"I never get
tired of the blue sky." - Vincent Van Gogh
"Do you want me to stop?"
"No. I'm
good."
Should I have told John, my husband, to stop so I could get a good
picture of the Joshua Trees? Ah...yes. But we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us and the
sun was going down...
We were driving on a two lane road through the desert heading
back to the hotel after visiting the Grand Canyon. The long drive was part of the
fun. (partly because John was
the one driving) The desert was full of Joshua
trees. I kept taking pictures with my
window up (it was cold) thinking I would capture something. I did capture something...blurry Joshua trees and my reflection
in the window. But I also captured memories...
A day or two later, we found another Joshua tree. I did have John stop at this one. :)
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| The Joshua Tree I did get in focus. :) |
Our December trip was packed full of the usual touristy places and a little bit of hiking. We visited the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Las Vegas
Strip, Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon and a few other places
too.
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| A beautiful view we saw on a Grand Canyon Colorado River boat ride. |
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| Leaving the Colorado River by helicopter...definitely a bucket list experience. Megan got the best seat. :) |
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| No blue skies on this day, but I just had to take a picture of this iconic sign. (another picture from a moving vehicle) We aren't gamblers, but there is a lot to see and do on 'The Strip'. |
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| Hoover Dam |
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| At Hoover Dam...notice how big the wings are on the 'Winged Figures'...there are about 30 feet... |
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| The wings don't look as big from this angle. It is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. |
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| Valley of the Fire State Park |
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| Valley of the Fire State Park |
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| Valley of the Fire State Park |
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| Valley of the Fire State Park |
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| Red Rock Canyon |
The desert is beautiful.
The blue skies are amazing.
Ohio skies are usually rather grey in the winter, it was
such a delight to see the blue skies out West.
I hope the blue skies and pretty scenery brightened your
day. :)
We have grey skies here today with some snow flurries. How does your sky look today? I would love to hear about it. :)
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Have a great day!
Michelle
What a fabulous trip you've had with so many great places to stop and enjoy! Wonderful red rock formations and the Joshua tree shot is great. I like the angle you've taken one of the winged figures from! Those blue skies were indeed a joy to look at!
ReplyDeleteI've been to these places - hard to beat the wide open vistas of the west. Looks like you did some fun exploring. My skies have been snow filled for several days. We got about 5' of snow since last Saturday and more on the way.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes is "if something is important to you, you make time for it." Mia Maestro.
ReplyDeleteI have that quote on a photo of my grandson...in our house in Maine. I want them to know how important they are to me...
This was a great post and you did so many things. I would love to do the helicopter ride but honestly, I don't think I could so bravo to you for doing that. Like you, gambling is not our thing either yet we have been to Vagas a few times...coming and going to other places. I also the worst at asking my husband to stop...so most time I like to go shooting by myself. When we are traveling though if we pass something really good, I ask him to turn around and he graciously does that for me. Happy Travels Michelle.
This looks like a whole lotta fun for you all to enjoy as a family, Michelle! Beautiful photos (even from a moving car!)!! I'm totally seeing faces, or busts of heads, in the rock formations at the Valley of the Fire State Park - way cool!! I'd love to visit this area of the country = on the list! :) Funny thing, too, that I was just photographing mountains - although they were the Rockies in Colorado! :) Thank you for sharing your travels!!
ReplyDeleteThese really ARE blue skies. The Joshua Tree is so different and pretty. The photo of the wings from an angle is something else - I can see why it's your favorite picture. Jess visited the Grand Canyon years ago, and she said it was GRAND, indeed. These are fantastic photos, Michelle, and a very nice trip with your family. Road trips are the best. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Beautiful! It looks as though we took similar trips. We just visited Las Vegas a week ago, with side trips to Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and Death Valley. I'm with you - I love the desert and find it beautiful. You got some amazing photos - I especially love the red rocks against the beautiful blue skies!
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of blue skies out here on the West Coast!
ReplyDeleteValley of Fire is a favorite place of mine. We camped there a few years ago during Thanksgiving week and it was just fabulous. I'm a fan of red rock country anyway. Aren't the Joshua Trees something? But yes, that area is pretty cold in December. You took some breath taking pictures!
Looks like a great trip! I'm not afraid of heights or airplanes but that helicopter shot gave me butterflies!
ReplyDelete~Christopher