Petrified Forest, Where Trees Turn to Stone

            This place is famous, for trees turn to stone.  Millions of years ago during the Late Triassic period downed tree gathered in river channels.  Overtime volcano ash, silica (silicon dioxide), was carried into these logs by water.  Eventually that ash turned to quartz and overtime replaced all the organic material in the logs.  And thus, the Petrified Forest National Park was born.  There are around 600 paleontology dig sites around the park. The desert landscape is about thirty mile from north to south and runs anywhere between four mile to twelve mile east to west.  Portions of the park run into the Painted Desert.  The average rainfall is about ten and a half inches.  During summer the heat can reach in the hundreds and the lows be below freezing.

            Now, I’ve never actually been through the park, which is located off Route 40, but I have been to the gift shop and nature center.  While walking around the gift shop I noticed a black light, which I thought, was pretty weird.  There were also all these plain white shirt with white designs on them, the shirts seemed pretty boring. Then I noticed the sign on the wall that said “UV Activated”.  I took one of the shirts and stuck it under the UV light and the designed started to change colors.  I thought it was the coolest thing, so I got one with a picture of an iguana with the Petrified Forest behind it.

            Though the parks history is really cool I wouldn’t suggest you go all the way there for the park as you can hike in the desert heat or drive around the paved loop for a few buck.  Stealing the petrified wood has become a huge issue, so if you want a piece you can buy it at the shops.  Fare warning, the petrified wood comes at a pretty high cost.  I do suggest stopping by the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert on the way to the Grand Canyon.  

Mount Rushmore: Great Places, Great Faces

            The Black Hills of South Dakota is home to, in my opinion, the most magnificent and unique national memorial, Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore shows the faces of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln carved in the side of a mountain.  Mount Rushmore received Congressional approval after long negotiations involving a Congressional delegation and President Calvin Coolidge.  Upon hiring Gutzon Borglum, a Danish-American sculptor born in Idaho, the carving began on October 4^th, 1927. Borglum died in March, 1941 before the construction of Mount Rushmore could be completed.After the death of Gutzon Borglum, his son Lincoln Borglum, named after president Lincoln, took over the construction.

           
I learned quite a lot when I visited Mount Rushmore.  I learned that there was supposed to be only three presidents, starting with Jefferson on the left, Washington in the center, and Lincoln on the right. Borglum selected these presidents because they represent the first 150 years of American history and their roles in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.  After starting the construction, on Thomas Jefferson, Borglum and his team of 400 men ran into quite a problem.  The granite surface was found unsuitable therefore having to blast off President Jefferson.  That is how Washington took the left side of the mountain.  After blasting away at any unusable rock, Mount Rushmore was left with this huge craves in the center.  This craves is now where Theodore Roosevelt face sits.  There is only ten feet between Roosevelt and the back of the mountain.

           
I urge you to take a trip to see this magnificent memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Not only is the memorial a site to see, so is the drive. Grassy plains that accompany rocky mountains making for some beautiful scenery.  Take the family, tour through the first 150 years of American history, and learn what each of these amazing presidents did to earn their spot on Mount Rushmore.

Redwood National Forest

Redwood National Forest, home of the tallest trees in the world.  Redwood trees are part of the sequoia tree family and grow in northern California and all amongst the coastline.  The Redwood National Forest was established in 1968 after the gold rush ended, forcing the miners to become lumberman to help with the booming development of San Francisco.  By 1968, 90% of the original trees have been logged.  Now the national and three state parks protect the 45% of the remaining forest and wildlife.  The parks preserve 133,000 acres compared to the 2,000,000 acres that stood before.

           
I went to the Redwood National Forest as part as one of my road trips, though I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would have liked.  With trails to hike, horseback ride and bike on, places to fish and camp, thus making the Redwood National Forest a great place to visit.  Not to mention the drive, driving through parts of the lust forest, we saw waterfalls down cliffs, wildlife such as elk, and beautiful scenery around every turn.  It’s the perfect blend of mountains, forest, and ocean; the trees grow right up to the coastline.

           
The Redwood Forest has a rainy, not snowy, winter and a foggy summer. The temperatures are an average between 40 and 60 all year round.  This is due to a great influence of the Pacific Ocean, making the forest and cool and damp place.  This is the reason the forest is here, constant moisture and cool temperatures all year round is what helps the trees go so tall and massive.  The tallest tree is known as “Hyperion” and stands a whopping 379.3 feet tall.  One of the oldest, widest, and famous trees is “The General Sherman” who is roughly 25 feet in diameter above ground and 36 below and is an established 2,300 to 2,700 years old.  There are also around fifty known albino redwoods, which can’t produce chlorophyll.  Don’t take my or anyone else’s word for it, just come see these massive giants for yourself.

