Index #1 to National Parks & Monuments I've Visited

A - D

San Angelo, TX, Library

 

    Because I've been traveling full-time for nearly four years now throughout the West, the Rockies, and parts of the Mid-West and South-East, I suspect that many of the pageviews, currently 65,000+, are by those who who have visited the same National Parks and Monuments or who are looking ahead for places to visit during their next vacation.
    What will follow below over time will be an alphabetical list of the National Parks & Monuments I've visited.
    Because of its length I may split it into parts; and because a text list may make boring reading, I'll go back once the list is finished and add a few photos from some of the Parks and Monuments.
    [Where I'm unable to find a post of the photos I've taken I'll use the U.S. National Park Service web pages for that Park or Monument; also, the one link below is the main National Park Service web site.]

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• Arches National Park 10 Apr 2114
• Aztec Ruins National Monument 27 Mar 2012
• Badlands National Park 8 Jun 2014
• Big Bend National Park 12 Feb 2013
• Big Bend National Park 16 Feb 2013

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park 5 Oct 2013
• Bryce Canyon National Park 6 Apr 2012
• Canyon de Chelly U.S. Park Service Web Pages [Took photos, but...]
• Canyonlands National Park U.S. Park Service Web Pages
• Capitol Reef National Park> 17 Aug 2013
• Capulin Volcano National Monument 9 May 2013
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park 25 Apr 2013
• Crater Lake National Park 25 Aug 2012

• Craters of the Moon National Monument> 24 Apr 2012
• Death Valley National Park 6 Mar 2011
• Devils Postpile National Monument 10 Oct 2012
• Devils Tower National Monument 12 Aug 2013
• Dinosaur National Monument 8 Jun 2013

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[Return to the top of the page]
Links:

• U.S. National Park Service web site

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Routes:

Su 23 Nov Actual Route: Wyoming Blvd W/M - Fergusson Br Lib - Hillerman Br Lib - Wyoming Blvd W/M

M 24 Nov Actual Route: Wyoming Blvd W/M - Hillerman Br Lib - San Pedro Br Lib - Big Lots - Wyoming Blvd W/M

T 25 Nov Actual Route: Wyoming Blvd W/M - Hillerman Br Lib - ABQ VA Hosp - Belen,NM - Socorro W/M

W 26 Nov Actual Route: Socorro W/M - McDs - Truth or Consequences, NM, McDs - Civic Ctr - Walmart

Th 27 Nov Actual Route: T or C W/M - Civic Ctr - Las Cruces, NM, W/M

F 28 Nov Actual Route: Las Cruces, NM, W/M - Lib(closed) - El Paso W/M

Sa 29 Nov Actual Route: El Paso W/M - Yselta Br Lib - Dollar Tree - Van Horn McDs - Chevron Trk Stp

Su 30 Nov Actual Route: Chevron Trk Stp - Kent, TX, Ft Stockton McDs - Walmart

M 1 Dec Actual Route: Ft Stockton W/M - McCamey, TX, Big Lake - San Angelo Lowe's - Sherwood Way W/M

T 2 Dec Sherwood Way W/M - San Angelo Lib - Freudiger RV Serv - Dollar Tree - Sherwood Way W/M

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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Lamb Branch Library, Pueblo, CO

 

    Since I'm a skinflint, I opted to take a 1.5-hour, 1-mile self-guided tour of part of "The Big Room." The people you see in the center of the photo are those near where the two elevators deposit one after a quick descent.

 

 

 

     Stalagtites and stalactites galore! As we learned in school the former grew from the ground up whereas the latter developed from the ceiling downward.

 

 

 

 

    The park service has distributed lights throughout the Caverns in order either to to highlight a limestone formation or to backlight it.

 

 

 

 

 

    Plenty of light in this shot even though parts of the formations are black.

 

 

 

 

 

    Sometimes the formations from the ceiling are called draperies; if they're long and thin, they're called "Soda Straws."

 

 

 

 

 

    No bats here; they're in another part of the cave near its natural entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

    One of the more spectacular groups of limestone formations. Believe the stalagmite on the right is called the "Giant Dome" and the two formations on the left are called "Twin Domes."

 

 

 

 

    Though these small formations look like ice crystals, they're not; believe the temperature in the caverns remains at a fairly constant 56 degrees throughout the year. [Think they're called "popcorn." Not so; Popcorn hangs from "Soda Straws."]

 

 

 

 

    What looks like snow is really limestone -- a "Flowstone."

 

 

 

 

 

 

    If you have an imagination, these two formations look like a grandfather talking with his grandson.

 

 

 

 

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Links:

• U.S. Park Service pages on Carlsbad Caverns with more photos and information on the bats
• Wikipedia article on Carlsbad Caverns
• More Cave Photos from Google
• Wikipedia article on Carlsbad, NM

Return to Top of Page

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Sa 27 Apr Actual Route: Cimarron bd - Cimarron - Raton Lib - Capulin - NM325 bd

Su 28 Apr Route: Capulin NM325 bd - Capulin Volcano Natl Monument - Clayton - Clayton Lake SP

M 29 Apr Actual Route: Clayton Lake SP - Kenton, OK - NM706 bd

T 30 Apr Actual Route: NM706 bd - Clayton Lib - Capulin Volcano NM - Folsom - Branson, CO - Trinidad Walmart

W 1 May Actual Route: Trinidad W/M - Thatcher - La Junta Lib - La Junta Walmart

Th 2 May Actual Route: La Junta Walmart - La Junta Lib - La Junta Walmart

F 3 May Actual Route: La Junta W/M - La Junta Lib - Old Bent's Fort - Rocky Pt - Fowler - Pueblo W/M

Sa 4 May Actual Route: Pueblo W/M - Lamb Br Lib - Pueblo W/M

Su 5 May Actual Route: Pueblo W/M - Pueblo Main Lib - Pueblo W/M

M 6 May Route: Pueblo W/M - Lamb Br Lib - Walsenburg Lib

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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.