrounding area.

We hiked from Devil's Postpile to the Rainbow Falls. You can see where it gets it's name from. Around noon each day a beautiful rainbow can be seen on the falls.

We took a few scenic drives on our way from Mammoth Lakes to Reno and we came upon this beautiful water fall.

What a beautiful day to check out all these flowers!

Cemetery where a few of the detainees are buried at Manzanar NHS. In 1942, the US government ordered more than 110,000 Japanese-American citizens and aliens confined in one of 10 remote, military-style camps. Manzanar is one of these camps.

The camp ran from 1942 thru 1945. The internees made the best of a bad situation; they developed gardens and ponds, recreational programs, raised livestock, made clothes and furniture just to name a few.

View of the Rio Tinto Minerals-Boron Operations. Notice the "wee" monster truck.

After 10 days of travelling 162 miles in 136-150 deg. desert summer heat, no wonder they don't want to go any further!

This "small" truck tire is from a 180 ton truck. Very winding at the top of the mine, had some trouble just to keep your footing.

At 14,496', Mt. Whitney is the highest point in the lower states.

Our view from our descent from visiting the Mt. Whitney Portal-where hikers can begin the shorter 21-mile eastern slope hike, by reservation only.

View of the Black Mtn. Lookout at we hiked to the top.

We climbed to the Black Mtn. Lookout Tower while staying in Idlywild and nice chat with a couple of volunteers at the top. A hummingbird feeder seems to be standard equipment on lookouts in the area.

Since 1920 hundreds of films and tv shows have been made in the Alabama Hills including "The Lone Ranger" and "Bonanza". The jeep trails ride was really fun.

The Owens River once flowed through here but it time ended during a volcanic eruption with dried the river and created these rocks where a waterfall once flowed.

This rather large gecko kept watch as we walked around his territory.

Tom giving a "wave" as he comes in for his landing. He loved it but says the hardest part is to leave the plane! Cross one off the bucket list!

Tom's niece Michelle and family invited us down to their condo in Rosarito, MX for the 4th of July weekend. Our view from their condo.

Michelle's daughter, Paige, enjoys the pool and would spend the entire doy in the water! We had a great time visiting with all.

What a great setting in step-brother Dave's back yard. Hey Dave....how about a permanent visitor?

The 810 mile long San Andreas Fault line begins (or ends) near the Salton Sea.

The fault stands out with it's reddish coloring.

Since I am frequently charged with natures "undesirable" weather following me, I thought I would prove everyone wrong. So I decided to place myself on the fountainhead of an earthquake.

Driving along the fault we were surprised at the different rock formations and colors.

Tom at the beginning of our "Ladder" hike through the Painted Canyon.

Somewhere in this mess there acually is a trail leading into the slot.

The slot gets very narrow in many places and the walls tower well above.
Earthquake now? Forget it!

Tom is surveying his surroundings after climbing (yes, climbing) up our first hurdle.

Just one of many ladders place along the way by previous hikers to aid us non-climbers.

We came across an arrow made of rocks which lead us to our "path" into a slot canyon.

There were many interesting blooms along the way. This brittle bush, a staple in deserts, was outstanding.

Some people just have too much time on their hands. Some of these cairns, of which there were hundreds, were very creative.

This rock was just plain interesting.

We had a road block at the last of the ladders getting back to the canyon floor. Looking up you can see our last decent.

At the south end of the Salton Sea we came across a field of "Mud Volcanoes".

The volcanoes are powered by carbon dioxide gas of hydrothermal origin. This particular field is near a goethermal drilling site under construction. Once the site is complete who knows if the mud volcanoes will still be accessible.

A view from our campsite a what once was under water and accessible to boats. At 200 feet below sea level, the Salton Sea is 1/3 saltier than the oceans and still teems with fish such as talapia.

The waters of the Salton Sea drop approximately 12 inches a year. Three to five years ago this area was under water.

Moon over our desert view from our campsite.

This is why we like to camp in the desert.

We were very fortunate to come across this borrego (big horn sheep) on our hike on the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail.

Not only did we see one, but six more appeared....very rare since this animals are endangered.

Apparently the borregos come down from the peaks to drink from this generous stream and munch the flowers on the bristle bush.

So close that we can see the slit in his eyes!

We spotted this borrego on our way out of the canyon....he soon disappeared from view.

Marily and Jane on the way through a narrow slot. We had to scramble over many rocks along the way.

Along our hike into Hellhole Canyon we viewed our vast desert plains surrounded by snowy mountains.

At the top of "Shell Reef" exposed fossils of shells can easily be seen.

An amazing group of naturally formed rocks.

