Gatlinburg is in the Smoky Mountains. Before we got here I had visions of a sleepy bucolic setting, close to mother nature. It's not like that -- imagine Leavenwoth meets Vegas meets Orlando. There are two towns here at the edge of the Smokies, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Both are covered with hotels, show venues, and assorted tourist traps. It's very entertaining, but close to nature it ain't. We got to do a moonshine tasting, which was kind of interesting. Fortunately our condo is a bit out of the busy area, set back in the trees so it is quiet. It's been rainy so it was good to relax in our unit for a while. We can also prepare our own meals which is nice for a change. After the rain stopped today we went down town for a bit tried a wine tasting (swill) and then took a loop into the the nearby hills. The hardwood forests are beautiful, but not quite changing into their fall colors yet.

Tomorrow we will take a drive to another cave where there is supposed to be an underground lake.

Gateway Arch

We have covered quite a few states in the last several days. We crossed Missouri, passing the Lake of the Ozarks and skipping Branson, and ending up in St. Louis. The main reason I wanted to go to St. Louis was to see the Gateway Arch. So we did. I took a bunch of pictures and we took the tram to the top of the arch. It is quite an interesting ride. You have to sit in a tiny cabin with five seats in it. The door in is very small, and once in, there was not enough headroom for me to sit upright. At the top, the view is magnificent. You look down over the city on one side and the Mississippi river on the other. You can feel the arch sway in the wind. It is a VERY impressive structure, the entire Space Needle would fit under it. After going back down, we explored the exhibits that are located underground at the base. The whole thing is run by the National Parks Service. We crossed the Mississippi and spent the night in Illinois and were treated to a great thunderstorm all night long.

Gateway Arch

The next day it was on to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We to there a bit late, but in time for one of the last tours of the day. We had to hustle to make the tour, unfortunately I didn't have time to get my camera out of the car. The tour covered only a very small corner of the cave so we considered overnighting in the area so we could see more of the cave the next day. Linda also wanted to see Cumberland Caverns in Tennessee, so we decided to continue on our way. We spent the night in Cave City, KY.

Cumberland Cavern

Today we drove down to McMinnville, TN and the Cumberland Caverns. The Caverns are privately run, but are the largest cave system in the state of Tennessee. The tour we took was a lot of fun and the caverns are very impressive. the tour was a bit loner than our tour in Mammoth. The only negative was the religious presentation that occurred about halfway through the tour. It is, after all, Tennessee. Before we started the trip I treated myself to a new flash attachment for my camera and was pleased to be able to try it out. It worked vey well and I got some pretty good pictures.

Cumberland Cavern

Tomorrow we will head for Gatlinburg where we will be staying at a condo for three nights. It's right on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains and there is another cave that Linda is anxious to see.

Windmill blade

My prediction of boring for Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas wasn't far off the mark. Pretty dry country with not much to look at. We did see quite a few windmill blades going down the road on very large trucks. In Lamar Colorado they had one of the blades on display. It measured 112 feet long. The new ones are even longer. Outside of Dodge City they had literally hundreds of them churning away in the wind. They cost about two million each so there was a lot of money out on the prairie. We spent the night in Dodge. We didn't see Matt, Chester, or Miss Kitty. If you don't know what I'm talking about you're not old enough. If you do, you must be older than dirt.

Kansas prairie

Today we finished Kansas. It gradually got a little wetter, but not too much of interest other than wheat, corn, and sorghum. Also lots of oil and gas wells. Last night half our motel was filled with fracking crews from Louisiana. Tonight we have crossed into Misssouri and are holed up in Nevada, MO. We had hoped to get a little further. Tomorrow we will go through the Ozarks and hopefully through St Louis.

Black Canyon

After spending the night at Montrose we headed off to Black Canyon National Park. We didn't know much about this place, but it is very impressive. It is not so deep as Grand Canyon nor so wide, but it is much steeper and the rock is much harder so the poor river has to work even harder to make a canyon. There is also a road to the bottom of the Canyon. Around the turn of the century a tunnel fifteen miles long was hand dug through the solid rock of the canyon wall to bring water to the arid valley beyond. The road takes you to that area and it is the steepest i have ever driven. It was a 16% grade. I always thought 8 or 9% was pretty steep.

