USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor Hawaii

 

The site of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is both stunning and sober for this watery grave is a sacred space.

A wall of names reminds us of the Americans who lost their lives while serving their country.

I took a video, which tracks the story as provided by the National Park Service.

#PearlHarbor #USSArizona

Resources to learn more

December 7th DVD

December 7th The Pearl Harbor Story DVD

Pearl Harbor 80 years later LIFE paperback

Geoffrey W Sutton

www.suttong.com

Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

 

After arriving, we walked along the South Rim with our friends who hadn't seen the park before.

It was an incredibly hot day despite the date of 20 October 1995. We decided to view the canyon from a plane. The photos don't do the experience justice.

The size is incredible-- a mile deep and 18 miles wide at points. It's hard to see the ribbon of the Colorado River below.

We didn't see a lot of wildlife.

Park notes

It's an incredibly busy park so to stay in the park requires advanced booking.

It is possible to camp in the park.

You can arrive by train-see previous post about the Grand Canyon Railway.

Access can vary depending on the time of year.

There are a lot of trails down into the canyon.

Flyover tours include planes and helicopters

More information at the website

If hiking in the canyon, the trails can be steep so hiking shoes or boots and trekking poles are helpful. Travel gear note.

You might like this book if you are exploring National Parks

Please see my website suttong.com

Check out my YouTube travel Channel

Google Map of Grand Canyon National Park

Pella Iowa

 Pella has a Dutch heritage with an inviting show of tulips still visible when I stopped by 12 May 2021.

Near the square are the attractive Scholte Gardens.

...where you will see some interesting statues.

The old windmill has some good views of the town.

Vermeer Windmill-Pella Iowa/ G Sutton 2021

Pella Iowa/G Sutton 2005

There are several interesting buildings or shops near the town center.

Opera House/ G Sutton 2021

This is the second Opera House- construction began 21 July 1900 see history

Pella is worth a stop and I would recommend Tulip time- the festival is the first full weekend of May.

For more information, see www.visitpella.com

The Vermeer Windmill is an 1850s-style grain mill built in the Netherlands and added to Pella in 2002 click for more information.

My 2021 photos were take with my Pixel 4 Google phone

The older 2005 photos were with a Sony DSC T1

Please 

Check out my website www.suttong.com

And my YouTube Channel  SuttonTravels

Thanks

Voyageurs National Park Minnesota

 More Water Than Land

I drove to Voyageurs National Park up highway 53 from Duluth. There are two visitor's centers enroute to my stay at International Falls, which is west of the Rainy Lake center. I found the park map board helpful.

My first stop was at Ash River

...where I hiked to Beaver Lake among other points of interest. The top photo is of Beaver Lake. Below is a closeup.

There are a lot of birds, squirrels and chipmunks. I didn't get good shots of birds. But I did get this creature crossing my path.

Here's a video showing the lake by the visitors center along with boaters and people fishing. I was also videobombed by mosquitos.

The next stop was Kabetogama Lake. I hardly saw anyone but there were plenty of trucks and boat trailers.

On the second day, I hiked at the Rainy Lake area.

Unfortunately, I was too early in the season for a boat tour of the park. However, with sunshine and 80 degree temperatures it sure felt like summer. And the mosquitos were out in force.

Along a trail at Rainy Lake

Notes

Voyageurs National Park is unique because of the vast areas of water. I wish I was there when boat rides were available. There's also a variety of winter activities. Learn more at the Park Website.

I'm glad I had plenty of insect repellent and sunscreen.

Trekking poles and waterproof shoes or boots are important on trails.

Most pictures were with my Pixel 4 phone but I use a Lumix DMC ZS 100 for zoom shots.

The trail maps and signs were helpful.

I like the National Parks' Book for more information.

Please check out my website suttong.com

And subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube SuttonTravels

See more places in Minnesota

BIG 5 NATIONAL PARK TOUR IN UTAH

 

We toured the Big 5 National Parks in Utah 6 to 17 April, 2021: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion.

