February 14, 2019

THE BEST OF ARIZONA: THE PETRIFIED FOREST AND PAINTED DESERT

  If you want to experience other-worldly terrain, take a backroads trip to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert!   The Petrified Forest National Park’s headquarters are located about 26 miles east of Holbrook, Az along Interstate 40, which parallels the BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon, the Puerto River, and historic Route 66.   In fact, the Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park site that contains a segment of the Historic Route 66 alignment. The northern portion of the park extends into the Painted Desert.     Teddy Roosevelt created the Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906. It has over 50,000 acres of designated wilderness.     We drove…

May 29, 2018

HOW TO EXPLORE THE GRAND CANYON

  Explore the Grand Canyon with us. Our days at the Grand Canyon were more than magical-they were breathtaking!!     We’ve written about our first impressions upon seeing the glory of the Canyon and we’ve attempted to post photographs that are representative of the majesty of this place (which, by the way, is impossible to capture although Stu has produced incredible photos!).     But, there is SO much more to talk about! 1)  People visiting here are from all over the world. We’ve talked to visitors (in 2 days)  from China, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, New Zealand, France-we could go on. Those we spoke with were shocked…

May 29, 2018

THE PUEBLO LAGUNA, New Mexico

Stu and I talked a lot driving backroads through the southwest about how schools we attended completely left out Native American history, culture and religions.     Exploring one backroad in New Mexico close to old Route 66, we stopped for some Indian Fry Bread (if you’ve never tasted it, you are missing amazing food). Take a backroads trip to Pueblo Laguna in New Mexico and learn what we were never taught in school.       PUEBLO LAGUNA HISTORY     Pueblo Laguna is the largest of the Keresan pueblos, covering four large counties and six villages. The district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973….

May 29, 2018

EXPLORE THE GRAND CANYON: OUR FIRST VIEWS

Neither of us expected what we saw. We didn’t know you can’t see any of The Grand Canyon until you reach the rim.  Just like millions, we’d seen thousands of photographs, descriptions and documentaries about The Grand Canyon.   We actually both gasped when we saw it. NO photo, no description and no documentary prepared us for the utter magnificence and grandeur of The Grand Canyon.  

May 29, 2018

THE HISTORIC RIO PUERCO BRIDGE ON ROUTE 66 IN New Mexico

Take a backroads trip on one section of the “Mother Road”- Old Route 66 and see the historic Rio Puerco Bridge in New Mexico.   The Federal Government funded the Historic Rio Puerco Bridge on Route 66 in New Mexico in 1933 as part of President Roosevelt’s effort to use emergency monies for highway construction. Completed within a year, the bridge opened the Laguna Cutoff to transcontinental traffic. In 1937, the alignment officially became U.S. Route 66.   The Kansas City Structural Steel Company conceived the structure, and F.D. Shufflebarger was in charge of constructing the bridge. The Rio Puerco Bridge has a 250 foot long span and is one…