In the fall of 1995 I embarked with my companions on a road trip that was to include parts of the states of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Since we ended up going much faster than we originally thought (sometimes due to bad weather), we also included New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia before it was done!

Here is a list of the places we visited:

  • Colorado National Monument
  • Arches National Park
  • Mesa Verde National Park
  • Natural Bridges National Monument
  • Capitol Reef National Park
  • Bryce Canyon National Park
  • Zion National Park
  • Cedar Breaks National Monument
  • Grand Canyon (North Rim, South Rim)
  • Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument
  • Petrified Forest National Park
  • White Sands, Stallion Missile Range
  • Carlsbad Caverns National Park
  • Big Bend National Park
  • Mammoth Cave National Park
  • Great Smokey Mountains National Park
  • Shenandoah National Park

The Colorado plateau is a spectacular place to see GEOLOGY! The National Parks Visitor Centres have many fine books on the subject. I recommend the series “Pages of Stone”, books 3 and 4 are both written by Halka Chronic and cover the ‘Desert Southwest’ and the ‘Grand Canyon and Plateau Country’ respectively. An excellent reference always makes for a better trip!

 

Madison County 1993
Colorado National Monument 1995