Canyon de Chelley, Arizona

After leaving Petrified Forest, we traveled northward still, onto a place called Canyon de Chelley National Monument, pronounced Canyon de "Shay". What a beautiful place this was! I had never heard of it before, so we were very lucky to have stumbled across it. We arrived late in the day, and it was a little overcase, so the pictures weren't great. But it was a spectacular sight. Really beautiful. Words can't describe it. Navajo indians currently live in the area, but there are many ruins down in the canyons belonging to the Anasazi people who abandoned this place in about 1300 AD. They had lived in the area for nearly 2,000 years.





A first glimpse of the canyon...really big and beautiful.





Another huge expanse...





The wedge-shaped rock is called "The Rock that Lightening Struck" by the Navajo.





Here are some ruins built right into a crack in this sheer rock face (very small).





The ruins up close.





Here's another set of ruins built into the canyon wall.





An overlook on the North fork showing ruins in the shade.





A closer look at the ruins





Closer still...





Finally, a look at Spider Rock...really impressive!

Petrified Forest, Arizona

After leaving Carlsbad Caverns, I headed north to pick up my Mom and sister Cathy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We took a tram ride up to Sandia Peak on what was billed as the world's longest tram ride. Great views from the top (photos on my photosite, www.tomsphotosonline.com under Petrified Forest).

We headed west after a brief stay in Albuquerque, towards Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. We saw some really beautiful scenery on our way over, arriving at the park right around sunset. We saw the Painted Desert on the north side of the park...really beautiful.

The next day, we got up and saw the south side of the park, which contained much petrified wood. The stuff was amazing. Many broken logs strewn all about, looking exactly like, well, giant logs, but being completely crystalized and feeling just like stone. Very cool.

The colors were amazingly varied...lots of purples and reds. A nice little visit!

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

After the long, desolate drive across west Texas, I crossed the border into New Mexico and, a short time later, arrived at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The cave(s) was beautiful! I highly recommend this to anyone. It took me about 3 hrs to walk (and photograph) the caves. In the late springtime, thousands of bats leave the cave each evening to search for food. They have an "ampitheater" set up just outside the cave entrance, and people sit and watch this spectacle. I was a little early in the season for that, but the tradeoff was that there were hardly any people inside the cave. I don't think the experience would have been so great if there had been many, many people inside. Here are some picutres; more at www.tomsphotosonline.com.

Sunset at Carsbad Caverns campsite

Think this is my best moon shot ever.

Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns

Just one of many beautiful sights inside the cave

The colors were amazing

A cave "chandelier"

Sonora Cave, West Texas

After leaving New Orleans, I pretty much just made a B-line across the south, passing through Houston and San Antonio without checking those places out. You would not believe how big Texas is! It seemed endless. As I got towards the western part of Texas, it because just miles and miles of open prairie, not even small towns to be seen! You know you're in a desolate area when the speed limit is:

I don't think I've ever seen such a speed limit!

Anyway, one stop I did make was at a little place called Sonora Cave. It looked like a tourist trap from the billboards along the highway, but I needed a place to stay the night, and they had a little campground right on the premises. I saw many, many deer as evening approached right there in the campground. There were even two beautiful peacocks strutting around:

The next morning, I walked over to see the cave. I was the only one on the tour! I wasn't expecting much from this cave, but it was one of the more beautiful ones that I've seen. Just a lot of different formations, and lots of colors, too. Here are just a few shots...more on my photosite.

After viewing the cave, I continued on towards Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico...

Mardi Gras, New Orleans

After "chilling" in Florida for almost 6 weeks, I drove through the panhandle on over to New Orleans, Louisiana. I caught the last 5 days of Mardi Gras, ending on February 21st. I stayed in an RV park just a few blocks from Bourbon Street. It was expensive - about $140 per night - buy well worth it. As close as it was to the French Quarter, however, I had a very scary experience walking over, because I had to walk adjacent to "the projects" on my way over. It's not often that I fear for my life...as I said, very scary. After that, I learned how to get to the Quarter without walking past that place.

The first night I was there, I went to check out one of the many, many parades that go on over the 12 days of Mardi Gras (there are probably at least 3 parades per day). Here are some of the pictures from my first parade:

The beads were flyin' off of these floats from every direction! You had to watch out...otherwise, you'd be smacked in the face with beads! A very fun experience.

Here's a shot of Bourbon Street during the chaos:

Really, it was very tame. No fights or really drunk people.

During my time there, I also went out to explore some of the devastation that still exists due to hurricane Katrina in '05. I explored what's called the Ninth Ward, apparently the hardest hit area in New Orleans. I will tell you, however, that I saw destruction many tens of miles in all directions from the Ninth Ward. The Ward is an area that suffered much flooding when the levees broke during the hurricane, and is 2 or 3 miles square. The whole place is a ghost town, but I did see some restoration work being done. All in all, quite a sad place:

These stoops are the only thing left of a house that once was...

I left New Orleans on Feb. 21st, and headed out across the great state of Texas...