Southwest, Midwest, Northwest & West; USA
07/03/2003 - 09/08/2003
The Teton Mountains demonstrate one of nature's magnificent "works in progress."
We tend to forget the beauty and diversity of our country's landscape. Driving 10,000 miles through mountains, over deserts, across prairies and near oceans served as a great reminder. Many "firsts" occurred during the journey. We visited ski areas during the summer rather than winter. The subtle beauty of the desert astounds the senses. Copious farms producing wheat, corn, hay and cows line the freeways of the plains. Then, we arrived back at the ocean. Even though we spend most of our time on or near the ocean, the rugged west coast and the power of the ocean continue to amaze us. Take a look at a few samples.
Mountains
Check out the ski area in Taos, New Mexico. Once at the top of the lift, we started to hike down a green ski run. Gravel and a steep slope got the best of us. Switching directions, we hiked back up to the ski lift and rode down the mountain.
Not all mountains are the same color. The red and yellow rock prevalent in the San Juan Mountains indicate the presence of minerals. Mining was the primary industry in this area up until the 1970s. Now, tourism focused on outdoor activities such as skiing, 4 wheel drive trips, hiking and mountain biking dominates the area. We fell in love with this area of Southwestern Colorado.
Enough mountain pictures? Never. The mountains surrounding Telluride and Mountain Village are incredible. Take a ride on the gondola with us.
We crossed the Continental Divide several times. Independence Pass, the winding, mountainous route in to Aspen, summits at 12,500 feet. Click here to check out the view.
Aspen Mountain is one of the 4 ski areas in the Aspen area.
Jackson Hole is popular ski area in the Teton Mountains.
The Teton Mountains are one of the Rockies youngest ranges.
Robin's hair tries to imitate the mountains. Pretty good imitation.
Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho is home to another ski area. All the ski resorts provide fun activities in both summer and winter.
Bend/Sun River, Oregon serve as the base towns for accessing to the Mt. Bachelor ski area.
Galena Summit in Idaho's Sawtooth National Recreation Area affords a great panorama of the Sawtooth Mountains.
The number of logging trucks and clear-cut forests in Oregon astounded us. No more after dinner toothpicks for us.
Mt. Shasta, in near the border of Oregon in north central California, is striking.
Deserts
An entire forest of saguaro cacti fills the landscape.
The foothills of the desert mountains near Tucson are beautiful. The lush trees in the foreground are courtesy of the Westin La Paloma.
Among the vast display of green and tan, colorful cactus flowers stick out.
A saguaro cactus welcomes us with open arms.
Hmmm, this sign appears to be in exactly the right place.
A river gorge cuts through the desert just outside of Taos, New Mexico.
Prairies
Corn. Lots and lots of corn grows in the Midwest.
Hey look, rolls of hay. Lots and lots of hay is baled in the Midwest. Why is hay sometimes packaged in rectangles and other times in round rolls?
Jack Nicholson and the movie About Schmidt made the Kearney archway famous. Perhaps it was famous before the movie. Either way, we did not stop there.
Not all of the Midwest is corn fields. Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan is quite an oasis (and Duncan's ancestral home).
Wisconsin and Minnesota have many lakes. Apparently, swordfish and great white shark are available for catching in this freshwater lake in Osh Kosh.
What are the plains in the summer without a thunderstorm on the horizon?
A rally in Sturgis, South Dakota resulted in 500,000 Harley motorcycles accompanying us through the plains. Not all 500,000 were with us at one time.
American flags and barns dotted the highways as we traveled through the plains.
Oceans
This is not an ocean! However, the Columbia River deposits itself into the ocean in Astoria, Oregon, so we included its picture here.
Cool...we drove down a road and ended up driving (for 7+ miles) on the beach in Oregon (legally!). Check it out.
Cars were not the only toys on the beach.
Big rock meets ocean.
Cannon Beach is a classic beach town in Oregon with bonfires on the beach.
Gotta have a sailboat picture in the ocean section.
Do we include an ocean sunset shot in every log?
Robin loves the lighthouse pictures.
The famous Oregon dunes.
From whence we cometh. The San Francisco Bay Bridge brings back lots of fond memories of sailing in the bay.