At the Pumpkin Patch in Ocotillo Wells SRA.

Brent, Jane, Randy, Barbara, Bill and Marilyn on the Pictograph Trail.

We saw several smoke trees along our desert drive to the Mud Caves.

Tom at the Wind Caves.

We'll have to do the hike to the "knees" on another visit.

Our view of what is called Elephant Knees on our hike to the Wind Caves.

Another view from our campground of our surroundings---this one after we climbed to the top.

Tom on the way down the very steep trail to Alcoholic Pass.

With over 500 miles of backroad roads there were some challenges to meet.

A natural hole in the ceiling lights up the (extremely) dark cave. Here we have Randy, Brent, Bill, Jane, Marilyn and Tom.

We each had headlights to see our way through. The cave was narrow, dirty (mud) and very exciting!

It is amazing that in an area so dry and so harsh, new life appears each spring.

Some more amazing blooms on the desert floor.

Buddy watching an amazing sunrise.

It is amazing to see these raptors up close. These soared over our heads in the AZ Desert Museum.

The Harris hawk travels in small groups and usually for life. Can't imagine landing on a very "sharp" Saguaro.

Hummingbird---they are so cute!

They had some very interesting birds in the aviary at the museum.

The Organ Pipe Cactus National Park is supposedly the northern most area where this beauty is found. Most are located in Mexico. This one, however, we saw in AZ Desert Museum (it was our first).

This is where an experiment in the 70s was done to see if 7 people could live self-contained for 2 years. Some say it was a success and some not.

As the air warms and cools each day this "lung" rises up and down for "breathing".

Experiments are still being done today. This is the ocean section of the Biosphere. Water was brought in from the Pacific and has sealife and corral.

The rainforrest---quite beautiful. There is also a desert section.

The Biosphere conducts studies to understand climate change and the role of life on Earth. We got to see how the test subjects lived over their 2 year lockdown.

Tom peeking out from behind a giant Saguaro.

Looks like you want to hug them, but beware!

During our Ajo Mountain Drive tour we came across this view of a natural arch. Little did we know we would inadvertently hike to the arch.

View of Organ Pipe Cacti which usually is found on the south side of a hill to stay out of the wind and gather the heat of the nearby hills to keep warm during the cold nights.

We hiked up 1100 ft. over rocks and along cliffs to get to the top; we wanted a different way down but it didn't happen. Tom was such a good sport even after 4 miles of strenous hiking. I really think coming down was much worse than going up.

Believe it (or not) this is our trail on our hike to, what we thought, was to Estes Canyon/Bull Pasture.

Lone Saguaro at sunset. The southwest has such beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

Poor Nick getting a lesson from his Pop on the running of a train. This little museum had many original engines and cars--very interesting.

Finding a place for the night, we accidently found a gem of a cave to tour. This one was up there with the best.

Instead of the "normal" cold caves we've been before, this one was 72 deg. with a humidity of 98% making it feel like a very wet 80+ deg. We were actually sweating by the time we were through our tour.

Our view from the campground at Oliver Lee--what a gorgeous sight! We later took a hike into that nearby "hill".

It may not look it, but we are hundreds of miles from the nearest beach.

As we got further towards the center of the dunes it looked like we were driving in a winter wonderland---Tom had this great urge to do "donuts" with the Jeep.

Barefoot was definitely better hiking on these dunes; the sand was cool and soft although hiking through sand is never easy.

What a great sight!

Steep and pristine, many come to sled on the dunes.

Taking a break at the top of a dune in White Sands.

Main Street of Tombstone, AZ definitely a tourist trap but a fun little town.

A bit hokey, but fun as they told the story of the actual shootout at OK Corral.

Although the headstones have been replaced, this is the actual cemetery for many who passed through Tombstone during its heyday.

An abandon copper mine found in Bisbee, AZ.

A 21-mile drive took us through the Saguaro National Park to see some fantastic Saguaro Cacti.

Standing sentinel.

We took a short hike into the desert to get "up close and personal" with the cacti. We found it extremely easy to loose our bearings and pay close attention to our path.

We opted not to take the sky ride to the top of the mountain. It's taking a toll after climbing 1.2 miles uphill!

View of fantastic foliage atop Stone Mountain.

We had the village to ourselves on a walk to see the gigantic carving on the side of Stone Mtn.

This 732-bell carillon from the 1964 World's Fair plays daily.

I can honestly say we picked the perfect time of year to come visit this park. The 100 year old grist mill sits in an awesome setting.

Such a pretty sight!

Our dreary day seemed to bring out the colors of the trees.

We were not going to stop at this park, but we were very glad we did. Awesome fall folliage!