Gunnison River Black Canyon

Aspen fall color

After touring the park, we spent the night in Gunnison. From there we again headed south and east, passing through Lake City  and Creede. The trip took us over mountain passes as high as 11,500 ft. The aspens were in full color. They cascaded down the mountain sides in flows of molten yellows and golds. We paralleled the Rio Grande River for a while and eventually made our way to the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado National Park. It's a lot like the sand dunes on the Oregon coast but without the water. In all fairness they are a lot bigger too. After looking and taking a few pictures there was not much more to do unless you wanted to walk several miles through the sand to the to of the dunes. Tonight we are at Walsenburg. Tomorrow we continue east through eastern Colorado and into Kansas. Should be pretty boring.

Great Sand Dunes

Linda at the Dunes

Mesa Verde--

Linda has always wanted to see Mesa Verde and the place did not disappoint. We spent two nights at Far View Lodge in the park which was very convenient since it is a bit of a drive to the park and all up hill (about 8000 ft.). To see the ruins up close you have to take a guided tour. We signed up for two different tours one through Cliff Palace which was described as moderately strenuous and the second was through Balcony House and was described as strenuous. I went on both tours and Linda opted out of the second as the altitude was taking a toll on her. Both places involved climbing ladders and staircases though in Cliff house they were much taller and precarious and you also had to crawl through a narrow tunnel and traverse a cliff face with chain hand holds. 

After two nights and one day at Mesa Verde we headed off deeper into Colorado and up into the mountains. We got lucky again since the fall colors are about two weeks early this year and are peaking just about now. The aspens are Lind'a favorite tree and are just amazing. We got lots of great pictures. We are now in Montrose after going over passes almost 11,000 feet high. Tomorrow we will go by Black Canyon National Park, heading east and south, probably ending up by the Colorado Dunes.

Bryce Canyon 1

Bryce Canyon National Park--
If you ever get the chance, don't pass up the chance to visit Bryce Canyon. The views are spectacular. We spent the night just outside the park and spent the whole next day exploring the park. If you are planning on visiting, one day is just right to see the park unless you intend to do extensive hiking. Be warned, the altitude is eight to nine thousand feet. Air is in short supply.

Bryce Canyon 2

We explored all the popular view points. We went by car even though there is a free shuttle service like in Grand Canyon. We noted that the shuttles were crowded and often we did not want to spend more than a few minutes at some places, so the car worked out well. My camera certainly got a work out. I have posted a few pics here and more on my Facebook photo album for those who follow Facebook. Facebook address: Click here

The next day it was on to Mesa Verde. This is a destination that Linda has always wanted to see and I am very interested as well. I guess it's the school teacher in us. Getting there involves going way north, then east, then south again since this part of Utah is otherwise impassable.

Wilson Arch near Moab, UT

I wasn't aware that Mesa Verde is on top of a pretty high hill (mesa?). We are at over seven thousand feet. and are staying in the park. Tomorrow we hope to take a tour or two, as that is the best way to see the cliff dwellings. Then we will have one more night in the park at the Far View Lodge where we are staying before we head eastward once again.

Grand Canyon--

We have a room in the park at Yavapai Lodge. The park is vey conveniently set up with free shuttle buses to all the best viewpoints. You don't have to drive anywhere. We spent the day busing around the park. I took lots of pictures. To get really good pictures requires lots of patience, waiting for the right light and conditions - usually early morning or evening - since we were traveling closer to mid day conditions were not ideal so I was going for just recording the trip rather than great art. Sadly, that will probably be the pattern for most of the trip. Anyway the canyon is very impressive and we greatly enjoyed touring about.

In the morning we headed for the East entrance of the park in our car, our ultimate destination would be Bryce Canyon national Park .  As we left grand canyon we took the opportunity to view a half dozen more viewpoints. Then it was north to Bryce,uploaded pics  the route we took was spectacular. We passed The Little Colorado, Vermillion Cliffs, lots of amazing geology, and Red Canyon. Our motel is about three miles outside of Bryce and is not much to write home about, but it is available and convenient. Tomorrow we will explore the Canyon and return to the motel. Then it will be on to Mesa Verde.