Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Betty in the National Parks, part 4

Next on our trip, we, along with Katrina and Lucius (Roses and Champagne) visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP.  By this time in the vacation, I'm feeling a little worn out.  I'm mentally whining and thinking "oh great, more rocks and canyons" as we approach the park.  Boy howdy, was I wrong.  Wow!  Sheer walls.  Black rocks.  Beautiful.  There is a spot called the Painted Wall, the tallest vertical wall in Colorado. The park wayside sign there said that if the Empire State Building was placed in the bottom of the canyon, it would reach slightly more than halfway up the wall.  Lucius and Katrina are posing at Gunnison Point, which is below the visitor center on the south rim.  The roaring Gunnison River is that thin green line way, way down below.

After Black Canyon, we began to head back to Texas.  We visited the Sand Creek Massacre site, which was very moving.  My PRT and I were the only people there.  I felt it was too disrespectful to pose with a Betty  book there.  The next day we visited Bent's Old Fort, near La Junta, Colorado.  I unfortunately left Katrina and Lucius in the car!  I would have loved to pose them by the old buffalo hide press in the middle of the fort.  Then we headed on back home.

I hope you enjoyed my Betty in the National Parks photos.  I had a lot of fun with it.  This fall we are heading to Maine to visit Acadia National park and also the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, plus other national parks along the way.  I'd love to share more pictures then!

Betty AnoninTX

4 comments:

  1. Very nice. I haven't even heard of those places so maybe I will get there when I retire... in the next couple of decades....

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  2. I'm adding places for Betty A to apply to as we speak! I want to see them all.
    We go to VA later this month, hopefully. I'm applying for a summer job in 2 hours, so that may change plans. I've been to the big MI Nat'l Parks and various others over the years. But when Prof. VdeP retires, watch out!

    Be sure to say hi to BettyA and Bear Guy when you are at S.N.P. this fall, BettyAnTX

    I've been thinking of you as Betty TexAnn. Prof VdeP went to school in Texas (houston, maybe, he lived in all the major cities!) and the class brain's name was TexAnn Horvath. He still chuckles when he says it 40 odd years later. I think it's kinda cute! MichMary doesn't have the same ring. Darn. Sounds like a drunk southerner. he he he

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  3. Betty Barbara here--
    Betty AnonixTX, your travelogue brought back so many happy memories of a road trip we took back in the dark ages of 1996. We drove like heck from Maryland to Denver, then meandered through the National Parks--Colorado N M, Arches,Canyonlands (where we shared a picnic lunch with ravens--really, really huge ravens), Natural Bridges then down to Monument Valley, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, El Morro N M and into Albuquerque. Then straight home Albuquerque to Baltimore in 3 days. Loved every mile of the trip.
    We had done Black Canyon of Gunnison, Grand Canyon (south rim), Bryce and Zion on other trips.
    But the fact we haven't made it to Capital Reef is eating at us.
    Hmmm--may be time to plan another road trip!

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  4. Thanks to everyone who posted nice comments! I really did enjoy this trip. TexAnn is a perfect name! ha

    Betty Barbara, just do it again! The cherries are almost ready to pick at Capitol Reef! Hot pies. This time try the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for something different. Very mountain-y and cooler. The North Rim lodge is wonderful.

    BettyMary, I had that exact thought about Shenandoah. :)

    Betty AnoninTX

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