Tom and sister Sue in the Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA.

Downtown Atlanta has many sculptures of Olympian reminders.

We almost didn't go in, but found it pretty cool once we did.

Sue gets to shake hands with "Anderson Cooper"!

A little oasis in the center of town brings some beautiful fall foliage.

We visited Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains, GA. He didn't always have running water, and after getting it had this for a shower!

Part of the farm at Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains, GA. He and Roselyn still live in the first house they ever owned a few miles down the street.

The entire main street in Plains, GA. How quaint!

"Snow" covered cotton fields are everywhere. Here Tom tries to "move" a bale.

We got a history lesson on our tour of the capitol building of VA. Thomas Jefferson built this section of the capitol which is the second oldest in the nation.

We were a little disappointed in our visit to Williamsburg, Va. Very much a lot of tourism, but this quaint farm was on our walk to town.

Picture of street in Williamsburg, VA.

We were very surprised at just how busy the OTX was since we thought it was off season. Apparently October is a good month for fishing. We visited the Hatteras Lighthouse along the way.

The OTX shoreline-beautiful, but we think that of any water!

Tom "shaking" hands with a bystander at the Wright Brothers first flight.

A monument of the plane flown at Kitty Hawk with the monument to the Wright Brothers in the distance.

We took a drive to the Hatteras Point where the shoreline was crowded with fishermen and their vehicles. We could see how the crashed in from all directions at this point---hence where Hatteras gets its nasty reputation for stormy waters.

Sunset over the Pamlico Sound from our campsite.

Our first ferry ride took us to Ocracoke Island where we visited this lighthouse.

After another ferry ride (this one 2-1/2 hours) to Cedar Island we visited an old friend, April, and her husband John. After a tour of the very laid back island they live on, Harkers Island, they took us for a boat ride to see the Cape Lookout lighthouse.

As with all of the war memorials, this one also brings a time to reflect and reminate on the ramifications of war.

The White House as seen from the South Lawn. A invitation from your state senator is required for a tour of the White House...oh, well maybe next time.

Just a small view of the massive interior of the cathedral. Taking 100 years to build to completion, this cathedral is the most impressive one we have visited.

View from the Bishop's Garden.

View of the Rose Window.

The completed memorial of Iwo Jima; we visited the mold of this statue in Harligen, TX. Can this one possible be even more impressive?

As with all other parts of the DC area, the Washington Monument stands sentinel over the stones of our country's servicemen.

We were fortunate to witness the replacing of the wreath by a veteran of WWII during our visit to Arlington.

Although empty at the moment the tomb is still guarded 24/7 by an elite number of soldiers.

Our view of the Capitol Building from across it's reflecting pool.

The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million Americans who fought and 400,000 Amerians who died in this most catastrophic war.

The monumental wall of etched names of all service men and women who died or remain missing from the Vietnam War.

Steps leading into the Lincoln Memorial. How can any one city have so many massive and imposing buildings?

The Washington Monument with a view of the White House from across the Tidal Basin.

This hummingbird outside David and Marion's house took a lot of patience to capture.

A race on the inner track.

Playing at an exhibit.

Donovan and Ethan climbing across the wall.

Gettysburg fence.

Row of Unknown Soldiers who fell at the Battle of Gettysburg.

On our trip to NY we visited the Old Rhinebeck Aerodome.

Tom found an Egge decendent who fought at Gettysburg.

Cannons lined up for firing.

You do get a sense of eerie tranquility as you stand in the fields where so many have died in battle.

Tom looks as though he is either directing or perhaps measuring the span?

Think it'll start?

Some of the old airplanes at the Rhinebeck Aerodome are still flown today during weekend shows.

You just have to wonder the mindset of those who flew in these.

Again, what were they thinking?

We spent the day at Saratoga to catch the Travers. Here are participants on the way to the gate.

Visitors from all over the world leave rembrances to those who lost their lives on Flight 93.

We will never forget those who gave their lives on 9/11 whether here in PA, DC or NY.

It was a sad day of reflection as we visited the remote site where Flight 93 sacrificed themselves in order to save others.

Shannon and Ethan watching their chocolate bar creation passing on the assembly line.

The Kiss Mobile outside the American Antique Car Association.

The detail of the autos in this exhibit are truly impeccable.

A windshield that opened, a real bumper, spare tire (rod holder extra), and a real air freshner hanging in the driver side window. What more could you ask for?

This old truck was actually used to deliver coke and is filled with real bottles that they tell us still bubble.

Pierce Arrow hood ornament.

Get a load of those wicker seats in a bus!

Ethan learning to scuba.