The Grand Canyon

            It was about six years ago on a summer vacation.  The people I was living with wanted to drive to San Diego to visit some of the navy bases.  My friend’s dad was stationed in San Diego year before.  So, we packed up the car and headed out west.  We drove route 40 starting in Tennessee.  On the way to San Diego we stopped at a few places along the way to make the trip more interesting.  The first tourist attraction was Roswell, New Mexico.  Our next stop was the one that changed everything.  I’ve always heard about this place and have seen pictures, but never have I actually been there.  That place was the Grand Canyon, my first National Park.

           
The Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona and in parts of southern Utah.  After a debatable 2 billion years the Colorado River managed to carve out this 277 by 18 mile canyon.  Parts of the canyon can reach 6,000 feet in depth, which is over a mile beneath the earths crust.  The average summer temperature can reach the 100’s, and lows during the winter can be below zero.  Though it is not the deepest, nor the widest canyon, it features a wide variety of color (especially during sun setting).  Pictures could never capture the overwhelming feeling of being at this geological masterpiece. 

           
An average of 5 million tourists are attracted to this magnificent wonder each year. A wide variety of activities are offered at the Grand Canyon; activities such as hiking, helicopter rides, horseback rides, white water rafting, tours, and camping.  Another cool feature added a few years back is the Grand Canyon Sky Walk.  The sky walk is a walkway with a glass bottom that allows you to walk out over the northern rim and look down into the canyon, as if you were walking in the sky. Whether you’re there on a family vacation, an adventurous exploration, or a romantic getaway, the Grand Canyon is a must see before I die attraction.  

Yellowstone, The Worlds First National Park

Yellowstone National Park was the first National Park in the world, established in 1872 by the U.S. Congress, signed by Ulysses S. Grant. The land stretches and area of 3468 square miles and parts are located in three separate states. Wyoming covers the vast majority of Yellowstone at approximately 96 percent, Montana at about 3 percent, and Idaho at 1 percent. Every year at least 2 million people from all over the world visit Yellowstone National Park.

Planning a visit to Yellowstone can be difficult; you have to get your hotels months in advance. The parks busiest time is the month of July when the temperature is an average 75 degrees during the day and nights can still be below freezing. When I went in late May there was still snow on the ground and still snow falling from the sky. It is possible for it to snow any month of the year with an average annual snowfall of 80 inches by the Mammoth Hot Springs and an average of 150 inches by the Yellowstone Lake. In the higher elevations it is common for the snowfall to be double that around the Yellowstone Lake.

What made Yellowstone stone so famous was its abundance of wildlife, from moose to bison, elk, bears, wolves, and many others. Not only is Yellowstone filled with animals, its sitting on a giant underground volcano. This volcano produces hundreds of hot springs and geysers. The most famous geyser we all know is Old Faithful. Old Faithful got its name because it is the most predictable geyser, erupting over 3,700 gallons of boiling water, roughly over 140 feet in the air, nearly every 75 minutes.

There is a lot more to do in Yellowstone then just seeing Old Faithful. There’s hiking the mountains, horseback riding in the plains, fishing in the lake, guided tours, hot springs, animal reservations, just a ton of ideas for the family or a couples retreat. So make sure when visiting your trip is well planned out, you really don’t want to miss what Yellowstone National Park has to offer.

My First Experience

Ever since I was a little kid I could remember always being outdoors. Any chance I’d get to climb a tree or swim in a river, get lost in the woods, I was there. Turning sixteen opened up a whole new door for me; the open road. The open road led to road trips, which lead to more road trips; road trips to National Parks. My goal is to see them all. My next few blogs will hopefully have pictures and information on some of my favorite National Parks. Some of which I’ve been or want to see.

National Parks started out by reserving land to preserve for future generations to enjoy. The first reservation was Hot Springs, Arkansas by President Andrew Jackson in 1832. The second attempt to reserve land was, Yosemite and the Giant Sequoias, in 1864 by Abraham Lincoln. These reservations differed from National Parks because they were not controlled or established by the federal government. The first federally established National Park was Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Since then another 57 areas have been established as National Parks. And on August 25th, 1916 the National Park Service was created.

The great outdoors, there’s absolutely nothing like it. Traveling to National Parks is something of a hobby of mine. Now I haven’t been to all of them, nor can I say I have a favorite, but I can tell you this… There is no other place I’d rather be. The first national park I went to was the Grand Canyon National Park in Flagstaff, Arizona. And ever since then, I’ve been hooked on seeing more. Future trips include: Yosemite, The Everglades, Acadia, Olympic, and Denali.