This post provides links to the blogs, which contain notes, photos, and videos to the Big 5 plus some side trips.

Day 1: We flew into Salt Lake City, discovered our save-our-budget Thrifty wildcard rental was an SUV, and used miles to stay the night at the Airport Sheraton.

Day 2: We headed south to Moab where we stayed at the Moab Valley Inn for 3 nights. It was nothing fancy but it was fine for us.

Along the way, we took a break to visit the Prehistoric Museum in Price Utah. It’s part of Utah State University Eastern.

Mammoth at Prehistoric Museum/ Geoff Sutton 2021

This is COVID-19 season so, breakfast was a fill-your-own-bag setup. No problem for us because we wanted an early start. In the evening we had a great Mexican meal at

Day 3 We were up at 6 to get to the Arches National Park. See the post for details.

Arches National Park/ Geoff Sutton 2021

Day 4 Another  early morning to visit Canyonlands National Park.

Canyonlands National Park / Geoff Sutton

In the afternoon, we stopped by the nearby Dead Horse State Park to see the Colorado River. In the evening we had BBQ at the next door. Service was very slow but the meal was fine.

Dead Horse State Park/ Geoff Sutton

Day 5 we drove to Torry, Utah. We stopped to see part of Capitol Reef National Park then headed to the Days Inn for two nights. Their breakfast was limited but overall, it was a good value. We had a good dinner at La Cueva Mexican Restaurant. 

Day 6 We spent the day at Capitol Reef National Park—see the blog.

Capitol Reef National Park / Geoff Sutton

Day 7 We headed south along scenic highway 12 through Escalante National Monument and arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park midday. We spent two nights at Ruby’s Best Western Inn. The included breakfast buffet was better than the previous hotels. And they had a bag-to-go-option.

Day 8 We hiked the trails at Bryce Canyon National Park and had a pizza at a restaurant on the hotel grounds.

Bryce Canyon National Park/ Geoff Sutton 2021

 Day 9 We drove a short 85 miles to Zion National Park, which was crowded. We spent the rest of the day there—see the website. In the evening, we enjoyed the best hotel of the trip at the Best Western Plus Zion Canyon Inn in Springdale, Utah. In the evening we got fish n chips at Blondies then an ice cream cone nearby.

Zion view from Spingdale hotel

Day 10 we were up early to see the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park, which is up highway I 15 – the drive took nearly one hour. See the blog for details.

Zion National Park / Geoff Sutton 2021

Later in the day we drove to Las Vegas and spent two nights at the Courtyard Marriott using air miles. It was a fine room and facility but Las Vegas is not for us. The next day, we got brunch at Cracker Barrel south of the airport—the service and food quality was ok. The Thrifty rental car return went well as did the taxi into the city. The line for Uber and Lyft was ridiculously long and the set fee for the taxi cab service made it highly competitive.

Day 11 We flew home. the Uber to the airport was a fair price. The Uber from our local airport to our home was overpriced.

 

What would we do differently?

Fly round trip from home to Salt Lake City- skip Vegas and we would have saved money on the rental car fee charge for a different drop-off point.

Take hiking shoes--I bought a pair of Sketchers when we returned. We both slid on a couple of tails. And some were too steep without hiking shoes/boots or poles.

Take hiking poles—some trails were steep.

Spend an extra night at Springdale, Utah—the town near Zion National Park.

Our favorite?

Bryce Canyon National Park because it was so different from the others. The interesting structures within the canyon and the pine woods along the rim made it an overall favorite.

 Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

And Subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube

 

Also, see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

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TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

 I did find the USA National Parks book interesting to read before I went.

We flew American Airlines because we had credit from 2020. We had a nice upgrade to business class from DFW to Salt Lake City!

Prehistoric Museum- Utah State University Eastern in Price

 This unique museum is located near some great finds including dinosaurs as well as finds from ancient local cultures.

Notes

There is a fee for entry -see the website for hours and fees

Informative website

The restrooms were clean and well maintained when we were there.

Friendly staff

Location- 155 East Main, Price Utah 84501

Tel 435-613-5060